Billy Boy- Hubbard (MA) 1939 Linscott
[From Folk Songs of Old New England, Linscott, 1939, pp. 166-67.
R. Matteson 2014]
"Billy Boy" - Sung by Mrs. Elizabeth W. Hubbard, Taunton, Mass.; learned from her father.
Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?
I have been to seek a wife,
She's the joy of my life,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Did she bid you to come in, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Did she bid you to come in, charming Billy?
She did bid me to come in,
She's a dimple in her chin,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Did she set for you a chair, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Did she set for you a chair, charming Billy?
She did set for me a chair,
She had ringlets in her hair,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Can she make a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Can she make a cherry pie, charming Billy?
She can make a cherry pie,
Quick's a cat can wink her eye,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Can she make a feather bed, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Can she make a feather bed, charming Billy?
She can make a feather bed,
Put the pillows at the head,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
How old is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
How old is she, charming Billy?
Three times six, four times seven,
Twice twenty and eleven,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.