Brown Collection- VII Work Songs
VII. WORK SONGS (Contents)
194. Old Boi! Ridley 229
195. Jimmy My Riley 232
196. Sheep Shell Corn by the Rattle of His Horn 233
197. Bu(;le, Oh ! 234
198. Come to Shuck Dat Corn Tonicht 234
199. De Shuckinc. OB de Corn 235
200. Shuck Corn, Shell Corn 236
201. Round It Up a Heap It Up 237
202. Corn-shucking sonc 237
203. The Old Turkey Hen 238
204. Run Sallie, My Gal 238
205. Up Roanoke and Dow n the Rni.R 239
206. HiDi QuiLi LoDi QuiLi 239
207. Here. Jola, Here 240
208. Come away from That Old Man 240
209. Sally, Molly. Polly 241
210. Down on the Farm 241
211. Negro Cotton-Picker 243
212. Pickin' Out Cotton 243
213. The Humble Farmer 244
214. Boll Weevil Blues 245
215. Ole Massa's Going Awav 247
216. The Man Who Wouldn't Hoe His Corn 247
217. The Old Chisholm Trail 248
218. The Duke of Buckingham 250
219. The Wild Ashe Deer 250
220. Old Blue 252
221. The Ground Hog 253
222. Fll Fire Dis Trip 255
223. Hi Yo Boat Row 256
224. We Live on the Banks of the Ohio 256
225. A Boat, a Boat. Across the Ferry 257
226. Haul, Haul, Haul, Boys 257
227. Old Horse. Old Horse 258
228. For Six Days Do All That Thou Art Able 258
229. Alphabet of the Ship 259
230. Whip Jamboree 260
231. I Have a Father in My Native Land 260
232. Sal's in the Garden Sifting Sand 261
233. The Heathen Chinese 261
234. Working on the Railroad 262
235. The Little Red Caboose Behind the Train 263
236. Reuben's Train 264
237. If the Seaboard Train Wrecks 1 Got a
238. Mule to Ride 266
238. Seaboard Air Line 266
239. A Southern Jack 266
240. I Been a Miner 267
241. Some of These Days and It Won't Be Long 267
242. I Ain't A-Gonna Work a No Mo'! 268
243. Roll Down Dem Bales 0' Cotton 268
244. I Wish My Captain Would Go Blind 268
245. Lavender Girl 268
246. Run Here, Doctor, Run Here Quick 269
247. The Washtub Blues 269
VII WORK SONGS
RHYTHMICAL chants of labor — spinning songs, sailors' chanties, the songs of workers in construction gangs of various sorts — are an important part of folk song, even in America, as appears in
tlie collections of Negro songs of this character made by Odum
(jAF"L XXIV 378-93) and by Odum and Johnson (Negro ITorkaday
Soiu/s, 1926). With one exception there is little of this sort of song
in our collection. That exception is the cornhusking songs. There
are a dozen of them, some with numerous variants. They are,
however, not work songs in the sense of marking and regulating
the muscular rhythm of the work involved but are simply enter-
tainment to lighten it — tliough sometimes a "leader" walks up and
down before the pile of unliusked corn singing the stanzas and
directing the buskers to come in on the chorus. One of the songs
with the greatest variety of versions. 'Old Bob Ridley.' has even
got over to England; Williams (FSUT 224-5) says that, though
of American origin, it is very popular throughout the Thames val-
ley. Several of these husking songs — 'The Old Turkey Hen,' 'Run,
Sally. My Gal,' 'Up Roanoke and Down the River.' 'Hidi Quili
Lodi Quili' — make no mention of corn or of husking. One. 'Here,
Jola, Here,' is evidently a hunting song. Two or three bits are
reported as hog-calling chants.
There are several songs that are not strictly speaking work songs
but that have to do with farm life and work, especially the raising
of cotton. 'Down on the Farm' is sentimental, the parody of it is
sarcastic; 'Picking out Cotton.' 'The Cotton Picker,' and 'The
Humble Farmer' are bitter; but 'The Boll W'eevil.' though its sub-
ject is the worst enemy of the cotton farmer, bubbles with irresistible
Negro humor. The weevil is "lookin' for a home" and despite all
the farmer's efforts he always finds one. 'The Young Man Who
Wouldn't Hoe His Corn' is not peculiar to North Carolina but is
known all over the country.
Hunting is rather a sport than a labor, even on the frontier, but
it is traditionally accompanied by or celebrated in song. In 'The
Duke of Buckingham' North Carolina has preserved an English
hunting song of the seventeenth century. 'The W'ild Ashe Deer'
professedly records the chase of a fleer from Ashe into Watauga
W O K K SO N (i S 22g
count\, hut I liavr not Icanit'd wlicu. "Old Blue' records toucliiuKly
a hunter's love of his doi; :
When 1 get to heaven T know what I'll do;
I'll gral) my iiorn and I'll hlow for Blue.
lUit among hunting songs none can vie in the southern Ai)i)alaehians
with "Tlie (Iround Hog.'
Whet up your knife anti whi>tle uj) your dog,
We're going to the hill^ to hunt a ground iiog.
The whole family takes ]iart in the expedition and in the sul)se(|uent
feasting :
Up stepped Susie with a snigger and a grin,
(irouiul hog grease all over her chin.
The rude hut happy life of the frontier is adniirahly pictured.
There are a few songs of river hoatnien, and one, 'Haul. Haul,
Haul. Boys,' that is called by the contributor a tishing song, which
may mean that it was sung by fishermen as they hauled their nets.
Of clianteys of deep-sea sailors there are surprisingly few\ con-
sidering how important sea life has been to the people on the
islands and the banks. 'Old Horse' voices the seaman's resentment
at his diet of salt horse; in 'For Six Days Do All That Thou Art
Able' he grouses about having to work on Sundays ; the 'Alphabet
of the Ship' is the sailor's counterpart to the woodsman's alphabet
often reported from the lumbering regions; but none of these is
properly speaking a chantey. 'Whip Jamboree,' on the other hand,
and possibly 'Sal's in the Garden Sifting Sand' are chanteys, and
'[ Have a F"ather in My Native Land' is reported as such, though
it hardly sounds like one.
Finally we have 'Working on the Railroad.' 'Reuben's Train.'
'The Little Red Caboose behind the Train,' and a few fragments
that have to do with railroads or railroad workers. There are in
the collection several songs about holioes. whose life is more or
less tied up with railroads. Some of these will be found among
the American ballads. Surely it would never do to ])nt hobo songs
among work songs !
194
Old ]*)()b RiDi.EV
Presumably a song from the minstrel stage that has jjassed into
the repertory of folk singers, though perhaps it represents the
reverse of that process. Professor Hudson tells me that 'Young
Bob Ridlev' was printed in Hob Hart's Plantation Songster ( New
York: Fitzgerald, about 1863) and in The Slii'linc/ Song Book
Xo. 3 (New York: Oliver Ditson. about 1864). Williams ( FSUT
230 XORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
224-5) says that though of American origin it is "very popular
throughout the Thames valley." It is popular also in North Caro-
lina, as our numerous texts show. Only one of them, C, is de-
scribed by the contributor as a cornhusking song, but it may safely
be assumed that all are so used. They combine some form of the
name Ridley with the story of the catching and cooking of a super-
latively fine possum. Davis (FSV 320) reports it from Virginia.
Perrow (JAFL xxvi 131) reports from the singing of North Caro-
lina Negroes a cornshucking song about the possum and Miss Polly
Bell much like our texts C D E, but it knows nothing of Bol) Rid-
ley. These elements appear also in Uncle Remus's 'De Old Sheep
Sharp' (Uncle Renins and His Friends [1920 ed.] 207-9) but
again without Ridley. On the other hand, his name has crept into
a quite different song, a form of 'Lynchburg Town,' reported from
the singing of X'irginia Negroes (JAFL xxviii 139). There is
perhaps some thread of connection between this and the two next
following items, 'Jimmy My Riley' and 'Sheep Shell Corn by the
Rattle of His Horn.'
'Robert Ridley. Hoc' Communicated in 191 3 by Charles R. Bagley as
learned from his grandparents in Moyock, Currituck county.
1 Robert Ridley hoo, hot
Robert Ridley boo
Robert Ridley boo, what
Makes you treat dat nigger so?
2 Possum up de simmon tree
Looking cunning down at me.
Up wid a brick and all on the sly
Fetch him zip ! right in de eye.
3 I took him down to Polly Bell,
For I knew she'd cook him well.
Some to bake, some to chew.
Some to bile for the barbecue.
B
'Possum up a 'Simmon Tree.' From Miss Lois Johnson, Thomasville,
Davidson county. Not dated. Not described by the informant as a corn-
husking song, but evidently a fragment of the same song as .A. The
second stanza here, like the first stanza of A, is clearly a chorus.
1 i'ossum tip a 'simmon tree
Looking cunning down at me.
I'icked up a rock all on the sly
And hit him zip! right in the eye.
2 Old l>ob Hridelv, ho ho ho
Old Bob Bridely, ho ho ho
Old P.ob P.ridely, ho ho ho
\\ bat made you fool that posstnn so ?
W () R K SONGS 231
C
'Corn Shucking Son.t;.' From Miss Minnie lirvan Farrii>r, Duplin county.
With the tune.
1 ( )1(1 J^xil) Ixidlfv. coiiK' blow vimr horn,
Sheep in tlie pasture, cow in the barn.
Old Boh Ridley, come hlow your horn.
Sheep in the pasture, hogs in the corn.
Chorus:
Boys, conie along and shuck that corn.
