DUKE
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
GIFT OF
^R^!?....yMy6?s.ity..Press
D U K E . U N I V K R S 1 T V • 1' V 15 L 1 C A T IONS
T/ie Frank C. Brown Collection of
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
HERB G A r H 1£ K E R S
Vie FRANK C. BROWN COLLKCTION of
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Thk Foi-KLork of XoRiii Carolina coLi.inii) i!V I^r. I'Rank t'. Hroun
DURING THF. YEARS 19 I 2 TO I 943 IN COLLAliORATlON WITH TlIK XORTH CARO- LINA Folklore Society of whkh he was Secretary-Treaslrer 1913-1943
IN FIVE VOLUMES
Genera! Editor NEWMAN IVKY WHITE
Associate Editors
HENRY M. BELDEN PAUL G. BREWSTER
WAYLAND D. HAND ARTHUR PALMER HUDSON
JAN P. SCHINHAN ARCHER TAYLOR
STITH THOMPSON BARTLETT JERE WHITING
GEORGE P. WILSON
PAULL F. HAUM
Wood Engrav'fugs l/y
CI. ARE I.RK.HTON
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
DUKE U N I ^' E R S rr Y PRESS
Volume I
GAMES AND RHYMES • BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS • RIDDLES PROVERBS • SPEECH 'TALES AND LEGENDS
Edited by Paul G. Brewster, Archer Taylor, Bartlett Jere Whiting, George P. Wilson. Stith Thompson
Volume II FOLK BALLADS FROM NORTH CAROLINA
Edited by Henry M. Belden and Arthur Palmer Hudson
Volume III FOLK SONGS FROM NORTH CAROLINA
Edited by Henry M. Belden and Arthur Palmer Hudson
Volume IV
THE MUSIC OF THE BALLADS AND SONGS
Edited by Jan P. Schinhan
Volume V SUPERSTITIONS FROM NORTH CAROLINA
Edited by Wayland D. Hand
VX/c FRANK C. BROWN C0IJ,ECT10N o/"
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
VOLUME THREE
FOLK SONGS
FROM NORTH CAROLINA
Edited by
HENRY M. BELDEN
and
ARTHUR PALMER HUDSON
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
DUKE UNI\'ERSITY PRESS 1952
COPYRIGHT, 1952, BY THE DUKE UNIVERITY PRESS
Caiiibridyc i'liiz'crsity Press, Lu)idoii, X.W. 1, Eiiylaiid
PRINTl'.l) IN Till', rxill'-.l) STATICS oi- AMl'KICA HV Till': SICK.MAN l'Ul.\TI':kV. INC.. DIKIIAM, N. C.
CONTENTS
Fork WORD xxiii
AhHRKNIATIONS L'sKI) in HkADNOTKS XXV
IXTRODrCTION : Soxc.s 3
I. COURTING SONGS 4
1. A Paper of Pins 6
2. Madam. Will Vou Walk? 9
3. The Courting Cage 10
4. Madam Mozelle. I've Come Courting 13
5. Miss, Will You Have a Farmer's Son ? 14
6. LuciNDv, Won't You Marry Me? 14
7. Soldier. Soldier. Won't You Marry Me? 15
8. The Quaker's Wooing 16 c). The Old Man's Courtship i7
10. When I Was a Young Girl 20
- II. Where Are You Going, My Pretty Maid? 21
12. Madam, I Have Gold and Silver 23
13. One Morning in May 24
14. No, Sir 25
15. Courting Song ^1 i6. Don't Stay after Ten 28
17. 1 Wouldn't Marry 3°
18. A Single Life 3^
19. When I W^as Single 37
n. DRINK AND GAMBLING SONGS 41
20. The Drunkard's Hell 42
21. The Drunkard's Doom 44
22. The Drunkard's Dream (II 45
23. 'l"nE Drunkard's Dream (11) 48
24. Father. Dear Father, Come with Me Now 48
25. The Drunkard's Lone Child 5°
26. Don't Go Out Tonight. My Dari.inc; 51
27. Be Home Early 53
28. 1 Wish 1 Was a Sin(;le Girl Again 54
29. Seven Long Years I've Been Married 56 .30. The Lips That Touch Liquor Must Never
Touch Mine 57
31. I'm Alone, All Alone 60
32. Old Rosin the Beau 61
— 33. Little Brown Jug 62 ^4. Pass Around the Bottle 64
61855 L
Vni CONTENTS
35. JuDiE My Whiskey Tickler 64
36. I'll Never Get Drunk Any More 65
37. Show Me the Way to Go Home, Babe 67
38. Pickle My Bones in Alcohol 69
39. Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones 71
40. Just Kick the Dust over My Coffin ^2
41. The Hidden Still 72
42. Moonshine 73
43. Old Corn Licker 74
44. Sal and the Baby 74 _ 45. Sweet Cider 74
46. A Little More Cider Too 75
47. Sucking Cider Through a Straw yj
48. Drinking Wine 78
49. The Journeyman 78
50. Jack of Diamonds 80
51. Shoot Your Dice and Have Your Fun y^ 81
52. I Got Mine 82
HI. homiletic songs 83
53. When Adam Was Created 83
54. Pulling Hard against the Stream 86
55. Paddle Your Own Canoe 87
56. Why Do You Bob Your Hair, Girls? 88
57. Meditations of an Old Bachelor 88
58. The Thresherman 89
59. You Say You Are of Noble Race 90
60. Who Is My Neighbor? 91
61. Dying from Home and Lost 91
62. The Wicked Girl 92
63. A Poor Sinner 95
64. Advice to Sinners 95
65. Wild Oats 96
66. You Can Run on a Long Time 97
IV. PLAY-PARTY AND DANCE SONGS 99
67. Weevily Wheat 100
68. Here Comes Three Lawyers ioi
69. Jennie Jenkins 102 - 70. Oh, Pretty Polly 104
71. Don't Cry 104
72. Here We Go in Mourning 105
73. Row THE Boat, Row the Boat 106
74. The Needle's Eye 107 y},. The Miller Boy 108 76. In and Out the Window 108 "jy. Shoot the Buffalo 109
C O N T K N T S IX
78. COFI-KK ("iKOWS ON WlllTK OaK TrKKS IIO
79. LlTTLK FlCHT IN MkXUO 112
80. Pu; IN TiiK I'aki.ok 113
' 81. BlFKAl.O CiALS 1 14
82. Old Dan Tuckkk 114
83. Yonder Comes a Georc.ia (iiRi. 118
84. Captain Jinks 119
85. Hop Light. Ladiks 119
86. Old Joe Clark 120
87. What's the Lady's Motion? 124
88. The Farmer's Boy 125
89. Sally Goodin 126
90. Doctor Jones 127
91. She Loves Coffee and 1 Love Tea 128
92. I Do Love Sugar in My Coffee O 129
93. Pop Goes the Weasel 130
94. Turkey in the Straw 130
95. We're All A-Singing 131
96. The Dolly-Play Song 131
97. Uncle Joe Cut Off His Toe 132
98. Oh, Lovely, Come This Way 134
99. The Duke of York 135 too. Fll Tell Your Daddy 136 loi. I Want to Go to Baltimore 136
102. Poor Little Laura Lee 136
103. Darling, You Can't Love but One 137
104. Page's Train Runs So Fast 138
105. Turkey Buzzard 139
106. All Around de Rin(;. Miss Jilie 140
107. Too Young to Marry 140
108. Poor Little Kitty Puss 141
109. Fare You Well. My Own True Love 142
110. Mr. Carter 142 Til. Wish I Had a Needle and Thread 143
V. LULLABIES AND NURSERY RHYMES 147
T12. Bye Baby Bunting 148
T13. Rock-a-Bye Baby in the Tree-Top 148
T14. Kitty Alone 149
T15. Hush-a-Bye, Don't You Cry 150
_ii6. Go to Sleep. My Little Pickaninny 151
117. Poor Little Lamb Cries 'Mammy I' 152
118. Hush, Honey, Hush 153
119. Pitty Patty Poke 154
120. The Fr()(;'s Courtship 154 Appendix 165
TJi. Billy Boy 166
618551
VI
c o x t e x t s
22. Oh. Dear. What Cax the Matter Be? 170
23. Taffy Was a Welshman 170
24. Barnyard Song 172
25. McDonald's Farm 174
26. Quack, Ql\\ck, Quack 177
27. The Dogs ix the Alley 177
28. Go Tell Auxt Patsy 177
29. The Fox axd the Goose 178
30. The Old Womax axd Her Pk; 181
31. Whex I Was a Little Boy 182 2^2. Bobby Shaftoe 183 },2)- The Pretty Pear Tree 184
34. Jack-a-Maria 185
35. There's a Hole ix the Bottom of the Sea 186
36. JoHX Browx Had a Little Ixjrx 186 2>y. Bixgo 187
38. Call ]My Little Dog 187
39. The Vowels 188
40. Banbury Cross 188
41. Oh, Mr. Revel! 189
42. Old Woman All Skix axd Boxes 189
43. What Are Little Girls ^L\nE Of? 193
44. Neighbor Joxes I93
45. Whistlixg Girls axd Crowixg Hexs 194
46. Little Birdie ix the Tree 195
47. How I Love the Old Black Cat 195
48. Fve Got a Master axd I Am His ^L\N 196
49. The Cobbler 196
50. Scotland's Burning I97
51. Steam Ship I97
JINGLES ABOUT ANIMALS 198
52. Birds Courting I99
53. The Jaybird 201
54. Redbird and Jaybird 202
55. Jaybird Up ix the 'Simmox Tree 203
56. Said the Blackbird to the Crow 203
57. The Crow and the Weasel 205
58. Chicken in the Bread Tray 205
59. The Old Black Hen 206
60. Get Along, John, the Day's Work's Done 206
61. Possum Up a 'Simmon Tree 206
62. De Possum Am a Cuxninc; Tiiixg 208
63. The Raccoon Has a Bushy Taii. 208
64. De Possim Sits on 'Simmox Trek 209
65. Over the Hills So Far Away 210
66. Rahbit IX the Log 211
C () N T K N T S XI
If),-. Oi.ii Mdi.i.v Haki-: (Mk. Kaiuut) 2ll
i()8. 'riiK Rakhit Skippki), thk. Rahhit Hoi'pki) 213
ifx). Kahhit Stoi.k of. Greens 214
170. I r's Ai 1. XiciiT I.o.Nc 214
171 . Mk. Sni'iKRKi. 214
172. Till. Weaski. and the Rat 215 17,V Mole in the (iROTNi) 215
174. The Oi.I) Cikev Horse Came Tearinc TiiRort.ii
THE Wilderness 216
175. The Old Grey Mare 217
176. I Had a Little Horse Whose Name Was Jack 217
177. Mv Old Sow's Nose 218
178. The Old Sow 218 I7(). The Kitten Is i-nder the Sod 219
180. The Animal Fair 219
181. The Monkey Married the Baroon's Sister 219 i8j. The Catfish 220 18.V Lri.r 222
184. Jonah I'Tshinc; for a Whale 223
185. Snake Bakes a Hoecake 223
186. Row THE Boat Ashore 224
187. I Went Down to the Low Ground 225
188. As I Went Up the Silver Lake 225
189. Way Down Yonder in Pasquotank 225 i(;o. Ninety-Nine Blue Bottles 226 i()i. A Picnic 226 i(j2. Two Little Fleas 227 i()3. Went to the River and I Couldn't Get Across 22-j
11. WORK SONGS 228
104. Old Boi! Ridley 229
Kj;. Jimmy My Riley 232
i()6. Sheei> Shell Corn by the Rattle of His Horn 233
197. Bu(;le, Oh ! 234
198. Come to Shuck Dat Corn Tonicht 234
199. De Shuckinc. OB de Corn 235
200. Shuck Corn, Shell Corn 236
201. Round It Up a Heap It Up 237
202. corn-sliuckinc. sonc 237 20.^. I" HE Old Turkey Hen 238
204. Run. Sallie, My Gal 238
205. Up Roanoke and Dow n the Rni.R 239
206. HiDi QuiLi LoDi QuiLi 239
207. Here. Jola, Here 240
208. Come away from That Old Man 240
209. Sally, Molly. Polly 241
210. Down on the Farm 241
Xll CONTENTS
211. Negro Cotton-Picker 243
212. Pickin' Out Cotton 243
213. The Humble Farmer 244
214. Boll Weevil Blues 245
215. Ole Massa's Going Awav 247
216. The Man Who Wouldn't Hoe His Corn 247
217. The Old Chisholm Trail 248
218. The Duke of Buckingham 250
219. The Wild Ashe Deer 250
220. Old Blue 252 - 221. The Ground Hog 253
222. Fll Fire Dis Trip 255
223. Hi Yo Boat Row 256 -^224. We Live on the Banks of the Ohio 256
225. A Boat, a Boat. Across the Ferry 257
226. Haul, Haul, Haul, Boys 257
227. Old Horse. Old Horse 258
228. For Six Days Do All That Thou Art Able 258
229. Alphabet of the Ship 259
230. Whip Jamboree 260
231. I Have a Father in My Native Land 260
232. Sal's in the Garden Sifting Sand 261
233. The Heathen Chinese 261
234. Working on the Railroad 262
235. The Little Red Caboose Behind the Train 263
- 236. Reuben's Train 264
237. If the Seaboard Train Wrecks 1 Got a
Mule to Ride 266
238. Seaboard Air Line 266
239. A Southern Jack 266
240. I Been a Miner 267
241. Some of These Days and It Won't Be Long 267
242. I Ain't A-Gonna Work a No Mo'! 268
243. Roll Down Dem Bales 0' Cotton 268
244. I Wish My Captain Would Go Blind 268
245. Lavender Girl 268
246. Run Here, Doctor, Run Here Quick 269
247. The Washtub Blues 269
VHI. FOLK LYRIC 270
248. The Inconstant Lovkr 271
249. The Turtle-Dove 274
250. The Wagoner's Lad 275
- 251. SouRwooD Mountain 279
252. Pretty Saro 285
253. Old .Smoky 287
254. Little Sparrow 290
C () N T K N T S XIII
255. KlTlY Kl.lNE 293
256. Al.I. AkDINU THE MorNTAIX. ClIAKMINC. BkTSY 297
257. The Buue-Eyed Boy 298
258. The False Trie-Lover 299
259. I'l.i. Hanc My Haki' on a W'li.i.ow Tree 304
260. Red River Valley 305
261. The Slu;hteu Sweetheart 306
262. The Slic.hteu Girl 3^8 V 263. The Pale Wildwood Flower 309
264. Storms Are on the Ocean 311
265. There Comes a Fellow with a Derhy Hat 313
266. Bury Me in the Garden 3^3
267. The Weepinc. Willow 314
268. Down by the Weepinc. Willow Tree 317 26y. The Gumtree Canoe 3'^
^ 270. The Indian Hunter 3^9
271. Goodbye, Little Girl, Goodbye 3^9
272. I'm Tired of Living Alone 320
273. Will You Love Me When Fm Old? 321
274. Goodbye, My Lover, Goodbye 322
275. Somebody 323
276. You, You, You 325
277. Cold Mountains 325
- 278. My Home's Across the Smoky Mountains 326
279. Must I Go to Old Virginia? 327
280. Red, White, and Blue 328
281. Down in the Valley (Birmingham Jail) 330
282. 1 Sent My Love a Letter 33^
283. In the Pines, Where the Sun Never Shines 332
284. Bonnie Blue Eyes 334
285. The Midnight Dew 337
- 286. Fly Around, My Blue-Eyed Girl 339
287. Darling Little Pink 342
288. Billy My Darling 342
289. Seeing Nelly Home 343
290. Troubled in Mind 344
291. CoRNBREAi) When I'm Hungry 34^
292. Lonesome Road 347
293. You Lovers All. to You T Call 34^
294. When First I Seen This Lovely Queen 349
295. Sweet Birds 350
296. Going Back West 'Fore Long 353
297. You Caused Me to Lose My Mind 353
298. I Wish That Girl Was Mink 353
- 299. Cripple Creek 354 300. My Martha Ann 355
xiv contexts
301. High-Topped Shoes 355
302. Who's GoxNA Love You, Honey? t,^j
303. Oh. Where Is My Sweetheart? 357
304. Like an Owl in the Desert 359
305. The Lonesome Dove 359
306. By By, My Honey 360
307. I Love Little Willie, 1 Do, AIamma 361
308. The Lords of Creation 363
309. Poor ^L\RRIED ^L\N 364 -310. The Black-Eyed Daisy 366
311. Black-Eyed Susie 366
312. A Housekeeper's Tragedy 367
313. Kissing Song 368
314. My Mammy Don't Love Me 369
315. I Wondered and I Wondered 370
316. M\' Mammy Told Me 370
317. Oh. Honey, Where You Been So Long? 371
318. Away Out On the Mountain 371
319. The Garden Gate 372
320. Susy Gal ^j2
321. JosEPHus and Bohunkus 372 ~ 322. Leather Breeches 374
22T). Old Aunt Katy 375
324. Kindling Wood 376
325. Mother, AL\y I Go Out to Swim? 376
326. River's Up and Still A-Rising 376
327. Little Brown Hands 377
IX. SATIRICAL SONGS 378
328. The Carolina Crew 380 ^^ 329. Cumberland Gap 381 -330. Arkansas Traveler (I) 381
~^ 331. Arkansas Traveler (II) 382
332. Hard Times 385
333. The Dodgers 387
334. Calomel 389
335. Twenty (Forty, Sixty) Years Ago 390
336. If You Want to Go A-Courtin' 393
337. When Young Men Go Courting 394
338. Johnson Boys 394 — 339. Leave for Texas. Leave for Tennessee 395
340. The Wood Hauler 397
341. Walk in the Parlor 399
342. Preacher in the Pulpit 403
343. Preacher's in de Pulpit 403
344. Wait on de Lord 404
345. I Never Will Turn Back Any More 404
409 410 411
430
(■ (I N T K NTS XV
346. JOXAII AM) TlIK W'llAl.K 4O5
347. jKsrs LuvKK OF My Soil. 408
348. Boh Ix(;kr.s()i.i. an'd the 1)i:\ii. 408 34c>. I.oKi). 1 Nkvkk Wii.i. C'uMK Back Hkkk No Mo'
X. SONGS OF PRISONERS AND IRAMI'S - 350. Thk Prisoner's Sonc.
-> 351. Seven Lonc; Years 416
^352. Twenty-One Years Is a Mighty Lonc Time 417
353. Write My xMothek I'll Be Home 418
—354. Durham Jail 419
355. Moonshiner's Dream 420
356. jNIay I Sleei' in Your Barn Tonicut, Mister? 420
357. The Tramp Song 423
358. Tale of a Tramp 425
359. The Wild and Reckless Houo 426
360. The Dying Hobo 427
361. Waiting for a Train 428 36J. Banjo Tramp 429
363. Hand Me Down My Walking Cane
364. I Lay Around the Old Jail House
(John C. Britton ) 431
365. The Foggy Mountain Top 433
XL MARTIAL. POLITICAL, AND PATRIOTIC SONGS 434
366. The Rolling Neuse 436
367. The Jolly Soldier 437
368. Flora MacDonald's Lament 437
369. The Rambling Soldier 439
370. Then We'll Have a New Convention 440
371. Colonel Harry. He Was Scared 441
372. Root Hog or Die 441
373. Harness up Yo' Hosses 442
374. The Southern Wagon 443
375. Red. White, and Red 444
376. The Soldier's Farewell 447
377. Early One Morninc; in the Month of July 449
378. John Brown's Body 449
379. The Bonny Blue Flag 451
380. The Homespun Dress 453
381. Pretty Peggy 456
382. Never Mind Your Knapsack 457
383. Bushwhacker's Song 458
384. Deserter's Song 459
385. Come, Rain, Come 460
386. Sorghum Molasses 460
387. Jeff Davis Rode a White Horse 461
N.C.F.. VoL III, (2)
xvi contents
388. Old Abe Is Sick 462
389. The Privates Eat the Middlin' 462
390. When This Cruel War Is Over 462
391. The Good Old Rebel 464
392. The Veteran's Song 467
393. Brother Green 468
394. He Never Came Back 470
395. Goodbye, My Blue Bell 471
396. Soldier's Epitaph 472
397. Tippecanoe 472
398. Does Your Mother Know You're Out? 473
399. Uncle Sam's Farm 474
400. The Sweet Sunny South 475
401. Blue Ridge Mountain Blues 476 -''-402. The North Carolina Hills 477
403. The Hills of Dan 478
XII. BLACKFACE MINSTREL AND NEGRO SECULAR
SONGS 480
— 404. Cindy 482
405. Dearest Mae 485
406. Massa Had a Yaller Gal 487
407. Nelly Bly 488
408. Oh, Susanna ! 488
409. Nancy Till 491
410. Miss Julie Ann Glover 492
411. Kitty Wells 492
412. Ella Rhee 494
413. Clare de Kitchen 494
414. Jim Crack Corn 496
415. Lynchburg Town 498
416. My Long Tail Blue 502
417. My Ole Mistus Promised Me 502
418. Old Zip Coon 503
419. Camptown Races 504
420. Uncle Ned 505
421. Way Down on the Old Peedee 506
422. Shinbone Alley 50/
423. Some Folks Say that a Niggkk Won't Steal 508
424. The Happy Coon 510
425. The Preacher and the Bear 511
426. I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago 512
427. Have a Little Banjo Beating 514
428. The Traveling Coon 515
429. The Voodoo Man 516
430. Ain't Gonna Rain No More 517 43T. Ain't Got to Cry No More 519
C () N T K N T S
xvn
43-'- 433- 434- 435- 436. 437- 438.
439- 440.
441- 44-'- 443- 444- 445- 446.
447- 44H. 44<)- 450.
451- 45-'-
453- 454- 455- 456- •- 457- 458.
459- 460. 461. 462.
463. 464. 465. 466. 467. 468. 469. 470.
471- 472. 473- 474- 475- 476.
