Bandoo- Cutlip (WV) 1921 Cox D
Folk-Songs of the South- John Harrington Cox 1925
29. THE WIFE WRAPT IN WETHER'S SKIN (Child, No. 277)
In West Virginia, this ballad goes under the titles: "Dandoo," "Bandoo," and "Gentle Virginia." Five variants have been found, A, B, and D practically alike and very similar to the version printed by Belden, Journal, xix, 298. The first four and the last two stanzas in C correspond to stanzas in A or B, but the arrangement is somewhat confused and several stanzas are more or less corrupt. Stanzas 5, 6, 7, and 8 are not to be found in any other American version nor in any of the Child versions. They may point to a different source for this copy, or they may have been deliberately added by some singer to satisfy a whim or to
make a local hit. In phraseology and in the burden, E shows a close relationship to the text printed by Newell, Journal, vn, 253 (Child, v, 304).
For American texts see Journal, vn, 253 (Newell; Massachusetts; reprinted by Child, v, 304); xix, 298 (Belden; Missouri); xxx, 328 (Kittredge, from Belden; Missouri; reprinted by Pound, No. 6 A) ; Campbell and Sharp, No. 33 (Virginia and Kentucky) ; Pound, No. 6 B (Nebraska). For references see Journal, xxx, 328. Add Bulletin, Nos. 7-10; Reed Smith, Journal, XXVIII, 200.
D. "Bandoo." Contributed by Mr. B. C. Cutlip, Hacker Valley, Webster County, August, 1921.
1 There was an old man who lived in the West,
Bandoo tol de day
There was an old man who lived in the West,
And his old wife was none of the best.
To me arms Barney while I curry Mingo
Comme comme cannick klice and a clingo
2 O, the old man he went out to plow,
Saying, "O, good wife, is my breakfast ready now?"
3 "There's a piece of bread upon the shelf,
If you want any more you can bake it yourself.''
4 O, he killed a wether and hung it on a pin,
And with his knife ripped off the skin.
5 O, he stretched that skin on his wife's back,
And with a withe went whickaty whack.
6 "O, I'll tell dad and mam and all my kin,
What a whipping you gave me."
7 "O, you can tell dad and mam and all your kin,
But I'm just dusting my old wether's skin."