Boys, come along to the rattle of the horn ;
We shuck and sing till the coming of the morn,
Then we'll have a holiday.
2 ( )ld I'.oh Ridley, o-oh ! o-oh !
How could you fool that possum so?
I picked up a rock all on the sly
And hit him zip right in the eye.
3 I took him down to Polly Bell.
Because I knowed she'd cook him well.
She made a frye. she made a stew,
A roast, a brile, and a barbecue.
D
'Old Bob Ridley.' From H. C. Martin of Blowing Rock, Watauga
county. Three stanzas and chorus. The first stanza corresponds with
negligible differences to the second of A, the second to the last stanza
of C ; tlie chorus runs :
Old Bob Ridley, oh, oh,
Old Bob Ridley, oh, oh.
What made you treat dat possum so ?
The third stanza is new :
3 Ole massa say he never see
A possum half as fat as he.
We eat and we danced and we eat all night.
And we never eat him up till de morning light.
'Possum Tree.' From the manuscripts of Obadiab Johnson of Cross-
nore. Avery county, copied out in 1940. With the tune. Sung by Clarice
Burleson and Joe Powles, August 8, 1940. There is here no mention
of Ridley or of cornhusking, yet it is clearly a form of the song we
have already seen in C and D.
I IVIy dog did bark and 1 went to see
A possum up a persimmon tree.
I picked up a rock all on a sly
And tuk that possum ker-zi[) in the eye.
232 NORTH CAROLINA F O L K L R K
CJionis:
Although you know it is nothing to me,
I'll talk about things I don't like to see;
Although you know that I don't like to see
A possum a-climbing right down at me.
2 1 tuk it down to 1 Jolly ^ Bell
Because 1 knew she'd cook it well.
We had a roast, a boil, a stew,
A bake, a fry, and a barbecue.
'Ground Hog.' Under this title Alex. Tugman of Todd, Ashe county,
sent in. probably in 1922, the first stanza and the chorus of the C ver-
sion of 'Old Bob Ridley."
Jimmy My Riley
This cornhusking song I have not found elsewhere. The refrain
line, however, sounds as if it might be a memory of the refrain
line of 'Old Bob Ridley,' and stanzas 2 and 3 are strongly reminis-
cent of stanza 2 of 'Sheep .Shell Corn by the Ratde of His Horn,'
below.
'Jimmie-My-Riley.' From G. S. Black, Cabarrus county, in 1920.
1 jimmie-my-Riley was a grand old rascal
jimmie-my-Riley ho
jimmie-my-Riley was a grand old rascal
jimmie-my-Riley ho
Chorus:
Pick it up and shuck it u\) and throw it over yonder
Jimmie-my-Riley ho
Pick it up and shuck it up and throw it over yonder
Jimmie-mv-Riley ho
2 The cows in the old field hornin' jimmie Riley
Jimmie-my-Riley ho
The cows in the old field hornin' jinnnie Riley
Jimmie-my-Riley ho
3 The mules in tho old beld kickin' jimmie Riley
jimmie-my-Riley ho
The mules in the old field kickin' jimmie Kiley
jimmie-my-Riley ho
' So the manuscript; i)robably just a slip of the ikmi for "Polly."
WORK S O N C S 233
196
SiiKKi- SiiKij, Corn by thk Rattlk of 11 is Horn
This C()rnliuskin.u: sonij is probably connected frenetically with
'Jimmy My Riley,' thouf^h which is source and which is product 1
see nothing to indicate. The curious notion that a sheep shells
corn by the rattle of his horn appears also in South Carolina
(JAFL XLiv 426) and what seem like confused memories of it in
North Carolina (JAFL xxvi 131) and Arkansas (TNFS 215, in
the middle of a "spinning song"!).
A
'Corn-Shucking Song: Blow, Horn, Blow.' This song appears three
times in the Collection, with only the slightest variations — which arc
here recorded in the footnotes. AH the copies come, through different
hands, from Miss Elizabeth Janet I'.lack of Ivanhoe, Sampson county, in
1920. The first line of stanza 2 seems to be an echo of the correspond-
ing line in 'Jimmy My Riley.' The stanzas are sung by a 'leader' and
the whole company of buskers come in on the chorus. The commas in
tbf "blow born blow" line are editorial and may be wrong.
1 Sheep shell corn hy the rattle of his horn.
Blow, horn, blow-
Send to the mill hy the whippoorwiil.
Blow, horn, blow^
Chorus:
O! blow vour horn, blow horn, blow!
(J! blow vom- horn, blow horn, blow!
2 Cows- in the old field, don't yon hear the bell?
Blow, horn, blow-
Gals up stairs kicking tip hell ;
Blow% horn, blow.
3 Shuck this corn, boys, let's go home,
Blow, horn, blow-
Shuck this corn, boys, let's go home.
Blow, horn, blow-.
Refrain:'^
Hunt for the nubbins, bang a rang!
Hunt for the nubbins, bang a rang!
B
'Sheep Shell Corn.' Contributed liy Kvt-lyii Moody of Stanly county.
Only two lines remembered :
' This fourth line missing in one of the copies, dout)tless by oversight.
- One of the copies has here "Come."
■'' Called in one of the copies "Grand Chorus, to he sung at the end."
234 NORTH C A R L I N A F L K L () K K
Sheep shell corn hy the rattle of tlie horn,
I never saw the like since I been born.
c
'Sheep Slicll Corn." An anunymuus sheet in the Collection, with tune.
A reduced form of A.
197
Bugle, Oh !
A cornhusking chant that makes no mention of cornhusking. I
have not found it elsewhere.
'Corn Shucking Song.' Communicated in 1920 by S. M. Holton, Jr., as
learned in Yadkin county. Each stanza is made up like the first ; that
is, the leader sings the first line, repeats it as the third line, introduces
added matter in the fifth line, repeats this as the seventh line; and the
even-numbered lines are entirely refrain, "Bugle oh" up to the last line,
where it becomes "Bugle, oh ! Oh, Bugle, oh !" Only the first stanza
is here given in full.
1 Goin' down the country,
Bugle, oh !
Goin' down the country,
Bugle, oh !
Red breast horses,
Bugle, oh !
Red breast horses,
Bugle, oh ! r)h, bugle, oh !
2 Comin' in a canter,
Met my darlin'.
3 Took her in the buggy.
Courtin' in the kitchen.
4 Then got married ;
Dancin' at the weddin'.
5 We had a little baby,
Named him Jimmy.
198
Come to Shuck Dat Corn Tonight
A cornhusking song that I have not found elsewhere.
'Corn Shucking Song.' Reported by Mrs. C. C. Thomas as learned
from her mother; but there is no indication of when or where.
Come to shuck dat corn tonight.
Come to shuck with all your might ;
WORK S () N (I S 235
Come fur to shuck all in sij^lit,
Couie to shuck (1;U corn tonight.
Couie to shuck dat i^oldcn ^rain ;
W'har dar's 'nuff dar ai' no pain.
Ef you shuck 'tis all yo gain ;
Come to shuck dat golden grain.
199
Df. SiiucKixn OR nr. Corn
This appears in the Collection without name of informant, hut
there is no douht of its authenticity. Dr. Brown had included it
in some sheets that he prepared for puhlication ahout 1916-17. Not
improbahly it is from his own early recollection. For the occur-
rence elsewhere of the opening line, in Alabama and Mississippi,
see ANFS 381. Only the chorus connects it with cornhusking. The
rest of it may go back to some Negro minstrel piece. I have not
found it recorded. The chorus is repeated after each stanza. 'Tlie
Sweet Bye and Bye' is, of course, a familiar popular song.
1 White folks send their chillun to .school
To learn to read and write.
But niggers send their chilluns to school
To larn to fuss and fight.
You'll never learn a nigger nuffin.
So ain't no use to try.
For the Dehil's guin to get 'em all
In the sweet bye and bye.
Chorus:
Ain't you gooin'. ain't you gooin.
Ain't you gooin to de shuckin ob de corn ?
Yes, Ise gooin, oh yes Ise gooin,
Ise gooin to de shuckin ob de corn.
2 As I was walking down the street
Tother Wednesday night.
I saw two little nigger boys
Get into a fight.
Policeman said, 'I'll get you.
But it's no use to try ;
For de Debil get you for me
In the sweet bye and bye.'
3 'Dere's gold in de mountain
And silver in de mine ;
All this I'll give you
If you only will be mine.'
236 N k 1' H C A R L I N A F O L K L R IC
"Go away. Old Satan,
You can fool who you will.
You can fool all the poor white trash.
But you can't fool Uncle Bill.'
4 'Tvvas only tother Sunday night.
As I lay half awake.
Old Satan came to my bedside
And he began to shake.
He shook me hard, he shouk me long,
He shook me out of bed,
He caught me by my necktie,
And this is what he said :
The chorus of tliis song, in a somewhat different form, was contributed
( without indication of time or place ) by C. L. Walker. Since, in the
absence of the tune, 1 am not sure of its metrical construction, it is
here given as in the manuscript :
You gwine, aint you gwine. aint you gwine to the shuckin
of the corn.
O yes I gwine to stay to morning when (jable blows his
horn,
Am gwine to stay till the coming of the dawn.
200
Shuck Corn, Shell Corn
This cornhuskin^^ song has already been reported by Perrow
(JAFL xxviii 139) from the singing of North Carolina Negroes:
I have not found it elsewhere.
'Shuck Corn.' Communicated, probably in 1922 or thereabouts, by Mrs.