BdlL TlIKM t"Al!l'.A(;K DoWN
Broder Eton (ior dk Coon
Chicken
The Dummy Line
Eliza Jane (1)
Eliza Jane (II)
Everyhody's Gal Is I\Iy Gal
Go 'Way from My Window
Here Lies de Body uv To' Little Ben
'm Going Down the Road Feeling Bad Could'n Live Bedoit de Flowers
'd Rather Be Dead
F \ov Want to Go to Heaven Had a Banjo Made of Gold
F You Meet a Woman in the Morning
F You Don't Believe I'm Sinking Got a Girl
'm Gwine Away to Georgia
iiE Yaller Gal
Went Down to My Gul's House Las' Night Mama Don't Allow No Low Down Hanging
Around Negro Yodel Song Oh, Dat Watermilion One More River to Cross Po' Liza Jane Run, Nigger, Run Sally Went to Preachin' Saturday Night and Sunday Too She'll Be Cominc; 'Round the Mountain Siiort'nin' Bread Sing Polly Wolly Doodle Stick My Head in a Paper Sack That's W'here My Money Goes I' HERE Was a Watermelon Train . . . Run So Fast Two Little Niggers Black as Tar Watermelon Hanging on the Vine Way Down Yonder on Cedar Street W'HAT You Gwina Do WhEx\ the World's on I-'ike Jig(;er, Rigger, Bumho Guinea Negro Son(;
WlMTF. l-'oLKS Go TO CoLLKGE
Cold Frosty Morninc;
Hung My Bucket on de White I'oi.ks' Fence
White Folks in the Parlor
519 519 520
521
522 522 523 523 523 524 524 525 525 525
5^6 526
527 527 527 528
528 529 529 530 530 531 533 533 534 535 538 538 539 539 539 540 540 541 541 542 542 343 543 544 544
xviu contents
477. W'hitk Gal, Yaller Gal, Black Gal 544
478. You Shall Be Free 547
479. Old Bee Makes de Honey Comb 548
480. Hard Times 549
481. Don't Like a Rich White Man Nohow 549
482. Sugar Babe 550
483. Rich Man Rides on a Pullman Car 551
484. I Don't Like a Nigger 551 ^-485. Shady Grove 552
486. Fair Brown 553
487. Old Aunt Dinah 554
488. Apple Sauce and Butter 554
489. When I Die Don't Wear No Black 554
490. Rain Come Wet Me 555
491. We'll Have a Little Dance Tonight. Boys 555
492. Way Down Below 555
493. Railroad Dinah Gal 556
494. If I Had It You Could Get It 556
495. If I Die in Tennessee 557
496. JiNGER Blue 557
497. Mammy in the Kitchen 558
498. I've Bin to the 'Bama and I Just Got Back 558
499. Raise a Ruckus Tonight 558
500. Georgia Buck 560
501. You've Got Your Big Gun, and I've Got Mine 562
502. Went Down Town 562
503. Standing on de Street Doin' No Harm 562
504. A Thirty-Two Special on a Forty-Four Frame 562
505. The California Blues 563
506. Oh ! When a Man Get the Blues 563
507. I Got de Hezotation Stockings and de
Hezotation Shoes 564
508. It's Raining Here 564
509. Nigger in the Woodpile 565
510. Share 'Em 5^5
511. The Preacher Song 5^5
512. Johnson's Mule 566
513. The Kicking Mule 567
514. The Billy Goat 568
XIII. RELIGIOUS SONGS 57°
515. The Cumberland Traveller 573
516. The Great Round-Up 573
517. Some of These Days 574
518. Long White Robe 575
519. There's a Little Hand Writinc; on the Wall 576
520. Ananias 57^
C O N T K N T S XIX
521. I'm-. (iosPKi. 1*001. 578
322. A I'llARC.K TO Kkk.i' 579
523. C'rkation 580
324. Daniki. in thk Lion's Dkn 581
^2=,. Departki) Loved Onks 583
526. Dark Was thk Nicht 584
=,2~. Don't (Ikikak aktkr Mk 585
528. Drooi'1N(; SoLi.s, Xo Lonckr CiRiKVK 586
529. The Gosi'Ei. Train 588 5,^0. Hicks' Farewell 589 5,^1. 1 1' Yov Oet There Before 1 Do 591
332. I'm Bol'n' to Cross the Jordan 591
333. 1 Am Going to Heaven 592
334. In the V^allev 592 333. I've Got a Brother in the Snow-White Fields 593
336. Jacob's Ladder 594
337. Jesus Born in Bethlehem 595
338. John Saw the Holy Number 596
339. John Saw de Hundred and Forty-Four Thousand 597 540. Johnny Was a Baptist 597
341. The Little Black Train 598
342. The Lone Pilgrim S99
543. Mary Wore Three Links of Chain 600
544. Noah's Ark 601
545. Pharaoh's Army 602
546. Oh, They Put John on the Island 604
547. Rock of Ages 605
548. There Is No Place in the Height of Heaven 605
549. Ain't Goin' to Worry My Lord No More 606
550. All God's Chillun Got Shoes 607 351. All My Sins Been Taken Away 608
332. Angels Roll Dem Stones Away 609
333. As I VV^ENT Down in the Valley to Pray 610 534. Babe of Bethlehem 612 333. Baptist, Baptist Ls My Name 612 336. Bye and Bye 613
537. Cain and Abel 613
538. Can't Cross Jordan 613
539. Christ Was a Weary Traveler 614 560. City of Refuge 615 361. Come All ^'ou Friends and Neighbors 616
562. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing 616
563. Dar'll Be No Distinction Dar 617
564. Didn't It Rain? 617 563. An English Orphan 618 :;66. Down hv dk Ribhersioe 619
CONTENTS
567. 568.
569- 570.
571- S7^- 573- 574-
575- 576.
577-
578.
579- 580.
581- 582. 583. 584.
585- S86.
589. 590.
591- 592. 593- 594- 595- 596. 597- 598.
599- 600. 601. 602. 603. 604. 605. 606. 607. 608. 609. 610.
GwiNK Down to Jordan 620
God Is at de Pulpit 620
Going to Heaven by the Light of the Moon 621
Go Down, Moses 621
Golden Slippers 622
Good News — Chariot's Comin' 623
Good Lordy, Rocky My Soul 623
Good News Coming from Canaan 624
Go Wash in the Beautiful Stream 624
GwiNE DOWN Jordan 624 Hear That Rumbling (I Heard a Mighty
Rumbling) 625
He Never Said a Mumbling Word 626
Heaven Is a Beautiful Place 627
Hush, Little Baby 629
I Am Bound for the Promised Land 629
I Am Going Where the Blood Flows Stronger 630
I Belong to That Band 631
I Don't Love Old Satan 631
I Don't Sing Like I Used to Sing 632
I Do Wonder Is My Mother on That Train 632
I Got de Key of de Kingdom 634
I Have Long Since Been Learned 634
I Am Standing in the Shoes of John 635 I Don't Know When Old Death's Gwine
ter Call Me 635
I'm Goin' to Ride in Pharaoh's Chariot 636
I Mean to Go to Heaven Anyhow 636
Indian Song: Ah, Pore Sinner 637
I Picked My Banjo Too 637
I'sE Gwine Land on Dat Shore 638
I Shall Not Be Blue 639
It's Good fuh Hab Some Patience 640
I Wanter Jine de Ban' 640
I Was Once in a Dark and Lonesome Valley 641
I Wonder as I Wander 641
Jekkel Walls 642
Jesus Christ I Want to Find 643
Jesus Says, 'You Goes and I Goes W'id Vou' 643
John He Baptized Jesus 644
John Jasper 644
Judgment Day Is Comin' 646
Lily White Robe 646
Little David 647
Little David, Play ox \ov\i Harp 647
The Little Family 648
c o n t f. n t s xxi
6ti. Makv How ki) 652
(MJ. MosKs Smotk thk W'atkrs 653
()i,v Am) MrsT I Be to Juihimk.nt Duoiciit? 653
O14. The New Buryinc; Ground 653
615. Nobody Knows 655
616. No Hiuin'-Place 655
617. No More! No More! 657
618. Oh, I Used to Drink Beer 657
619. Oh, Lord, I'se Stepping Higher 658
620. Oh, Heavens Shut the Gates on Me 658
621. O Lord, Won't You Come by Here? 658
622. Oh, See My Father Layin' Tiikkk 658
623. The Old Ship of Zion 659
624. Old Satan's Mad 661
625. One of Tonight 663
626. On a Dark and Doleful Night 664
627. Our Fathers They'll Be There 665
628. Poor Old Lazarus 665
629. Red Sea 666
630. Rolled the Stone Away 666
631. Roll. Jordan, Roll 667
632. Rough, Rocky Road 668
633. Shout Along and Pray Along 668
634. Somebody's All de Time Talkin' 'bout Me 669
635. Somebody's Knockin' at Your Door 669
636. Soon as My Foot Struck Zion 670
637. Standing in the Need of Prayer 671
638. Sweet Heaven 672
639. Talk About Jesus 673
640. That Old Time Religion 674
641. There's a Little Wheel A-Ti'rning 675
642. Through the City Where He Rose 675
643. Tossed and Driven 676
644. Tree in Paradise 676
645. Two White Horses Side by Side 678
646. Way Over in the Promised Land 678
647. We Are ^L\rching On 679
648. \\'e Have Loved Ones Over Yonder 679
649. What You Gon'er Do That Day? 680
650. We'll Roll the Old Chariot Along 680
651. We'll Sail Away to Heaven 681
652. When I Was Lost in the Wilderness 682
653. When tfie World Is on Fire 682
654. Where My Lord Went to Pray 683
655. What Kind of Crowns Do the Angels Wear? 683
656. Wrestlix' Jacob 684
xu contents
657. 'Zekiel'll Weep and 'Zekiel'll Moan 685
658. Cherokee Hymn 685
Index 687
Contributors to X'olumes II and III 704
Supplementary List of Contributors 710
ILLUSTRATIONS
Herb Gatherers frontispiece
Cotton Pickers /'"'"'// pcf/'-^ 244
Cypress Knees page 409
Sorghum Boiling facing page 460
Fishing in the Creek facing page 600
FOREWORD
T TOLI'MI'^ II has a l^rcword for both the Ballads and the ^ Songs. In the present volume of Songs. Nos. 1-327 are edited by Professor Helden ; the remaining Songs, Nos. 328 to 658, by F^rof essor I ludson.
Plere it is proper to add only that as the work of printing has progressed a few irregularities have been noted and cor- rected, though doubtless others still remain. Dr. Schinhan tells me. moreover, that he will have additional te.xts. taken from phonograph records, which were not available to the present editors, but which will be printed in volume I\'. He will also have there some tunes for the Games described in volume I.
We can say now. with my Lord Chancellor. Francis Bacon: "Nothing is finished till all is finished." In the fifth volume we hope to gather the loose threads together for a final rejjort.
r.F.B.
A J] H R E V 1 A r IONS
USED IN THE HEAUNOTES
ABFS American Ballads and Folk Songs. By John Avery
Loniax aiul Alan Loniax. New York, 1^34.
ABS .liiicricaii /-lalUuls and Songs. By Louise I'ound.
New \'ork, | 1922 j.
AMS .hncrican Mountain Songs. By Ethel Park Richard-
son and Signiund Spaeth. New York. [1927].
ANFS American Xegro Folk-Songs. By Newman I. White.
Cambridge [Mass.], 1928.
APPS The American Play-Farty Song. By Benjamin A.
Botkin. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1937.
AS American Speech. Baltimore, 1926 — .
ASb The American Songbag. By Carl Sandburg. New
Y'ork, [1927].
Barry Folk Songs of the Xorth Atlantic States. By I*hil-
lips Barry. Boston, 1908. Mimeographed.
BBM British Ballads from Maine. By Phillips Barry,
Fannie H. Eckstorm, and Mary W". Smyth. New Haven, 1929.
BFSSNE Bulletin of the Folk-Song Society of the Xortheast.
Cambridge [Mass.], 1930-37.
BKH Ballads of the Kentucky Highlands. By Henry Har-
vey Fuson. London, 1931.
BMFSB Tiventy-Xine Beech Mountain Folk Songs and Bal-
lads. By Mellinger Henry and Maurice Matteson. New Y'ork, 1936.
Botkin See APPS.
BSI Ballads and Songs of Indiana. By Paul G. Brewster.
Bloomington, Indiana, 1940.
BSM Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folk-
Lore Society. By H. M. Belden. Columbia, Mis- souri, 1940.
BSO Ballads and Songs from Ohio. By Mary O. Eddy.
New Y^ork, [1939].
BSSB Ballads and Songs of the Shanty-Boy. By Franz
Rickaby. Cambridge [Mass.], 1926.
XXVI ABBREVIATIONS
BSS]\I Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan. By Eme-
lyn E. Gardner and Geraldine J. Chickering. Ann Arbor, 1939.
BSSN Ballads and Sea Songs from Xe-ivfoitudland. By
Elizabeth Greenleaf [and] Grace Y. Mansfield. Cambridge [Mass.], 1933.
BSSNS Ballads and Sea Songs from Xoz'a Scotia. By W.
Roy MacKenzie. Cambridge [Mass.], 1928.
BTFLS Bulletin of the Tennessee Folklore Society. Mary-
ville, Tenn., 1935 — .
CFLQ California Folklore Quarterly. 1942 — .
Christie Traditional Ballad Airs. By W. Christie. Edin-
burgh, 1 876- 1 88 1. 2 vols.
CS Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads. By J. A.
Lomax and Alan Lomax. New York, 1938. (In a few cases the earlier edition, 1910, is cited.;
CSV Country Songs of Vermont. By Helen H. Flanders
[and] Helen Norfleet. New York, [1937].
DD DeviVs Ditties. By Jean Thomas. Chicago, 193 1.
Dean Flying Cloud and One Hundred and Fifty Other Old
Time Songs and Ballads. By M. C. Dean. Vir- ginia, Minn., n.d.
DESO Dozvn-East Spirituals, and Others. By George
Pullen Jackson. New York, [1943].
ECS English County Songs. By Lucy Broadwood and
J. A. F. Maitland. London, 1893.
ETSC English Traditional Songs and Carols. By Lucy
Broadwood. London, 1908.
ETWVMB East Tennessee and Western Virginia Mountain Ballads. By Celeste P. Cambiaire. London, 1935.
FB Frontier Ballads. By Charles J. Finger. New York,
1927.
Ford Traditional Music of America. By Ira W. Ford.
New York, 1940.
FSA Folk-songs of America. By Robert W. Gordon.
National Service Bureau, 1938.
FSE Folk-Songs of England. Ed. Cecil J. Sharp. Books
L H, HL IV. \', various editors. London, 1908-12.
FSF Folksongs of Florida. By Alton C. Morris. Gaines-
ville. 1950. FSKH Folk-Songs from the Kentucky Highlands. By
Josiah H. Combs. New York, 1939.
A B H R K \- I A T IONS
Bv Maud Kar-
Hv E\a\se Huh-
By 1939-
J. P.
Mel-
I''SKM Folk-Soiigs of the Kciitiichy Momitdiiis. By Jose-
phine McGill. New \*ork. | 1917].
FSM Folksongs of Mississif^pi and Their Background. By
Artluir Palmer Hudson. Chapel Hill. N. C"., 1936.
FSMEU I'olk-Songs du Midi dcs f:iats-l'nis. By Josiah II.
(.'()ml)s. Paris, 1925.
I-"Sm\\\' I-olk-Songs Mainly front West I'irginia. By John
H. Cox. National Service Bureau of the Federal Theatre Project. W.P.A. New York. 1939.
FSN I'olfc Songs from Xcwfonudland.
peles. [London], 1934.
FSONE Folk Songs of Old New Fngland
hard Linscott. New York. 1939.
FSRA Folk-Songs of Roanoke and the Albemarh
Louis \V. Chappell. Alorgantown, W. \'a.
FSS Folk-Songs of the South. By John Harrington Cox.
Cambridge [Mass.], 1925.
FSSC Franklin Square Song Collection. Selected bv
McCaskey. New York. 1881-1891. 8 vols.'
FSSH Folk-Songs from the Southern Highlands. By
linger E. Henry. New York, [1938].
FSSom Folk-Songs from Somerset. By Cecil J. Sharp and
C. L. Marson. London, 1904-1909.
FSUT Folk Songs of the Upper Thames. By Alfred Wil-
liams. London, [1923].
FSV Folk-Songs of Virginia. A Descripti7-e Indc.v. . . .
By Arthur Kyle Davis. Jr. Durham, N. C. 1949.
FTM Folk Tunes from Missi.';sippi. By Arthur Palmer
Hudson and George Herzog. National Play Bureau Publication No. 25. July 1937.
GGMS A Garland of Green Mountain Song. By Helen
Hartness Flanders. Boston, 1934.
Gomme The Traditional Games of Fngland. Scotland, and
Ireland. By Alice Bertha Gomme. London. 1894- 1898.
GSAC Games and Songs of American Children. By Wil-
liam Wells Newell. New York. 1883: new and enlarged ed., 1903. 191 1.
Halliwell The Xursey Rhymes of England. By James Or-
chard Hal li well. London, 1842.
HFLB Hoosier Folklore Bulletin. Bloomington. Ind.. 1942-
45. Thereafter: Hoosier Folklore. — HFL.
JAFL Journal of American Folklore. 1888 — .
XXVlll ABBREVIATIONS
JEFDSS The Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song
Society. London, 193 1 — . Successor to JFSS.
JFSS The Journal of the Folk-Song Society. London,
1899-1931.
JISHS Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society.
Springfield, 1908 — .
LL Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads and Ballad Airs.
By Gavin Greig and Alexander Keith. [Aber- deen], 1925.
LT Lonesome Tunes. Folk Songs from the Kentucky
Mountains. By Loraine Wyman and Howard
Brockvvay. New York, [1916]. MAFLS Memoirs of the American Folklore Society. No.
xxix is 'Folk-Lore from Iowa,' by Earl J. Stout,
1936. Mason Nursery Rhymes and Country Songs. By M. H.
Mason. London, 1877. McLendon A Finding List of Play-Party Games. By Altha
Lea McLendon, SFLQ viii (1944). 201-34. MLN Modern Language Notes. Baltimore, 1886 — .
MM Minstrelsy of Maine. By Fannie H. Eckstorm and
Mary W. Smyth. Boston, 1937. MMP Mountain Minstrelsy of Pcnnsyh'ania. By Henry W.
Shoemaker. Philadelphia, 1931. A revision of
NPAL MSHF More Songs of the Hill Folk. By John J. Niles.
New York, [1936]. MSNC Mountain Songs of North Carolina. By Marshall
Bartholomew and Susannah Wetmore. New York,
1926. MWS Maine Woods Songster. By Phillips Barry. Cam-
bridge [Mass.], 1939. Newell See GSAC.
NGMS The Nezu Green Mountain Songster. By Helen
Hartness Flanders, Elizabeth Flanders Ballard,
George Brown, and Phillips Barry. New Haven,
1939-
Northall English Folk-Rhymes. By G. E. Northall. London,
1892.
NPM North Pennsylvania Minstrelsy. By Henry W. Shoe-
maker. 2nd ed., Altoona, Pa., 1923.
NS The Negro and His Songs. By Howard W. Odum
and Guy B. Johnson. Chapel Hill, N. C, 1925.
I? R K V 1 A T I {) N S
XWS Xcyro Workitihiy Songs. By Howard W. Odum and
Guy B. Joliiison. Chapel Hill. N. C, 1926. NYFLQ Xew )'ork h'olklorc Quarterly. 1945 — .
OASPS I'lic Ociirkw: .hi American Survival of Primitive
Society. By Vance Randolph. New York, 1931. OFS Ocark I'olksongs. Collected and edited by Vance
Randolph. Columbia. Mo., 1946, 1948, 1949. 1950.
4 vols. OIFMS Old Irish lu>lk Music ami Songs. By I'atrick \V.
Joyce. London. 1909. 3 parts.
OAH"" Ocark Mountain Folk. By Vance Randolph. New
York, 1932.
lOoEFS One Hundred English Folk Songs. By Cecil J.
Sharp. New York and Boston, [1916].
Ord 'Fhe Bothy Songs and Ballads of Aberdeen, Banff
and Moray, Angus and the Mearns. By John Ord. Paisley, [1930].
OSC Our Singing Country. By John A. Lomax, Alan
Lomax, and Ruth Crawford Seeger. New York, 1941.
OSSG Old Songs and Singing Games. Bv Richard Chase.
Chapel Hill, N. C, 1938.
Owens Szving and Turn: Te.vas Play-Party Songs. By Wil-
liam A. Owens. Dallas. 1936.
Ozark Life Ozark Life {Outdoors). Kingston, Ark., 1925-31.
PTFLS Publications of the Te.vas Folk-Lore Society. Aus-
tin, 1916 — .
PMLA Publications of the Modern Language .-Issociation.
1884—.
Pound Folk-Song of .Xebraska and the Central West. A
Syllabus. By Louise Pound. University of Ne- braska, 191 5. Nebraska Academy of Sciences Pub- lications, vol. IX, no. 3.
Rinibault .\'ursery Rhymes, zvith Tunes. ... By Edward F.
Rimbault. London, n.d.
SBML Songs and Ballads of the .Maine Lumberjacks. By
Roland Palmer Gray. Cambridge [Mass.]. 1924.
SBNS Songs and Ballads from .Xoi-a Scotia. By Helen
Creighton. Toronto, [1932].
SCB South Carolina Ballads. By Reed Smith.
[Mass.], 1928.
SCSM A Song Catcher in Southern .Mountains.
othy Scarborough. New York, 1937.
Cambridge Bv Dor-
XXX ABBREVIATIONS
SFLQ Southern Folklore Quarterly. Gainesville, Fla.,
1937—- SFSEA Spiritual Folk-Songs of Farly America. By George
Pullen Jackson. New York, [1937]. SharpK English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians.
By Cecil J. Sharp and Maud Karpeles. London,
1932. 2 vols.
Shearin A Syllabus of Kentucky Folk-Songs. By Herbert
G. Shearin and Josiah Combs. Lexington. Ky.,
191 1. Transylvania Studies in English II. SHE Songs of the Hill-Folk. By John J. Niles. New
York, [1934]. SMLJ Songs of the Michigan Lumberjacks. By Earl C.
Beck. Ann Arbor, 1941. SS Slai'e Songs of the United States. By William E.
Allen. New York, 1867 (reprinted 1929). SSSA Songs Sung in the Southern Appalachians. By
Mellinger E. Henry. London, [1934]. Steely "The Eolk-Songs of the Ebenezer Community." By
Mercedes S. Steely. Unpublished M.A. thesis,
University of North Carolina, 1936. Talley Negro Folk Rhymes. By Thomas W. Talley. New
York, 1922. TBmWV Traditional Ballads mainly from West Virginia. By
John Harrington Cox. National Service Bureau,
1939- TBV Traditional Ballads of Virginia. By Arthur Kyle
Davis. Cambridge [Mass.], 1929. TKMS Twenty Kentucky Mountain Songs. By Loraine
Wyman and Howard Brockway. Boston, [1920]. TNFS On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs. By Dorothy
Scarborough. Cambridge [Mass.], 1925. TSSI l^ales and Songs of Southern Illinois. By Charles
Neely. Menasha, Wis., 1938. VFSB Vermont Folk-Songs and Ballads. By Helen H.
Elanders and George Brown. Brattleboro, Vt.,
1932. 2nd ed. WNS IVhite and Negro Spirituals. By George Pullen
Jackson. New York, [1944]. Wolford Tlie Play-Party in Indiana. By Leah J. Wolford.
Indianapolis, 1916. WSSU White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands. By
George Pullen Jackson. Chapel Hill, N. C, 1933.
