Jeff Overturf who? part 5: "Froggie Went A Courtin'"

The 5 comic book pages here are the original supplemental feature to Turf Log issue #2, "Kindegarten: The Final Frontier". Written and drawn by me back in 1994, with color splashed on them in 2009.

That story was a love story, so the song in the back was of course a love song...one that a 5 year old boy could get behind. This is a song you should all remember from childhood, but just in case your memory is foggy I've included this "Uncle Jeffy Pre-Approved Video" of me singing it to jog your memory.



Now that you've got the tune in your head, sing along with the comic!

This song has been recorded by everyone from Tex Ritter to Bruce Springsteen. It's a 16th century folk song from England that was originally written about a romance between Queen Elizabeth I and a French noble man named Francois, the Duke of Anjou. It traveled to America and was one of hundreds of songs trapped in that wonderful time capsule behind the Appalachia Mountains and preserved until the 1930's when the 20th century flushed them all out. Over the years it had added a few modern verses, but this is about the way it came out when troubadours like Jimmy Driftwood and Woody Guthrie brought it to our attention as a whole.

BONUS:

While searching for a good early version of this (unsuccessfully) I came across this great contemporary one. I'm not sure where this woman is from or much about her at all, but she certainly understands that this is a love song.