click to play

One man went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow.
One man and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow.

Two men went to mow,
Went to mow a meadow,
Two men, one and his dog,
Went to mow a meadow.

... and so on until ten men men or more

abc | midi | pdf
Source: Singing Together, Autumn 1960, BBC Publications

Notes:
From 'The Penguin Song Book'.

I remember singing this when I was perhaps six or seven, or maybe even younger. However, we sang it with a 'double accumulation': not only did the number of men increase, but also what went with them. For example, the standard ending at one point was

One man and his dog,
And a bottle of pop,
And a sausage roll,
and a lump of coal,
and a baby foal.

When more than five things had been added, I don't recall we had a 'standard list': things just got added as people thought of them. I also recall that we sometimes began to sing 'eleven men went to mow...' and then stopped with general laughter and everyone knew we had deliberately passed the end of the song.

Roud: 143 (Search Roud index at VWML) Take Six
Laws:
Child:



Browse Titles: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z