FOLK SONGS
FROM
NORTH CAROLINA
N.C.K.. Vol. Ill, (3 )
SONGS
THE DIS'l'INCTKJN between ballads— as folklori.sts now use the term — and otiier types of folk song was first formulated, so far as 1 know, by the eighteenth-century poet William Shenstone, Percy's friend and adviser in editing the Rcliqucs. He wrote to Percy in 1761 : "It is become habitual to me, to call that a JUiUad, which describes or implies some Action ; on the other hand, 1 trim that a Sony, which contains only an expression of Sentiment." In arranging the contents of the Brown Collection we liave decided to follow this principle. But it has been found necessary to apply the terms in a very elastic spirit. In scores, perhaps hundreds, of instances there are hints, traces of action, but no definite story is told. The composite and desultory character of a great deal of traditional folk song makes a strictly logical classification of the items impossible. But the items must be placed in some order. If a given piece is found among the ballads when it seems to be rather merely a song, or vice versa — if the placing of items seems some- times merely arbitrary — we must plead necessity.
COURTING SONGS
AMONG the oldest and most widely diffused of traditional songs are the dialogues of courtship. Theocritus knew them in Sicily, and Vergil probably heard them by the Alincio. In English, 'A Paper of Pins' is known, doubtless, all over the English-speaking world. With two exceptions, our North Carolina texts, like most other ver- sions found in this country, end satirically; when the lady accepts the last of the wooer's offers, the key of his chest, he declares that all she wants is money and retracts his offer. There are several variations on this theme. In two of them, here given as the two texts of 'The Courting Cage,' the wooer is refused despite all his tine possessions because he is a drunkard or a card-player or both. Quite different is 'Miss, Will You Have a Farmer's Son?' Here a girl is offered five suitors in succession and refuses all but two, a California boy and a Southern lad. One supposes that this song dates from some time in the sixth or seventh decade of the last cen- tury. Then there are songs of courtship that are entirely humorous or satirical. The best of these, 'The Old Man's Courtship' and 'The Quaker's Wooing,' are English but are well remembered on this side of the water. 'When I Was a Young Girl,' with its catchy 'this-a-way that-a-way' refrain, is a singing game of children in the old country but has become social satire here: after going this-a- way that-a-way to her husband's funeral she practices a different this-a-way that-a-way to catch his successor. 'Soldier, Soldier. Won't You Marry Me?' is a game song of children in England but seems in this country to be merely a comic song. Another English song, of the pastourelle type of wayside seduction, in which the girl tells her wooer that she will have him "or almost anybody," has not often been recorded in America. In 'Madam, 1 Have Gold and Silver' a familiar courting dialogue is turned at the end, rather surprisingly, into a returned-lover story. 'One Morning in May.' better known as 'Tlie Nightingale.' is a favorite with American ballad singers.
A curious custom is reflected in two pieces, 'Courting Song' and 'Don't Stay after Ten.' In connection with the former of these Mrs. Sutton gives an anmsing account of the custom from personal experience. She was engaged at the time as ins])ector of schools and had got as far as the Watauga River at the foot of
f () r k T I N <; s (1 N (; s 5
Beech .\l(iunl;iin near tlu' reiinoMX' line: in lad, the school dis- trict wliich she \\a> then visiting; was ])aitly in .\\erv and Watauga counties and partly in Tennessee. She went home with the teacher to spend the night.
Her home was a long, low, old-time-looking house witli three front doors all opening on a long jiorcli. It was early in the fall and still warm weather.
We didn't get to the house till dusk, a.s we liad talked over iier work for two hours after school, and she helped get supper wiiile 1 sat on the porch and watched the stars come out over the wall of the mountain. . . . While she helped iier mother cook supper she sang this song, and I asked her to copy it out for me.
After supper she suggested that 1 retire. I wasn't at all sleepy and it was only seven o'clock, l)ut she insisted that I must retire and urged me so much that there was no way out of it. I went.
The room in which I slept was the one on the upper end of the long porch. It was a long room with two beds at the back, a fireplace in front, an organ in one of the front corners and a washstand with a red flowered bowl and pitcher in the other. There were several enlarged portraits in gilt frames on the walls, and all of the chairs had hand- embroidered throws on them. I undressed and got into one of the high feather beds. Miss Martha folded my clothes carefully, slid my travel- ing bag under the bed, and took a comb, l)rusli, and some powder out of an opening in the front of the organ and brushed her i)retty hair, powdered her face, and went to the door and let in her "fellow." who had come courting. I was the only one of the three people in the room who was the least bit embarrassed, and I might have saved myself the trouble. The caller ignored me as completely as though I had been a thousand miles away and addressed himself to the business of courting as energetically as if he and his lady-love were on a desert island.
He was like the hero of this ballad in only one particular. I am sure he stayed all night. I tried not to listen the fu-st three or four hours: then I tried to hear the whispered remarks and to oliserve the technique of "settin' up" on that side of the ridge: but at last nature rebelled and I went to sleep. Some time in the wee sma' hours my hostess came to bed with me. From that day to this she has never mentioned the episode nor have I. It isn't good manners to tease a girl about courting unless you know her well, and any remark about the call on my part would have been interpreted as "dragging" her.
Witli these two songs sliould he compared certain sonijs in tlie section on regional and social satire — "If \'()U Want to (io .A-C'(jurt- ing,' 'When Young Men Go Courting,' "Johnson Boys," and "The Carolina Crew.'
In the same general category belong two other songs or groujjs of songs, the 'I Wouldn't Marry' group and the "When I W^as Single' group. In the "I Wouldn't Marry' group sometimes the man speaks, declaring that he wouldn't marry an old m.iid. or ;i ricli gal. or a poor gal. or a city gal. generally for nonsensical reasons; sonietitnes a woman speaks, declaring that she wouldn't marry any one of a string of characters she describes fnot so nonsensically as in the preceding set ) but is determined to die an old maid. Some are devoted entirelv to the contrast between crabbed age and youtli ;
O NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
she will not marry an old man but would gladly marry a young man with an apple in his hand. There are four texts of a song in which a girl rejects all other sorts of suitors but will gladly marry a farmer boy; she loves to wash the dishes, sweep the floor, feed the chickens, and milk the cows. And in two songs the woman and the man speak alternately. The songs in this group look as if they might be play-party or dance songs, but they are not so described by the contributors. The 'When I Was Single' theme also appears in two forms, one for man and one for woman. The former is found many times in the Collection but without much variation; when he was single his pockets would jingle; when his wife died he laughed till he cried; but he had no more sense than to marry a second time, this time to a woman he describes as the devil's grandmother. The woman's form, in which she complains of the misery of being married to a drunkard or a gambler or both, is given in the following section, the songs about drink and gambling.
I A Paper of Pins
For the history and spread of this courting dialogue, see BSM 507. To the references there given should now be added Virginia (FSV 229-31), West Virginia (SFLQ vi 226-31; one of these is the 'Keys of Canterbury' form, not otherwise known from the United States), Missouri (OFS in 40-5), Ohio (BSO 120-5), Illinois (SFLQ vi 224-6). In one of these it appears as a sing- ing game. Mrs. Steely found it as a play-party song in the Eben- czer community in Wake county. All but two of our North Carolina texts have the misogynist ending familiar in American ver- sions, but the last two end romantically with "the key of my heart."
A
'The Paper of Pins.' Reported by Allie Ann Pearce of Colerain, Bertie county. Not dated.
1 'Miss, I'll give you a paper of pins — This is the way our love begiiLs —
If you will marry nie. Miss, if you will luarry me.'
2 'I'll not accept the paper of pins, If this is the way our love begins ;
I'll not marry you, I'll not marry you.'
3 'Miss, I'll give you a little pet clog.
To set on your laj) when yoti go abroad.
If you will marry me. Miss, if you will marry me.'
4 'I'll not accept the little lap dog To set on my lap when I go abroad ;
C 0 U R T I NM; S 0 N G S 7
I'll IK It inarrv you, I'll not marry you.'
5 'Miss, I'll give you a dress of red Stitched all around with golden thread.
If you will marry me. if you will marry me.'
6 "I'll not accept the dress of red Stitched all around with golden thread ; I'll not marry you, I'll not marry you.'
7 'Miss, I'll give you a dress of green And you may dress as fine as any queen,
If you will marry me, Miss, if you will marry me.'
8 "I'll not accei)t the dress of green It 1 may dress of^ any queen;
I'll not marry you. Sir, I'll not marry you.'
9 'I'll give to you the key to my heart. We may lock it to never part.
If you will marry me, if you will marry me.'
10 'I'll not accept the key to your heart,(;^ If we may lock it to never part ;
I'll not marry you. Sir, I'll not marry you.'
1 1 "Miss, I'll give to you the key to my chest. You may have money to your request,
If you will marry me. Miss, if you will marry me.'
12 'I'll accept the key to your chest
If I may have money to my request; I'll marry you. sir. I'll marry you.'
13 'Ha, ha, ha! If money is all I'll not marry you at all.
I'll not marry you. Miss, I'll not marry you.'
B
'Paper of Pins.' Reported by Sarah K. Watkiiis from .Ansnii and Stanly counties. The series here is paper of pins, dress of red, dress of l)lue, coach of eight, coach of four, key of my heart, key of my desk ; and it ends like A.
C
'The Paper of Pins.' Reported by Louise Bennett of Middlcburg, Vance county. Not dated. The series is i)aper of pins, coacli and four, coach and six, the key to my heart, tht.- key to my hank; and it ends:
'Ah. ha. ha! Money is all!
A woman's love is nothing at all !
' Miswritten, one supposes, for "Hkc."
5 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
And I'll not marry you, you. you, And I'll not marry you.'
D
'Paper of Pins.' Reported by Mabel Ballentine of Wake county. Not dated. The series here is paper of pins, coach of four, coach of six, key to my heart, key to my desk, and the conclusion as in preceding texts.
'A Paper of Pins.' From Ethel Brown of Catawba county. Not dated. The series is paper of pins, little lap dog, dress of green, keys of my heart, keys of my trunk ("To promise you I'll never get drunk"), keys of my desk ; and it ends :
'So you do love money and you (l(jn't love me. And since you love money you can't marry me. And I won't marry you, you, yoti, And I won't marrv vou.'
'Paper of Pins.' Contributed by Floy Leach of Cary, Wake county, in 1927. Despite its title it has no paper of pins; the series runs: dress of green, little pet dog, key of my heart, key of my desk, and the custom- ary final stanza.
'Paper of Pins.' This text is anonymous but no doubt authentic. The series is paper of pins, dress of red, dress of blue, diamond ring, match of gray, match of six (the "match" seems to mean a team of matched horses), key to my heart, key to my chest; and the text ends:
'Ha! ha! ha! money is all. Woman's love is nothing at all. And I'll not marry you, miss. And I'll not marry you.' 'Oh, pray. sir. don't take it so ; It's all a joke I'll let you know; I'll not marry you, sir, And I'll not marry you.'
H
'Paper of Pins.' From Miss Pearl Webb of Pineola, Avery county. This text is accompanied by the tune. The series is little dog. dress of green, coach of six, dress of red, key of my heart, key of my desk, and the final "money is all."
'Paper of Pins.' Reported by R. D. Ware of All)emarle, Stanly county, in 1921, as obtained from Mrs. Harrison Gregory of North Wilkesboro, Wilkes county. The series here is paper of pins, little lap dog, dress of green, dress of red, keys to my heart, keys to my desk; and it ends:
C O I- R T I N (i S O N r. s 9
'It's now, my hicnds. as _\<iu can sec. She wants my money but don't want me. But I won't many you, ma'am. No. I won't marry you.'
J
'Paper of Pins." Reported by Katherine Bernard Jones of RalciRli. Only a fragment: tlic paper of pins and the key to my desk.
'Paper of Pins.' From Ethel Hicks Bufifalo of Granville county. A fragment ; the first two stanzas only.
'Paper of Pins.' Obtained from B. N. White, time and place not recorded. The series runs : paper of pins, dress of red, the key to my cliest. key to my heart, and ends :
"1 will accept the key to your heart [In token that we shall never j)art ;| And I will marry you. you. you, And I will marry you.'
The second line is missing in the manuscript but may be supplied with certainty.
M
'Paper of Pins.' From Miss .-Xmy Henderson of Worry, Burke county, in 1914. Like L, this ends on the romantic note ; the series runs : paper of pins, little lap dog, dress of red, dress of green, coach and four, coach and six, key to my chest, key to my heart.
2 Madam, Will You Walk?
This is a less familiar form of the 'Paper of Pins' courting dialogue. It is known in Somerset (JFSS 11 87-8), but 1 have not found it reported from America. Mrs. Sutton's text is strongly influenced by the customary 'Paper of Pins' series, and so is I\Iiss Tuttle's as far as it goes.
'Madam, Will You Walk?' Rei)orted by .Mrs. Sutton, but she does not say when and where she heard it.
1 'I will give you a paper of ])ins. For that's the way true love begins. If you will walk, if you will talk.
If vou will walk and talk with me.
2 '1 will give you a coach and si.x And everv horse as black as pitch.
10 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Madam, will you walk, madam, will you talk, Madam, will you walk and talk with me ?
3 'I will give you a coach and four And every horse as white as snow If you will walk, if you will talk. If you will walk and talk with me.
4 'I will give you the keys to my heart, That we may lock it never to part. Madam, will you walk, madam, will you talk. Madam, will you walk and talk with me?'
5 'No, I will not walk, no, I will not talk, No, I will not walk and talk with you.'
6 'I will give you the keys of my chest, That you may have money at your request, If you will walk, if you will talk,
If you will walk and talk with me.'
7 T will accept the keys of your chest. That I may have money at my request ; Yes. I will walk, yes, I will talk.
Yes, I will walk and talk with you.'
8 'You will accept the keys of my chest That you may have money at your request ! But I will not walk, I will not talk,
I will not walk and talk with you.'
'Madam, Will You Walk?' From Miss Emeth Tuttle of Lenoir. Cald- well county, in May 1921. With the air. Only one stanza of the text, which is the same as stanza 2 of A.
3
The Courting Cage
So called in the Ozarks, according to Vance Randolph (OASPS 216-19), though he confesses that he does not know what a courting cage is (in OFS iii 361-3. where he gives a Missouri version, he suggests that it is a corruption of "court engaged"). In Virginia it is called 'The Courting Case' (SharpK 11 249-51) or 'Kind Sir' (SCSM 305-6) or 'The Drunkard's Courtship' (FSV 232-4): Chappell calls his North Carolina version (FSRA 199-200) 'The Drunkard's Courtship.' It has heen found also in Mississippi (FSM 168-9), Indiana (SFLQ v 182-3). and Michigan (BSSM 417-19).
C O U U T 1 N C. S 0 N G S II
'Kind Sir, I See \'(>u'\o Lome Again.' ()l)taiiK'(l from Miss kwxU Robhiiis of Pekiii. MoiUgdiiKry county, in \i)22.
1 "Kind Sir. I set' \()u'\c' (.■oiiic as^aiii. I'ray tell mv what it's for.
[''or wlieii \vc parted on yontlers hill
1 told yon to come no more, more, nKM'e,
1 told yon to come no more."
(repeat ihns the last line ot' each stan/a)
2 'Oh. Miss, 1 fall down at yonr feet. Your mercy 1 implore ;
If one to me he granted not I'm lost for evermore.'
3 '(J)h, Sir, I know just what you want; You want to take me in.
And if I will agree to marr)- you You'll drink and gamhle again.'
4 'Oh. Aliss. it's a thing I never did do And 1 never did think 'twas right.
If you'll agree to marry me I'll never lie out one night.'
5 'Oh, Sir, I think you're might}' hold To make that olYer again ;
For do you think I'm simple enough To marry a harrel o' gin?
6 'Kind Sir. 1 think you'd hetter go. Your staying here is vain ;
You're only trouhling me ver}- nuich .And giving yourself great pain.'
7 'Oh, Miss, I have a very tnie horse — He paces like the tide —
That you may have at your command Whenever you choose to ride."
8 'Oh. sir. I know your very line horse; He paces like a tide.
I know his master loves to drink. And I can't he his bride.'
9 'Oh. miss, I have a very tine house And also very fine yards.'
'But who will stay with me at night When you are playing cards?'
12 X 0 R T H CAROLINA I- 0 I. K L O R E
10 'Oh, miss. I have a very fine orchard And also very fine fruit
That you can have at your command If you will he my bride.'
1 1 'Oh, sir, I know your very fine orchard And also very fine fruit ;
But when I come in and turn you out You know a hog- will root.'
12 'Oh, miss, you are a hard old jade And very hard to please ;^
And some cold night when you're alone I hope to God you'll freeze !'
'If You Will Only Be My Bride.' Contributed by J. B. Midgett of Wanchese, Roanoke Island, probably in 1920. With the tune.
1 'Kind miss, I have a very fine ship, She plows the ocean wide.
And she can be at your command If you will only be my bride, bride, If you will only be my bride.'
2 'Kind sir, I know you have a very fine ship. And she plows the ocean wide.
And she can be at my command ; But I will not be your bride, bride. But I will not be your bride."
3 'Then, kind miss, I have a very fine farm, It is fifty acres wide.
And it can be at your command
If you will only be my bride, bride.
If you will only be my bride.'
4 'Kind sir. 1 know }()U have a very fine farm That's fifty acres w'ide.
And it can be at my command ; But I will not be your bride, bride, I will not be your bride.'
5 'Now, kind miss, I have a very fine horse, He paces like the tide.
And he shall be at your command If you will only be my bride, bride. If you will only be my l)ride.'
' The manuscript has here "freeze," no doubt by anticipation of the line below.
C O I' R T I N G S 0 X G S I3
6 'I know, kind >ir. ynu have a very fine horse That paces hkc the tide :
lie knows the way to the okl grojj^ shop. l''or his master paces him there, tlicre. For his master paces him there.
7 'Kind miss. 1 have a very tine house That stands in yonder yard.
And it shall be at your command If vou will only be my bride, bride. If \du will onlv be mv bride.'
8 T\.ind sir. 1 know you have a very Ihie house That stands in yonder yard.
But who is going to stay with me at night \\ hen you are out playing cards, cards, When vou are out playing cards?'
9 'Kind miss. 1 never did ])lay cards. I never thought it right.
But if you'll consent to marry me I'll stay with you at night, night, I'll stay with you at night.
lo 'Sence you are so quarrelsome. So thundering hard to please. When vou get old and pinched with cold 1 hope to (iod you'll freeze, freeze-. I ho])e to ( jod you'll freeze !'
I I "When I get old and pinched with cold It won't be you to keep me warm ; I'll get somebody I love much better And lie closer in his arms. arms. And lie closer in his anus.'
4
MaDA.M MoZKI.l.K. I'VK C'oMK CoURTl.NG
This is a fraj^nient of that version of the courting dialogue which Barrv (JAFL xxiv 341-2) reported from the singing of an Jrish- man in Boston, beginning "Madam. 1 liavc come a-courting." The first two words represent, one guesses, a misuntlerstanding of "mademoiselle.''
'Madam Mozelle. I've Come Courting.' Contributed by H. F. Sha\v, with the notation that it is from "the eastern part of North Carolina."
Madam Mozelle, I've come courting. Your kind heart I ho]ie to win ;
14 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
And, if you will entertain me, Truly, I will call again.
5 Miss, Will You Have a Farmer's Son ?
Here the courting dialogue (see 'A Paper of Pins,' 'Madam, Will You Walk,' The Courting Cage,' 'Madam Mozelle, I've Come Courting,' 'The Quaker's Wooing') is turned from its usual purpose of satire to the praise of the Forty-niners and gallant Southern lads. In this form it has not been found elsewhere.
'Miss, Will You Have a Farmer's Son?' From a manuscript note- book in which Mrs. Harold Glasscock of Raleigh had set down songs learned from her mother, most of which she can sing. Dr. White bor- rowed the notebook in 1943 and made this and other transcripts from it.
1 'Miss, will you have a farmer's son?' 'No, no, not a farmer's son.
He is rough and he is so tough. No, no, not a farmer's son.'
2 'Miss, will you have a shoemaker's son?' 'No, no, not a shoemaker's son.
It's peg a little here and peg a little there. No, no, not a shoemaker's son.'
3 'Miss, will you have a California boy?' "Yes, yes, a California boy.
He looks so bold with his pockets full of gold. Yes, yes, a California boy.'
4 'Miss, will you have a Dutchman's son?' 'No, no, not a Dutchman's son.
He makes such a fuss about his buttermilk and mush. No, no, not a Dutchman's son.'
5 'Miss, will you have a Southern lad?' 'Yes, yes, a Southern lad.
He looks so neat and he kisses so sweet. Yes, yes, a Southern lad.'
6
LuciNDY, Won't You Marry IMe?
A fragment of a courting song not elsewhere, so far as T can learn, reported by collectors.
'Lucindy, Won't You Marry Me?' Received in 1922 from
Pickens.
couRTiN(;soN(;s 15
Lucindy. won't you iiiarr\- iiu'. Won't \(>u marry \uv in ilw niornin'? If you'll marry \uv \-our molhcr'H Cook a shinc-c'ved-hen.
7 Soldier, Soldier, Won't You M.\rr\- Mk?
Miss Gilchrist, JEFDSS in 122-3, ""ting Ncwell's account of this "nursery game-song" in his Games and Songs of American Children, is "inclined to think" it is of Scottish origin. It seems not to be of record earlier than the nineteenth century, and, apart from Newell's report and the Virginia texts reported by Davis (FSV 236), not to be a game song in America. It is rej)orted as traditional song from Glasgow (JEFDSS in 121 ), Gloucestershire (JEFDSS III 121), Newfoundland (ESN 140-1), Vermont (VFSB 61), Virginia (JEFDSS iii 122, JAFL xxxiii 158, FSV 236), West Virginia (FSS 467), Kentucky (BKH 77-8, SharpK 11 41 ), Tennessee (SharpK 11 41, BTELS v 35-7). North Carolina (SharpK 11 40 j, the Ozarks (OFS i 289-90), Indiana (BSI :i,^~), and Nebraska (ABS 224-5), and is also in Airs. Richardson's American Mountain Songs (51). The six texts in our collection do not vary greatly.
'Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?' Coiitrilnited by C. M. llutcb- ins of Durham, apparently in 1913.
1 'Soldier, soldier, won't you marry me With your rifle, fife, and drum?'
'How can I marry such a pretty little girl If I have no shoes to put on?'
2 Away she ran. as fast, as fast. As fast as she could run.
And got a very nice pair of shoes. Says. 'Soldier, put them on.'
So for several stanzas, changing shoes to coat, hat, etc. Then :
'Soldier, soldier, won't you marry me. With your rifle, fife, and drum?' 'How can I marry such a pretty little girl When I have a wife at home?'
Away she ran. as fast, as fast. As fast as she could run. 'And if you have a wife at home. I tiiink I had hetter be gone.'
l6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'Soldier, Soldier, Will You Marry Ale?' From Miss Amy Henderson of Worry, Burke county, about 1914. The refrain line is slightly dif- ferent here. The first stanza runs :
'Soldier, soldier, will you marry me?'
Fife and drum:
'How can I marry such a pretty girl as you?
