Georgie- McNeill (NC) c.1921 Brown 38(4)
[From the Brown Collection of NC Folklore; Volume 4 (Music to the Ballads), 1956. The Brown notes from Volume 2 follow.
The text to complete this verse should be something like:
Georgie stole sixteen of the King's fine deers
And sold them in Virginy.
It's likely that "to fight for the life of Georgia" was part of a different verse.
R. Matteson 2013, 2015]
38. Geordie (Child 209)
For the question of the origin of this ballad and its currency, see Child's headnote and BSM 76, adding to the references there given North Carolina (FSRA 37), the Ozarks (OFS I 161-5), Indiana (SFLQ V 170-1), Illinois (JAFL LX 245-6), and Michigan (BSSM 317). Our collection has but one full text, and part of a text as sung by Miss Hattie McNeill of Ferguson, Wilkes county, probably in 1922.
38(4) 'Georgie.' Sung by Miss Hattie McNeill. Recorded at Ferguson, Wilkes county, 1921. Another title given is 'I'd Fight for the Life of Georgie.' The MS score has no more of the text, and the words of the recording cannot be recovered.
Scale: Hexatonic (6), plagal. Tonal Center: f. Structure: abcbi (2,2,3,3) = ab (4,6). The ending of both phrases is related.
Georgie's father was a fine old man,
His mother was a fine old lady
[Georgie stole sixteen of the King's fine deers,
And sold them in Virginy.]