This writeup put me in a bit of a dilemma. This nursery rhyme first appeared in print in 1847, under the odd title My Cock Lily-cock. It has remained popular, but has changed names many times. It has recently been published in children's pictures books under the names Cat goes fiddle-i-fee by Paul Galdone, A Farmyard Song by Christopher Manson, and as an unnamed entry in some collections of nursery rhymes. It also goes under the names Fiddle-i-Fee and I Had a Cat, leading to my final choice of node title. It may be the most popular English children's rhyme that doesn't have a widely recognized title.
The modern version goes something like this:
I had a cat and the cat pleased me;
I fed my cat by yonder tree.
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
I had a hen and the hen pleased me;
I fed my hen by yonder tree.
Hen goes chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
I had a duck and the duck pleased me;
I fed my duck by yonder tree.
Duck goes quack, quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
The next few verses introduce...
A goose;
Goose goes swishy, swashy.
A sheep;
Sheep goes baa, baa,
A pig;
Pig goes griffy, gruffy,
A cow;
Cow goes moo, moo,
A horse;
Horse goes neigh, neigh,
And finally,
I had a dog and the dog pleased me;
I fed my dog by yonder tree.
Dog goes bow-wow, bow-wow,
Horse goes neigh, neigh,
Cow goes moo, moo,
Pig goes griffy, gruffy,
Sheep goes baa, baa,
Goose goes swishy, swashy,
Duck goes quack, quack,
Hen goes chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck,
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee.
This is all good fun, but somewhat more interesting is the 'original' version. Apparently versions of this rhyme were popular in various European countries, but few were written down. This one, the earliest English version I could find, was put down in print in 1849.
My Cock Lily-Cock
I had a cock, and a cock lov'd me,
And I fed my cock under a hollow tree;
My cock cried cock-cock-coo
Everybody loves their cock, and I love my cock too!
I had a hen, and a hen lov'd me,
And I fed my hen under a hollow tree;
My hen went chickle-chackle, chickle-chackle
My cock cried cock-cock-coo
Every body loves their cock, and I love my cock too!
I had a goose, and a goose lov'd me,
And I fed my goose under a hollow tree;
My goose went qua'k, qua'k
My hen went chickle-chackle, chickle-chackle
My cock cried cock-cock-coo
Every body loves their cock, and I love my cock too!
It goes on to tell about the..
Duck
My duck went quack, quack, quack
Drake
My drake went ca-qua; ca-qua; ca-qua
Cat
My cat went miow, miow, miow
Dog
My dog went bow, wow, wow
Cow,
My cow went moo, moo, moo
Sheep
My sheep went baa, baa, baa
Donkey
My donkey went hi-haugh, hi-haugh
Horse
My horse went whin-neigh-h-h-h-h
I had a pig, and a pig lov'd me,
And I fed my pig under a hollow tree;
And my pig went hoogh, hoogh, hoogh
My horse went whin-neigh-h-h-h-h
My donkey went hi-haugh, hi-haugh
My sheep went baa, baa, baa
My cow went moo, moo, moo
My dog went bow, wow, wow
My cat went miow, miow, miow
My drake went ca-qua; ca-qua; ca-qua
My duck went quack, quack, quack
My goose went qua'k, qua'k, qua'k
My hen went chickle-chackle, chickle-chackle
My cock cried cock-cock-coo
Every body loves their cock, and I love my cock too!
And so the pig grunted,
The horse neigh'd,
The donkey bray'd,
The sheep bleated,
The cow low'd,
The dog bark'd,
The cat mew'd,
The drake quackled,
The duck cackled,
The goose gobbled,
The hen chuckled,
The cock crow'd
And my cock cried cock-cock-coo!
Every body loves their cock, and I love my cock too!
-- Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales, James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps, 1849