I've got no shoes to put on.'
She ran to the tailor, tailor shop,
Fast as she could run,
And got him the finest shoes she could get :
'Soldier, put these on.'
The series runs through socks, coat, shirt, hat ; and it ends :
'How can I marry such a pretty girl as you When Fve got a wife at home?'
'Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?' Contributed by Thomas Smith of Zionville, Watauga county, in 191 5. With music by A. J. Burrus. Smith notes: "The song . . . was sung by J. W. Lawrence. I write it from memory, as it has been over 20 years since I have heard it sung. Other people sang it 20 or 25 years ago. The tune is still well known." The series is hat, boots, coat, pants ; and it ends rather drastically :
'How can I marry such a damn little bitch And me got a wife at home?'
D
'Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?' Contributed by Mrs. R. D. Blacknall of Durham, with the notation "known since 1862." The re- frain line here is 'With your rifle, fife, and drum.' The series is cap, boots, coat ; the ending as in A.
'Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?' Reported by Mrs. Sutton from the singing of Myra (Mrs. J. J.) Miller of the Brushy Mountains, Caldwell county. The series here is coat, shoes, hat, pants, sword, and a horse.
No title. Contributed by Minnie Stamps Gosney of Wake county. The series is shoes, socks, trousers, shirt, coat, collar, tie, hat, gloves — all, apparently, that the singer could think of.
The Quaker's Wooing
Compare 'A Paper of Pins,' 'Madam, Will You Walk,' 'The Courting- Cage.' This particular satire on the wooer is not always d'stinct from these and other wooing dialogues. 'Old .Simon,' re-
c o r K T 1 N c; s 0 n c s 17
Ijortfil truiu Wilt^hiro (FSUT JJ), 'The Wooin.t;-,' from Michigan (BSSM 4i7-icS),an(l 'The Drunkard's Courtship,' from North Caro- lina (FSRA 199-200) are kindred pieces. What may fairly be reckoned forms of 'The Quaker's Wooinj?' have been reported from New Enj,dand (FSONK 276-8), Virginia (FSV 235-6), Arkansas (OFS 111 58-60), Missouri (BSM 265, OFS 111 258-9), Ohio I BSO 293-4). Indiana (JAFL xlix 247, SFLQ 111 206, v 182-3), Michigan (BSSM 424-7), and Iowa (ABS 223-4). '" '"it- of these cases it is a play-party song.
•Madam, 1 .\m Conu- .\-C0urtinj4.' Imoiii tlie manuscript soiigbuok of Mrs. Haruld Glasscock of Raleigli, lent to Dr. White in 1943. The songs in this l)ook Mrs. Glasscock learned from her parents.
1 'iMadain, 1 am come a-courtiny. Oh, dear, oh dear. oh. dear me I'm for pleasure, not for sporting. Oh. dear, oh, dear, oh, dear me.
2 'Madam, I have gold and silver. Oh, dear, oh. dear. oh. dear me.' 'Go right home and tell your father. Tiddle dum dink dum dink dum da.
3 'That you could not gtt me read}-. Tiddle dum dink dum dink dum da.' 'Madam. I am a Presbyterian.
Oh, dear, oh, dear. oh. dear me.'
9
The Old M.\x's Courtship
For the history of this old English song and its occurrence in modern times, see BSM 264, and add to the references there given Herd's Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs (11, 33-4 of the 1869 reprint of the 1776 edition). Miss Mason's Nursery Rhymes and Countrx Songs, p. 33, Essex (JEFDSS 111 130-1), Pennsylvania (MMP [^(1 edition of NPM] 307-8). Virginia and South Caro- lina (FSV 173, OSC 132-3). Arkansas (OFS 1 293-4), Missouri (OFS I 291-2), Ohio (BSO 132-5), Indiana (SFLQ 111 207), and Michigan (BSSM 413-14). It is interesting to find that of the five texts in our collection only one shows the familiar "old grey beard" refrain. The other four all belong to one tradition with "old boots and leggins" or "old boots a-leakin' " in the refrain. Yet the variations of folk fancy on the theme of ugly old age prompt the printing of all five of the texts.
'Old Shoe Boots and Leggins.' Contributed by Mrs. Will X. Coley of Raleigh in 1922. The second and fourth lines of stanza i constitute a refrain to be repeated in each stanza.
N.C.F.. Vol. HI, (4)
iB NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
1 My mammy she told me to ask liim in — Oh, but I won't have him —
I ast him in, and the way he did grin ! With his old shoe boots and leggins.
2 Aly mammy she told me to give him some pie.
I give him some pie and he looked like he'd die.
3 My mammy she told me to put him to bed.
I put him to bed and he looked like he was dead.
4 Aly mammy she told me to waken him up
I wakened him up and he shook like a duck.
5 My mammy she told me to saddle his horse. I saddled his horse and bid him be off.
No title. Contributed by Miss Minnie S. Gosney of Raleigb. As in A, the refrain is given only with the first stanza.
1 Mother, my mother, bid me open the door — I won't have him —
I opened the door and he fell^on the floor With his old shoes and leggins.
2 Mother, my mother, bid me give him a chair. I gave him a chair and he called me his dear.
3 Mother, my mother, bid me light his pipe. I lit his pipe and he smoked like a snipe.
4 Mother, my mother, bid me put him to bed. I put him to bed and he stood on his head.
5 Mother, my mother, bid me wake him up.
I woke him up and he smacked like a duck.
6 Mother, my mother, bid me saddle his horse. I saddled his horse and I ordered him off.
'The Old Man.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen (afterwards Mrs. Vaught) of Taylors ville, Alexander county. This has "beard" instead of "boots" in the refrain. The third line of the opening stanza is a refrain closing each stanza.
I My mother brought an old man Home to see me With his old grey beard a-flopping.
Chorus:
But I wouldn't have him, I wouldn't have him.
C n I- R T I N C. SONGS I9
2 My niotlKT i^'ivi' him a dish And hf swallnwx'd a fish.
3 My mother _<jja\e him a stool. lUit he acted Hke a fool.
4 My mother j;a\e him a pie And he swallowed a fly.
5 With a head like a mule 1 ie acts like a fool.
6 -My mother ijave liim some cake And he swallowed a snake.
7 My mother showed him the door, But he fell on the floor.
8 ^ly mother gave him a saddle And he rode ofif a-straddle.
'()ld Boots." Contributed by Miss Ida C. Houston of Winston-Salcm, witli the notation : "This was sung in the family of the little girl who wrote it for many years by an old servant whose mother and grand- mother sang it." The second half of line i and all of lino 3 of stanza i constitute the refrain, repeated with each stanza.
1 My mama told me to open the gate — I will not have him — I opened the gate and he couldn't walk straight.
And his old boots was a-leaking.
2 My mama told me to open the doiM".
I opened the door and he fell in the floor.
3 My mama told me to hand him a .stool.
I handed him a stool, and he looked like a fool.
4 My mama told me to hand him a shovel.
I handed him a shovel, and he looked like the devil.
5 My mama told me to set tlie table.
I set the table, and he said he wasn't able.
'Old Boots.' Contributed by Katharine .Malloy of Yanccyville, Caswell county. Refrain as in D.
I My mama told me to hand him the ])ie — 1 will not have him — I handed him the pie, and he swallowed a fly. And his old boots was a-leaking.
20 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
2 My mama told me to hand him a fish.
I handed him a fish and he swallowed the dish.
3 My mama told me to put him to hed.
1 put him to hed and he lay like he was dead.
4 My mama told me to saddle his horse.
I saddled his horse, and he rode off north.
5 My mama told me to bid him farewell.
I bid him farewell, and I wished him to hell.
lo When I \\'as a Young Girl
This was originally a children's singing game; many texts from various parts of England are given by Lady Gomme (Gomme ii 362-74). In this country it is most often a piece of social satire, as it is in our text. What holds the various texts together is the "this-a-way that-a-way" refrain. This refrain structure, however, has also been used in certain cunmlative songs of farm sounds, concerning which see 'McDonald's Farm' in this volume. A song of somewhat related content. 'When I Was a Maid' (to be found in JFSS VIII 148-50), is distinguished from the song here under consideration by the absence of the "this-a-way that-a-way'' re- frain. Our song is known in various parts of America: in On- tario (JAFL XXXI 151 ). \"irginia (FSV 169-70). Kentucky (SFLQ II 1 61 -2;, Indiana (JAFL xxix 189-90 — see the accom- panying bibliographical note — and SFLQ iii 221-2), and Ohio (JAFL XL 15, a reduced form of two stanzas).
'When I Was a Young Girl.' Obtained from Catharine Cox of Salis- bury, Rowan county. Not dated. With the tune.
1 When I was a youngs girl, yotmg girl, ^oung girl. When I was a young girl, then, oh then
'Twas ha ha this-a-way, ha ha that-a-way, This-a-way, that-a-way then.
2 Boys came courtin', courtin', courtin'. Boys came courtin' ; then, oh then 'Twas ha ha this-a-way, ha ha that-a-way, This-a-way. that-a-way then.
3 Then I got married, married, married. Then I got married ; then, oh then 'Twas ha ha this-a-way, ha ha that-a-way, This-a-way, that-a-way then.
4 Then I had a c|uarrel, (|uarrel, f|uarrel. Then 1 had a c|uarrel ; then, oh then
C () V R T 1 N c s n N C, S 21
'Twas i^ft away this-a-u aw i^et away thal-a-way. This-a-wav, that-a-way tluii.
5 Then 1 niadr uj). up, up. Tlu'ii 1 iiiadf up: theu, oh iheu,
And "twas (smack, smack) this-a-way, (smack, smack)
ihat-a-way. This-a-wav, that-a-wa\- ihcn.
6 Then lie got sick, sick, .sick. Then he got sick ; then, oh then
'Twas dear doctor this-a-vvay. (k-ar (kictor tliat-a-\\a\-. This-a-way. that-a-way then.
7 Then he died, died, (Heck Then he died ; then, oh then
Twas (sniff, sniff) this-a-vvay, (sniff, sniff) that-a-way, This-a-way, that-a-way then.
8 Going to the funerak funerak funeral. Going to the funeral ; then, oh then
'Twas (sniff, sniff) this-a-way, (sniff, sniff) that-a-way, This-a-way. that-a-way then.
9 Coming from the funeral, funeral, funeral. Coming from the funeral — then, oh then 'Twas ha ha this-a-way, ha ha that-a-way, This-a-way, that-a-way then.
II Where Are You (ioiNO, Mv Pretty Maid?
This sunj( of the milkmaid, still remembered in iMiglaiul — Somerset and Devon (JFSS ii 9-10), \'orkshire (JFSS 11 J70) — is known in various parts of English-speaking America: New- foundland ( BSSN 138-g). New Jersey (JAFL Lii 58-9. a some- what lewd derivative), X'irginia ( SharpK 11 156-8), Mississippi (JAFL XXXIX 150-1, FSM 277-8). Missouri (OFS i 330). Ohio ( BSO 188-90). Nebraska (ABS 228-30). The content of the various texts varies considerably, but they may all l)e considered forms of the same song. There are two in our collection.
A
'Seventeen Come Sunday.' Sent in by .Mrs. Sutton, witb the following account of the singer : • 1 1
"Over beyond Sugar Loaf in Henderson County there lives an old man who sings ballits. He makes whiskey, too, or did, and spent a good deal of time in Atlanta. He has a cabin to which we couldn't go with the car. .
"We parked way up on a hillside and climbed down a steep winding path between laurel thickets and found him sitting (jii the woodpile
22 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
strumming a banjo. He said it was 'too party to waste time plowin'.' He also asked us to 'tarry till even.' . . . Not many of his songs were 'fitten to sing before the wimmern,' but he accepted us as kindred spirits and sang them anyway. . . . He sang a number of sea bal- lads. . . . He also called the young woman he was courting in the hope that she would consent to becoming his fourth wife his 'doney.' Some- times he made it 'doney gal.'
"The song he liked best of those he sang was 'Seventeen Come Sun- day.' When he finished singing this song he observed that 'seventeen is jist about the right age to catch a gal. Ef she's older than that she's apt to be gittin' oneasy and it comes too easy.' We asked him if the 'doney' he had now was over that. He said she was. 'When a feller gits as old and wore out as I am he near 'bout has to take him a gal off'n the cull list,' he remarked philosophically. 'I've had me three young wives, and this un I'm a-courtin' now ain't fur from the whit- leather stage. But, at that, she ort to outlast me.' "
1 'Where are yoti going, my pretty maid? Oh, where are you going, my honey ?' She answered me most modestly,
'An errand for my mommy.'
2 'How old are you. my pretty maid ? How old are you, my honey ?'
She answered me most modestly, 'I'm seventeen come Sunday.'
3 'Where do you live, my pretty maid ? Where do you live, my honey?'
She answered me most modestly. 'In a cottage with my mommy.'
4 'Will you marry me. my pretty maid? Will you marry me. my honey ?'
She answered me most modestly, 'If it wasn't for my mommy.'
B
'Where Are You Going, My Pretty Fair Maid?' From a manuscript notebook of Mrs. Harold Glasscock of Raleigh lent to Dr. White in December 1943. Most or all of her songs Mrs. Glasscock learned from her mother.
1 'Where are you going, my pretty fair maid ? Where are yoti going, my honey T
She answered me with a 'Ha ha ha, I'm going to see my mammy.'
Tum a hoo ra ra tum a hoo ra ri
Turn a hoo ra raddle dick a dandy.
2 Her shoes were black and her stockings were white And her buckles shone like silver ;
She had a dark, rolling eye
c o i' K T I X (i s o N c; s 23
And luT hair luiui; nuiud her shoulder. Tiitii a hoo ra ra imu a hoo ra ri Tuni a hoo ra raddle dick a dandy.
3 "Will \-on have me, ni\- pretty fair maid? Will you have me, my honey ?' She answered me with a 'lia ha ha, I'll have most anybody.'
Tum a hoo ra ra tum a hoo ra ri
Tum a hoo ra raddle dick a dandy.
12 ]\Iadam, I Have Gold and Silver
Here a very familiar courtin.q; (lial(\s:ue is turned unexpectedly in the last stanza into a returne(l-(lis,s:uise(l-lover story. Up to the last stanza our text is very close to one from Sussex given in JFSS IV 297-8. For the more customary form of the song and references to its occurrence in England and America, see BSM 506. and add Indiana (SFLQ in 206).
'Seven Long Years.' Reported by Mrs. R. D. Blacknall of Durham, with the note: "Sung by a Negro servant, .Maria McCauley, presumably ex-slave of the Chapel Hill McCauleys. Heard forty-five years ago." Mrs. Daisy Jones Couch of Durham remembered the first stanza only.
1 'O madam, I have gold and silver,
O madam, I have both house and land. O madam, I have this world of treasure And you may use them at your conunand.'
2 'Oh, what care I for your gold and silver? Oh, what care I for your house and land.-' Oh, what care I for your world of treasure \\'hen all I want is a handsome man ?'
3 '( ) madam, don't place your love on beauty, lM)r beauty is a thing that will decay :
Just like a rose, pulled soon in the morning. That before noon will fade away.'
4 '( )h. my true love's gone over the ocean ;
Oh, seven long years he's been gone from me. But seven more I'll wait for him. If his dear face I ever shall see.'
5 'The ripest fruit soonest is rotten ; The hardest love soonest is cold.
That young man's love is soon forgotten, So. niv dear miss, don't speak so bold!'
24 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
6 That look, that voice were so famihar Her lovely face turned pale as clay ; She spied the ring upon his finger — And on the ground she swooned away.
13 One Morning in May
For something of the history of this song — more commonly known as 'The Nightingale' — and its currency in tradition, see BSM 239, and add to the references there given Kentucky (FSKH 20-1), Florida ( SFLQ viii 171-2), Arkansas (OFS i 268), Mis- souri (OFS I 266-8, 288-9), Ohio (SFLQ 11 154-5, BSO 230), and Tennessee (BTFLS vi 34-5, a text and tune recorded in Ten- nessee but learned in Nebraska). One of our versions was sung by a schoolgirl in the sixth grade. Very likely many sing it with no understanding of its original meaning.
'One Morning in May.' Reported by Mrs. Sutton from the singing of Myra Barnett, who knew so many of the old songs. Mrs. Sutton says she has never run into it except in Caldwell and Avery counties (Myra came from the Brushy Mountains in Caldwell) ; but it is reported also from Watauga and Montgomery counties, and is in fact very widely known in the southern Appalachians.
1 One morning, one morning, one morning in May I spied a fair couple a-making their way ;
But one were a lady and the other a soldier Who'd fit in the wars, a free volunteer.
2 'Good morning, good morning,' the lady she said. 'Good morning, good morning,' the soldier replied. 'I'm happy fur to meet you here this morning, 'Though you are a lady and I'm a soldier.'
3 They took hand and hand and went on together. But where they did go, that I do not know where. Then said the lady. 'Let's go to the spring.
Where the waters are sliding and the nightingales sing.'
4 'Now stop,' said the soldier, T'll tell you a riddle.' And out of his knapsack he drew a fine fiddle. He tuned up his fiddle to a common high string
And played by tiie waters where the nightingales sing.
5 Then said the soldier. 'We'll soon have to part.' 'No, no,' said the lady, 'play that tune once more.' He tuned up his fiddle to a common high string And played the tunc over and over again.
c 0 r K T I N (. so N c; s 25
Then said tlic lady, 'Wnn't mhi iiian\- nu'?'
'No. no.' said the soUhcr. "that never can he.
I've a wife in Mair Manders, little children there's three,
As pretty little children as you ever did see.
'h^iir damsel, fair damsel, take warning hy nie And when yim see soldiers don't love them so free. I've a wife in Flair Flanders, little children's there's three. As j)retty a little woman as you ever did see.
'Fll <^o hack to h'lair hdanders. I'll stav there one _\ear.
in the place of cold water, my drink will he heer.
And when I return, it'll he in the sprin<;.
\\ here the waters run slidinc^ and the ni^htinc^ales sing.'
'One .Morning in .\hiy.' Cdntrihuted hy Miss Jewell Rol)l)ins of Pekin, the last stanza into a returned disguised lover story. Up to the war' may be the editor does not know.
1 As I walked out one UKjrning. one uKjrning in May. I spied a nice couple a-reaping of hay;
One was a lady, a lady so fair.
.\nd the other a soldier of the grand jin"\' war.
2 '(Jh. now.' .said the lady, 'will you marry nie?' 'Uh no.' said the soldier. "1 can't marry you. I've a wife in the army and children I've three .And as beauteous a lady as ever you'll sec.'
3 "Uh, now,' said the lady, "pla}- me one more tune.'
He tuned his fiddle to a very high strain And played the tune over again and again.
'One Morning in May.' Reported iiy Professor W. Amos .\hrams as sung hy a sixtli grade schoolgirl at Boone. Watauga county, in Septem- her. 19.37. The text docs not differ significantly from .\.
'One Morning in May.' Contriiiuted l)y .Miss Lizzie h'inclicr from .Mon- roe. L'nion county, some time in 1921-2. The first stanza only.
No. Sir
This courting song, also known as 'My Father was a .Spanish Merchant.' goes back with some changes in the course of time to the seventeenth century and has been many times printcfl in popular songbooks; see Kittredge's very thorough bibliographical note to
26 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Tolnian's Ohio texts, JAFL xxxv 406-7. In some texts it shows contamination with 'Madam, I Have Gold and Silver.' It has been reported as traditional song from Virginia (FSV 237), Kentucky (BKH 81; TKMS 98-101 may be reckoned a form of it), Ten- nessee (BTFLS III 96), Arkansas (OFS iii 104-5), Ohio (JAFL xxxv 405, BSO 146). Indiana (Wolford 73-4, as a play-party song), and Iowa (MAFLS xxix 44) ; it is listed in Miss Pound's syllabus: forms of it appear in Sharp's One Hundred English Folk Songs and in JFSS iv 208 (Dorset) ; and it is no doubt known and sung much more widely than this list would indicate.
A
'O No, John.' From tlie manuscripts of Obadiah Johnson of Cross- nore. Avery county. This is much tlie fullest of our North Carolina versions.
1 On yonder hill there stands a creature, Who she is I do not know ;
I'll go and court her for her heauty. She must answer yes or no.
O no, John ! No. John ! No. John ! No !
(This is the refrain line, sung in the person of the girl after each stanza stmg hy the man.)
2 'My father was a Spanish captain. \\ ent to sea a month ago.
First he kissed me. then he left me; Bid me always answer No !'
3 '() madam, in your face is heauty, On your lips red roses grow. Will you take me for your lover? Madam, answer yes or no.
4 'O madam, I will give you jewels, I will make you rich and free,
I will give you silken dresses. Madam, will you marry me?
5 '( ) madam, since you are so cruel And that you do scorn me so,
If I may not be yotir lover. Madam, will yoti let me go?
6 'Then I will stay with you forever If you will not be unkind. Madam, I have vowed to love you ; Would you have me change my mind?
7 'O hark! I hear the church bells ringing; Will vou come and be mv wife?
C O V R T I X C S () N V. S 27
Or, dear niadani. have voii settk-d T(i Vwv >ini>lL' all \(mr life?'
'No. Sir." I'Voiii tlic inaiiu^cript songbook of Miss Lura Wagoner of Vox, Allt'gliany county, lent to Dr. Brown in 1936; tlic entries in the book were probal)ly made some twenty or more years earlier.
1 'Tell iiie one thing, tell me truly, Tell nie why you scorn nie so. Tell nie. when 1 ask a (luestion. Yon will always answer No.'
Chorus:
No, sir, no, sir, no, sir, no, sir, No. sir. no. sir, no. sir. no.
2 'My father was a Spanish merchant, And, before he went to sea,
He told me to be sure and answer "No" to all you said to me.'
3 'If, when walking in the garden. Plucking flowers all wet with dew, Tell me. would you be offended
I f 1 walk and talk with you ?
4 'If, when walking in the garden, I should ask you to be mine
.\nd should tell you that I love you, Would vou then mv heart decline?'
'Spanish Merchant." Obtained liy G. D. Harmon from W. K. Harris of Union Mills, Rutherford county. Same as B except tliat it lacks tlie first stanza.
D
'No, Sir !' Obtained from Aura Holton of Durham in 1922. The text as in C, with direction that the chcjrus is to be sung by the boy and the girl together. Seems to be a play-party song.
Courting Song
I*"()lk >inj^ers in America are not averse to social satire of the sort of wliicli this song is an example. The 'Song' is reported also in Florence H. Botsford's Collection of Folk-Soiujs 1 31 from Kentucky. For references to other songs of a like temper in \'ir- ginia. West Virginia, North Carolina. Missouri. Nebraska, and Wyoming, see BSM 426-8, and add to the references there given
28 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Florida (SFLQ viii 192-3) and Iowa (MAFLS xxix 96-7) and for Negro song JAFL xxiv 285. See also 'When Young ^len Go Courting' and 'If You Want to Go A-Courtin' ' in the section of Satirical Songs in this volume.
