Billy Boy- Scarborough (Four Versions) 1935
[Dorothy Scarborough died in 1935. Her nearly completed book, A Song Catcher in Southern Mountains, was published posthumeously in 1937. The date for the songs is pre-1935. Stanzas organized in four lines.
I'm leaving all four versions here rather than separate them.
R. Matteson 2011, 2014]
Billy Boy- Scarborough- A Song Catcher in Southern Mountains (Four Versions) pre1935
A. Billy Boy- From Scarborough's mother
Where have you been, Billy boy, Billy boy,
Where have you been, charming Billy?
I've been to see my wife, she's the joy of my life;
But 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?
Yes, she can make a cherry pie quicker'n a cat can wink its eye.
But she's a young thing, and cannot leave her mother.
B. Ed Bostwick, Russell Fork, Virginia
Ed Bostwick, of Russell Fork, Council, Virginia, sang a version that would seem to indicate that the young thing was not yet
married to Billy.
Where are you going, Billy boy, Billy boy,
Where are you going, charming Billy?
I'm going to see my girl, she's the darling of my world;
She's a young thing, and cannot leave her mamma.
How old is she, Billy boy, Billy boy,
How old is she, charming Billy?
She's twice six, twice seven, forty-eight and eleven;
She's a young thing, and cannot leave her mamma.
How tall is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How tall is she, charming Billy?
She's as tall as a pine, and wears a number nine,
She's a, young thing and cannot leave her mamma.
How much does she weigh, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How much does she weigh, charming Billy?
She's forty feet around, and weighs a thousand pound,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mamma.
Can she make up a bed, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make up a bed, charming Billy?
She can make up a bed from the foot to the head,
She's a young thing and can't leave her mamma.
Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?
She can bake a cherry pie
Before a cat can lick its eye,
She's a young thing and can't leave her mamma.
Can she knit, can she sew, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she knit and sew, charming Billy?
She can back-stitch a thread, She can throw it over her head,
She's a young thing and can't leave her mamma.
C. Stella Roberts; Fletcher, North Carolina
Mrs. Stella Roberts, of Fretcher, North Carolina, remembered a part of the version she used to sing.
Oh where have you been, Billy boy, Billy boy,
Oh where have you been, charming Billy?
I'm going to seek my wife, for the pleasure of my life;
She's a young thing, she cannot leave her ma, ha-ha!
Did she ask you in, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she ask you in, charming Billy?
She did ask me in,
With a dimple in her chin.
she's a young thing and cannot leave her Ma--ha, ha!
Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?
She can make a cherry pie
Quicker 'n a cat can lick its eye.
She's a young thing and cannot leave her Ma--ha, ha!
D. Mrs. Cushing; Fletcher, North Carolina
Mrs. Cushing, of Fletcher, North Carolina, a relative of Mrs. Roberts, furnished some additional stanzas. The two ladies
had been brought up on the same version.
How old is she, Billy boy, Billy boy?
How old is she, charming Billy?
She's twice six, twice seven, twice twenty and eleven;
But she's a young thing, and cannot cannot leave her ma, ha-ha!
Can she make a feather bed, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make a feather bed, charming Billy?
She can make a feather bed, stand as high as any head.
But she's a young thing, and cannot leave her Ma-ha, ha!