Nilla Lancaster from Wayne county, and also, with almost identical
text, by Miss Clara Hearne of Pittsboro, Chatham county, in 1923. The
last four lines appear to be a chorus.
Shuck corn, shell corn.
Carry corn to mill.
Cirind de meal, gimme de luisk.
l)ake' de bread, gimme de crust.
b"ry de meat, gimme de skin —
And dat's de way to bring 'em in.
\\'(jn't y(ni git up, old hor.se?
I'm on de road to Brighton.
Won't you git up, old horse?
I'm on de road to I Brighton.
'So Mrs. Lancaster's text; .Miss Hearne's lias here "break."
W () K K SONGS 237
201
Round It Lr a IIkat It Up
ihis Ini^kin^ sont; is a composite. Tlie opening stanza is a mem-
ory of the cliorus of "Jimmy My Riley.' Mrs. Steely found it in
the Ebenezer community in Wake county. The central stanza is
a part of the sontj "My Honey, My Love' in Harris's Uticlc Ronns
and His hricinis. ihe Juha lines, which the informant does not
j)rescnt as really a part of the song, are a dance song. See ANFS
163 and the references there given.
'Corn Shucking Song.' Contributed by Miss Amy Henderson of Worry,
Burke county. ])robably in IQ14.
Round it up a heap it tip a
Round it up a corn
A-jooi^-a-loa
De big owl hoot and cry for his mate
My honey, my love!
Oh. don't stay long, oh. don't stay late
My honey, my love !
It ain't so ftir to de goodby gate
Oh, my honey, my love !
"And when they wouUl finisli slnicking," says the informant, "sometimes
they would pat this :
julja (lis and juha dat
And juha killed de yaller cat.
Juha ! juha !
and several would jump up auti take stei)s in time to it."
202
0)RN-Shucking Song
This is written in Dr. Brown's hand at the foot of the typescript
of 'De Shucking oh de Corn' (see above), among sheets that he
was preparing for publication in 1916-17. It is fairly close to one
of Uncle Remus's songs as given in Bright's edition of Uncle
RcDiiis. His So)tgs and Sayings, pp. 184-7. ^'"" "the lost ell and
yard,'' which means the constellation Orion with its belt and sword
or club, see Annie Weston Whitney's article in JAFL x 293-8.
Oh, de fus news ye know de day'll be a-breakin',
Heyho ! Hi O! Up '11 down de banjo
An' de fire be a-btirnin' an de ash cake a bakin',
Heyho! (etc., as above)
An' de hen'll be a-hollerin' an' de boss'll be a-wakin',
Heyho ! (etc., as above)
238 NORTH CAROLINA FOLK L OR K
Better git up, nigger, an give yoself a shakin'.
Hi O ! Miss Cindy Ann !
Fo' de los' ell an' yard is a-huntin' fer de mornin".
Hi O ! git along, go 'way
En' she'll ketch up wid us fo' we ever git dis corn in ;
O go 'way, Cindy Ann.
203
The Old Turkey Hex
This I have not found recorded elsewhere. Dr. Brown notes on
the manuscript that the informant learned it on her father's farm
in Montgomery county.
'The Old Turkey Hen.' Reported by Miss Jewell Robbins (afterwards
Mrs. C. P. Perdue), Pekin, Montgomery county, some time between
1921 and 1924, with the notation that it is a "corn-shucking hollow" in
which the leader sings the odd-numbered lines as he walks the corn pile
and the shuckers sing the refrain, the even-numbered lines.
1 Seven years a-boiling
Ho-ma-hala-way
Seven years a-baking
Ho-ma-hala-way.
2 They blowed the horn for dinner
Ho-ma-hala-way
The people could not eat her
Ho-ma-hala-way.
3 They carried her to the old field
Ho-ma-hala-way
The buzzards could not eat her
Ho-ma-hala-way.
204
Rux, Sallie, My Gal
Submitted as a "corn-sliuckins' hollow" in which the leader walks
the corn pile and sings the first line each time and those who are
shucking answer with "bu-ga-lo." I have not found it in print.
It should perhaps have been entered as a form of 'Bugle. Oh!'
above.
'Run, Sallie, My Gal.' Communicated in 1921 by Miss Jewell Robbins
(later Mrs. C. P. Perdue), Pekin, Montgomery county. With the music.
I Run, Sallie, my gal
Bu-ga-lo
Run, Sallie, my gal
Bu-ga-lo.
w () K K SO i\ (; s 239
J Tlic bull in the iiK-adcw
Bu-ga-lo
As fat as he can wallow '
r.u--a-lo.
205
Up Roanoke and Down tiik Rivkr
Another c()rnliuskin,t!: song. I have not found it elsewhere. It
consists of single lines, followed always by the refrain line, which
is the same throughout. Each of the single lines is repeated once,
making, with the refrain line, a four-line stanza. A leader sings
the single lines, the whole company of buskers comes in on the
refrain. Only the first such stanza is here given in full; after that,
the single lines.
'The Old Corn Song of Long Ago.' Reported by S. M. Holton, Jr.. as
sung in Davidson county. The refrain line in the manuscript is headed
throughout by the word "Drines," the meaning of wliicli the editor does
not know ; the other lines are headed "Leader."
1 Up Roanoke and down the river.
Oho, we are 'most done.
Up Roanoke and down the river.
Oho. we are 'most done.
2 Two canoes, and nary paddle.
3 There is where we run the devils.
4 Away over in reedy bottom.
5 There is where we trick the devils.
6 jack de Gillam shot the devils.
7 Blue hall and a jxjund of powder.
8 Shot him in the rim of the belly.
9 That's the way we killed the devils.
206
HiDI Qui LI LODI QUILI
The final stanza of this cornhusking song appears in version E
of 'Said the Blackbird to the Crow'; also (with "crane" for "crow,"
which betters the rhyme) in Talley's Negro Folk Rhymes 59 and
Randolph's OFS 11 356, from Missouri. Stanzas i and 2 I have not
found elsewhere.
' This is more often found as the description of some swain's "girl in
the hollow."
240 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'Hidi, Quili, Lodi, Quili (Corn Shucking Song).' Reported in 1913 by
Charles R. Bagley as heard from his grandparents in Moyock, Currituck
county.
1 Hidi, quili, lodi, quili,
Hidi, quili, quackeo,
If you'd uh been as I'd uh been
You would uh been so pretty O !
2 yuinckuni quanckum made a song
And he sang it all along,
Heels in the path and toes in the grass.
Don't take nothing but dollar and half.
3 The ole fish hawk said to the crow,
T hope to the Lord tonight it'll rain;
The creeks am muddy and millpond dry ;
'Twasn't for tadpoles minnows all die.'
207
Here, Jola, Here
This seems to be a hunting song (cf. 'Old Blue') used to accom-
pany the work of cornhusking. I have not found it elsewhere.
'Corn Husking Song.' Communicated by CaroHne Biggers of Monroe,
Union county, with the explanation that the leading part, i.e., the odd-
numbered lines, is taken by one male voice and the even-numbered lines,
i.e., the chorus, are sung in unison.
Jola was a coon dog.
Here, Jola, here.
Jola was a possum dog.
Here, Jola, here.
Jola was a rabbit dog.
Here, Jola, here.
Jola was a bird dog.
Here, Jola, here.
208
Come away from Tii.\t ( )lu Max
Reported as "a call for hogs — tune quite musical" (but the music
is not scored on the manuscript), this looks like a fragment of a
ballad. I have not found it elsewhere.
'Come away from That Old Man.' Submitted by Frederica Jenkins of
Wilmington, New Hanover county. Not dated.
Come away from that old man !
He will kill you if he can.
Come awav, o-oh !
WORK S C) N G S 241
209
Sally, Molln, I'olly
A hojj-calliiig chant from Wake county, rcporti-d in k^j^ by
Beulah Walton of Morrisville.
Sallv. Alollv. Pullv. O •
Come on git cawn !
Little in the basket, more in the crib,
Come on git cawn !
210
Down on the Farm
This song about tlie good old days of childhood is not properly
speaking folk song, though it has approached that status in North
Carolina : it appears four times in our collection as traditional
song. A more compelling evidence of its popularity is the fact that
it has prompted a parody. The four regular texts are :
A From W. Amos Abranis of Boone, Watauga county.
B From O. L. Coffey, ShuH's Mills, Watauga county.
C From Mrs. Mary Martin Copley, Durham.
D From Miss Clara Hearne, Pittsboro, Chatham county.
Since these texts do not differ significantly (except that D is incom-
plete) it will be sufficient to give one of them. Professor Abrams's.
1 While a boy I used to dwell in a home I loved so well,
Far away among the clover and the bees ;
Where the morning-glory vine round the cabin porch did
twine,
\\ here the robin-redbreast sang among the trees.
Chorus:
Oh, many weary years have i)assed since T saw the liome
place last,
And a memory dear steals o'er me like a charm ;
Every old familiar place, every kind and loving face,
In my boyhood's happy day down on the farm.
2 Oh, there's a father old and grey, there's a sister \()iuig
and gay,
.\ mother dear to shield us from all harm ;
There 1 spent life's happy hours running wild among the
flowers.
In mv boyhood's happy days down on the farm.
3 -And today, as I draw near the old home 1 love so dear,
A stranger comes to meet me at the door;
X.C.F., Vol. TTI. ri8)
242 NORTH CAROLINA F L K L R K
'Round the place there's many a change, and the faces all
seem strange.
Not a loved one comes to meet me as of yore.
4 And my mother dear is laid 'neath the old elm tree's quiet
shade,
Where the morning's golden sun shines hright and warm ;
And it's near the old fireplace there I see a stranger's face
In mv father's old arm-chair down on the farm.