'Courting Song.' Collected by Mrs. Sutton on the Watauga River near the Tennessee line, from the singing of a schoolteacher with whom she spent the night — which included an amusing example of the technique described in the song; see page 5, above. The last line of each stanza is repeated as indicated in stanza i.
1 A gentleman came to see me. He couldn't tell his name.
I knew he came a-courting Although he was ashamed. Oh, although he was ashamed.
2 He drew his chair up by my side. His manner pleased me well.
I hoped the spirit moved him A loving tale to tell.
3 And there he sat the livelong night And not a word did say.
With many a sigh and hitter groan I often wished for day.
4 The chickens they began to crow. The daylight did appear. 'Howdy do, good morning, sir. I'm glad to see yoti here.'
5 He was weary of the livelong night. He was weary of his life.
'H this is what yoti call courting, boys. I'll never take a wife.'
6 Whenever he g(jes in company The girls all lavigh and sport ;
They say. 'There goes a blamed old fool Who don't know how to court. Oh, he don't know how to court.'
]6
Don't STA^■ after Ten
On the same U)\nc as tlie 'Courting .Song," just given. It is re- ported in the Pound svllahus. and hv Randolph from Arkansas (OFS III 86-7).
A
'Don't Stay after Ten.' An anonymous manuscript in Dr. Brown's hand.
c () r R T 1 N (; s () N c. s 29
no doubt collected liy liini frmii >oine of his infi)rmaiits l)ut jtccideiUaliy left witlioiit notation of its source. Altlmugii aimnyinous, it is n'^en here because it lielps to make tlic H text inteliiKible.
1 Tlicrc is oiu' rc(|ticsl I make ot yoii \\ lu'ii nic yoii come to see.
\'()ii know thei'e is none in all this world
That's half so dear to me;
I hit this request 1 make of }<iu.
That when you come again
To see me in the afternooti.
Don't stay till after ten.
Chorus:
Don't stay till after ten. my boy, Don't stay till after ten. But come again some other time And don't stay till after ten.
2 For after ten the moments fly ; I tremble o'er and o'er
Till last ma's image 1 shall spy Come creeping to the door. She's there to execute her threats : She said she'd surely come And if you stayed so late again She'd ask you to go home.
3 Next morning down to breakfast I'd go. My papa would frown at me
And say. 'My girl, that beau of yours
Is going to hear from me.
That sort of thing I will not stand,
But when he comes again
I'll just walk in and ask him out
If he don't go home by ten.'
B
'Oh, Don't Stay after Ten." From the manuscript hook of songs of Miss Edith Walker of Boone, Watauga county: secured in 1936. The first two lines of stanza 2 are confused, or at least confusing.
I I've something sad to say to yott .\nd when he comes again To meet in the evening And don't stay after ten.
Chorus:
(Jh. don't stay after ten, my dear. Oh, don't stay after ten ;
30 NORTH CAROLINA I'OLKLORE
To meet in the evening And don't go home at ten.
2 And when he comes again (and stays) (They say) and don't go home, why then They'll just step in and ask him out
If he don't go home at ten.
3 For after ten the moments fly ; I tremble o'er and o'er When mama to the dark spot Comes peeping through the door.
4 To the breakfast table next morning I'll go And papa will frown on me
And say, 'My daughter, that beau of yours Is going to hear from me.'
17 I Wouldn't Marry
For the range of songs on this theme, see BSM 262 and add to the references there given Massachusetts (FSONE 211-12). Vir- ginia (SharpK 11, 381-2. FSV 174-5). Kentucky (SFLQ 11 1S3). Tennessee (BTFLS 11 11, v 38), North Carolina (BTFLS'ii II), Arkansas (OFS iii 64, 65, 128). Missouri (OFS 11 351-2. iii 65. 259-60), Ohio (BSO 186-7^. 298-9), Indiana (SFLQ in 213-4), Michigan (BSSM 420-1). and Wisconsin (JAFL lii 20. from Kentucky). Mrs. wSteely found three forms of it in the Ebenezer community in Wake county. Scotland knows, or knew, two songs on this subject (Christie i 141-2, 182-3), but it is doubtful that they are the ancestors of any of the American forms. The texts may conveniently be presented in three groups : those in which the man speaks, those in which the woman speaks, and a composite (or antipbonal ) form in which now the man speaks and now the woman. Some of the texts are conglomerates of fragments often distantly connected, if at all, with the theme of celibacy
A
'Laurie Lee.' Communicated, about 1923, by Miss Kate S. Russell of Roxboro, Person county.
1 Wouldn't marry an old maid Tell you the reason why : Her neck so long and stringy I'm scared she'd never die.
2 June bug got the golden wing, Lightning l)ug the flame. Bedbug got no light at all
But he gets there just the same.
C O V K T 1 N C S 0 N G S 3I
3 Rich <^Mrl wears \hv ruftk' dress, Poor girls wear the i)hiin.
Eve wore no ch'ess at all
IJiit she got there just tlu' same.
4 Raccoon got the husln- tail. Possum tail is hare ; Rahhit got no tail at all, Nothing hut a hunch of hair.'
'I Wouldn't Marry an Old .\hiid.' l->om Ijuille Massey, Durliani. Xot dated.
1 I wouldn't marry an old maid, Pll tell you the reason why: Her neck is so long and stringy 1 fear she'd never die.
2 I wouldn't marry an old maid. I'll tell you the reason why:
She'd stick her nose in a pone oi hread And call it chicken pie.
3 I wouldn't marry a rich girl, Pll tell you the reason why : She is crazy to wash her clothes And hang them out to dry.
No title. From Lucille Cheek of Chatham county. First stanza only, as in B.
'I Wouldn't Marry.' Collected by Julian P. Boyd from Catherine Ben- nett, one of his pupils in the school at Alliance, Pamlico county. A single stanza, the same as the first stanza ui B witli "poor sal" sub- stituted for "old maid."
'I Wouldn't Marry.' From W. B. Leake of Rich Square, Northampton county. .Again a single stanza, the first of B, with "city gal" substi- tuted for "old maid."
'A Farmer Boy.' From Miss Mamie Mansfield, Durham, in Juls i<)22. With this we turn to texts in which the woman speaks.
^ Manuscript has "hare" ; whether the pun really belongs in the song or is the momentary inspiration of the writer of the manuscript the editor does not know. This fourth stanza will reappear in the section on Bird and Beast Jingles.
32 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
1 I love to wash the dishes, I love to sweep the floor.
I love to kiss that pretty little boy Behind niv parlor door.
Chorus:
A farmer's boy, a farmer's boy, He's the one for nie ; If ever 1 get married A farmer bride I'll be.
2 I love to feed the chickens, I love to milk the cow.
I love to hear that farmer boy Come whistling from the plow.
3 I wouldn't marry a preacher, I tell you the reason why
He stands upon the pulpit And makes the people cry.
4 I wouldn't marry a doctor, I tell you the reason why He goes all over the country And makes the people die.
5 I wouldn't marry a blacksmith, I tell you the reason why
His neck is so long and thin I am afraid he'll never die.
'Farmer Boy for Me.' Sung by Miss Annie Hanilen (later Mrs. E. S. Swindell), Durham. Three stanzas and chorus. The first two stanzas and the chorus the same as the chorus and stanzas 4. 3 of F ; the third stanza is new :
I would not marry a lawyer. I'll tell you the reason why : He gets up on the stand And always tells a lie.
TI
'I'm Determined to Be an Old Maid." From Gertrude Allen (later Mrs. Vaught), Taylorsville, Alexander county. Here tlie familiar "I'm determined to he an old maid" drifts in the last stanza to the "farmer hoy" theme of F. Tiie tune was taken down by Miss N'ivian Blackstock.
1 I'll not marry a man that's rich,
Vov he'll get drunk and fall in a ditch ;
CO r K r I N (i s () N c; s 33
Sei I'll \\u[ inair\ at all, I'll iKil many at all.
Chorus:
I'm (k-tcrmiiu'd to he an old maid; I'll take my stool and sit in the shade, And I'll not marry at all, I'll not marrv at all.
2 I'll not marry a man that's poor, He'll go hegging from door to door; So I'll not marry at all.
I'll not marry at all.
3 I'll not marry a man that's young.
For he'll deceive with a flattering tongue ; So I'll not marrv at all, I'll not marry at all.
4 I'll not marry a man that's old.
For he'll do nothing hut sit and scold; And I'll not marry at all, I'll not marry at all.
5 But I will marry a farmer's hoy. For he will always have employ ; So I will marrv after all, after all.
'Farmer's Wife I'll Be.' Reptjrted by W. B. Covington as Iieard in Scotland county. Two lines only :
Farmer's wife, farmer's wife, farmer's wife I'll ])e. If I ever marry in my life, farmer's wife I'll he.
'I Won't ^^a^^y at All.' Sent in by the Reverend J. M. Downiim as obtained from Alex Tiigman of Todd, Ashe county, in 1922. Six stanzas and chorus. Chorus and stanzas i, 2, 3, 4 as in H chorus and stanzas 4. 3, 2, I ; the last two stanzas introduce new matter :
3 I won't marry a man named l)ill Though he loves me fit to kill ; I won't marry at all, I won't marrv at all.
6 I won't marry a man named Ned Tho he's sweet as gingerhread ; I won't marry at all, I won't marry at all.
N.C.F., Vol. HI, (5)
34 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'I Won't Marry at All.' From Ethel Brown, Catawba county. The chorus and stanzas 2 and i of H.
'I'm Determined to Be an Old Alaid.' Reported by Mrs. Sutton as heard in 1917 "in the mountains." Evidently not complete; "There were several other types of men she was determined not to marry." The three stanzas given are the chorus and stanzas i and 2 of H.
M
'An Old Man.' Reported in 1915 by Miss Iris Chappelle of Creedmoor, Granville county, as obtained from her mother, who learned it as a child. This and the next two texts might claim the status of distinct songs, being devoted to the yovmg girl's repugnance at the thought of marrying an old man.
1 I would not marry an old man. I will tell you the reason why : His face is always dirty,
His chin is never dry.
Chorus:
An old man, an old man.
An old man is gray.
But a young man's heart is full of love.
And away, old man, away.
2 I would rather marry a yotmg man With an apple in his hand
Than marry an old man With forty acres of land.
3 I would rather marry a young man With forty cows to milk
Than marry an old man All rohed in satin and silk.
4 An old man he comes creeping in And says he's tired of life ;
But a yoimg man he comes skipping in And says 'Kiss me, my dear wife.'
'I Would Not Marry an Old Man.' From the manuscript notebook of Mrs. Harold Glasscock of Raleigh, lent to Dr. White in 1943. The songs in this notebook Mrs. Glasscock learned from her parents. Sub- stantially tile same as stanzas i and 4 and the chorus of M, yet there are interesting minor differences of diction;
T I would not marry an old m.nn, I'll tell you the reason why:
C 0 L' R T I N C S () x c; s 35
J lis lip> arc always hanj^iiii; down And his (.-hill is never (Irv.
Chunis:
An old man is gray, an nld man is gray; A yonng man's heart is fnll of love. (i<> away, old man, go '\va\'.
2 An old man comes htjbhling in Quite weary of his life; A young man conies skipping in : 'Come kiss me, my dear wife.'
'Old Maid's Song.' From Alexander Tugman of Todd, Ashe county. Four stanzas ; the first two as in H, the other two slightly different :
3 I'll not marry a man that's young, For he'll give me a piece of his tongue; And I'll not marry a-tall, a-tall.
And I'll not marrv a-tall.
4 I'll not marry a man that's old, For he will love me less than gold ; And I'll not marry a-tall, a-tall. And Fll not marry a-tall.
p
'The Old Maid.' Reported by .Xh^s. Sutton from Madison county, witli one stanza not given in L :
ril not marry a man that's fat. For he'll slip u[) and fall on a mat ; And Fll not marry a tall, a tall. And Fll not marrv a tall.
'1 Wouldn't .Marry.' Rcixjrtcd In* Professor M. (i. Fulton of Davidson College as collected by \V. C. Frierson. Two stanzas, the i)reaclier and the doctor, nearly the same as in H, but the objection to tlie preacher here is not that he makes people cry Init tliat
He's going all (ner the country Er eatin' chicken pie.
Finally, two te.xts spoken partly by the man and partly by tlie woman. Both of them belong to the tradition of F and (i.
'I Wouldn't Marry.' Contributed by Thomas Smith of Zionville, Watauga county, in 1915 or thereabouts. With the tune.
36 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
1 I would not marry an old man, And I'll tell you the reason why : His nose is never . . .
His shoes is never dry.
Chorus:
A soldier boy, a soldier boy, A soldier boy for me. H ever I get married A soldier's bride I'll be.
2 I would not marry an old maid. And I'll tell you the reason why :
She combs her head with a fish-backbone. And that don't please my eye.
3 I would not marry an old man. And I'll tell you the reason why : His neck's too long and stringy And I fear he'd never die.
'Farmer Boy.' Obtained from Jennie Belvin of Durham in 1922. With the music. Chorus and stanzas i. 2. 3 as in F chorus and stanzas 2, 3, 4, and it ends with these two stanzas :
4 I wouldn't marry a lawyer, I'll tell you the reason why: When he gets up on the stand He's bound to tell a lie.
5 I wouldn't marry an old maid, I'll tell you the reason why: Her neck's so long and stringy I'm 'fraid she'll never die.
18 A Single Life
A somewhat sedate version of the "I woukhi't marry" theme which I have not found elsewhere.
'A Single Life.' Reported by Vernon Sechriest of Thomasville. David- son county, as obtained from Mrs. Augusta Fonts, then seventy-seven years okL
1 Some do say there are good girls. Oh, where shall we find them ? Some do say there are good boys. But never do you mind them.
c o I' R T 1 N (; s o \ c; s 37
CItonis:
A single life I am to live, Oh, single is my glurv ; A single life I am to live. Then who will control me?
2 They'll come to court )ou for ci while, C )n purpose to deceive you ;
.\ncl when they think they'\e j^^ained your heart They'll run away and leave you.
19 When 1 Was Single
Although tlie theme is old. this song seems not to l)e. 'lliere is a sort of antecedent to it in the U'estviiiistcr Drollery of 1672; see Ashton's Humour . . . of the Serentcoith Century, pp. 27-8. The song is known in England and very widely in America, though not. so far as I can find, in New England. See BSM 437. and add to the references there given Virginia (FSV 168-9), Tennessee (BTFLS V 35-6), North Carolina (FSRA 133), the Ozarks (OFS III 66-9), Ohio (BSO 181-5), Indiana (SFLQ iv 172), Illinois (JAFL XL 238-9), and Michigan (BSSM 479, listed only). The Archive of American Folk Song lists recordings of it from Vir- ginia, Louisiana. Arkansas, and Ohio. Mrs. Steely found it in the Ebenezer community in Wake county. Texts diiYer chiefly by the retention or omission of certain stanzas. Frequently only a single stanza is remembered. Normally the stanza form is the poulter's measure 3-3-4-3. and one suspects a fault in copying in some of the texts that fail to show this foruL
For the woman's side of the (|uestion, see 'I Wish I Was a .*^ingle Girl Again' in the section of songs on drinking and ganil)lin"-.
'When I Was Single.' From Miss Amy Henderson of Worry. Burke county, in 1914. Upon this text Dr. W'hite has noted: "A iK)])ular glee club song, first lieard by me about ujo6." The first stanza sJiows the verse structure. Thereafter only the new part of eacli stanza is given.
1 Oh ! when I was single, oh ! then. Oh ! when I was single, oh ! then.
Oh! when I was single my pockets did jingle. And 1 wish I was single again.
2 1 married me a wife, she was the plague of my life. And 1 wish I was single again.
3 My wife took sick, and she died pretty (|uick. And T was Ldad T was single again.
38 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Sometimes this third stanza is followed by this :
My wife she got worse, and I sent for a hearse In hopes I'd be single again.
And sometimes stanza 3 takes this form :
My wife she died and I laughed till I cried. So glad I was single again.
4 I married me another, she was the devil's grandmother. And I wished I was single again.
Instead of this last stanza the following is sometimes sung :
I married me another, she was worse than the other, And I wish I was single again.
'I Wish I Was Single Again.' From J. W. Miller, student at Trinity College in 1934, from Lincoln county. This te.xt lacks the opening stanza and is more detailed than A about wliat followed.
1 When my wife died, oh then, When my wife died, oh then.
When my wife died I laughed till I cried To think I was single again.
2 I went after her cofifin, just laughing and talking To think I was single again.
3 I went after her shroud, walking mighty proud, To think I was single again.
4 I went to her grave, but I couldn't behave, For to think I was single again.
5 I married another, but she was worse than the other ; Oh, I wish I was single again.
6 She beat me, she banged me, she swore she would hang
me. Oh, I wish I was single again.
'When I Was Single.' From Miss Madge T. Nichols, Durham county, in 1922. Only two stanzas, "I married a wife" and "I married an- other," and the "When I was single" chorus.
D
T Wish I Was Single Again.' From Bessie Lou Mull, Shelby, Cleve- land county. This is one of the texts that seem to depart from the normal verse form, stanza 2 being written :
My wife she died, (jh then. My wife she died, oh then.
c () u R T 1 N c SO N c; s 39
And 1 1;iu|l;Ik'(1 until 1 cried. And 1 wish 1 was single again.
r.ut tlic first ami tlic last of the six stanzas arc in the regular 3-3-4-3 riiythin. so that one suspects tliat the other stanzas are niiswritten. Stanza i is "I wish I was single again,' 'in stanza 3 he goes for her cotl.n, in stanza 4 he marries another, stanza 5 tells iiow tlie second wife beat and l)anged him; the final stanza is stall-ballad moralizing:
So, boys, take warning from this,
So, boys, take warning from this ;
Be kind to the lirst. for the last is the worse;
And 1 wish 1 was single again.
"1 Wish 1 Was Single Again." From Ailie Ann Pearce, Colerain, Bertie county. Text as in D.
"When 1 Was Single.' From Lucille Massey, Durham. Anotlier text which seems to deny the 3-3-4-3 stanza structure. Four stanzas : "When I was single," "I got me a wife," "My wife she died," and "I went for the cofiin."
'I Wish I Was Single Again.' From Marguerite Riggs, Pitt county. Three stanzas: "I wish 1 was single," "I married a wife," and "I married another." Regular verse form.
'Song.' From Mrs. Nilla Lancaster, W'aync county. Tliree stanzas, in the regular verse form : "I wish I was single again," "I married me a wife, oh then," and "My wife she died, oh then.''
1
"1 Wish I Was Single Again.' From Miss Jewell Robl)ins, Pekin, Montgomery county, in 1922. With the tune. Tliis siiows a slight variation in the refrain :
1 I married a wife, aha I married a wife, aha
I married a wife, the bane of my life. And I wish I was single again.
Chorus:
Then 1 wish I was single again,
And I wish 1 was single again ;
If I was single my pockets would jingle,
And 1 wisli 1 was single again.
2 I married another, aha I married another, aha
40 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
I married another, the devil's stepmother, And I wish I was single again.
'When I Was Single.' From J. C. Knox, Leland, Brunswick county. With the tune. Five stanzas, the first four of which correspond to the first four of A and the fifth to stanza 6 of B.
The following report but a single stanza, "I wish I was single," etc. :
K From Gertrude Allen (Mrs. Vaught ) , Taylorsville, Alexander county.
L From Ethel Hicks Buffalo, Oxford, Granville county.
M From Louise F. Watkms, Goldsboro, Wayne county.
N From Caroline Biggers, Union county.
O From Katherine Bernard Jones, Raleigh.
P From Louise Bennett, Middleboro, Wayne county.
Q From Lucille Cheek, Chatham county.
II DRINK AND GAMBLING SONGS
w
'INE AND WOMEN have been favorite topics of popular song at least since the days of the Carmina Burana. But in North Carolina the women most often appear as the declared enemies of drink, and the drink itself is for the most part not the juice of the grape but of the (often hidden and illicit) still. To take first the songs that came with the temperance movement about the middle of the^last century: some (The Drunkard's Hell,' 'The Drunkard's Doom,' The Drunkard's Dream'— this last in two quite difTerent forms) attempt by lurid visions to frighten the drunkard from his evil ways; 'Father. Dear Father. Come Home with IMe Now' and The Drunkard's Lone Child' aim to tear his heartstrings with the piti fulness of innocent childhood wrecked by his intemperance; in 'Don't Go Out Tonight. My Darling' and 'Be Home Early Tonight' the woman pleads in a gentler tone. In 'Seven Long Years Fve Been IVlarried' and 'I Wish I Was a Single Girl Again' (which are closely akin to the songs at the end of the preceding section) a woman deplores her evil plight in being the wife of a gambler and a drunkard :
Washing their little feet, putting them to bed; In comes the drunkard, wishing that I was dead. Oh, Lord, I wish I was a single girl again !
One of these temperance songs, 'Lips That Touch Liquor Must Never Touch Mine.' had a great vogue ; its refrain line became a catchword, and is so yet. The Collection has it in two forms, quite different but alike in that in both the woman pits her charms against those of liquor and tells the man— with an unmistakable air of triumph— that he must make his choice. 'I'm Alone' is the mono- logue of an old man whose life has been wrecked by drink.
But drink has, naturally, its brighter side. 'Old Rosin the Beau' has led a very satisfactory toper's life and now very cheerfully gives directions for his burial. Everybody knows 'The Little Brown Jug,' though its component stanzas are seldom just the same in any two' texts. 'Pass Around the Bottle' seems to be a soldier's march- ing song. 'Judy My Whiskey Tickler' is a college drinking song of a hundred years "ago. Two songs, 'I'll Never Get Drunk Any More' and 'Show Me the Way to Go Home, Babe,' are the maunder- ings of a drunken and happv lover. 'Pickle My Bones in Alcohol'
42 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
and 'Sticks and Stones I\Iay Break My Bones' are favorites with the Negroes. 'Moonshine' exalts the potency of the mountaineer's favorite tipple, and 'The Hidden Still' describes the place where it is made. And finally there is a group of songs that came originally, one imagines, from the minstrel stage: 'Sweet Cider,' 'A Little More Cider Too,' 'Sucking Cider through a Straw.'
Gamblers' songs are few. The best-known of them, 'The Journey- man,' is not always the song of a gambler; in 'Jack of Diamonds' the gambler accuses that card of being the cause of his downfall; 'I Got Mine' is a vaudeville piece that has acquired wide currency, especially among Negroes.
20
The Drunkard's Hell
This contribution to the war against the demon rum has already been reported from North Carolina (FSSH 378-80, JAFL xlv 55-8), Tennessee (FSSH 380-1), Kentucky (BKH no), Missis- sippi (JAFL XXXIX 169-70), and the Ozarks (OFS 11 409-10).
'The Drunkard's Hell.' Reported by Miss Pearl Webb of Pineda, Avery county, in 1922.
