"Bye, baby Bunting" Roud #11018
Written by	Traditional
Published	1784
Written	England
Language	English
Form	Nursery Rhyme

'Bye, baby Bunting' is a popular English language nursery rhyme and lullaby. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 11018.

Contents 1 Lyrics 2 Origins 3 In popular culture 4 Notes

[edit] Lyrics

The most common modern version is:

Bye, baby Bunting,

Daddy’s gone a-hunting,

Gone to get a rabbit skin

To wrap the baby Bunting in.^[1]

[edit] Origins

The term bunting is a term of endearment that may also imply 'plump'.^[1] The earliest published version was published in Gammer Gurton's Garland or The Nursery Parnassus in England in 1784.^[1] A version in Songs for the Nursery 1805 had the longer lyrics:

Bye, baby Bunting,

Father's gone a-hunting,

Mother's gone a-milking,

Sister's gone a-silking,

Brother's gone to buy a skin

To wrap the baby Bunting in.^[1]

[edit] In popular culture

• The rhyme was illustrated by the British artist, Randolph Caldecott (1846–86).

• The dystopian novel Brave New World (1932) by Aldous Huxley contains the adapted reference 'Bye baby Banting, soon you'll need decanting'.

[edit] Notes