I Won't Be My Father's Jack Lyrics
Not a farm boy, not a kitchen girl: the singer of this rhyme wants a life full of music, and has decided to marry the fiddler to get it.
I Won't Be My Father's Jack
I won't be my father's Jack,
I won't be my mother's Gill,
I will be the fiddler's wife,
And have music when I will.
T'other little tune,
T'other little tune,
Pr'ythee, love, play me
T'other little tune.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/i-wont-be-my-fathers-jack/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Sung
- Best for ages
- 4 to 9 years
What Does I Won't Be My Father's Jack Mean?
Jack and Gill were common names for a boy and a girl servant, so the singer refuses to be a helper at home for father or mother. Instead she will be the fiddler's wife and "have music when I will", whenever she wants. Pr'ythee is short for I pray thee, meaning please.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell printed the song in The Nursery Rhymes of England in the 1840s. Fiddlers played at every village dance, wedding and fair, so marrying one sounded like a lifetime of parties. The chorus, "T'other little tune", asks the fiddler to play just one more.
Learning Activities
- Music time: play a short tune, then sing "t'other little tune" and play another.
- What would you be? ask what your child would choose to do if they could do anything.
- Fiddle mime: pretend to play the fiddle on the chorus.