1 One dark and starless night I saw an aw f til sight.
The lightning flashed, loud thtmder rolled Across my dark, benighted soul. I bowed my head, and saw below Where all the dying drunkards go.
2 My awful thoughts no tongue can tell. And is this my place and a drunkard's hell? I started on. got there at last.
Thought I'd take one social glass. I poured it out and started it well — And then I thought of a drunkard's hell.
3 I dashed it out and left the place And went to seek redeeming grace. The very moment that grace began Ten thousand joys within me sprang. I started home to change my life, To see my long-neglected wife.
4 I found her weeping at the bed. Because her infant babe was dead. I told her not to cry or weep.
DRINK AND GAMBLING SONGS 43
Because her infant babe was just asleep; Its little soul had fled away To dwell with God eternally.
I took her by her white hand —
She was so weak she could not stand —
1 laid her down and breathed a prayer
That God might bless and save us there.
I started to the Temperance Hall
To take the pledge among them all.
One met me there with a welcoming hand. Took me in with a Temperance Band. Five long sober years have passed away, Years since I have bowed my knees to pray. Now I'll go home and live a sober life With a good home and a loving wife.
'Dark and Stormy Night.' Reported in 1937 by Professor W. Amos Abrams of Boone, with the note: "My father got this ballad from a friend about 1897."
1 'Twas on a dark and stormy night I heard and saw an awful sight.
The lightning flashed, loud thunder rolled. Across the dark the night did stroll.
2 I heard a voice cry soft and low, 'Far down beneath all drunkards go. Come in, young man, we'll make you room, Because your road has led to ruin.'
3 I started on, got there at last, And thought I'd take a social glass. I poured it out and stirred it well — Until I thought of a drunkard's hell.
4 I dashed it out and left the place And sought to find redeeming grace ; I started home to change my life.
To meet my long-neglected wife.
5 I found her weeping o'er the bed Because our sweet little babe was dead. I told her not to mourn or weep ;
Our little babe was just asleep.
6 I took hold of her pale white hand. She was so weak she could not stand.
44 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
I bowed her down and prayed a prayer That God might bless and save us there.
7 I felt like Paul, who once did pray ; I felt my sins all washed away. And now I live a happy life With a good home and a loving wife.
'On a Dark and Stormy Night.' The opening stanza only, copied from the music as contributed by I. G. Greer of Boone, Watauga county.
On a dark and stormy night
I saw and heard an awful sight.
The lightning played, loud thunder rolled
Across my dark, benighted soul.
D
'Drunkard's Hell.' From the John Burch Blaylock Collection. Uses pretty much all the matter of A and B, somewhat dififerently arranged in some of the items. Stanzas 2 and 3 are rather more dramatic than in those texts :
2 I thought I saw a gulf Ijelow Where all poor dying drunkards go. My feelings then no tongue can tell : This is my place — the drunkard's hell.
3 I met another weeping crowd
With bloodshot eyes and voices loud. I heard them raise their voices, yell : 'This is your place — the drunkard's hell.'
21 The Drunkard's Doom
For the occurrence of this song elsewhere see BSM 468, and adtl to the references there given Alissouri (OFS 11 392-3), Ohio (BSO 308), Michigan (BSSM 478, listed only), and Indiana (SFLQ iv 183-4).
'The Drunkard's Doom.' Reported by I. G. Greer. Boone. Watauga county. With the tune. A line of each stanza is repeated in the re- frain, as indicated in stanza i.
I I saw a man at early dawn
Standing by the grog-shop door ;
His eyes were sunk, his lips was parched ;
And I viewed him o'er and o'er.
And that's the drunkard's doom ;
His eyes was sunk, his lips was parched.
And that's the drunkard's doom.
DRINK AND CAMELING SONGS 45
2 His little son stood by his side As if to him did say ■}
'Dear father, mother lies sick at home, And sister cries for bread.'
3 lie rose, he staggered to the bar As oft he done before.
He to the landlord whispering said, '( ). give me one glass more.'
4 The host complied with his request. He drank the poisonous bowl.
He drank while wife and children starved. And ruined his poor soul.
5 In about one year 1 passed that way. A crowd stood at the door.
I asked the cause, and one replied, 'The drunkard is no more.'
6 I saw the hearse move slowly on. No wife, no child was there. They to another world had gone And left this world of care.
22
The Drunkard's Dream (I)
As Cox has pointed out (FSS 398). this is frequent in nineteenth- century ballad print in England, and it is also widely known in this country. See BSM 469-70, and add to die references there given Virginia (FSV 306-7), North Carolina (SFLQ v 144). Mis- souri (OFS II 393-6), Ohio (BSO 226-7), and Indiana (SFLQ IV 188-91); it is known also in Michigan (BSSM 478, listed merely). The five texts in our collection differ somewhat, chiefly by omissions, transpositions, and other minor variations character- istic of oral transmission.
'The drunkard's Dream.' From the manuscript songbook of Miss Lura Wagoner of Vox, secured in 1922 but probably entered in the book some ten years earlier. With the tune.
I 'Oh. Edward, you look so happy now ; Your clothes are neat and clean ; I never see you drunk about. Pray, tell me where you've been.
^ Probably for "to him he said."
46 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
2 'Your wife and cliildren are all well ; You once did treat them strange. Oh, you are kinder to them now — How came this happy change?'
3 'It was a dream, a warning voice, Which heaven sent to me
To snatch me from the drunkard's curse, Grim want and misery.
4 'My wages were all spent in drink ; Oh, what a wretched view !
I almost broke my Mary's heart. And starved mv children, too.
5 'What was my home or wife to me? I heeded not her cry ;
Her winsome smile had welcomed me When tears bedimmed her eye.
6 'Aly children, too, have oft awoke. "Oh, father dear," they've said, "Poor mother has been weeping so Because we've had no bread."
7 'My Mary's form did waste away; I saw her sunken eye.
On straw my babes in sickness laid ; I heard their wailing cry.
8 'I laughed and sang in drunken joy While Mary's tears did stream ; Then like a beast I fell asleep And had this warning dream.
9 'I thought once more I'd staggered home; There seemed a solemn gloom.
I missed my wife — where can she be? — And strangers in the room.
10 'I heard them say, "Poor thing! she's dead. She lived a wretched life.
For grief and sorrow broke her lieart. Who would be a drunkard's wife?"
11 T saw my children weeping round. I scarcely drew my breath.
They called and kissed her lifeless form. Forever still in death.
DRINK AND t; AMBLING SONGS 47
12 ■ "Oh father! come and wake her up! The people sa}- she's dead.
Oh, make her smile and speak once more ! We'll never cry tor hread."
13 ' " She is not dead." I faintly cried And rushed to where she lay
And madly kissed her once warm lips Forever cold as clay.
14 ' "O Mary! speak one word to me. No more I'll cause you pain,
No more I'll break your loving heart, Nor ever get drunk again.
15 '"Dear Mary, speak! 'Tis Edward's voice." "I know it is," she cried.
I woke, and, true, my Mary dear Was kneeling by my side.
16 T pressed her to my throbbing heart, While with joy our tears did stream. And ever since I've heaven blessed For sending such a dream.'
'The Drunkard's Dream.' From the manuscript book of Mrs. Mary Martin Copley, obtained in 1923 by Jesse F. Carpenter of Durham. This text lacks the awakening from the dream, ending with these lines:
My poor wife's form did waste away, I saw her sunken eyes. My babes on stray in sickness lay, I heard their wailing cries.
'Oh, papa, come and wake her up ! The people say she's dead. Just make her speak and smile once more And we will never cry for bread.'
c
'The Drunkard's Dream.' Obtained by Professor W. Amos Abrams, of Boone, from Mary Bost of States ville, Iredell county. Lacks stanzas 4-8 of A and has a few other minor variants.
D 'The Drunkard's Dream.' From Mrs. Minnie Church of Heaton, Avery county, in 1939. This text too has lost the awakening from the dream, ending with
'Oh, Mary, speak to me,' I said.
'I'll never cause you pain
48 NORTH CAROLINA 1-OLKLORE
Or will I break your loving heart ; I'll never get drunk again.'
E 'The Drunkard's Dream." From the manuscripts of G. S. Robinson of Asheville, obtained in August 1939. Lacks stanzas 5-8 and 12-13 of -^ and shows minor variations due to setting down the text from memory, but retains the ending of A with an added final Hne : "Farewell to rum's career."
23 The Drunkard's Dream (II)
This is quite distinct from the temperance song of the same title given just above. That is very widely known both in England and in America ; this song I have found nowhere else. 'The Drunkard's Dream.' From the John Burch Blaylock Collection.
1 The drunkard dreamed of his old retreat, Of his cozy place in the taproom seat; And the liquor gleamed on his gloating eyes Till his lips to the sparkling glass drew nigh. He lifted it up with an eager glance
And sang as he saw the bubbles dance,
'Aha, I am myself again,
Here's a truce to care and adieu to pain !
2 'Welcome the cup with its creamy foam. Farewell to work and a mopy home. With a jolly crew and a flowing bowl
In barroom pleasures I love to roll.' Like a crash there came to the drunkard's side His angel child who that night had died. With a look so gentle and sweet and fond She touched his glass with her little hand.
3 And oft as he raised it up to drink
She silently tapped on its trembling brink ;
Till the drunkard shook from foot to crown
And set the untasted goblet dcnvn.
'Hey, man,' cried the host, 'what meanelh this?
Is thee canty sick, or the dram amiss ?
Cheer up, my lad, quick the bumper quaff.'
24
Father, Dear I-'atiier, Come with Me Now
One of Henry C. Work's songs; by no means so good as 'Wake, N'codemus,' but still it achieved a considerable jxipularity. It has
DRINK AND (.AMBLING SONGS 49
been reported as a folk song from Virginia (FSV 306), Kentucky (Shearin 33, BKH 144), and Arkansas (OFS 11 397). Of our two texts one follows the original pretty closely except in the chorus, which is quite different from Work's; the other is a reduced form but retains the original chorus (probably; see headnote to B).
'Father, Dear Father, Come Home with Me Now.' From Lois Johnson, Davidson county. No date given.
1 Father, dear father, come home with me now ; The clock in the steeple strikes one.
You said you were coming right home from the shop
As soon as your day's work was done.
The house is all dark, the fires are all out.
And mother's heen watching since tea
With poor little Bennie so sick in her arms
And no one to help her htit me.
Chorus:
Hear the sweet voice of the child,
Which the night winds repeat as they roam.
Oh, who could resist this most plaintive of prayers,
'Please, father, dear father, come home.'
2 Father, dear father, come home with me now ; The clock in the steeple strikes two.
Poor Bennie is worse, indeed he is worse. And he has been calling for you. Indeed he is worse, ma says he will die. Perhaps before morning shall dawn. And this is the message she sent me to tell : Come quickly or he will be gone.
3 Father, dear father, come home with me now ; The clock in the steeple strikes three.
The house is so lonely, the hours are so long
For poor weeping mother and me.
Yes. we're all alone ; poor Bennie is dead
And gone with the angels of light ;
And these were the very last words that he said :
T want to kiss papa goodnight.'
B
'Father, Dear Father, Come Home with Me Now.' From Bessie Lou Hull, Shelby, Cleveland county. No date given. The chorus is per- haps miscopied ; in the original song it runs
Come home ! come home ! come home ! Please, father, dear father, come home.
N.C.F.. Vol. TIT, (6)
50 NORTH CAROLINA I' 0 L K L 0 R E
1 Father, clear father, come home with me now, The clock in the steeple strikes one ;
You said you were coming right home from the shop As soon as your day's work was done.
Chorus:
Come home, come home,
Please, father, dear father, come home.
Come home, some home.
Please, father, dear father, come home.
2 Our light has gone out. our house is all dark. And mother has been waiting since ten With poor little Bennie so sick in her arms And no one to help her but me.
3 Father, dear father, come home with me now, The clock in the steeple strikes two ;
Our house has grown cold, and Bennie is worse, But he has been calling for you.
4 Yes, Bennie is worse, mother says he will die. Perhaps before morning shall dawn ;
But the message he sent me to bring : 'Oh, papa, dear papa, come home !'
25
The Drunkard's Lone Child
As Stout's Iowa texts show, there are two quite distinct songs bearing this title (MAFLS xxix 122-4). Ours is the former of the two. It has been reported also from Virginia (FSV 307), North Carolina (FSSH 382). the Ozarks (OFS 11 398-402), Michi- gan (BSSM 477. listed only), and Nebraska (Pound 55), and Spaeth gives it in U'ccp Some More. My Lady 191-2.
'Bessie, or the Drunkard's Daughter." From the manuscript songbook of Miss Lura Wagoner of Vox, Alleghany county, in whicli it was entered probably in 1912 or thereabouts.
I Out in the gloomy night sadly I roam, I have no mother dear, no pleasure have.^ No one cares for me, no one would cry Even if poor little Bessie should die. Weary and tired I've been wandering all day Asking for work ; but I'm too small, they say. On the damp ground I must now lay my head. Father is a dnnikard and mother is dead.
' The I! text shows how this lino should rhyme.
DRINK AND C. A M B L I N G SONGS 5 1
We were so happy till father drank rum ; Then all our sorrow and trouble begun. Mother grew pale and wept every day, Baby and 1 were too hungry to play. Slowly they faded, till one summer night Found their dead faces all silent and white. Then, with big tears slowly dropping, I said, 'Father's a drunkard and mother is dead.'
Oh, if the temperance man only could find Poor wretched father, and talk very kind. If they could stop him from drinking, then I would be so very happy again. Is it too late, temperance men? Please try. Or poor little Bessie must soon starve and die. All day long I've been begging for bread. Father's a drunkard and mother is dead.
'God Pity Bessie, the Drunkard's Lone Child.' Contrihuted in 1921 by Miss Jewell Robbins of Pekin, Montgomery county. Eight lines only. With the air.
1 Out in the cold I wander alone.
With no one to love me, no friends, no home. Dark is the night and the storm rages wild. God pity Bessie, the drunkard's lone child !
2 Mother, oh, why did you leave me alone
W' ith no one to love me, no friends, no home ? Dark is the night and the storm rages wild. God pity Bessie, the drunkard's lone child !
'Drunkard's Love Child.' Obtained from Bell Brandon of Durham. Not dated. The text is the same as B except that it has "love" for "lone."
26 Don't Go Out Tonight, My Darling
The age-old struggle between tlie wife and the tavern has prompted many songs. This particular one, which is reported also by Randolph from the Ozarks (OFS 11 434), shows by the vari- ations in the three texts in our collection that it has passed by word of mouth from singer to singer.
'Don't Go Out Tonight, My Darling.' Contributed by Professor W. Amos Abrams, of Boone, about 1936.
52 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
1 Don't go out tonight, my darling, Do not leave me here alone.
Stay at home with me, my darling ; I'm so lonesome when you are gone.
2 Although that life may be tempting And your finals full of glee,^
I will do my best to cheer you. Darling, won't you stay with me ?
3 (Jh, now he's gone and left me With a curse upon his lips.
There's no one knows what I have suffered Over that awful tucked head.-
4 I hear a knock upon the door And footsteps upon the floor.
Now they ha\e brought back ni}- husband. There he is upon the floor.
5 Now he's dying ; yes, he's dying. Soon I shall be left alone.
I ask that God go and his mercy^ And save him from a drunkard's doom.
'Don't Go Out Tonight, My Darling.' From Mrs. Minnie Church, Heaton, Avery county, 1930.
1 Don't go out tonight, my darling, Do not leave me here alone ;
Stay at home with me. my darling ; I'm so lonesome when you're gone.
2 Altho the life has many atemptings And your friendship will 1 grieve, "* I will do my best to cheer you. Darling, w'on't you stay with me?
3 Oh, no ! he's gone and left me With a curse upon his lips.
There's no one knows how 1 have suffered For those awful words he said.
^ Randolph's Arkansas text shows how this line shuuld run : "And your friends are full of glee."
" B's "For those awful words he said" shows what is prohalily the right reading.
■'' Here again B iielps out : "I pray that God's own tender mercy May. . . ."
* For the right reading of the first two lines of stanza 2, see C and the note on this stanza in A.
DRINK AND C A M B L I N G SONGS 53
4 1 liear a knocking at the door.
I hear his footsteps on the floor.
Now they brought nie hack my husband ;
Here he is upon the floor.
5 Now he's dying ; yes, he's dying. Soon I will be left alone.
I pray that God's own tender mercy May save him from a drunkard's doom.
c
'Don't Go Out Tonight, My Darling." From the MSS of G. S. Robin- son of .Asheville, copied out in 1939.
1 Don't go out tonight, my darling. Do not leave me here alone.
Stay at home with me, my darling ; I'm so lonely when you're gone.
2 Though the wine cup may be tempting And our friends are full of glee,
I will do my best to cheer you. Darling, can't you stay with me?
3 You may meet with friends and faces, They may tell you they are true, But remember, my dear darling.
No one loves you as I do.
4 ( )h, my God! He's gone and left me With a curse upon his lips.
You don't know how much I've suft'ered From the careless cup he drank.
5 Hark ! I hear the heavy footsteps. Hear the knock upon the door.
Here they've brought him home, my husband ; Here he lies upon the floor.
6 Oh, my God ! I cannot wake him ; For he craved his rum, his rum. All the flowers I have cherished. They have faded, one by one.
27
Be Home Early
This song was printed in Wehman Brotliers' Good Old Time
Songs No. 3 (New York, 1914), pp. 18-19, and in broadsides of
earlier date, e.g., Wehman No. 551. Randolph reports it from Arkansas (OFS iv 379-80).
54 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'Be Home Early.' Secured by Julian P. Boyd from one of his pupils in the school at Alliance, Pamlico county, about 1927-28.
1 I have traveled through life, 1 have seen many a thing That surprised me in every form.
I have been at the spade. I have lieen at the plow From dark till sunrise in the morn.
Chorus:
Be home early tonight, my dear boy, my dear boy, Be home early tonight, my dear boy. Don't spend all your money to gamble and drink. Be home early tonight, my dear boy.
2 At night I would go for some pleasure through town. For Fm always for pleasure and joy.
My mother would say, when going away, 'Be home early tonight, my dear boy.'
3 One night I returned from my night's fun and joy. I heard my poor mother was dead.
It was then the cold chills through my body did run When I thought of the last word she said.
4 Come all you young men and take warning by me, To your fathers and mothers attend.
For a good mother's love it must not be forgot. When she's gone you have lost your best friend.
28 I Wish I Was a Single Girl Again
For the occurrence of tliis song elsewhere and its possible rela- tion to 'When I Was Single' (given in this volume under Court- ing Songs), see BSM 437 and add to the references there given Virginia (FSV 167) and Missouri (OFS in 69-70). 'When I Was Single,' however, has nothing to do with drink or gambling, and is besides (|uite different metrically from diis lament of a drunkard's wife. Mrs. Steely found it in the Ebenezer community in Wake county.
'I Wish I Were Single Again.' Obtained from Mamie Mansfield, of the Fowler School District, Durham county, in 1922. The first two times that the word "girl" occurs in the manuscript it is followed by "gal" in parentheses, indicating no doubt that that is the way the word is to be pronounced.
I I left my poor old father, and broke his command, I left my poor old mother a-wringing her hands. Oh, Ford, I wish 1 was a single girl again.
DRINK AND GAMBLING SONGS 55
Clionis:
The drunkard, the drunkard is a man of his own, Ahvays a-drinking and away from his home. Oh. Lord, I wish 1 was a single girl again.
2 When I was single I wore very fine shoes ; Now I am married my toes are sticking through. Oh, Lord, 1 wish I was a single girl again.
3 When 1 was single 1 wore a very fine dress; Now 1 am married rags are my best.
Oh, Lord. 1 wish I was a single girl again.
4 When I was single I had plenty to eat ; Now 1 am married it is corn bread and meat. Oh, Lord, I wish 1 was a single girl again.
5 Now it is the floors to be swept, the spring to go to, Little ones a-crying. Oh, Lord, what shall I do? Oh, Lord. I wish 1 was a single girl again.
6 Washing their little feet, putting them to bed. In comes the drunkard, wishing that I was dead. Oh, Lord, I wish I was a single girl again.
B
A Drunkard.' From the John Burch Blaylock Collection.
1 .\ drunkard, a drunkard, a man of his own, Always drinking away from his home. Lord, I wish 1 was a single girl again !
2 When I was single, I had plenty to eat ;
Now I am married, and it's cornbread and meat. Lord, I wish I was a single girl again !
3 When I was single I had fine clothes to wear ; Now I am married and the rags are my best. Lord, I wish I was a single girl again !
4 When I was single I had fine shoes to wear ; Now I am married and my toes are poking through. Lord, 1 wish I was a single girl again !
5 The spring is to go to. and my floors are to sweep. The little ones are crying, they're crying for meat. The other is crying. 'Papa. I want to go to bed.'
Lord, what shall 1 do? I wish I was a single girl again.
6 The bread is to bake and little ones' shoes to put on. In steps a drunkard, and I wish I was dead. Lord, I wish I was a single girl again !
56 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
7 \\ hen 1 was single I lived at my ease ;
Now I am married and a drunkard to please. Lord, I wish I was a single girl again !
'The Drunkard's Wife." Contributed by I. T. Poole of Durham in June 1920. With the air. Brief as it is, the contributor has marked it "complete."
1 Two little children, all so very small ; Neither one is large enough to help me at all.
Chorus:
Oh, 1 wish 1 was a single girl again. Oh, I wish I was a single girl again.
2 One a-cryin" 'Mama, I want to go to bed,' One a-cryin' 'Mama, I want a piece of bread.'
29 Seven Long Years I've Been Married
The woes of married life, for man and for woman, are the sub- ject of numerous songs, some of which appear in this collection; but this particular development of the theme seems to have no wide currencv. I have found it reported elsewhere onlv from Virginia (FSV 170), Arkansas (OFS 11 417). and Michigan (BS.SM 132). Mrs. Steely found it in the Ebenezer community in Wake county. Something like it but not the same song is reported from Ohio (BSO 185). Compare 'I Wish I Was a Single Girl Again' and 'The Inconstant Lover' E.
'Wish I'd Lived an Old Maid.' Contributed by Rosa Efird of Stanly county. But the manuscript is not dated.
1 For seven long years I've been married. I wish I'd lived an old maid.
My husband he is oft" gambling : I'd better been laid in my grave.
CJwnts:
Off to the barroom he staggers.
Go bring him back if you can.
Young girls, you have never known trouble
Lentil vou marry a man.
2 He promised, when we were first married, We'd live so happy and gay ;
Every day in the week long Go in the parlor and play.
DRINK AND GAMBLING SONGS 57
Get up soon in the morning, \\'ork and toil all day ; Supper to cook in the evening, The children to put to hed.
Off soon in the morning, Gamble and drink all day ; At night when he comes home He's gambled his money away.
Young girls, you had better take warning In choosing you a man. For if you have never known trouble You'll find it with a gambling man.
'Seven Long Years I've Been Married.' Contributed l)y Mamie Mans- field of the Fowler School District, Durham county, in July 1922. A fragmentary text.
