The Fox (folk song)

The Fox is a traditional folk song (Roud 131) from England. It is also the subject of at least two picture books, "The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night: an old song", illustrated by Peter Spier and "Fox Went out on a Chilly Night", by Wendy Watson. The earliest version of the song was a Middle English poem, dating from the 15th century, found in the British Museum.
Modern lyrics.
Typical lyrics are as follows:
Origins.
In Joseph Ritson's "Gammer Gurton's Garland" (1810), the song is recorded (under the name "Dame Widdle Waddle") thus:
The two earliest versions both date from the fifteenth century ( 1500), and are written in Middle English. The first, usually called "The Fox and the Goose", goes as follows:
The second, called "The False Fox" ("false" here meaning "deceitful"), is as follows:
Modern covers.
"The Fox" has been recorded or covered by:
References.
There was a version sung by Marty Robbins in 1954 with the same lyrics. He did a cover of the song to honor his grandfather.