About For He is a Jolly Good Fellow#
The tune is not English by birth. It comes from the French air “Malbrouck s’en va-t-en guerre,” a mock lament about the Duke of Marlborough that circulated in the 1700s and spread across Europe. English speakers kept the melody, dropped the story, and turned it into the song you sing when someone has done something worth toasting.
It makes a friendly first tune on a 6-hole ocarina. The whole thing sits inside a sixth, from low C up to A, with no sharps or flats and no big jumps, so beginners can usually get through it after a little practice.
For He is a Jolly Good Fellow Ocarina Tab#
| CFor | Ehe's | Ea | Ejol | D-ly | Egood | Ffel | E-low |
| EFor | Dhe's | Da | Djol | C-ly | Dgood | Efel | C-low |
| CFor | Ehe's | Ea | Ejol | D-ly | Egood | Ffel | A-low |
| AWhich | Gno | E-bod | F-y | Ecan | Dde | C-ny |