1 Seven long years I've been married. I wish I'd lived an old maid.
For now it's get up early in the morning And toil and toil all day.
2 Supper to get for the children, And the table to all clear away. And off to the alehouse I go To fetch him away if I can. Now, girls, you'll never see trouble Until you are tied to a man.
30
The Lips That Touch Liquor Must Never Touch Mine
This song, particularly its refrain line, attained wide popularity in the days of the temperance movement, but I do not find it recog- nized as folk song except by Randolph (OFS 11 341-2, from Arkan- sas). In its original form — our A text — it is the work of George W. Young, and has been printed in Standard Recitations (New York, 1884), in One Hundred Choice Selections Number i6 (Phila- delphia, copyright dates 1878 and 1906). and no doubt in many other publications. But about Young I can learn nothing. That indefatigable student of Americana H. L. Mencken {Yoii Know These Lines! New York, 1935, p. 92) says the earliest print of it he knows is a temperance broadside, undated but of about 1870, but of the author be knows nothing beyond the name. He tells of another piece, no doubt suggested by Young's, that appeared in Readings and Recitations (New Y'ork, 1878), which may very likely be our B text.
58 NORTH CAROLINA I" 0 L K L 0 R E
'The Lips That Touch Liquor Shall Never Touch Mine.' Obtained by Jesse T. Carpenter from the manuscript songbook of Mrs. C. T. Weath- erly of Greensboro, Guilford county.
1 You are coming to woo me, but not as of yore, When I hastened to welcome your ring at the door. For I trusted that he who stood waiting for me then Was the brightest, the truest, the noblest of men. Your lips on my own, when they printed 'farewell,' Had never been soiled by the beverage of Hell !
But they come to me now with the bacchanal sign ; And the lips that touch liquor must never touch mine.
2 I think of that night in the garden alone
When in whispers you told me your heart was my own,
That your love in the future should faithfully be
Unshared by another, kept only for me.
Oh, sweet to my soul is the memory still
Of the lips that met mine when they murmured 'I will.'
But now to their pressure no more they incline ;
For the lips that touch liquor shall never tovich mine.
3 Oh, John ! How it crushed me when first in your face The pen of the rum fiend had written 'disgrace,'
And turned me in silence and tears from that breath,
All poisoned and foul from the chalice of death !
It scattered the hopes I had treasured to last,
It darkened the future and clouded the past.
It shattered my idol and ruined the shrine ;
For the lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine.
4 I loved you, oh, dearer than language can tell.
And you saw it, you proved it, you knew it too well ; But the man of my love was far other than he \\nio now from the taproom comes running to me. In manhood and honor so noble and bright. His heart was so true and his genius so bright. And his soul was unstained, unpolluted by wine. But the lips that totich li(|uor shall Jici'cr touch mine.
5 You i^romised reform ; but I trusted in vain. Your pledge was but made to be broken again. And the lover so false to his promises now Will not as a husband be true to his vow. The word must be spoken that bids you depart. Though the efiforts to speak it should shatter my heart. Though in silence with l)lightc(l afifections I pine.
Yet the lips that touch li(|uor shall never totich mine.
DRINK A X 1) C, AMBLING SON C. S 59
If one spark in your Ijosoui of virtue remains. Go fan it with prayer till it kindles again. Resolve, with God helping, in future to be From wine and its follies unshackled and free ! And when you have conquered this foe of your soul, In manhood and honor beyond its control. This heart will again beat responsive to thine, And the lips free from liquor be welcome to mine.
'The Lips That Toucli Liquor.' Obtained by Jesse T. Carpenter from the manuscript songbook of Mrs. Mary Martin Copley, Route 8, Durham.
1 The demon of rum is abroad in the land. His victims are falling on every hand,
The wise and the sinful, the brave and the fair. No station too high for his vengeance to spare. O woman, the sorrow and pain is with you. And so be the joy and the victory too ; With this for your motto and succor divine : The lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine. The lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine.
Chorus:
With this for your motto and succor divine.
The lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine.
Shall never touch mine.
2 The homes that were happy are ruined and gone. The hearts that were merry are wretched and lone,^ And lives full of promises of good things to come. Wives, maidens, and mothers, to you it is given To rescue the fallen and point them to heaven. W'ith God for your guide you shall win by this sign : The lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine. The lips that touch liciuor shall never touch mine.
3 O mother, whose sons tarry long at the bowl,
Who loves their good name as you love your own soul ; O maidens, with fathers and brother and beaux. Whose lives you would rescue from infinite woes ; Let war be your watchword from shore unto shore Till rum and his legions shall ruin no more. And write on your banners in letters that shine : The lips that touch litjuor shall never touch mine. The lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine. ^ The manuscript has here "Hne."
6o NORTH CAROLINA 1" 0 L K L 0 R E
31 I'm Alone, All Alone
This lament of an old man who has lost all his one-time happiness and is now a lonely wanderer is no doubt conceived as an instru- ment in the fight against drink. Randolph has found it in Mis- souri (OFS II 424-5), and it appears three times in our collection. A song reported by Henry ( FSSH 2^2~ ) from Kentucky has a like refrain but is not the same song.
'Far Back in My Childhood.' The manuscript says "Recorded by ^Ir. Coffey in . . . for the . . . Co.," which seems to mean that he sang it at some time before a recording instrument for some phonograph company. From O. L. Coffey of Shull's Mills, Watauga county.
1 Far back in my childhood, I remember today.
I was happy and beloved ere I wandered away ;
I was taught by my mother, who sleeps neath the stone.
And caressed by my father ; yet I've wandered here alone.
Chorus:
I'm alone, all alone, and I feel I'm growing old. Yet I wandered, oh. how lonely ! I am shivering in the cold.
2 I remember the maiden, and my heart bleeds to tell How I loved her, her devotion ! But on this I cannot
dwell. We were wed; our path was pleasant and the sun of for-
time shone ; But alas, I took to drinking: and Fm a wanderer here
alone.
3 I remember my children, how they climbed upon my knees And I kissed my little darling in the day when I was free. But I've squandered all my fortune and I'm now with- out a home.
And I know it was all from drinking. And F\e wan- dered here alone.
'I'm Alone.' From Miss Pearl Webb of Pineola, Avery county, appar- ently in 1921. With the music. The first three stanzas and chorus as in A, but it adds a fourth stanza :
4 Can I break the bondage? Can I break this awful chain? Can I escape the shackle ? Can I be free again ? Friends of temperance, help me! Friends, my bondage is
untold, And I kntnv it's all from drinking that I wandered alone.
DRINK AND GAMBLING SONGS 6l
c
Louise Rand Bascom in 1909 printed (JAFL xxii 24) a fragmentary version — the chorus, the last half of stanza i and the first half of stanza 3 of A— with the notation that it "has prohahly been transplanted from the lowlands."
32 Old Rusin the Beau
For the history and occurrence elsewhere of this song, see BSM 2SS and add to the references there given Virginia (FSV 132-3), North Carolina (FSRA 97), and Missouri (OFS iv 371-3)-
'Old Rosin the Beau.' Reported by K. P. Lewis as set down in 1910 from the singing of Dr. Kemp P. Battle of Chapel Hill.
1 I live for the good of my nation. And my sons are all growing low. But I hope that my next generation Will resemble old Rosin the Beau. I've traveled this country all over And now to the next I will go,
For I know that good quarters are waiting To welcome old Rosin the Beau.
Chorus:
And drink to old Rosin the Beau, And drink to old Rosin the Beau, And rake^ down that big-bellied bottle And drink to old Rosin the Beau.
2 In the gay round of pleasure I've traveled. Nor will I behind leave a foe ;
And when my companions are jovial They will drink to old Rosin the Beau. But my life is now drawn to a closing And all will at last be so. So we'll take a full bumper at parting To the name of old Rosin the Beau.
3 When I'm dead and laid out on the counter, The people all making a show.
Just sprinkle plain whiskey and water On the corpse of old Rosin the Beau. I'll have to be buried, I reckon. And the ladies will all want to know, And they'll lift up the lid of the coffin Saying, 'Here lies old Rosin the Beau.' ^ So in the typescript. Miswritten for "take"?
62 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
4 Oh, when to my grave I am going The children will all want to go,
They'll run to the doors and the windows Saying, 'There goes old Rosin the Beau.' Then pick me out six trusty fellows And let them all stand in a row And dig a big hole in a circle And in it toss Rosin the Beau.
5 Then shape me out two little donochs/ Place one at my head and my toe, And do not forget to scratch on it The name of old Rosin the Beau. Then let those six trusty good fellows. Oh, let them all stand in a row
And rake- down that big-bellied bottle And drink to old Rosin the Beau.
33 Little Brown Jug
Very generally known and sung. See BSM 261, and for its use as a play-party song consult Botkin's The American Play-Party Song by index under "Brown Jug." It is reported also from Vir- ginia (FSV 147) and from Missouri (OFS iii 141-2, 331, the latter as a play-party song). It appears twenty-two times in our collection, mostly in a stanza or two. All together these texts show eight distinguishable stanzas, four of them frequently and one of the four much more frequently than any of the others, four rarely. The four stanzas of frequent occurrence appear in the following text.
'Little Brown Jug.' Contributed in 1914 by Miss Amy Henderson of Worry, Alleghany county.
1 My wife and I lived all alone
In a little log hut we called our own. She loved gin and I loved rum. Tell you what, we'd lots of fun !
2 ^Vhen I go toiling to my farm Little brown jug is under my arm. I place it under a shady tree. Little brcnvn jug, 'tis you and me!
^ The manuscript adds liere in parenthesis "drinking mugs." Lomax also so explains the word. But the New International Dictionary says that "dornick" (variant spellings donnick, donnock) means a stone, a small boulder.
- So in the typescript. Miswritten for "take" ?
DRINK A N I) C A M H L I N G SONGS 63
3 My wife and 1 and a stump-tailed dog Crossed the creek on a hickory \og. The log did hreak and we all fell in. You het I hung to my jug of gin !
Ha ha ha. you and me,
Little brown jug. don't I love thee!
Ha ha ha. you and me.
Little brown jug. don't I love thee !^
4 If I had a cow that gave such milk Ld dress her in the finest silk.
Ld feed her on the finest hay And milk her forty times a day !
The third of these stanzas appears in eigliteen of our twenty-two texts, sometimes with slight variations and frequently with nothing else except the refrain. Stanzas that appear less frequently are found in the following texts.
'Little Brown Jug.' Collected by Thomas Smith of Zionville, Watauga county, about 191 5. He notes that it "has been sung in this section for over forty years, according to reliable people. Very few sing it today, though several persons know the tune. Robert Smith recalled the above verses lately." The fourth stanza of this text, incomplete, runs :
Whiskey and brandy all played out Little brown jug was up the spout.
'Little Brown Jug.' Reported by Clara Hearne of Pittsboro, Chatham county. The third of her four stanzas runs :
As I went down the railroad track I took my brown jug on my back. I stubbed my toe and I went down. And broke my brown jug on the ground.
D
'Little Brown Jug.' Reported by Gertrude Allen (Mrs. Vaught) from Taylorsville, Alexander county. Here the third stanza (incomplete) runs :
Went to milk and didn't know how, Milked a goat instead of a cow.
'Song.' Reported by Sarah K. Watkins as known in Anson and Stanly counties. Here the second stanza runs :
' This refrain stanza is so placed in the manuscript, probably by error. It should come after each successive stanza.
64 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Every night when I go to bed Little brown jug does^ under my head ; Every morning when I wake up Little brown jug turns bottom-side up.
'Little Brown Jug.' As reported by Miss Doris Overton of Durham, this stanza takes a slightly different form :
Every night when I go to bed
Put the little brown jug under my head ;
Every morning when I get up
Little brown jug is all dried up.
In Lois Johnson's version, from Davidson county, it ends more piquantly :
Next morning I gave a pull :
Jug was empty, and my wife was full !
34 Pass Around the Bottle
The Archive of American Folk Song has a record under this title from Kentucky. As we have it in North Carolina it is a drinking song only in the first two stanzas ; stanza 3 is universally known since Civil War times, and stanzas 4-6 are scarcely less familiar. The refrain line shows that it is really a marching song.
'Pass Around the Bottle.' From the John Burch Blaylock Collection. Each stanza repeats, including the refrain line, as indicated in stanza i.
1 Pass around the bottle and we'll all take a drink. Pass around the bottle and we'll all take a drink. As we go marching home.
2 Pull out the stopper and fill it up again.
3 Hang John Brown on a sour apple tree.
4 Grasshopper sitting on a sweet potato vine.
5 Old turkey gobbler come slipping up behind.
6 Old turkey gobbler ]:)icked the hopper from the vine.
35 JuDiE Mv Whiskey Tickler
A college drinking song of a hundred years ago which seems to have dropped out of the memory of present-day collegians.
^ Miswritten, one supposes, for "goes."
U R I N K AND GAMBLING SONGS 65
'Judie .My Whiskey Tickler.' Communicated by S. M. Davis of White Hall uii the Neuse River, Wayne county, as "a song my grandfather used to sing while at Jefferson's Academy in 1839." He adds that there are two otiier stanzas which he does not know.
1 Judie, my whiskey tickler.
Judie, vou debl)il, vou l)()ther me so. Woe! "Woe! Woe! Like a red-hot potato vou are all a-^low. Woe! Woe! Woe!
2 By^ faith, you are both elegant in form and face, You walk with such stately magnificent grace ! Judie, you debbil, you bother me so.
Woe! Woe! Woe!
36 I'll Never Get Drunk Any More
The four texts here given have little in common beyond the re- frain stanza. Shearin's syllabus shows that this is known in Ken- tucky, and Perrovv (JAFL xxviii 151) reports it as sung by both whites and blacks in Tennessee. It is reported also from Virginia (FSV 308) and from Missouri (OFS 11 413-14, iii 140-1). Mrs. Sutton notes that Miss Emeth Tuttle of Lenoir found it in ALssissippi.
T'll Never Get Drunk Any More.' Reported by Thomas Smith of Zion- ville, Watauga county, sometime between 1914 and 1920, with the nota- tion : "This song was once popular around here (25 or 30 years ago). Young people sang it a great deal in those days. The tune is still well known to several of my neighbors."
1 When I go out on Sunday What pleasure do I see? For the girl I loved so dearly Has gone square back on me.
Clionts:
Lll never get drunk any more, any more, I'll never get drunk any more. Lll lay my head in my true love's door, Lll never get drunk any more.
2 When I go out on Sunday. My head all racked with pain, Lll tell my little honey
Lll never get drunk again.
' So the manuscript. One supposes that it should be "My." N.C.F., Vol. Ill, (7)
66 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Once I had a fortune ; I laid it in a trunk. I spent it all a-gambling The night I first got drunk.
No title. Reported by Miss Gertrude Allen (afterwards Mrs. R. C. \'aught) from Taylor sville, Alexander county.
1 Some say that love is pleasure. What pleasure do I see?
The girl I loved so dearly Has turned her back on me.
CJiorus:
I'll never get drunk any more,
I'll never get drunk any more,
I'll lay my head in the barroom door,
I'll never get drunk any more.
2 As I go home tonight
I'll smoke my long-stemmed pipe, I'll have no wife to bother my life, No children to holler and squall.
3 Dem chickens they crowed for midnight, Dem chickens they crowed for day, Dem chickens they crowed for midnight, And I got drunk again.
Til Never Get Drunk Any More.' Reported by Mrs. Sutton (while she was still Miss Maude Minnish) from the singing of Mrs. Woody of Jonas Ridge. Date not given.
1 One time I had an old blue hen. I set her in a stump.
A 'possum come and got her One night when I got drunk.
Chorus:
I'll never git drunk any more, any more, Oh, I'll never git drunk any more. I'll lay my head in some still-house door, But I'll never git drunk any more.
2 One time I had a fortune ; I put in a trunk.
I lost it all a-gamblin'
One night when I got drunk.
DRINK AND GAMBLING SONGS 67
'I'll Never Get Drunk Any More.' From the John Burch Blaylock Collection.
1 I'll never get drunk any more, I'll never get drunk any more ;
I'll lav my head in some poor man's door, I'll never get drunk any more.
2 Once I had a fortune, I laid it on my trunk ;
I lost it all hy gambling One night when I was drunk.
3 Once I had a sweetheart My laziness did ensnare ; But now I've got no money Her poor little feet go bare.
4 Once I had fine horses. I fed them on good hay.
I swapped them off for whiskey One cold December day.
5 There are . . . region.
The flames they do not wilt ; But down below the spring house You'll find them at the still.
37 Show Me the Way to Go Home, Babe
This seems to be a fragment of the desultory Negro lyric that Odum and Perrow collected, though this particular bit does not appear in their collections as published in JAFL xxiv ^ 255-94, 351-96, XXV 137-55, ^xvi 123-73, XXVIII 129-90. Sbearin's sylla- bus shows it known in Kentucky. Although our texts are much alike, it seems desirable to give them all, for comparative study.
A
'Song.' Communicated by Ethel Hicks Buffalo from Granville county. No date given.
Good mornin', Carrie.
When you gwine to marry?
I've been dreamin' 'bout you,
My dusky babe.
Chorus:
Show me the way to go home, babe, Show me the way to go home ;
68 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
I've been drunk for the past six months ; Show nie the way to go home.
'Oh, Goodbye, Babe, Forever More.' From Miss Jeannette Co.x, W'ii? terville, Pitt county, in 1921 or 1922.
Oh, goodbye, babe, forever more. My boozing days will soon be o'er. I've had a good time, as you may see ; Just see what booze has done for me.
Show me the way to go home, babe. Show me the way to go home ; I ain't been sober since last October. Show me the way to go home.
c
'Negro Fragment.' This also comes from Miss Cox, and with the tune.
Show me the way to go home,
Show me the way to go home ;
I ain't been sober since last October;
Show me the way to go home, babe.
Show me the way to go home.
Show me the way to go home ;
I've been drunk for the last six months;
Show me the way to go home, babe.
D
'Show Me the Way to Go Home." Reported liy WilHam B. Covington in 1 91 3 from "reminiscences of my early youth spent in the country on the border of the sand hills of Scotland county."
Show me the way to go home.
Show me the way to go home ;
I ain't been sober since last ( )ctober ;
Show me the way to go home, babe.
Show me the way to go home.
Show me the way to go home.
I've been drunk for the last six months;
Show me the way to go home, babe.
E 'Show "S\e the Way to Go Home.' From T.ouisc Bennett, .Middleburg, Vance county. Not dated.
I ain't been sober since last October — Show me the way to go home. I's been drunk for de last six months — Show me the way to go home.
DRINK AND GAMBLING SONGS 69
'Show Me the Way to Go Home.' From Antoinette Beasley, Monroe, Union county. Not dated.
I been drunk since the last month. Show me the way to go home, babe, Show me the way to go home. Ain't been home since last October. Show me the way to go home, babe, Show me the way to go home.
G
Lucille Cheek of Chatham county reports a single line: "Haven't been sober since last October."
H
'Show Me the Way to Go Home.' From the John Burch Blaylock Collection.
1 Show me the way to go home, I'm tired and I want to go to bed.
I had a little drink about an hour ago, And it's gone right to my head.
2 Wherever I may roam O'er land or sea or foam.
You'll always hear me singing that song, Show me the way to go home.
38 Pickle My Bones in Alcohol
This jocose jingle seems to have a special appeal for Negroes, though it is not confined to them nor is it, probably, of Negro origin. It has been reported from New York (ANFS 368), Ten- nessee (JAFL XXVIII 130), North Carolina (FSSH 438), Georgia (FSSH 438), Missouri (OFS iii 197-8), and from Negroes in Mississippi (JAFL xxviii 130). In a form which probably is of Negro origin 'lasses and corn bread take the place of alcohol : so in a text reported from Alabama Negroes (ANFS 277) and in some of our North Carolina texts. Or the two notions may be combined, as in our A text and in Negro versions reported from Alabama (ANFS 368-9) and without specific locale bv Talley (Negro Folk Rhymes 26).
'When I Die.' Reported by Julian P. Boyd, Alliance, Pamlico county, as obtained from Duval Scott, a pupil in the school there.
I When I die don't bury me deep ; Put a jug o' 'lasses at my feet.
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Put a pone o' bread in my hand,
And I'll sop my way to the promised land!
When I die don't bury me at all ; Just pickle my bones in alcohol.
Put a bottle of booze at my head and feet, And then PU know that 1 will keep.
For Pm a man w4io must have a little likker When Pm dry, dry, dry !
'When Colonel Died.' Reported by Miss Gertrude Allen (afterwards Mrs. Vaught ) from Taylorsville, Alexander county. Not dated.
I When Colonel died with a bottle by his side
2 When I die don't bury me at all. Just pickle my bones in alcohol.
3 Put a bottle of booze at my head and feet And say, 'Colonel died in joy complete.'
c
'Drinking Song.' From Lucille Cheek, Chatham county.
Oh, when I die don't bury me at all ; Just pickle my bones in alcohol. Place a bottle of booze at my head and feet. Tell all the girls Pve gone to sleep.
'When I Die.' From ]\Iiss F. Shuma, in 1920. Location not given. The same as C except the last line, which runs : "So these old bones shall rest in peace."
'When I Die.' From Miss Kate S. Russell, Person county. Here the alcohol has disappeared.
When I die, want you bury me deep. Put a jug of lasses at my head and feet. Pone corn bread in the palm of my hand ; Going to sop lasses in de promised land.
'O When I Die Don't Bury :\Ie Deep.' Contributed in 1919 by H. H. Hanchey as heard in the southeastern part of North CaroHna. Like E, but has its last line in the more familiar fdrni: "So I kin sop my way to de promise land."
DRINK AND GAMBLING SONGS 71
39
Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones
This line is found in Negro songs reported from North Carolina and Alabama (ANFS 145) which are not specifically drinking songs but are concerned, like the texts here presented, with the singer's posthumous reputation — an element which Dr. White says occurs "in various spirituals."
'A Drunkard's Song.' Contributed in 1913 by William B. Covington with the notation : "Reminiscences of my early youth spent in the coun- try on the border of the sand hills of Scotland County."
Sticks and stones may break my bones,
Say what you please when I'm dead and gone;
But I'm gona drink corn liquor till I die,
Till I die, till I die,
I'm gona drink corn liquor till I die.
B
'Song.' From Louise W. Sloan, Bladen county. No date given.
I'm a-living high till I die.
Bet your life I'm a-living mighty high;
Oh, sticks and stones for to breaker my bones,
I know you'll talk about me when I'm gone
But I'm a-living high till I die.
'Ise Gwine to Live in de Harvest.' Reported by Julian P. Boyd as ob- tained from Duval Scott, one of his pupils in the school at Alliance, Pamlico county.
1 Ise gwine to live in de harvest. Till I die, till I die ;
Life Ise livin' is not so very high ;
Sticks and stones gwine break my bones,
I know you gwine talk about me when Ise gone ;
Ise gwine live in de harvest till I die !
