There were three jovial Welshmen, As I have heard men say, And they would go a-hunting Upon St. David's Day. All the day they hunted And nothing could they find, But a ship a-sailing, A-sailing with the wind. One said it was a ship, The other he said, Nay; The third said it was a house, With the chimney blown away. And all the night they hunted And nothing could they find, But the moon a-gliding, A-gliding with the wind. One said it was the moon, The other he said, Nay; The third said it was a cheese, And half of it cut away.

And all the night they hunted And nothing could they find, But a hedgehog in a bramble bush, And that they left behind. The first said it was a hedgehog, The second he said, Nay; The third said it was a pincushion, And the pins stuck in wrong way. And all the night they hunted And nothing could they find, But a hare in a turnip field, And that they left behind. The first said it was a hare, The second he said, Nay; The third said it was a calf, And the cow had run away. And all the night they hunted And nothing could they find, But an owl in a holly tree, And that they left behind.

One said it was an owl, The other he said, Nay; The third said 'twas an old man, And his beard growing grey.