415. Lynchburg Town

415. Lynchburg Town

White in ANFS 178 gives an account of the relation of this
song to the ante-bellum minstrel books and notes some of the re-
portings of it by later collectors. To the references there given
may be added Kentucky (Shearin 20, OSC 60-2) and North Caro-
lina (JAFL XXII 249). The core of the various texts is the refrain
"going down town" to sell — to chaw — his tobacco down. The name
of the town may vary; and so may the matter of the stanzas that
make up the different versions. Like 'Old Joe Clark,' which equally
admits a diversity of matter in its various versions, it has been
used as a play-party song; see the McLendon finding list, SFLQ
VIII 215. For other occurrences of the first stanzas of A and B,
see Nos. 161-64, above.

.\

'Get on D(j\vn to Ivichniond Town.' ()i)tained in 11J27 Ijy Julian P. lioyd
from Minnie Lee, one of his pupils in the school at Alliance, Pamlico
county. As various in content as some of the versions of 'Old Joe Clark.'

 

H L A C K F A C K M I N S l' R K L . N K C R S O N CJ S 499

Dr. W'liito iu)tes on tlio manuscript that most of the stanzas and their
histories can be traced tln-on.uli the index of lirst linos in ANFS.

1 A raccoon has a bushy laih
A possum tail am hare;
Rabbit he come skippin' 'long,
He had none to spare.

Chorus:

(Jet on down town,

Get on down town.

Get on down to Richmond town

And carry my 'baccy down !

2 My old mistress had a cow,

I 'member say^ she was bo'n,

It takes a jay bird a thousand years

To fly from ho'n to ho'n !

3 I wouldn't marry a po' gal,
I'll tell you the reason why :
Her neck's so long and stringy
I'm afraid she'd never die !

4 God almighty made this world,
And then he made a whale ;
And then he made a fat raccoon
With a ring around his tail.

5 Raccoon is a cunning thing ;
He travel in de dark.

He never thinks to climb a tree
Till he hears old Growler bark.

6 My old mistress had a mule.
His name was Gilbert Brown.
Every tooth in Gilbert's head
Would cover an acre of ground.

 

'Get Along Down Town.' Contributed, apparently in 1921 or 1922, by
the Reverend L. D. Hayman of Elizabeth City, Pasquotank county. With
the tune.

I Possum up the 'simmon tree.

Raccoon on the ground.

Raccoon said to possum :

'Hand some 'simmons down!'
' So in the typescript. Should it be "day" ?

 

500 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE

Chorus:

Get 'long down town,

Get 'long down town,

Get "long down Newburg town,

Take my terbacker down.

2 Raccoon is a migbty man.
Totes a busby tail.

Steals all tbe farmer's corn "

And sbucks it on the rail.

3 Raccoon totes a busby tail,
Possum he goes bare ;
Rabbit he come hopping by,
Ain't got none to spare.

c

'Lynchburg Town.' Contributed by Miss Amy Henderson of Worry,
Burke county, in 1914. The version is defective at the end.

1 I'm gwine down to town,
I'm gwine down to town.

I'm gwine down to Lynchbtn'g town
To take my bacca down.

2 Bacca sellin" high.
Dollar and a half a pound,

A great big knife to cut it up
And a little gal to tote it round.

3 Somebody stole my good coon dog.
I wish they'd bring him back ;
Run the big niggers over the fence,
The little ones through the crack.

4 Marster had an old gray mule

 

D

'Down to Lynchburg Town.' From J. H. Burrus of Weaverville, Bun-
combe county, in 1922, with tlie notation: "Used for any old dance, such
as Virginia break-down, the singing being accompanied by the music on
an instrument, usually a banjo."

1 rf 1 had a scolding wife

I'd whip her, sure as she's born ;

I'd take her down to Lynchl)tu-g town

And trade her off for corn.

Clioriis :

( )li, I'm going down to town.
( )b. I'm going down to town,

 

BLACKFACE MINSTREL, NEGRO SONGS 50I

Oh, I'm going clown to Lynchburg town
To carry my tobacco down.

I went on down to town,

1 didn't aim to stay ;

I laid my head in a pretty girl's lap

And I could not get away.

 

'Lynchburg Town.' From the Reverend A. J. Burrus, Cliffside, Ruther-
ford county. With the music. The chorus as in D and a single stanza
much the same as the first in D :

 

If I had a sporting [v. I. scolding] wife
I'd whip her, sure's she's born.
I'd whip her down to Lynchburg town
And bid her ofi, of course.

