A-Hunting We Will Go

A-Hunting We Will Go is a British song written by Thomas Arne. It was written by Arne for 1777 production of John Gay's The Beggar's Opera at Covent Garden.^[1] It was originally performed by Margaret Kennedy who was playing the role of MacHeath in the production. It later became a popular folk song and nursery rhyme.

The a- is an archaic intensifying prefix; compare Here We Come A-wassailing/Here We Come A-caroling and lyrics to The Twelve Days of Christmas (e.g., "Six geese a-laying").

See also

• A-Haunting We Will Go – title a play on this song
• Daddy's Gone A-Hunting – similar construction
• Farmer in the Dell - a very similar song in lyrics, content and music
• Omar Little - a character from HBO's The Wire, known for whistling A-Hunting We Will Go or The Farmer in the Dell as he approached victims he was stalking, adding to his mystique.

Bibliography

Boucé, Paul-Gabriel. Sexuality in Eighteenth-Century Britain. Manchester University Press, 1982.

References

1. ^ Boucé p.250