{"id":29909,"date":"2026-06-03T09:30:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T09:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=29909"},"modified":"2026-06-03T09:52:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T09:52:33","slug":"i-wish-i-was-a-fish-sweet-polly-primrose","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/i-wish-i-was-a-fish-sweet-polly-primrose\/","title":{"rendered":"I wish I was a fish (Sweet Polly Primrose)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>
<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1869<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>GW Hunt<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN9450<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Harry Rickards<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Courtney, Tom ; N. Ireland : Co. Tyrone : 1937<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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I wish I was a fish (Sweet Polly Primrose)<\/strong>

\"Sung with immense success by Harry Rickards\"
Words and music by GW Hunt

Sweet Polly Primrose was a girl
Of nineteen summers old 
I lov'd sweet Polly better far 
Than all the wealth untold
And she was very fond of me,
But how l wail and weep 
For the girl I love's at present 
At the bottom of the deep. 
 
So I wish I was a fish with a great long tail, 
I wish I was a fish with a great big tail, 
A tiny little tittle bat, a winkle or a whale 
At the bottom of the deep blue sea. Oh! my!
<\/em>
Sweet Polly was on board a ship, 
And bound for Charing Cross 
When the vessel sighted Blackfriars Bridge, 
It began to pitch and toss 
My love was gazing over 
At the water rolling by 
When somehow she tumbled over-board 
And never said good-bye. 
 
The Captain and his gallant crew 
Jump'd over-board to save 
My darling Polly, but in vain, 
She'd sunk beneath the wave 
And when they told me of her fate, 
I'd tear my hair and weep 
And requested I might be allow'd 
To plunge into the deep. <\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A music hall song from the late  1860s \u2013 sung \u00a0Harry Rickards<\/a>, with words and music by GW Hunt<\/a>.There are indications that it was alsosung by the Christy Minstrels.  It appears in several 19th century American songsters and has been collected once from a traditional singer in N Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n