Bye, baby Bunting

"Bye, baby Bunting" (Roud 11018) is an English-language nursery rhyme and lullaby.

Lyrics and melody
The most common modern version is:

Bye, baby Bunting, Daddy's gone a-hunting, Gone to get a rabbit skin [To get a little rabbit's skin ] To wrap the baby Bunting in.



From 1784:

Origins
The expression bunting is a term of endearment that may also imply 'plump'. A version of the rhyme was published in 1731 in England. 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.

There have been many interpretations of the meaning behind this infamous nursery rhyme, with some claiming that the skin is akin to a winding sheet. But it contains many similar elements to other lullabies from the British Isles, including absence of the parents, and gifts for the baby upon their promised return.