Billy Boy- Nelson (KY) pre1978 Roberts
[Robert's- In the Pine; 1978. No date given, with music.
R. Matteson 2014]
Billy Boy- Sung by Mary S. Nelson ; Greenup County, KY
Oh, where have you been Billy boy, Billy boy,
Oh, where have you been, charmin' Billy?
I've been to see my wife, she’s the darlin' of my life.
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Did she ask you to come in, Billy boy, Billy boy,
Did she ask you to come in, charmin' Billy?
She asked me to come in, with a dimple in her chin,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Is she fit to be a wife, Billy boy, Billy boy,
Is she fit to be a wife, charmin' Billy?
She's as fit to be a wife as a fork is to a knife,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy boy, Billy boy,
Can she bake a cherry pie, charmin' Billy?
She can bake a cherry pie quick as a cat can wink its eye,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Does she often go to church, Billy boy, Billy boy,
Does she often go to church, charmin' Billy?
Yes, she often goes to church with a bonnet white as birch,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
How old is she, Billy boy, Billy boy,
How old is she, charmin' Billy?
She is six times seven, forty-eight and eleven.
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.