And now for the realist's report of life down on tlie farm.
'Down on the Farm.' Contributed l)y Macie Morgan of Stanly connty.
1 Down on the farm 'bout half past four
I slip on my pants and sneak out the door.
Out in the yard I run like the dickens
To milk all the cows and feed all the chickens.
Clean out the barnyard, curry Rhoda and Jiggs,
Separate the cream and slop all the pigs.
Hustle two hours, then eat like a Turk.
By heck ! I am ready for a full day's work.
2 Then I grease the wagon and put on the rack.
Throw a jtig of water in the old grain sack,
Hitch uj) the mules, slip down the lane —
Must get the hay in, looks like rain.
Look over yonder ! Sure's I am born.
Cows on the rampage, hogs in the corn.
Start across the meadow, run a mile or two
Heaving like I am wind-broken, get wet clean through.
3 Back with the mules ; then, for recompense,
Rhoda gets a-straddle the barb-wire fence.
Joints are aching, muscles in a jerk.
"Whoop ! fit as a fiddle for a full day's work.
Work all the summer till winter is^ nigh.
Then figure at the bank and heave a big sigh.
Worked all the year, didn't make a thing ;
Less cash now than I had last spring.
4 Some folks say there ain't no hell.
.Shucks! They never farmed; how can they tell?
When spring rolls round and I take another chance.
As fuzz grows longer on my old gray pants.
(Hve my galluses a hitch, belt another jerk,
(iosh! I'm ready for a full year's work.
* The manuscript has instead "tlie," doubtless by a mere slip of the pen.
W () U K SONGS 243
211
Negro Cotton-Pic ker
Brief as this is, it is a coniijosite. Soniethins' like the tirst line
is reported from Alahaiiia (ANFS 285) ; the last two lines are
something- of a commonplace in Negro song, reported from Vir-
ginia (JAFL xxviii 140) and South Carolina (JAFL xliv 432)
and without definite location by Odum (JAFL xxiv 267) and the
Loniaxes (ABFS 234).
No title. Communicated in UJ23 by Mrs. Xilla Lancaster from Wayne
county.
Way down in de bottom, when the cotton's all rotten,
Can't pick a hundred a day.
Aui^ht tor auti^ht, and Hijger for tigger.
All for de white man an' none for de nigger.
212
Pickin' Out Cotton
This looks like an authentic work-song, but I have not found it
elsewhere. The longer text appears in the Collection in Dr. Brown's
hand but without indication of source; probably he took it down
from someone's singing but neglected to note wdio sang it, and
where, and when. The shorter version does not dit¥er from the
longer except by lacking the second half.
A
'Pickin' out Cotton.' Manuscript in Dr. P>rown's hand without notation
of date or source.
'1 fello. my little girl, which away, which away.
Which away, which away, which away, which away ?'
'Mammy sent me to pickin' out cotton ;
Daddy said the seed's all rotten.'
'How can you tell that the seed's all rotten.
How can you tell that the seed's all rotten ?'
'Can't I tell by looking at the cotton.
Can't I tell by looking at the cotton?
( )h, won't yoti gimme chow terbocker, tih ?
( )h, I w ant a chow terbocker, uh.
( )h, won't you gimme chow terbocker?
( )h. can't \-ou gimme chow terbocker?'
'llello. my little girl, which away, which away,
W Inch away, which away, which away, which away ?'
'All the way to July Ann Clebber,
All the way to July Ann Clebber.
That's the death my heart can sever,
244 ^' O R T II CAROLINA FOLKLORE
That's the death niv heart can sever.
Oh, won't you gimme chow terhocker,
Oh, won't you gimme chow terbocker?
Mammy's sent me to pickin' cotton,
Daddy swore the seed's all rotten.'
'How can you tell that the seed's all rotten?'
'Can't 1 tell by looking at the cotton?
Oh. gimme chow terbocker, uh.'
B
'Pickin' out Cotton.' Obtained from A. J. (or from J. H.) Burrus,
Weaverville, Buncombe county, in August 1922. With the tune. The
first eight lines are the same as in A ; and then it runs : "Then the per-
former gets in a big way and goes off on
Ho — won't you give me chaw o' tobacco.
Ho — won't you give me chaw o' tobacco,
ad infinitum."
213
The Humble Farmer
The Loinaxes (OSC 280-1 ) report this, with the variations to be
expected in anything that passes by oral tradition, as sung by a
Negro share-cropper in Texas in 1934. It presents a fairly vivid
picture of the plight of the share-croppers in the cotton country.
'The Humble Farmer.' Obtained, sometime in the period 1921-24, from
Miss Jewell Robbins (later .Mrs. C. P. Perdue), Pekin, .Montgomery
county. The last two lines of the first stanza should probably read
'Twas caused by picking cotton
From out the cotton bolls.
What is here marked "chorus" is merely another stanza in the Te.xas
version, where the chorus is only two lines.
I 1 saw an humble farmer ;
1 lis back was bending low,
A-picking out the cotton
Along the cotton row.
His shirt was old and ragged.
His pants were full of holes;
'Twas caused bv picking oiU the cotton bolls,
Tlie cottfin from the bolls.
Chorus:
'Now pay me,' says the merchant,
'Pay me all you owe.
Unless you pay me up, sir,
COTTON P I C K PER S
I'll sell to you no more.'
'1 cannot pay,' says farmer.
'1 cannot pay at^ all.
You sold your goods so high, sir
I'll finish \t next fall'
2 Up steps a fair-skinned merchant
With a high-top derhy on.
Says 'F^ay nie, Mr. Farmer,
Or you to me belong.'
'I cannot pay,' says farmer,
I cannot pay at^ all ;
I'll pay you some today, boss,
And finish it next fall.'
214
Boll Weevil Blues
The boll weevil invaded Texas from Mexico about the end of
the nineteenth century; now he is known and dreaded wherever
cotton is grown in the United States. And the song about him is
perhaps equally ubiquitous. Its origin is as obscure as that of 'Joe
Bowers' or 'Jesse James.' Texts vary somewhat, but are pretty
sure to emphasize "the weevil's relentless determination to find a
home. For other texts see AMS 90-1, ANFS 351-3, ASb 8-10,
FSAI 199-200, TNF.S 77-9, ABFS 112.
A
'Boll Weevil Blues.' Obtained from Olxicliah Johnson, Crossnore, Avery
county, in 1940.
1 Farmer said to the boll weevil,
'I see you're on the square.'
Boll weevil said to the farmer,
'And my whole family's there ;
I have a home, I have a home.
2 'Look up your bar'l o' pizen,
And scatter it on the row,'
Boll weevil said to the farmer ;
'You scatter pizen, though
I have a home, I have a home.'
3 Boll weevil said to the lightning bug
'Kin I get up a trade with you?
Ef I wuz a lightning hug
Fd work the whole night through.
All night long, all night long.'
^ So the manuscript ; the context indicates tliat "at" shonld be "it."
246 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
4 'Don't you see how them creeturs
Now have done me wrong?
Boll weevil's got my cotton
And the merchant's got my corn.
What shall I do ? What shall I do ?'
5 Boll weevil said to the merchant,
'Better drink you^ cold lemonade;
When I git thru with you
Gwine drag you out o' the shade —
I have a home ! I have a home !'
6 Boll weevil said to the doctor,
'Better po' out all them pills ;
When I get through with the farmer
He can't pay no doctor's bills —
I have a home ! I have a home !'
7 iioU weevil said to the preacher,
'Better shet your church house door;
When I get thru with the farmer
He can't pay the preacher no more —
1 have a home ! 1 have a home !'
8 Boll weevil said to the farmer,
'Better sell yo' old machine;
\Mien I get thru with you
You can't buy no gasoline —
I have a home ! I have a home !'
9 Boll weevil said to his wife,
'Better stan' up on yo' feet
'N look way down here in Georgy
At all the cotton we got to eat —
All night long, and all day too !'
10 I^oll weevil said to the farmer,
'1 wisht that you wuz well.'
{•"arnier said to the boll wee\il,
'I wisht you wuz in hell!'
l')oll weevil blues! I'oll wee\il blues!
B
'Roll Weevil Bines.' I^'roiii the John lUirch lUaylock Collection.
I I'.oll Weevil said to the doctor,
'You can roll out your little pills;
When I get through with the cotton
^'ou can't i)ay no doctor's bills.
i want your home. I want your home.'
' So tlu' inannscript ; prfihahiy slionld lie "yo."
W () K K SON C. S 247
2 lioll Weevil said to the store-keeper,
'You can . . . out your uieat ;
W'heu I get through with tlie cottou
You wout' have nothing to eat.
1 want your home, I want your home.'
3 r.oll Weevil said to the farmer.
'1 wish you mighty well.'
The farmer said to the Boll Weevil.
'1 wish you were in — Hope Dale.'
'I want your home, I want your home.
4 The farmer said to the Boll Weevil,
'I thought you were on the square.'
The Boll Weevil said to the farmer,
'My whole dang family's there.
1 vvant vour home. T want your home.'
215
Ole Massa's Going Away
This might be accounted a work song in reverse. 1 have not
found it elsewhere.
'Ole Massa's Coin' Away.' From C. M. Hutchings, Durham, c. 1913-
Ole Massa's goin' away, boys.
He's goin' to see his brother.
We'll wait till he gets out of sight,
Then we'll throw down the hoe and the shovel.
