<P> Martine David and A. Marie Delrieu suggest that Frère Jacques might have been created to mock the Dominican monks, known in France as the Jacobin order, for their sloth and comfortable lifestyles . </P> <P> In a review of a book about Kozma Prutkov, Richard Gregg notes it has been claimed that Frère Jacques Frère Jacques was derived from a Russian seminary song about a "Father Theofil". </P> <P> Allmusic states that the earliest printed version of the melody is on a French manuscript circa 1780 (manuscript 300 in the manuscript collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris). The manuscript is titled "Recueil de Timbres de Vaudevilles", and the Bibliothèque Nationale estimates that it was printed between 1775 and 1785 . The Frère Jacques melody is labelled "Frère Blaise" in this manuscript . </P> <P> Sheet music collector James Fuld (1916--2008) states that the tune was first published in 1811, and that the words and music were published together in Paris in 1869 . An earlier publication in 1825 included the words together with a description of the melody in solfège, but not in musical notation . The words and music appear together in Recreations de l'enfance: Recueil de Rondes avec Jeux et de Petites Chansons pour Faire Jouer, Danser et Chanter les Enfants avec un Accompagnement de Piano Très - Facile by Charles Lebouc, which was first published in 1860 by Rouart, Lerolle & C. in Paris . This book was very popular and it was republished several times, so many editions exist . </P>

What are the english words to frere jacques