Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Frog he Would a Wooing Go / Kitty Alone / Mr. Frog / The Frog's Wedding / The Wedding of Frog and Mouse / Frog Went A-Courting (Roud No. 16) / The House that Jack Built (Roud No. 20584) / The Old Woman and Her Pig (Roud No. 746) - Sung by Duncan Williamson (1928-2007), a Traveller of Furnace, Argyllshire, Scotland, later settled in Fife. Filmed and recorded by David Kotyk as part of the John D. Niles folklore research team for the "Scottish Voices" project in the sitting room of Duncan's home at Kincraigie Farm Cottage, near Strathmiglo, Fife, where he was living with his wife Linda and their two children Betsy and Thomas, on August 8th, 1986.
00:00:00 Sings The Mouse's Wedding to the Frog
00:02:46 Sings The House that Jack Built
00:06:19 Sings The Old Woman and Her Pig
00:10:45 Video Ends
The original movie can be watched here:
https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A77X57FFUO2N4X8J
A biography of Duncan Williamson can be read here:
tobarandualchais.co.uk/person/4292?l=en
Linda Williamson's thesis on Scottish Traveller singing can be read here, it's well worth your time if you're interested in Duncan Williamson's song repertoire: era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/8223
I used my knowledge on video editing to share the films on Youtube in the highest possible quality, I used manual video upscaling (no AI was used!) for this, to further document variants of traditional ballads and songs which has been my hobby for many years. I claim no ownership of the video, all the rights belong with the University of Wisconsin which houses the John D. Niles Collection.
Note by Kevin W.:
I was delighted to discover these videos of Scotland's great tradition bearers in the John D. Niles Collection. The often poorly treated Scottish Travellers honor the memories of their ancestors through songs, music and storytelling. They are proud of their culture and kept old traditions alive for hundreds of years. Many of our most gifted traditional singers and storytellers are Travellers.
Scottish Travellers are an indigenous ethnic minority in Scotland who live or traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle and for centuries were unfairly shunned by the settled population. For that reason the singing culture of the Travelling people had not been well documented before the 20th century when non-Travellers with an interest in folklore visited and befriended Travellers and started recording their songs, music and stories.
The videos give us an impression of what Duncan Williamson was like as a person and they show us how he performed his songs and stories to an audience. The visual aspect of performance is completely missed when we listen to sound recordings.
My main interest are the songs and ballads from Traveller tradition which Duncan kept alive. His interest in folklore led him to seek out other Traveller singers and storytellers and learn songs and stories from them, many of which were on the verge of being lost forever. In a way Duncan was a folklore collector himself.
Song transcription:
Oh, a froggie would a-wooing ride
Oh-ho-ho-ho
A froggie would a-wooing ride,
With sword and buckle by his side,
Oh-ho-ho.
Oh, first he came to a mouse's den
Oh-ho-ho
First he came to a mouse's den
He said, "Miss Mouse, would you let me in?"
Oh-ho.
He took Miss Mousie on his knee
Oh-ho-ho
He took Miss Mousie on his knee
He said, "Miss Mouse would you marry me?"
Oh-ho.
She said, "Where will the marriage supper be?"
Oh-ho
"Where will the marriage supper be?"
"Down in the hollow by the old oak tree"
Oh-ho.
[People begin to join in on the refrain. Betsy or Thomas starts to sing along.]
Well, the first came in was Mrs. Moth
Oh-ho-ho
The first came in was Mrs. Moth
She came to lay the table cloth
Oh-ho-ho.
The next came in was Major Dick
Oh-ho-ho
The next came in was Major Dick
He et so much that he fell sick
Oh-ho-ho.
Then they had to send for Doctor Fly
Oh-ho-ho
They had to send for Doctor Fly
For fear that Major Dick would die
Oh-ho-ho.
Then came a squirrel with a big, long, curly tail, tail
Then came a squirrel with a curly tail
He tore his head on a rusty nail
Oh, ho, ho.
Oh, next came in was a big, brown snake
Oh, ho, ho
Next came in was a big, brown snake
He coiled hisself round the wedding cake
Oh-ho-ho.
So they all went sailing down tae the lake
Oh-ho-ho
They all went sailing down tae the lake
They were gobbled up by a big fat drake
Oh-ho-ho.