2 Ise gwine build me a graveyard Of my own, of my own !
Ise gwine build me a graveyard of my own. Sticks and stones gwine break my bones, I know you gwnne talk about me when Ise gone. Ise gwine live in de harvest till I die !
72 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
40
Just Kick the Dust over my Coffin
In form this is akin to 'Pickle My Bones in Alcohol,' above ; but its spirit is somewhat different, the speaker being about to die of love, and perhaps it should not be here among the drinking songs. I have not found it elsewhere. The manuscript is without name in the Collection, but from surrounding circumstances it is believed to have come from Obadiah Johnson of Crossnore, Avery county.
1 Just kick the dust over my coffin. Say, 'There lies a jovial young lad :' Pile the earth upon my carcass/ Then carve on the stone at my head :
Chorus:
Oh, ain't it a wonderful story That love it will kill a man dead.
2 Oh, none of you bawling and squalling Around me as tho' you'd gone mad ; Just kick the dust over my coffin
And tell my true love that I said :
41 The Hidden Still
This little hymn to the moonshiner's still I have not found else- where.
'Down under the Hill.' Reported, probably in 1939, by S. M. Holton as known in Buncombe county.
1 Down under the hill There is a little still,
W^here the smoke goes curling through the air.
You can easily tell
By the perfume and smell
There is licker in the air close hy.
2 How it fills the air With a perfume so rare! 'Tis only known to a few. So you wrinkle up your lip And you take a little sip
()f the good old mountain dew.
^ The manuscript has an alternative reading that is lictter : "Pile the earth high up o'er my carcass."
DRINK AND GAMBLING SONGS 73
42
Moonshine
This laudation of the potency of the mountaineers' favorite product has already been reported by Mrs. Richardson (A MS 94-5). Presumably it is the work of some native celebrant.
'Moonshine.' From the manuscripts of Obadiah Johnson of Crossnore, Avery county ; obtained in July 1940.
1 Come all ye boozefighters, if you want to hear "Bout the kind of booze they sell round here, Made way back in the swamps and hills Whar there's plenty of moonshine stills.
2 Whar they don't give a darn for the Volstead law 'N for prohibition they don't give a straw. Made of buckeye, lye, and cawn.
And was bottled up in some barn.
3 One drop'U make a rabbit whup a fool dawg, And a taste will make a rat whip a wild hawg ; Hit'll make a mouse bite off a torn, cat's tail. Make a tadpole have a fuss with a whale.
4 Hit'll make a feist bite off an elephant's mouth. ^ ^lake a fool dawg put a tiger to rout ;
Hit'll make a toad spit in a black-snake's face. Make a hard-shell preacher fall from grace.
5 A lamb will lay down with a lion After drinkin' that ole moonshine.
Then thrown back your head and take a little drink. And for a week you won't be able to think.
6 Then you'll just take another little bit. Then git ready to have a fit.
First thing you know you're awfully tight And out in the street a-tryin' to raise a fight.
7 Then you begin to feel awfully sick ;
You think you feel worse than the very ole Nick. You say that you'll never drink it any more ; But you've said that a hundred times before.
8 The moonshiners are gettin' mighty slick And the bootleggers are gettin' mighty thick ; If they keep on bagging they better beware. They'll be selling each other. I declare.
* So the manuscript ; but the rhyme and the sense call for "snout."
74 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
43
Old Corn Licker
Of the following fragment the first line appears in a parody of 'The Old-Time Religion' reported by Perrow from South Carolina (JAFL XXVI 149), and a similar two-line fragment mider the same title is reported from Virginia (JAFL xxviii 133).
'Old Corn Licker.' Reported in 1923 or thereabouts — the manuscript is not dated — by Kate S. Russell of Roxboro, Person county.
I got drunk and lost my hat ; Old corn licker was cause of dat.
44 Sal and the Baby
This may be a fragment of a vaudeville song. I have not found it anywhere in print, and in our collection it comes only from Duplin county.
No title. From Miss Minnie Bryan Farrior, Duplin county. No date given.
I went down town to see my lady. Nobody's home but Sal an' the baby. Sal was drunk, and the baby crazy ; All that comes of being so lazy.^
45 Sweet Cider
Apparently a fragment of the song reported from Tennessee (ETWVMB 86, SSSA 184) as 'Pretty Little Black-Eyed Susan.' Ford, Traditional Music of America 41, gives it as a square-dance song, with "Paddy" in place of "Sallie." Most likely a product, originally, of the music-hall, it has lived in memory here and there in the Southern mountains.
'Sweet Cider.' Contributed by Clara Hearne of PittsI)oro, Chatham county, in 1923.
Where's the mule and where's the rider? Where's the gal that drinks sweet cider?
Refrain:
Sallie, won't you have some, Sallie, won't you have some, Sallie, won't you have some of my hard cider?
^ Another copy of this same quatrain lias here "crazy."
DRINK AND c; A MULING SONGS 75
46
A Little More Cider Too
Evidently from the minstrel stage, this has become a college song, and is so entered in Wier's Book of a Thousand Songs. It is very generally known and sung but has not often been admitted to folk-song collections. It is reported from the Midwest (Pound 66) and from the Ozark region (Ford 332-3 — with "white" and "black" where our text has "blonde" and "brunette") and Henry C. Davis (JAFL XXVII 249) lists it as sung by South Carolina Negroes.
'A Little More Cider.' Reported by K. P. Lewis as taken down from the singing in 1910 of Dr. Kemp P. Battle of Chapel Hill.
1 I love the blonde girl and brunette, and I love all the rest, I love the girls for loving me, but I love myself the best. Oh, dear, I am so thirsty, I've just come down from
supper ; I drank three pails of apple-jack and a tub of apple butter.
Chorus:
A Httle more cider, cider, cider, a little more cider too, A little more cider for Miss Dinah, a little more cider too.
2 When first I saw Miss Snowflake, 'twas on Broadway I
spied her, I'd have given my hat and boots, I would, if I had been
beside her. She looked at me. and I looked at her, and then I crossed
the street ; And smilingly she said to me, 'A little more cider sweet.'
3 I wish I was an apple and Snowflake was another.
To tiiink how happy we would be upon the tree together ! And then the darkies all would cry. wdien on the tree they
spied her. To think how happy we would be all squashed up into
cider.
4 Now old age comes creeping ; I grow ole and don't get
bigger, And cider sweet and sour then, but I'm the same ole
nigger. Be the consequences what it may, long, short, or wider, She am the apple of my eye, and I'm boun' to be beside
her.
yd NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'A Little More Cider.' Received from Otis Kuykendall of Asheville in 1939- Stanzas 2 and 3 of A, without significant variation.
No title. From the manuscript notebook of Mrs. Harold Glasscock of Raleigh lent to Dr. White in 1943. Fragmentary; the first half of stanza 2, the chorus, and the first half of stanza i of A, witli "blacks" and "whites" in place of "blonde girl" and "brunette."
D
'A Little More Cider.' From Mrs. Laura M. Cromartie of Garland, Sampson county. Fragmentary, consisting of tlit chorus and the fol- lowing :
1 Oh, I wish I was a great big horse apple And snowflake was another.
What a pretty pair we would make Upon the tree together !
2 How mad the darkies all would be. When on the tree they spied us. To think how happy we would be All squashed up in apple cider !
3 Oh dear me, I am so thirsty ! I've just come down from supper. I had a pail of apple-jack
And a tub of apple-butter.
'A Little More Cider Sweet.' Obtained, apparently in 1923, by Jesse T. Carpenter from Mrs. Mary Martin Copley of Durham. The chorus and the first three stanzas of A, without significant variations except that the chorus seems of a slightly different rlixthm:
A little more cider, cider,
A little more cider sweet ;
A little more cider for Miss Dinah,
A little more cider sweet.
'A Little More Cider.' Contributed in 1922 by J. H. Burrus of Weaver- ville, Buncombe county, with the music and the notation : "This old folk- song was used for an old-fashioned reel and cotillion (or square dance)." The text here has undergone extensive changes, having picked up frag- ments of several other songs.
Chorus:
A little more cider for Miss Dinah, A little more cider sweet.
DRINK AND GAMBLING S O N c; S yj
A little more cider for Miss Uiiiah, A little more cider sweeter.
1 I wish I was an apple And Dinah was another ;
What a handsome time we'd have Hanging on a tree together !
2 If you love me like I love you \\'e'll have no time to tarry,
We'll have the old folks flying round Fixing us to marry.
3 If I were only young again I'd lead a different life;
I'd make some money and huy me a farm, Take Dinah for my wife.
4 I wouldn't marry an old woman, I'll tell you the reason why; Her neck's so long and stringy I'm afraid she'd never die.
5 I had rather marry Dinah W ith an apple in her hand Than to marry an old woman With a house and tract of land.
'Plantation Song.' Contributed by Virginia C. Hall (place and date not given) with the note: "This memory is of a gray whiskered old gentle- man bouncing a little boy on his knee and singing to him 'plantation songs' which he had learned as a child from the Negroes on his father's plantation." Merely the first two lines of the second stanza of -A., and the chorus with "sweet" instead of "too."
47 Sucking Cider Through a Straw
This well-known college song is ascribed in Downes and Sieg- nieister's Treasury of American Song 290, words and music, to Carey Morgan and Lee David. It has been reported as folk song from Virginia (FSV 172), Tennessee (BTFLS v 38-9). Georgia (ASb 329), and the Midwest (Pound 38, ASb 329). Only a frag- ment appears in our collection.
'The Prettiest Girl I Ever Saw.' Communicated by B. S. Russell, Rox- boro. Person county. No date given.
The prettiest girl I ever saw
Was sucking cider through a straw.
78 NORTH CAROLINA I'OLKLORE
48
Drinking Wine
This fragment has not been found elsewhere. Perhaps it is from some college drinking song.
'Drinking Wine.' Reported by Gertrude Allen (later Mrs. Vaught) from Taylorsville, Alexander county. Not dated.
Drinking- wine, wine,
Drinking wine, wine,
Ought a been three fotn- thousand years
Drinking wine.
49
The Journeyman
The song of 'The Roving Journeyman,' in which he describes his way of life and particularly his success with the girls, has under- gone extensive adaptations in this country; the journeyman has become a gambler, a soldier, even a guerrilla of the Civil War. See BSM 374-5, and add to the references there given Virginia (FSV 125-6), Arkansas (OFS iv 356-60), and Indiana (BSI 342-4). Fairly persistent through these transformations are the lines
She took me in her parlor And cooled me with her fan
and the girl's dialogue with her mother, which form the substance of the texts in our collection. The title 'Broom Field Town' given to the first text seems not to occur elsewhere.
'Broom Field Town.' Reported by Thomas Smith of Zionville, Watauga county, as sung by Mrs. Julia Grogan of Silverstone in 191 5. Smith notes : "She heard the song about twenty-five years ago. . . . Mrs. Grogan is about sixty. Her father, John Yarber, came to this county over sixty years ago . . . from the Cheraw Hills of South Carolina" and "was a popular singer here just after the Civil War."
1 I rode unto my journey
Till I came to the Broom h^ield Town.
2 I had not been there two weeks, I am sure it was not three.
Till I fell in love with a pretty little girl And she in love with me.
3 I asked her to marry me. To see what she would say.
She said she would ask her mother And see what she would say.
DRINK AND GAMBLING SONGS 79
4 'How can you treat me so,
To leave your kind old mother And with the soldier go ?'
5 'Oh, mother, oh, mother, I love you well.
But how much I love the soldier No human tongue can tell.'
B 'The Rovin' Gambler.' From the John Burch Blaylock Collection.
1 I am a rovin' gambler,
I gambled down in town;
Whenever I meet with a deck of cards
I lay my money down.
2 I gambled down in Washington, I gambled down in Spain ;
I'm going down to Georgia To gamble my last game.
3 I had not been in Washington Many more weeks than three,
When I fell in love with a pretty little girl And she fell in love with me.
4 She took me in the parlor. She cooled me with her fan ;
She whispered low in her mother's ear, 'I love that gambling man.'
5 'Oh, daughter, oh, dear daughter, Why do you treat me so ?
To leave your dear old mother And with a gambler go?'
6 'Oh, mother, oh, dear mother, You know I love you well ;
But the love I have for the gambling man No human tongue can tell.
7 'I can hear the train a-coming, Coming round the curve. Whistling and blowing
And straining every nerve.
8 *Oh, mother, oh, dear mother, I'll tell you if I can ;
If ever you see me again I'll be with a gambling man.'
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'Journeyman.' Collected by M. F. Morgan in Nash county "from an old lady." Note that while in A the man is a soldier and in B a gambler, he is here simply a journeyman, as in the original song; and that here the girl, not the man, is the narrator.
1 I went along the other day, I met a journeyman.
I fell in love with [the] journeyman And he fell in love with me.
2 I took him [into] my parlor, I cooled him with my fan ;
I whispered in my mother's ear, 'I love that journeyman."
3 'Daughter, daughter, daughter, Don't you tell me so ;
For if you love that journeyman Away from me you go.'
Jack of Diamonds
A gambler's song — in one text the song of the gambler's wife. It is known in Tennessee (JAFL xxviii 120-30), Mississippi (FSM 207-8), Texas (CS [1910 ed.] 292-4, TNFS 279-80, OSC 303-5, the last two from Negroes), and the Ozarks (OFS in 405-9) ; 'Hustling Gamblers,' also reported from Tennessee (SSSA 102-4, ETWVMB 23-5), has the "Jack o' Diamonds" phrase; a song re- ported from Kentucky (FSMEU 223-4) voices the complaint of a gambler's wife but it is not the same song. Our four texts vary considerably, wliich is not surprising, for like many other American folk songs it is an aggregate of stanzas some of which may be used in other songs.
'Jack of Diamonds.' Reported by Edna Whitley — unfortunately without indication of time or place. Stanza 2 seems incomplete.
1 Jack of diamonds, I know you of old.
You raveled my pockets for silver and gold.
For silver and gold,
You raveled my pockets for silver and gold.
2 I'm ragged, I'm ragged, I am ragged, I am ragged, I know it's nobody's business how ragged I go.
3 I'll tune up my fiddle, I'll raise my l)Ow, I'll carry sweet music wherever I go.
DRINK AND C. A M B L I N G S 0 N G S 8l
Wherever 1 go,
I'll carry sweet music wherever I go.
It's not this long journey I'm dreading to go, It's leaving this country and the people I know, And the people I know, It's leaving this country and the people I know.
'A Card- Player's Song.' From Thomas Smith, Silverstone, Watauga county, probably in 1915; with the notation: "This song has been sung in this part of the country a good many years. I heard some card players sing it 18 or 20 years ago. There are several people near here who still sing it." The music was noted by Dr. Brown.
1 Jack of diamonds, I know you, I know you of old, You've robbed my poor pockets of silver and gold.
2 I've played cards in England, I've played cards in Spain, And I'm goin' to old Ireland to play my last game.
c
'Jack o' Diamonds." Obtained from Obadiah Johnson of Crossnore, Avery county, in 1940. Here it is in the mouth of the gambler's wife. The second stanza is one of the movable bits of folk lyric; see BSM 487, 488.
1 Jack o' diamonds. Jack o' diamonds. I know you of old, You've robbed my poor pockets of silver and gold.
2 I'll build me a log cabin on yon mountain high. Where the blackbirds will see me as they pass me by.
3 My children are crying for the w^ant of some bread ; My husband's a gambler ; I wisht I was dead.
'Jack o' Diamonds." Reported by Evelyn Moody of Stanly county ; not dated. Only a single couplet.
Jack o' diamonds. Jack o' diamonds, I know you of old ; You lost me a fortune in silver and gold.
51 Shoot Your Dice and Have Your Fun
From Howell J. Hatcher, Trinity College student, December 5, 191 5, with music. .As in White ANFS 364 (without music).
Shoot your dice and have )'our fun,
I'll have mine when the police come.
Police come, I didn't wanta go ;
I knocked him in the head wid a forty- fo'.
.V.C.F., Vol. Ill, (8)
82 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
I Got Mine
White (ANFS 195-9, 200) says that this was originally a vaude- ville song that attained wide popularity among the Negroes, and gives texts from North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Perrow had already (JAFL xxiv 369) reported it from the singing of Negroes in Mississippi. The texts vary rather widely.
'I Got Mine.' Contributed by Otis Kuykendall of Asheville in 1939.
1 I went out to a nigger crap game ; It was against my will.
Dem coons got all my money
Except a greenback dollar bill.
A hundred dollar bet was on the table,
The nigger's point was nine ;
Just then a cop stepped through the door
And I got mine.
Chorus:
I got mine, boys, I got mine ;
I grabbed that hundred dollar bill.
Through the window I did climb.
Ever since then been wearin' good clothes,
Living on chicken and wine ;
I'm the leader of Society
Since I got mine.
2 I went out to a buzzard feast ; The eatables they were fine.
Half an hour before that table was set Dem coons all formed in line. When they brought that eagle in Their eyes began to shine. One grabbed that eagle by the neck, But I caught on behind.
3 A coon in front thought he had the whole thing. But I got mine.
I tried to get through the window, But I didn't get through in time ; I eat my meals from a mantel piece Since I got mine !
Ill HOMILETIC SONGS
THE MUSE of folk song has no antipatliy to incjralizing ; indeed, street balladry is rather fond of it. But among the preachments found in the North Carolina collection are few items that have any long traditional history. 'When Adam Was First Created' is on a theme, the proper relation between man and wife, that goes back to Chaucer and less definitely to medieval sermonizing. But most of the pieces of social moralizing, 'Pulling Hard against the Stream,' 'Paddle Your Own Canoe/ and the like, are certainly modern. 'Meditations of an Old Bachelor' and 'Why Do You Bob Your Hair, Girls?' reprove newfangled fashions. 'Who Is My Neigh- bor?' and 'You Say You Are of Noble Race' are apothegms. Of those of a more definitely religious cast 'The Wicked Girl' is prob- ably the oldest and certainly the most widely known.
53 When Adam Was Created
Whether or not this is to be admitted as folk song, it is at least traditional and embodies a piece of folk-wisdom — wisdom that goes back, as Jackson (Dozvii-Easf Spirituals 77-8) shows, to Chaucer's "Parson's Tale" and back of that to church teachings as early as the twelfth century. As traditional song it exists in two forms, one of which may be called the English, the other the American form. The English form is traceable as far back as the middle of the eighteenth century and is found in Bell's Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England (pp. 451-2 of the 1877 print), in Baring- Gould's Songs of the Jl'cst No. 100 (from Devonshire), in Folk- Lore XXIV 82 (from (Oxfordshire), in Williams's collection (FSUT 1 15-16, from Oxfordshire), in a stall print without printer's name which I found in the Harvard College Library with the title 'The Honest Man's Favourite,' and is the version given by Newell (JAFL XII 250-1) as obtained from Mrs. E. Allen of Massachu- setts. The American version is reproduced by Jackson from The Social Harp of 1855 (SFSEA 41, the first stanza only) and from The Original Sacred Harp of 191 1 (SFSEA 74-5, a complete text), is that which has been attributed to Lincoln,^ was found by Sharp in North Carolina (SharpK 11 272), and is in our collection. Appar-
^ So I am informed by Professor Francis Lee Utley, of Ohio State University, who has made a detailed study of this song.
84 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
ently it is of Southern origin; both TJic Social Harp and The Original Sacred Harp were compiled by Georgians, and Newell's Massachusetts text represents the English, not the American version.
A
'When Adam Was Created." A clipping from the Lenoir Ncu.'s (also from the Lenoir Times — or are these one publication?) of January 27, 1914, sent in by J. L. Nelson. The piece was sent to the paper by S. C. Sherrill with a note that it was sung by Mrs. Nancy Coffee at the age of eighty-four. "Mrs. Coffee could not read, but had learned many hymns when young." With the music.
1 When Adam was created he dwelt in Eden's shade, As Moses has related, before a bride was made.
Ten thousand times ten thousand creatures dwelt around Before a bride was formed or any helpmeet found.
2 He had no conversation, he seemed like one alone. Till at his consternation he found he'd lost a bone. Great was his admiration when first he saw his bride. Great was his adoration to see her by his side.
3 He spoke like one in rapture: T know from whence she
came ; From my left side extracted, and woman is her name.' This seems to be one reason why man should love his
bride, A part of his own body, the product of his side.
4 This woman was not taken from Adam's head, we know, And she must not rule over him. 'tis evidently so.
This woman was not taken from Adam's feet, we see. And he must not abuse her, the meaning seems to be.
5 This woman was extracted from under Adam's arm. And she must be protected from injury and harm; This woman was extracted from near to Adam's heart. By which we are directed that they should never part.
6 Here's counsel to the bridegroom and counsel to the bride: Let not this loaded volume be ever laid aside.
The book that's called the Bible be sure you don't neglect. In every sense of duty it will you both direct.
7 To you, most noble bridegroom, to )'ou 1 lay aside.
Be sure to live a Christian, and for your house i)rovidc. Avoid all contentions, sow not the seed of strife; That is the solemn dutv of every man and wife.
'Adam and Eve.' From Miss Sadie Jolmson, as sung by her grand- mother, of Dchart, Wilkes county, in i<).V>. it is the same version
II <) Mil. K T I f S O N <; S 85
as A; Init it lias "maid" instead of "hclpnifi-t" in line 4. "adviration" instead of "consternation" in line 0, "exultation" instead of "admira- tion" in line 7, and "alimation' 'instead of "adoration" in line 8, and from there on, though the matter is much the same, it has been so thoroughly rearranged that it seems best to give the text (it is here written in quatrains of short lines, so that the stanza numbering is douliled ) :
5 He spoke as in a fapture :
'I know fi-om whence she came; From my left side extfacted. And woman is her name.'
6 The woman was not taken From Adam's head, we know. And he must not ahuse her, It's evidently so.
7 This woman was not taken From Adam's feet, we see. And she must not rule o'er him. The meaning seems to he.
8 This woman she was taken From near of Adam's heart, By which we are directed That they must never part.
9 This woman she was taken From under Adam's arm And she must he protected From injury and harm.
10 Here's council for the hridegroom, Here's council for the l)ride :
Be sure you hoth live Christians And for your house provide.
1 1 Avoiding all contention. Don't sow the seeds of strife. This is the solemn duty
Of every man and wife.
12 This hook that's called the Bihle Be sure you don't neglect ;
In every scene of heauty It will you both direct.
86 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
54
Pulling Hard against the Stream
This homely homiletic is listed in the Pound syllabus, p. 54. and is given in Spaeth's IVcep Some More, My Lady, pp. 157-9, with- out author's name. The California Check List notes a print of it by De ^larsan, New York.
"Fulling Hard against the Stream.' Contributed by Miss Elizabeth Janet Black of Wilmington, formerly of Ivanhoe._ Sampson county. In the first line "word" should probably be "world."
1 In this word Pve gained my knowledge, And for it have had to pay.
Though I never went to college
Yet Pve heard the poets say
Life is like