 

T'se Gwine Down to Town.' From W. B. Leake, student at Trinity
College. Merely the chorus, as in D.

 

'Git Along Down Town." From Lucille Cheek of Chatham county.
Merely the chorus, as in D.

 

'Going Down to Town.' Published by Louise Rand Bascom in JAFL
XXII 249 with the remark that "it is similar in character to the 'Arkan-
saw Traveler,' and the fourth verse [of each stanza] is always the
invention of the singer. It runs on endlessly, and begins thus: — "

I'm goin' down to town,
I'm goin' down to town,
I'm goin' down to town,
To chaw my terbacco down.
Git along down town,
Git along down town,
Git along down town,
To bile that cabbage down.

 

No title. Reported by Mrs. Nilla Lancaster, Wayne county. Only the
chorus, three lines, slightly different from tlie preceding forms at the
end :

Carry mv bacco down to town,
Down to town, down to town.
Trade it off for wine.
--------------------------------
 

415 Lynchburg Town


'Get On Down to Richmond Town.' Sung by Mrs. Minnie Lee, Alliance, Pamlico
county, in 1927. Melodically, the stanza is identical with that of F-169. The
first three measures are the same as those in F-387. Cf also F-644 and the re-
marks made there. For additional versions cf. MSON 140-1 (last stanza is
first in version D) ; ASb 145; APPS 182-3 and 257; OFS 11 360; and Ford
395-

F-386


A rac - coon has a bush - y tail,
A pos - sum tail am bare;
Rab-bit he come skip-pin' a - long,
He had none to spare.

 

Get on down town, Get on down town. Get

 

IB

 

on down to Rich-mond town And car - ry my 'bac - cy down!

Scale: Heptachordal, plagal. Tonal Center: g. Structure: abcdbecidi (2,2,2,
2,2,2,2,2) ^ abcb^ (4,4,4,4) ; in the over-all form, the beginning of c is related
to the ending of a.

 

'Get Along Down Town.' Sung by L. D. Hayman, Elizabeth City, Pasquotank
county, abbout 1921 or 1922. The ms score gives "New Bern" ; someone else (in
the lower part of the sheet) wrote "Burg" with an arrow pointing to "Bern."
Melodically, the first three measures are the same as those of F-386. Our
melody is related to that of F-166. The last four measures of the chorus
remind of 'Oh, Susannah !'

F-387

 


Pos - sum up the 'sim - mon tree, Rac - coon on the

 

ground. Raccoon said to the pos - sum: 'Please

hand some 'sim - mons down!'

 

Get a - long down to town,

 

Get a - long down to town, Get a - long


down to New Bern town. To take my ter - ba - cker down.


 
Scale: Pentachordal. Tonal Center: f. Structure: aaia^ba^a^a^b (2,2,2,
2,2,2,2,2) = aba^b^ (4,4,4,4). In the over-all form, b and b^ are somewhat
related to a. The tonal center is the lowest tone.

 

'Lynchburg Town.' Contributed by the Rev. A. T. Burrus, Cliffside, Ruther-
ford county. No date given. The time signature of the tune given in the ms
score has been changed, as have been the barlines. Our chorus is the first
stanza in MSON 140-1 ; cf. also Ford 395 and OFS 11 360.

 

F-388


 

Chorus


  

 

O, I'm goin' down town, O I'm goin' down town, O
 


I'm  goin' down to Lynch-burg town To car - ry

 


my to - bac - co down.

 

If I had a scold-ing wife I'd

 

whip her sure as she's bom; I'd ship her down to

 


Lynch - burg town And

 

bid  her off, of

 

For melodic relationship cf. **OSC 60.

 

Scale : Hexachordal. Tonal Center : f. Structure : abcda^b^c^d (2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2)
= aba^b^ (4,4,4,4). The c^ in the smaller subdivision is considerably varied.
The tonal center is the lowest tone.

 

'Goin' Down to Town.' Sung by Bascom Lamar Lunsford, Turkey Creek,
Buncombe county. No date given.

F-389
 


Go - in' down town. Go - in' down town, Go - in' down to

 

5iderable modifications of a, but as the second 'Stollen'
needs only to be similar to the first, the only feasible over-all form is a com-
pound : mm^n (3,3,8) plus m^m^o (3,3,6) = bar plus bar. The beginning
of the second 'epode,' which concludes the chorus, is the same as that of the
second 'Stollen' preceding it. Throughout, the same motive ("Sugar Babe")
constitutes the ending of both strophes and antistrophes as well as epodes.
In the over-all form, o is related to n.