Billy Boy- Moses (KY) pre1931 Fuson
[From Ballads of the Kentucky Highlands by Harvey Fuson; Publisher, Norwood Editions, 1931.
R. Matteson 2014]
BILLY BOY (Copy furnished by Prof. Leon Denny Moses)
"Where are you going, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
O where are you going, my charming Billy?"
"To marry me a wife, the comfort of my life,
She's a young thing, a young thing, to leave her ma."
"Where does she live, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Oh, where does she live, my charming Billy?"
"She lives on the hill forty miies from the mill;
She's a young thing, a young thing, to leave her ma."
"And what is her age, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Oh, what is her age, my my charming Billy?"
"Twice six, twice seven, twice twenty and eleven;
She's a young thing, a young thing, to leave her ma."
"Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Oh, can she bake a cherry pie, my charming Billy?"
"She can bake a cherry pie as quick as a cat can wink his eye;
She's a young thing, a young thing, to leave her ma."
"And what is her height, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Oh, what is her height, my charming Billy?"
"She is high as a pine, and slim as a vine;
She's a young thing, a young thing, to leave her ma."
"Can she row a boat to shore, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Oh, can she row a boat to shore, my charming Billy?"
"She can row a boat to the shore, without paddle or oar;
She's a young thing, a young thing, to leave her ma."