A-Hunting We Will Go


"A-Hunting We Will Go" is a popular folk song and nursery rhyme composed in 1777 by English composer Thomas Arne.
The is an archaic intensifying prefix; compare "Here We Come A-wassailing/Here We Come A-caroling" and lyrics to "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

Lyrics

A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
A-hunting we will go.
A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go
We'll catch a fox and put him in a box
And never let him go


Each consequent verse gets modified by putting in a different animal:
Earlier versions of the song switch the words "a-hunting" with "a-roving", dating back to old roving drinking songs from the 16th century.