Reynard the Fox

歌詞

A good many gentlemen take great delight In hunting poor Reynard the Fox For the very best food he does eat in the night And lives upon fat geese and ducks In Ashendon Copse I did lie And I lived an extraordinary rate A-cracking the bones in young lambs' tails The farmers they all did me hate Oh, for my lord's horses and hounds they did send And the huntsmen, they swore I must die Which made all the hair on my coat stand on end And caused me from my young ones to fly All down Stony Lane they did run me And I gave 'em a very good race When I entered the woods I did rest then The hounds they run forward and bays All through the wild woods they gave chase and gave game And the gameskeeper saw me go by He chased me out onto the wide-open plain It was then that he fired at my thigh All on stony fields they did kill me And bloodthirsty dogs did me follow They tore me old coat all in pieces Which caused the glad huntsmen to hollow Oh pardon, dear huntsmen, for I've spoiled your game And the keeper has caused me to die But I leave little brothers of mine to remain That love little else better than I And now that bold Reynard is dead We'll go to the Dolphin and dine Now we'll dip his fore-foot in a bumper And drink up his health in good wine