216
The Man Who Wouldn't Hoe His Corn
For reports of this purely indigenous American song from other
regions, see BSM 440 and' add to the references there given Vir-
ginia (FSV 172-3), South Carolina (OSC 286-7). Arkansas (OFS
III 196), Indiana (BSI 307), and Ohio (BSO 243-4).
"The Man Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn.' Obtained in the summer of 1945
by Professors W. Amos Abrams and Gratis D. Williams of the Appa-
lachian State Teachers College from Pat Frye of East Bend. Yadkin
county, concerning whom see the headnote to version G of 'Lady Isabel
and tile Elf-Knight' in Volume II.
I There was a young man lived on Beaver's Creek,
He didn't make corn for to .sell nor keep;
And for the reason T can't tell.
For this young man was always well.
248 NORTH C A R L I N A K O I. K L O R E
2 He went to his corn field and looked in.
Shallot weeds was to his chin ;
The weeds and grass so thick did grow
That he was afraid to venture with his hoe.
3 The nearest house that he went to,
The girl he courted, I suppose,
She says to this young man in a great scorn.
'Oh,' she says, 'young man. have you wed out your corn?"
4 He answered her with this reply :
'No, kind miss, I've laid it by.
There is no use to strive in vain
When I know I shan't make nor a grain.'
5 'What is the use for us to wed.
When you can't make your own l)read ?'
Saying 'All I am I expect to remain.
For a lazy man I shan't maintain.'
217
The Old Chisholm Trail
The cowboy classic, sung probably wherever cattle are driven
over the plains to market. See CS 28-37. Randolph (OFS 11
174-5) has found it in Arkansas. Neely and Spargo (TSSI 184-5)
report a song with the same refrain but a widely different text from
Illinois.
The Old Chisholm Trail." From the John Burch Blaylock Collection.
1 Come along, boys, and listen to my tale.
I'll tell you of my troubles on the old Chisholm trail.
Refrain:
Come ti yi youpy youpy ya youpy ya,
Come ti yi youpy youpy ya.
2 I started up the trail October twenty-third.
I started up the trail with the 2-U herd.
3 ( Jh, a ten dollar boss and a forty dollar saddle.
And I'm goin' to punchin' Texas cattle.
4 I wake u]) in the morning on the old Chisholm trail,
Rope in niv hand and a cow by the tail.
5 I'm uj) in the mornin' afore daylight.
And afore I slecj) the moon shines bright.
6 ( )ld P>en l')<)lt was a tine old man.
And you'd know there was whiskey wherever he'd land.
WORK SONGS 249
7 Mv lins.s ihrowi'd UK' oft" ;it tlic creek called Mud;
My lu)ss throwed uic olt 'it >uud the J-V herd.
8 Last time he was i^oiui,^ 'cross the level,
A-kickin<;- up his heels and a-running; like the devil.
9 It's cloudy in the west, a-looking like rain.
And mv damned old slicker's in the wat^on aj^ain.
10 Crippled my hoss, 1 don't know Ikjw,
Ropin' at the horns of a 2-U cow.
1 1 We hit C aldwell and we hit her on the fly.
We hedded down the cattle on the hill close hy.
12 No chaps, no slicker, and it's pourini;- down rain;
And 1 swear, liy all, I'll never night-herd again.
13 Feet in the stirruj^s and a seat in the saddle,
I hung and rattled with them long-horned cattle.
14 Last night 1 was on guard and the leader hroke ranks;
I hit my horse on the shoulders and 1 spurred him in the
flanks.
15 The wind commenced to hlow, and the rain hegan to fall;
It looked, hy gral), like we was goin' to lose 'em all.
16 I jumped in the saddle and grabhed holt the horn,
Best blamed cowpuncher ever was born.
17 I popped my foot in the stirrup and gave a little yell;
The tail cattle broke and the leaders went to hell.
18 I don't give a damn if they never do stop,
ril ride as long as an eight-day clock.
19 Foot in the stirrup and hand on the horn,
Fm the best damned cowboy that ever was l)orn.
20 I herded and I hollered, and I done very well.
Till the boss said, 'Boys, just let 'em go to hell.'
21 There's a stray in the herd and the boss said kill it,
.So I shot him in the rump with the handle of the skillet.
22 We rounded 'em u]), and we put 'em on the cars.
And that was the last of the old Two-Bars.
23 Oh. it's bacon and beans most every day ;
Ld as soon be eatin' prairie hay.
24 I'm on mv best horse and Fm going at a run,
Fm the tjuickest shooting cowboy that ever pulled a gun.
250 N R T H C A K O I. I X A F L K L R E
-'5
1 wt-'iit t(i the boss to draw my roll,
To come back to Texas, dad-burn mv soul.
26 I went to the boss to draw my roll ;
He had it tiggered out I was nine dollars in the hole.
27 I'll sell my outfit just as soon as I can;
I won't punch cattle for no damned man.
j8 (ioin' back to town to draw my money,
Goin' back Ikjuic to see my honey.
jg With my knees in the saddle and my seat in the sky,
I'll (|uit punching cows in the sweet bye and bye.
218
The Uuke of Buckingham
This song of the fox liunt is quite certainly descended from a
broadside preserved in the Roxburghe collection, 'The Fox-Chace ;
Or, The Huntsman's Harmony, by the Noble Duke of Bucking-
ham's Hounds' (R. B. i. 360-4). The names of the hounds are not
the same, but the structure is. By what stages the song has come
'lown from seventeenth-century England to twentieth-century North
Carolina has not been discovered. Our text is only a two-stanza
fragment. Chappell ( FSRA 176-8) reports a much fuller version,
'»-ith the music.
'The Duke of Buckingham.' An "ohl hunting song" collected I)y Julian
P. Boyd of Alliance, Pamlico county, in \^)2/, irom James Tingle, one
of his pupils in the school there.
1 The Duke of Buckingham,
One morning in May,
Went out to take a fair trial.
He had dogs of his own.
Just as good as ever known ;
Nary one in the pack did tire.
2 There wa.^ i'aylor and jowler,
Lesbe and Knowler,
Ringwood, Rtishwood, and Crowner,
Mary, Lester, Seamster,
Julie, i'dower, and (lamester,
( )verwf)od, Rookwood, and lierrin. . . .
219
Thk Wh.o .Asii!'. 1)ki:k
Hardly folk song, perhaps, this i)iece has none the less an interest
for studeiUs tO folklore. According to the contributor, "A real
W () R K SON (". S 251
(Iccr chase from Ashe county into Watauga inspired one of the
pursuers to write this poem. The scene of tliis chase started not
far from Jefferson in Ashe county." That is the local legend. But
1 have found no one who can confirm it as to person and date.
On the other hand, there is plenty of evidence that the song was
current as a printed hallad ahout a hundred years ago. The Los
.Angeles I'uhlic Library has a broadside of it, the text identical
with Mrs. Hyers's, which was published by John IL Johnson, "Song
Publisher,'" at 7 North Tenth .Street, Philadelphia; and Mrs. Clark
Larrabee of the Free Library of Philadelphia tells me that Johnson
did business as a stationer at that address from 1858 to 1865, hav-
ing been in business in Philadelphia, though not at that address, as
early as 1849. The Free Library, Mrs. Larrabee further informs
me, has in its files of unbound sheet music a copy of 'The Wild
Ashe Deer,' music by Mrs. V. Pendleton, published in Philadelphia
by Lee & Walker in 1854. This edition is not illustrated; but she
is advised by an expert on early American sheet music that there
is an earlier edition which is illustrated. Johnson's print, "revised
and printed expressly for the Public Schools," has a spirited wood-
cut of the chase — perhaps inherited or bought up from the earlier
illustrated edition.
The text of the song is decidedly 'literary,' modeled on one or
another of a number of English hunting songs. Shall we accept
the local legend and believe that someone in Watauga county did
take part in, or perhaps only hear about, such a hunt, wrote the
poem, set it to music, and afterwards sent it to Philadelphia and
had it published ? Or shall we think that the printed song, coming
to be known in Ashe and Watagua counties, suggested — from the
cue of the name of the former of these counties — the local legend?
The editor does not know. There are precedents for both procedures.
'The Wild Ashe Deer.' Communicated in 1922 by Mrs. N. T. Byers of
Zionville, Watauga county. With the music.
1 Away and away we're bound o'er the moimtain, over the
mountain, over the mountain.
Over the valley, the hill, and the fountain, away to the
chase, away, away !
We heed not the tempest, the wild winds of dans^^er, hut
joyously shouting away goes the ranger.
Joyously shouting away goes the ranger, awav to the
chase, away, away !
2 Away and away our wild steeds are bounding, oiu- wild
steeds are bounding, our wild steeds are hounding,
Throttgh brake and through valley our shouts are resound-
ing, away to the chase, away, away !
Listen to the hound bells sweetly ringing,^ over the hill
^ So the manuscript, implying that the hounds wore bells ; but the
meaning clearly is that the baying of the hounds makes music, as
Theseus's did for Hippolyta. Johnson's text has a better reading :
List to the hounds, bells sweetly ringing.
252 X fi K T II C A K L I X A FOLKLORE
the wild deer is springing.
Over the hill the wild deer is springing; away to the
chase, away, away !
3 See there the wild deer, trenihling. panting, trembling.
panting, trembling, panting,
l-'earfully poising, one nn)ment standing: oti then he
speeds, away, awaw
He's gone. boys, he's gone ! Pursue him. pursue him !
Hurrah, boys, hurrah ! I see him ! I see him !
Hurrah, boys, hurrah! I see him! I see him! Away to
the death of the Wild Ashe Deer !
