Mouse on the Hill: Warner Williams with Jay Summerour
You know what a Smithsonian-Folkways fan I am, but it has been a while since my last posting so here is a song from Classic African American Ballads. Hop over to Smithsonian, the link is on the right, and check out the whole album!!
Explore posts in the same categories: Music
November 25, 2012 at 12:49 pm
https://www.box.com/s/izjbl594j3iveypecgws
November 28, 2012 at 1:28 pm
I always find it fascinating how songs morph. I mean, which came first: this one or “Frog Went A-Courtin’,” and what prompted the change? Did someone not like frogs, so they altered the main character to be a mouse? So odd and interesting…
November 28, 2012 at 3:37 pm
sprite,
This is what I found: its first known appearance is in Wedderburn’s Complaynt of Scotland (1548) under the name “The frog came to the myl dur”, though this is in Scots rather than English.
I didn’t find the source for the mouse song, but I have to think it’s just another version of Frog.