1 Down in the lane there sits an old fox,
A mouch-ing and lick-ing his dir-ty old chops.
2 Shall we go catch him, my boys if we can?
Ten thousand to one if we catch him or none.
3 Catch him or none, catch him or none,
Ten thousand to one if we catch him or none.
4 Wassail, wassail all over the town,
Our cup it is white and our ale it is brown.
5 The great dog of Langport has burnt off his tail,
And this is the night we go singing wassail.
6 I will go home to old mother Joan
And tell her to put on a big marrow bone.
7 Boil it and boil it and skim off the scum,
And we will have porridge when we do go home.
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Source: Roy Palmer, Everyman's Book of English Country Songs, p. 217
Notes:
N:Sung by C. Ash (b. 1845), Crowcombe, Somerset; collected Cecil Sharp, 15.9.1908 (Karpeles, no. 373 M, pp. 529-30).
Roud: 209 (Search Roud index at VWML) Take Six
Laws:
Child:
Related Songs: Apple Tree Wassail (2) (thematic)