220
Old Blue
For the affiliations of this song, see White's headnote to his
Alabama text (ANFS 207) and add to the references there given
Mississippi (JAFL xxxix 177, FSM 201-2), Arkansas (OFS 11
382-3). and Texas (OSC 111-12). The Alabama text lacks the
homely particularity of our stanzas 3 and 6. For the chain used
in the burial, commonly a silver spade and a golden chain and asso-
ciated with the burial of persons, not dogs, see JAFL xi 22. NWS
129 and 198, and 'Down by die Weeping Willow Tree' in this
volume. Our text is not strictly speaking from North Carolina,
being described by the contributor as "heard in the Mississippi
valley in West Tennessee." but is included here for good measure.
'I Had a Dog and His Name Was Blue.' Contributed by M. R. Cham-
bers as heard in West Tennessee. Not dated.
1 I had a dog and his name was Blue.
Just listen and I'll tell you what that dog would do.
Chorus:
Here. Blue, you rounder you!
Here. Blue, you rounder you!
2 One morning, whilst he was out with me.
He treed a possum up a white oak tree.
3 1 took niv ax and 1 cut him down
.\nd put sweet taters all around his ham.
4 (i«jt up next morning; lUue was sick.
I sent for the doctor to come here c|uick.
5 Tlu' doctor come, he come in a run,
And he says, '( )ld lUue. yom- hunting is done.'
6 ( )ld lUue died; and he (\\v(\ so hard
Jle dug little holes all around in the vard.
w (> K K s () N i; s 253
7 I dug his grave in a shady place.
I ki\ered it over with a possum face.
S 1 let him down with a golden chain;
\\ ilh every link I caUed his name.
9 ( )kl Ijkie's dead, and he's gone to rest.
He was jus" a dog. l)ut he done his hest.
10 When 1 gets to heaven, I know what I'U (h) ;
I'll gral) mv horn, and I'll hk)w for lUue.
221
The Ground Hog
This is peculiarly a song of the southern Appalachians. Although
the habitat of the creature (known also as whistlei)ig, and in the
Northern states as woodchuck ) reaches from Canada well towards
the Gulf of Mexico, he is the subject of popular song only in the
southern Appalachians; the song is known in Virginia (FSV^ 246),
West Virginia (FSS 498), Kentucky (Shearin 38, LT 30-3), North
Carolina '(SSSA 5-6, FSSH 388,1 3^0.2, JAFL xlv iS4-5,^ i^v6.
BMFSB 38-9), Georgia (FSSH 389), and less definitely the Soudi-
ern mountains (AMS 92-3). Its appearance in the Ozarks (OFS
III 150-3) is doubtless due to immigration from Kentucky. It has
not been found in the Northern states, nor is it a Negro song —
White reports only a two-line fragment from Tennessee Negroes
(ANFS 160). Apparently it originated in the frontier life of the
South, probably in the early nineteenth or possibly in the later
eighteenth century. Besides the texts here given the Collection has
two recordings of it: one from Obadiah Johnson. Crossnore, Avery
county, in 1940. and one from Bonnie Wiseman, Hinson's Creek.
Avery county, in 1939.
A
'Ground Hog.' Contributed by Miss Clara Hearne from Pittsboro, Cbat-
bam county, some time in 1922-23. The first line of eacb stanza is sung
twice, making witli tbe refrain a stanza of four lines, as printed bere
for stanza i.
1 Whet up your knife and whistle up your dog.
Whet up your knife and whistle up your dog.
We're going to the hills to hunt a ground hog.
Whack fal doodle all day.
2 Too many rocks, too many logs.
Too manv rocks to hunt ground hogs.
3 Over the hills and through the hrush.
There we struck that hog's sign fre.sh.
* This text Henry obtained in New Jersey, but it was learned in North
Carolina.
254 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
4 Up came Berry with a ten toot pole
And roused it in that ground hog's hole.
5 Up came Kate and stood right there
Till Berry twisted out some ground hog's hair.
6 Kate and Berry kept prizing ahout ;
At last they got that ground hog out.
7 Took him to' the tail and wagged him to a log
And swore, hy grah, it's a pretty fine hog.
8 Meat in the cupboard, hide on the churn;
That was a ground hog, I'll be durn !
9 Work. boys. work, as h.ard as you can tear.
The meat '11 do to eat and the hide'll do to wear.
10 \\ ork. boys, work for all you'll earn.
Skin him after night and tan him in a churn.
1 1 They put him in a pot and the children began to smile ;
They ate that ground hog before it struck a boil.
12 Up stepped Susie with a snigger and a grin.
Ground hog grease all over her chin.
'Ground Hog.' Received from J. T. C. Wright of the .\ppalachiaii
Teachers College, Boone, Watauga county, in 1922. Four-Hne stanzas
as in A.
1 I shouldered up my gun and I wiiistled to my dog.
I shouldered up my gun and I whistled to my dog ;
Ise gwine up the mountain for to catch a groundhog.
Law, man, law !
2 I treed him in the mountain and I treed him in a log,
I treed him in a holler and 1 treed him with my dog.
3 I cut a long pole for to twist him out.
Great God a'mighty, what a groundhog stout !
4 God a'mighty, man, just look at Jim!
Groundhog gravy all over his chin.
5 Run here, mama, and run here quick.
This old groundhog has made me sick.
6 Run here, doctor, run here quick.
This old groundhog has made me sick.
' So in the manuscript ; a slip of the pen, apparently, for "by."
w () K K s () N c; s 255
7 Ise iiebber j^wiiK' to cut groundhog ii<» more,
For it 1 do Isf ;i dead man shore.
'The Gruuii' Hog." Reported liy Mrs. Sutton, prol)al)ly in i<>2(), witli
the comment: "'I'lie song is a sort of hunting tune, and the loud
'whoopees' in it are most effective when it's sung as a ehorus. ... It
is very popular, especially with the kiddies."
1 Whet up yer knife and whistle up yer dog.
We're ofi to the woods fur to ketch a groun' hcjg.
Chorus:
Whoopee, whoopee, doodle dal day,
Whoopy doo doodle doo dal day.
2 Cut and trim a long slim pole.
Twis' ole groun' hog out'n his hole.
3 I'ut that hog in a big tow sack.
Bring him home swung down my back.
4 Skin that groun' hog and tan his hide,
Put my baby gal safe inside.
Mrs. Sutton also reports the following stanza as a "hanjo tune," ob-
tained from Reems Creek, Buncoinbe county. The tune was taken down
by Miss \'ivian Blackstock.
Whet u\) your knives, call up your dogs,
Go to the woods, catch a ground hog.
Meat's good to eat, hide's good to wear.
Rang tang a f odalink a day !
222
I'll Fire Dis Trip
Though not strictly from North Carolina, this item is so inter-
esting as a relic of steamboating on Southern (it seems to be in
Negro speech ) rivers that it is here included.
'Boating Song.' Reported by Mrs. C. C. Murphy of Ivanhoe, Sampson
county, as obtained from Mrs. J. N. Corbett, who knew it as sung on
Flint River, Georgia.
1 I'll hre dis trip an' I'll tire no mo'
Fire down below !
I'll fire dis trip an' I'll fire no mo'
Fire down below !
2 Miss Nancy Belle, 1 wi^ll you well
Fire down below !
X.C.F.. Vol. Ill, (f))
256 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
!Miss Xancy Belle, I wish you well
l-'ire down below !
3 De bullies' boy is Uncle Gable
Vive down below !
Bring on dat wood while you he's able !
Fire down below !
223
Hi Yo Boat Row
This is a broken memory of one of Dan Emmett's early (copy-
right 1843) successes on the minstrel stage, 'De Boatmen's Dance'
(No. 32 in S. Foster Damon's Series of Old American Songs).
Davis lists it from Virginia (FSV 249) and Perrow reports a form
of it as sung by Negroes in Kentucky (JAFL xxviii 143).
'Hi Yo Boat Row.' Reported in 1913 by Charles R. Bagley of Moyock,
Currituck county, as learned from his grandfather there.
1 Hi yo, boat row.
Hoy, down river on old Ohio.
Boatman dance and boatman sing.
Boatman do most anything.
2 Hi yo, boatman cow,^
Stole my pit^ and stole your shoat,
Run down the river and jnit him in the boat.
224
We Live on the Banks of the Ohio
Although this has not been found elsewhere, it may be assumed
to come from the age of plantation melodies, in which, as Dr. White
has pointed out, "the masters are kindly to an almost suspicious
degree. . . . Beyond doubt, the Negro minstrel song . . . was com-
monly used as an instrument of propaganda against the interests of
the Negro himself" (ANFS 10).
No title. Set down by K. P. Lewis frcnii the singing in iqio of Dr.
Kemp P. Battle of Chapel Hill.
I We live on the banks of the ( )-hi-o
O-hi-o, Odii-o,
Where the mighty waters rapidly flow
And the steamboat sweeps along.
' One supposes that "cow" is niiswritten for "row" and "pit" for "pig,"
and that tlie omission of the second line of the refrain in this stanza is
morclv actidcntal.
W O K K SONGS 257
Clioriis:
We live on tlic banks of the O-hi-o,
O-hi-o, O-hi-o,
We live on the banks of the ( )-hi-o,
( )n the banks of the ( )-hi-o.
2 ( )k' niassa to liis darkies is good,
Tra-H-la-la. tra-li-la-la.
He gives us our clothes, he gives us our food.
And we merrily work all day.
3 Droop not, darkies, as you go,
Tra-li-la-la. tra-li-la-la,
Back to the banks of the O-hi-o,
The river we love so well.
