The Fox

Oil on linen, 6' x 8', 2004

The Fox

Oh, the Fox went out one starry night.
He prayed for the moon to give him light,
For he'd many a mile to go that night
before he reached the town-o.
Town-o, town-o!
Many a mile to go that night
before he reached the town-o!

He ran till he came to a great big pen,
where the ducks and the geese
were kept therein. He said,
"A couple of you will grease my chin,
before I leave this town-o!"
Town-o, town-o!
A couple of you will grease my chin
before I leave this town-o!

So he grabbed a grey goose round the neck,
and he threw an old duck across his back.
He didn't mind the "Quack, quack, quack!,"
and the legs all dangling down-o!
Down-o, down-o!
He didn't mind the "Quack, quack, quack!,"
and the legs all dangling down-o!

Then old Mother Brown jumped out of her bed,
and out of the window she cocked her head,
crying, "John, John, the grey goose is gone!
The Fox is on the town-o!
Town-o, town-o!
John, John, the grey goose is gone,
and the Fox is on the town-o!

John, he ran to the top of the hill,
and blew his horn both loud and shrill.
The Fox said, "I'd better flee with my kill,
for soon they'll be on my trail-o!"
Trail-o, trail-o!
The Fox said, "I'd better flee with my kill,
for soon they'll be on my trail-o!

He ran till he came to his cozy den,
and there were the little ones; eight, nine, ten!
They said, "Daddy, you'd better go back again!
It must be a mighty fine town-o!
Daddy, you'd better fo back again,
it must be a mighty fine town-o!

Then the Fox and his wife, without any strife,
cut up the goose with a fork and knife,
and they never had such a supper in their life!
The little ones chewed on the bones-o!
Bones-o, bones-o!
They never had such a supper in their life,
and the little ones chewed
on the bone-o!

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(I learned this ballad from MY Daddy, Joe Dutton, and it always seemed he sang it to me as a way of letting me know that he and I had something in common with the Fox and his offspring! My father was an old-time foxhunter. Not the sort who kill the Fox, he would NEVER have done that! He hunted for what he called "the sweet music" of the hounds, sitting on a hilltop, listening to the sounds of the chase in the night.)