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A frog he would a-wooing go,
Heigho! says Rowley,
A frog he would a-wooing go,
Whether his mother would let him or no.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heighho! says Anthony Rowley.

So off he set with his opera hat,
Heigho! says Rowley,
So off he set with his opera hat,
And on the road he met with a rat,
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

Pray, Mr. Rat will you go with me?
Heigho! says Rowley,
Pray, Mr. Rat will you go with me,
Kind Mrs. Mousey for to see…
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

They came to the door of Mousey's hall,
Heigho! says Rowley,
They gave a loud knock, and they gave a loud call.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

Pray, Mrs. Mouse are you within?
Heigho! says Rowley,
Oh yes, kind sirs, I'm sitting to spin.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

Pray, Mrs. Mouse will you give us some beer?
Heigho! says Rowley,
For Froggy and I are fond of good cheer.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

Pray, Mr. Frog will you give us a song?
Heigho! says Rowley,
Let it be something that's not very long.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

Indeed, Mrs. Mouse, replied Mr. Frog,
Heigho! says Rowley,
A cold has made me as hoarse as a dog.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

Since you have a cold, Mr. Frog, Mousey said,
Heigho! says Rowley,
I'll sing you a song that I've just made.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

But while they were all a-merry-making
Heigho! says Rowley,
A cat and her kittens came tumbling in.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

The cat she seized the rat by the crown,
Heigho! says Rowley,
The kittens they pulled the little mouse down.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

This put Mr. Frog in a terrible fright,
Heigho! says Rowley.
He took up his hat and he wished them goodnight.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

But as Froggy was crossing over a brook,
Heigho! says Rowley.
A lily white duck came and gobbled him up.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

So there was the end of one, two, three,
Heigho! says Rowley.
The rat, the mouse, and the little froggy.
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach,
Heigho! says Anthony Rowley.

Origin

A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go is one of the oldest nursery ballads in English. The earliest known version, titled A Moste Strange Weddinge of the Frogge and the Mouse, was licensed to the London printer Edward White in 1580. It was printed on broadsides and chapbooks through the 17th and 18th centuries, gradually evolving into the form children know today. By the 19th century, the rhyme had settled into popular nursery collections, complete with the nonsense refrain “Rowley” and “Anthony Rowley.”

Illustrated editions helped cement its fame. Randolph Caldecott’s 1883 picture book, with lively drawings of the frog, the rat, the mouse, and the unlucky ending, remains one of the best-known versions.

Meaning

At its core, this is a comic animal tale. A frog sets out courting, takes along a rat, and calls on Mrs. Mouse. The party is lively until a cat and her kittens break in, bringing chaos. The frog escapes, but only to be gobbled up by a duck while crossing a brook. The story ends abruptly with the demise of all three: frog, rat, and mouse.

The humor lies in the cheerful nonsense of the refrain—“rowley, powley, gammon and spinach”—and in the mock-heroic way the courtship unravels into disaster. Like many early ballads, it carries no moral beyond the fun of the tale.

The frog’s wooing has roots in both folk song and children’s rhyme traditions. Ballad singers passed it along for centuries, while nursery editors adapted it for young readers. The anthropomorphic cast—frog, rat, mouse, cat, and duck—echoes medieval beast fables where animals take human roles.

By the Victorian period, it was common to hear A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go sung in nurseries, classrooms, and even on stage as a light comic performance. Its survival over four centuries shows how well nonsense, rhythm, and animal mischief appealed across generations.