225
A Boat, a Boat, Across the Ferry
This round is s^iven, with no indication of source, in F.SSC viii
141.
'A Boat, a Boat, Across the Ferry.' Reported by K. P. Lewis of Dur-
ham as obtained {probably in lyio) from Dr. Kemp P. Battle of Cliapel
Hill.
A boat, a boat across the ferry,
For we are going to be merry.
To laugh and quaff and drink old sherry.
226
Haul, Haul, Haul, Boys
This is listed in the manuscript as a "fishing song," that is,
presumably, a song sung as fishermen pulled in their nets. In word-
ing it is close to the bowline chanty 'Haul away. Jo' (Whall, Sea
Songs and Shanties, p. 85; Shay, Iron Men and Wooden Ships, p.
92), and probably it is merely an adaptation of that chantey to the
fisherman's trade.
'Fishing Song.' Contributed by Miss Emma Bobbitt, Bayboro, Pamlico
county.
Haul, haul, haul, boys, haul and be lively.
Haul, oh haul. boys. haul.
She will come, she must come ; haul, boys, haul.
She will come, she must come ; haul, boys, haul.
Well, it seems to me like the time ain't long;
Haul and be lively, haul, boys, haul.
258 NORTH CAROLINA I" O L K L O R P:
227
Old Horse. Old Horse
The sailor's protest against his rations of salt horse is known
in Maine (MAI 223-6, SBML 104-5), Massachusetts (FSONE
142-4). and "by men aboard American sailing ships, also ... by
white men along the Gulf" ( P^B 62-3); very likely it was known
to all sailor men in the old windjammer days. It is quite distinct
from the homiletic 'Poor Old Horse,' which is a landsman's song.
'Old Horse, Old Horse.' Reported, probably in 1927. by Julian P. l')oyd
as obtained from Duval Scott, a pupil in the school at Alliance, Pamlico
county.
'Old horse, old horse, how come you here?'
'From southern shores to Portland's piers
I've carted stone for piles of years,
Till, killed by work and sore abuse,
They salted me down for sailors' use.
The sailors they did me despise.
They knocked me down, and damned my eyes.
Pulled off my meat and picked my bones
And threw the rest to Davy Jones.'
228
b^oR .Six Days Do All That Thou Art .Able
Grousing of sailors at having to work on Sunday. A Negro
spiritual of like content — though it has nothing to do with sailors —
'That Ain't Right.' is reported from Tennessee (JAFL xxvii 262),
Alabama (JAFL xliii 323). and as sung at a Negro meeting in
St. Louis by Jubilee singers (JAFL xxxv 331).
'For Six Days." Rep<jrted by Julian P. Boyd in 1927 as known by
Duval Scott, a pupil in the school at Alliance, Pamlico county.
For six days do all that thou art able ;
The seventh, wash the decks and scrape the cable.
Never let the .Sabbath interfere ;
We would lose fifty-two days in a year.
If we were to take .Sundav as a Holy day^
We could never do what we may.
Never let the Sabbath interfere ;
We would lose fifty-two days in the year.
' So in the manuscript — perhaps in consciousness of tlie origin of tlie
word "holiday."
W <) R K SON C. S 259
229
Ali'habet of Till'; Siiir
Followers of certain calliiitis have worked out alphabet songs
based on their occupations. Best known probably is the woodman's
alphabet, reported from Nova Scotia (.SBNS 212-13), Maine (MM
30-2. .SHMi. 10-14. MWS 50-1 ), New Hampshire (VSONE 235-7).
Vermont (NClMS 169), and Michigan (JAFL xxxv 413-14). The
sailor's ali)habet is known in Nova Scotia (SBNS 210-12), Maine
(MiM 233-4), and the Bahamas (JAFL xxxviii 298), as well as in
North Carolina. The Conchs of Florida (SFLQ iv 150) have a
bil)]ical al])lial)et — Adam. "Bay-lim." Cain. etc.
'Alphabet (jf the Ship." From J. 1!. Midgett uf Wanchese. Roanoke
Island, in iij20.
A is the anchor, and that we all know,
B i.s the bowsprit luiiig over the bow,
C is the capsin we often rowiiy,^
D is the deck where the sailors are found,
E is the ensign of otir niisin peak flue,
l*" is the forecastle — now where is the crew ?
Cj is the gun by which we all stand.
H is the hauser which never will strand,
i is the iron on our stintion boom ship,
J is the job which makes a good fit,
K is the kilson all down in the hole,'
L is the lanyard that has a strong hold.
M is the mizmast big stout and strong.
N is the needle that never goes wrong,
O is the oar that lies in our boat,
P is the pennant wherever she floats,
Q is the (piarterdeck on which our captain stood.
R is the rigging which served so good,
.S is the stiltarts^ which weighed out the beef,
T is the topsail so (jften we reef.
I' is the union by which we adore.
\ is the Virgin we fly to our our,'
\\ is the wheel wdiich we will all take otn- time.
And the other letters will soon come in rhvme.
X is our ship, it has no place,
Y is the yardarm which are very well placed,
Z is the zinc on our bottom we know ;
When the captain calls 'Cirog, boys,' we will all go below.
'"Capsin" is for "capstan." of course, and "stiltarts (S) for "steel-
yards." The rhyme suggests that "rowny" should be "round," and "hole"
(K) should prohaI)ly be "hold." The editor has no interpretation to
offer for the I and \' lines.
260 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Chorus (siDig after C7'cry four letters):
So merry, so merry, so merry are we,
No mortal on earth like a sailor at sea.
I dearie 1 dearie I dearie I down.
Give a sailor his grog and then nothing goes wrong.
230
Whip Jamboree
Sharp (JFSS v 297-8) reports two texts and tunes of this chanty,
one of them from an Irish- American sailor. Miss Broadwood in
an appended note thinks that it may he of Negro origin.
'Whip Jambree.' Communicated, apparently at some time in the years
1913-19, by the Rev. L. D. Hayman of Elizabeth City, Pasquotank county,
whose father and grandfatlier were sea captains. He says the song
"was popular among the drinking class of men. Great crowds of men
uouki gather at some favorite place on Sunday and spend the day in
chinking, and this song was one of their selections. Sometimes they
would ride up and down the roads and sing to the amusement of the
cabin-dwellers and others."
1 Oh, the captain came on deck
A-scratching of his head,
Says, 'Hello, my jolly boys,
The valler hoat's ahead.'
Chorus:
W'hij) jambree, whip jambree,
Get ui), old boss.
2 Ca])tain's in the pilot-botise
A-drinking of his gin ;
And he's just as near to heaven
As he'll ever be agin.
There is in the Collection a fragment of this .song in Dr. Brown's hand,
labeled "Chantey." No source indicated. It is the second stanza of Hay-
man's version except that the first line is the first line of Hayman's fir.st
stanza.
231
I Have a 1'^ather in My Native Land
Til is has not been reported as folk song or as chanty elsewhere.
'A Sailor's Chanty.' From Miss Jewell Robbins of Pekin, Montgomery
county (later Mrs. C. P. Perdue), about 1921-24. It is hardly a chanty;
at least it is n^t in the spirit of chanty-singing.
I 1 have a father in my native land,
( )h, he's looking for me tonight, night, night,
( )h, he's looking for me tonight.
WORK SONGS
261
2 He may look, he may Idok with liis withering watery eyes,
And it's oh. he may look to tlie Ixittom of the sea, sea, sea,
Oh, he may look to the hottom of the sea.
232
Sal's in the CiArden Sifting Sand
This is perhaps only a form of the chanty "Row the Boat Ashore.'
At least it has the "hog-eyed man" in common with that song. It
is known also in Kentucky ( Shearin 38, SharpK 11 360) and Wis-
consin (JAFL Lii 49-50, from Kentucky), and Sandhurg reports
it from an old sailor (ASb 410-11). For the meaning, or mean-
ings, of "hog-eye" see the headnote to "Row the Boat Ashore.'
'Sal's ill the Garden Sifting Sand.' Reported by Charles R. Bagley as
"heard from his grandparents, Air. and Mrs. W. R. Dudley, in Moyock."
Moyock is in Currituck county. The same two lines are rept^rted also
by Miss Minnie Bryan Farrior from Duplin county.
Sal's in the garden sifting sand.
All she wanted was a hog-eyed man.
233
The Heathen Chinese
This suggests Bret Harte's famous song, but is instead an echo
of the resentment of the wdiites at the encroachment of Chinese
cheap labor which led to the passage of the Chinese exclusion act.
The only mention of it that I have found elsewhere is that there is
a record of it in the Archive of American Folk Song: and this
record is from the singing of tlie same man who furnished the text
in our collection.
'Heathen Chinese.' Obtained in 1936 from (). L. Coffey of Shull's Mills,
Watauga county.
I I've a very sad pitiful story to tell you,
Although it's a common one too ;
A story of sorrow, a story of hunger,
Because w^e've no work to do.
In the country as well as the city
There are thousands who would like a sijuare meal.
But alas ! there is no work for a white man to do ;
They're hiring the Heathen Chinese.
Chorus:
Oh, a thing that you'll find in the kitchen.
In the laundry a singing Hoh Lee;
On the railroads, the roundhouse, the ranches.
They're hiring the Heathen Chinese.
262 N R T 11 C A K L I N A F L K L R E
2 I've four little sisters at home to provide for.
They are hungry now. crying for bread ;
Poor mother is sick and the rents are now due,
No money to buy coal or wood.
As I walk round the streets of your city
In searching for employment and bread ;
But alas ! there's no work for a white man to do,
They're hiring the Chinese instead.