Frog he Would a Wooing Go / Kitty Alone / Mr. Frog / The Frog's Wedding / The Wedding of Frog and Mouse / Frog Went A-Courting (Roud No. 16) / The House that Jack Built (Roud No. 20584) / The Old Woman and Her Pig (Roud No. 746) - Sung by Duncan Williamson (1928-2007), a Traveller of Furnace, Argyllshire, Scotland, later settled in Fife. Filmed and recorded by David Kotyk as part of the John D. Niles folklore research team for the "Scottish Voices" project in the sitting room of Duncan's home at Kincraigie Farm Cottage, near Strathmiglo, Fife, where he was living with his wife Linda and their two children Betsy and Thomas, on August 8th, 1986.
00:00:00 Sings The Mouse's Wedding to the Frog
00:02:46 Sings The House that Jack Built
00:06:19 Sings The Old Woman and Her Pig
00:10:45 Video Ends
The original movie can be watched here:
https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A77X57FFUO2N4X8J
A biography of Duncan Williamson can be read here:
tobarandualchais.co.uk/person/4292?l=en
Linda Williamson's thesis on Scottish Traveller singing can be read here, it's well worth your time if you're interested in Duncan Williamson's song repertoire: era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/8223
I used my knowledge on video editing to share the films on Youtube in the highest possible quality, I used manual video upscaling (no AI was used!) for this, to further document variants of traditional ballads and songs which has been my hobby for many years. I claim no ownership of the video, all the rights belong with the University of Wisconsin which houses the John D. Niles Collection.
Note by Kevin W.:
I was delighted to discover these videos of Scotland's great tradition bearers in the John D. Niles Collection. The often poorly treated Scottish Travellers honor the memories of their ancestors through songs, music and storytelling. They are proud of their culture and kept old traditions alive for hundreds of years. Many of our most gifted traditional singers and storytellers are Travellers.
Scottish Travellers are an indigenous ethnic minority in Scotland who live or traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle and for centuries were unfairly shunned by the settled population. For that reason the singing culture of the Travelling people had not been well documented before the 20th century when non-Travellers with an interest in folklore visited and befriended Travellers and started recording their songs, music and stories.
The videos give us an impression of what Duncan Williamson was like as a person and they show us how he performed his songs and stories to an audience. The visual aspect of performance is completely missed when we listen to sound recordings.
My main interest are the songs and ballads from Traveller tradition which Duncan kept alive. His interest in folklore led him to seek out other Traveller singers and storytellers and learn songs and stories from them, many of which were on the verge of being lost forever. In a way Duncan was a folklore collector himself.
Song transcription:
Oh, a froggie would a-wooing ride
Oh-ho-ho-ho
A froggie would a-wooing ride,
With sword and buckle by his side,
Oh-ho-ho.
Oh, first he came to a mouse's den
Oh-ho-ho
First he came to a mouse's den
He said, "Miss Mouse, would you let me in?"
Oh-ho.
He took Miss Mousie on his knee
Oh-ho-ho
He took Miss Mousie on his knee
He said, "Miss Mouse would you marry me?"
Oh-ho.
She said, "Where will the marriage supper be?"
Oh-ho
"Where will the marriage supper be?"
"Down in the hollow by the old oak tree"
Oh-ho.
[People begin to join in on the refrain. Betsy or Thomas starts to sing along.]
Well, the first came in was Mrs. Moth
Oh-ho-ho
The first came in was Mrs. Moth
She came to lay the table cloth
Oh-ho-ho.
The next came in was Major Dick
Oh-ho-ho
The next came in was Major Dick
He et so much that he fell sick
Oh-ho-ho.
Then they had to send for Doctor Fly
Oh-ho-ho
They had to send for Doctor Fly
For fear that Major Dick would die
Oh-ho-ho.
Then came a squirrel with a big, long, curly tail, tail
Then came a squirrel with a curly tail
He tore his head on a rusty nail
Oh, ho, ho.
Oh, next came in was a big, brown snake
Oh, ho, ho
Next came in was a big, brown snake
He coiled hisself round the wedding cake
Oh-ho-ho.
So they all went sailing down tae the lake
Oh-ho-ho
They all went sailing down tae the lake
They were gobbled up by a big fat drake
Oh-ho-ho.
