Billy Boy- Bickerstaff (MS) pre1926 Hudson B
[From Ballads and Songs from Mississippi by Arthur Palmer Hudson; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 39, No. 152 (Apr. - Jun., 1926), pp. 93-194; four versions A-D. Hudson's notes follow.
R. Matteson 2011, 2014]
B. Billy Boy. Communicated by Mr. T. A. Bickerstaff, who obtained it from his sister, Miss Alice Bickerstaff, Tishomingo, Miss.
1. "O where are you going, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
O where are you going, charming Billy ?"
"O, I'm going to see my wife,
She's the joy of my life;
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother!"
2. "Did she bid you come in Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she bid you come in charming Billy ?"
"Yes, she bade me come in,
Here's a dimple in her chin;
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother!"
3. "Did she set for you a chair Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she set for you a chair, charming Billy?"
"Yes, she set for me a chair.
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother!"
4. "Can she bake an cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she bake an cherry pie, charming Billy?"
"She can bake an cherry pie
As quick as a cat can wink its eye;
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother!"
5. "How tall is she ?" . . . .
"She's as tall as any pine,
And as slim as a pumpkin vine," etc.
6. "How old is she ?". . . .
"She's six times seven,
Twenty-eight and eleven," etc.