Froggie Went A-Courtin'

When Elvis sung the song during 1970 rehearsals, there is a good chance he was unaware that the song could be traced back to an English nursery rhyme published in 1548. The oldest known reference of 'Frog Went A-Courtin'' as a song, is from 1611, when the very talented Thomas Ravenscroft put it into his musical, 'Melismata.'

The lyrics rarely stayed the same over the next 400 years, with Scottish versions changing the lyrics and the character of Frog ranging from a romantic sweetheart to a murderous villian. However, the song usually includes Frog proposing to Miss Mouse and the last verse asks the reader to join in singing.

It is said that the story of Frog and Miss Mouse was based upon real life scenarios of someone attempting to impress someone of the other gender

One idea is that it is based on some wealthy Suffolk families. Another says that the Scottish Queen, Mary, attempted to marry her daughter to Prince Louis of France.

One other version states that it is about Henry the Second of France's son, Hercule, trying to impress Elizabeth the 1st of England. Evidently, the Queen had nicknamed him 'the Frog.'

In later years, a nursery rhyme (that would also later become a song) called 'A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go' was written, based on 'Frog Went A-Courtin'.'

The original song has been used in film and TV dozens of times and has been recorded by artists ranging from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen to Woody Guthrie to Pete Seeger. While the title of the song has changed regularly like the lyrics, it has also been translated to Spanish, Welsh and South African over the years.

Elvis' version sounds very similar on Dylan's version (which contains 19 verses), but Dylan did not record it during the King's lifetime - it was recorded in 1992.