3 Come join hands with the bold Knights of Labor ;
We will battle through fire and blood
To get rid of this leper, the curse of our country.
The vampires that are sucking our blood.
Then a white man we'll put in the kitchen.
In the laundry poor widows there'll be ;
On the railroads, the roundhouse, the ranches,
W'e'll fire out the Heathen Chinese.
4 I will swear b}' my wife and my children.
From the mountains all down to the sea ;
I'll join hands with the bold Knights of Labor
To help fire out the Heathen Chinese.
234
\\'ORKING OX THE RaILROAD
The first stanza of A is very widely known but not often reported
as folk song. Its origin I have not discovered. Apart from this
stanza, texts are generally fragmentary and inconsequent — though
not often so mere a medley as our A. It has been reported from
Georgia (SSSA 8ij, Mississippi (TNFS 248), and Alabama
(ANFS 274, but coming from Louisiana). Dr. White notes that
it was "popular as a college quartet in the early 1900s."
A
'I've Been Working on the Railroad.' Contrilnited by Miss Doris Over-
ton. Durham (later Mrs. Brim), in 1922. Made up, after the first
stanza, of fragments of popular songs. For the stanza division — often
uncertain — tlie editor is responsible.
1 I've been workin' on de railroad
All de livelong day,
I've been workin' on de railroad
Jus' to pass de time away.
2 Don't vou hear de whi.stU- blowin'?
Rise up so early in de morn.
Don't you hear de Ca])tain shoutin'?
Dina. blow vour horn !
\V () K K SON C. S 263
3 Dina. won't vou go, Dina, won't you go
Down on the banks of the ( )hio?
Dina, won't you go, Dina, won't you go
Down on the Ohio?
4 SHde. Kelly, slide !
Casey's at the bat.
5 Down went Maginty.
6 Oh. where'd you get that hat?
7 In the evening by the moonlight
You can hear those darkies singing
Little Annie Rooney is my sweetheart.
8 Don't you hear dem bells, ding, ding.
Don't you hear dem bells?
Dey are ringin' out de glory of de land.
B
'Workin' on the Railroad Forty Cents a Day.' Reported, apparently
some time in 1921-22, by Miss Eura Mangum of Durham. The manu-
script bears the notation : "I can get the rest of this song and tlie air in
a few days" — but she seems not to have done so.
Workin' on the railroad
Forty cents a day.
johnny come pickin' on the banjo !
Oh ! Me ! Oh ! My !
Don't you hear the baby cry ?
"Working on the Railroad.' Contributed by Walter J. Miller, student
at Trinity College in 1919, as a fragment of a Negro work song. With
the tune.
Working on the railroad at forty cents a day.
If you don't work your time out, you don't get your pay.
Working on the railroad at forty cents a day ;
You can make more money a-working in the hay.
235
The Little Red Caboose Behind the Tr.aix
The only other report that T have found of this railroad man's
song is in the checklist of the Archive of .American \'\>\k ."^ong-,
which reports a record of it made in California.
'Little Red Caboose Behind the Train.' From the John Burcli Blaylock
Collection.
264 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
1 Now I am a jolly railroad man and braking is my trade;
I work upon the road both day and night,
Turning switches, and making flies, as along the road we
And see thai all the train is made up right.
^Ve are always ready when we are called to go.
It's whether in the sunshine or the rain.
And a jolly crew you'll always find if you will go and see
In the little red caboose behind the train.
Chorus:
Then here's luck to all the boys that will ride upon the
cars,
May happiness to them always remain ;
The angels, they will watch o'er them when they lie
down to sleep
In that little red caboose behind the train.
2 We hang a red light on each side, another on behind,
As the day goes by and night comes stealing on.
And the boy that rides ahead, you bet, he keeps it in his
mind
That all the train is coming along.
And when we're near the station, we're startled from our
thoughts
By the sound of the whistle's piercing scream ;
We skin out on the hurricane deck while the curve winds
up the wheel
Of the little red caboose behind the train.
236
Reuben's Train
R. W. Gordon, Nczv York Times Magazine, January i, 1928,
prints a mountain banjo song, 'Old Reuben,' with stanzas cor-
responding to stanzas i and 2 of B and agreeing on Reuben's fond-
ness for licjuor and his consequent difticulties as a railroad man.
And R. D. Bass, JAFL xliv 431, prints a stanza as sung by Negroes
in South Carolina in 1905.
'Reuben's Train.' Coninninicatcd I)y Arthur Moore, Lenoir, Caldwell
county. With the tune. Tliere is also a recording of it from the sing-
ing of Mrs. Manassa Wiseman of Avery county, but I have not seen
her text.
I ^'ou (JUght to be in town
W hen Reuben's train went down ;
\i)\\ could hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.
\V () K K SONGS 265
Chorus:
A luiiidrt'd miles, a luuulrcd miles.
A hundred miles from my home.
\\)u could hear the whistle hlow a hundred miles.
2 Old Keuhen made a train
And he ])ut it on the track.
For 1 heard the whistle hlow a hundred mile.s.
3 The train is off the track
And 1 can't "et it hack.
And I'll sidetrack mv train and yo home.
B
'Old Rcul)en.' Obtained from Cousor, Bishopvillo, South Carolina.
1 Ole Reuhen. he got drunk
An' he pawned his watch and trunk.
O Reuh. Reu-eu-euhen,
Dat you. Reuhen ? I doan know.
2 When you hear dat whistle hlow, l)low'.
( )ne hundred miles helow,
O Reuh, Reu-eu-euhen.
Dat you, Reuhen? 1 doan know.
3 Ole Reuhen went to town
An' he drank that licker down.
O Reuh. Reu-eu-euben,
Dat you, Reuben? I dt)an know.
4 Den for she you'll know-
Old Reuben's gone to Mexico.
O Reub, Reu-eu-euben,
Dat you, Reuben? I doan know.
5 Ole Reuben made a train
An' he put it on de track.
O you Reuben-eu-Reuben.
Dat you. Reuben ? I doan know.
6 Oh, Reuben had a train.
It run from Boston to Maine.
Hear dat whistle blow one hundred miles below,
O Reub-Reu-eu-euhen.
7 An' ole Reuben wrecked dc train.
An" he never did get back.
( ) Reub. Reu-eu-euben,
Dat you, Reuben? I doan know.
266 north carolina folklore
If the Seaboard Train Wrecks 1 Got a Mule to Ride
This fragment is a rather incongruous combination of a vivid
bit of a spiritual and a couplet from a railroad song. For the for-
mer see ANFS "j}, and the references there given and add Tennessee
(JAFL XXVII 261), South Carolina (JAFL xxvii 251), and Work's
American Xcgro Songs (1940 edition) iii antl 133. For the latter
see ANFS 306-7 and 354.
'If the Seaboard Train Wrecks I Got a Mule to Ride.' Obtained from
a Duke University student, Fairley. No date on the manuscript.
1 Yoii better mind, sister, how yuii step on the cross.
Your right toot will slip and your soul will be lost.
2 If that Seaboard train don't wreck on the road,
I'm Alabama bound, Alabama bound.
238
Seaboard Air Line
A fragment of railroad song. Not found elsewhere.
'Seaboard Air Line.' Contributed by Lucille Cheek of Chatham county
in 1923 as "sung by W. F. C. boys to the tune of 'Sweet Adeline.' "
Seaboard Air Line
Never on time ;
At half-past nine
Your headlight shines ;
In all my dreams
Your whistle screams ;
You are the idol of my heart,
Seaboard Air Line.
239
A Southern Jack
A work song of firemen on a locomotive; the "iack" is the engine
See ANFS 280.
'A Soutliern Jack." ContrilnUed in 1919 by W. T. Huckal)ee, jr., with
the notation that lie licard it in All)emarle, Stanly county.
I got a southern jack,
1 got a southern jack.
b'irst thing yi^ do shovel in the coal.
Next thing yi^ do watcli the drivers roll.
I got a southern jack.
1 got a southern jack ;
All aboard on the southern jack!
' So tlR- mamiscrii)!. Is it intended to represent the Negro's pronunci-
atii)ii of "I" nr is it for "ye," i.e., "you"?
W O K K S O N G S 267
240
1 I'kKN" a M INKR
From Miss Jewell Robhins, Pckiii, Montgomery county (later Mrs
C. P. Perdue), witii iihonograpli recordinjj; ; c. 1921-24; described as ;i
"Negro halloa." Cf. "John Henry.' \'ol. II. No. 270.
1 I been a miner all n' my life.
Never lost uothin' ])ut a l)arl(i\\t' knife'
2 \V\f^ John llemy, lii*^ John lienrv.
Hig John Hemy. po(jr hoy hlind.
241
Some of These D.ws .\nd It Won't Be Lo.ng
A
From Mrs. [O. L.?] Coffey. ShuII's \Iills. Watauga county; undated.
Dr. White comments : "This is a gang work-song, probably Negro. A
little unusual from Mrs. Coffey of Shull's Mills." Cf. NWS 139.
1 O some of the.se days and it won't be long
You'll call my name and I'll he gone.
Chorus:
On. boys, don't roll so slow.
When the sun goes down you'll roll no more.
2 I wish to the Lord the train would come
For to carry me hack where I came from.
3 I wish I was a rich man son.
I'd stand on the hanks and see the work [done?]
4 But as it is I am a poor man son ;
I'll wait in the cut till the pay train comes.
5 Oh. the pay train time come and time gone.
Poor me here for to weep and to moan.
6 when I was sick and in my bed
I had my diney fDinali?] for to hold my head.
7 Roll on, boys, and make yom- time.
For the day will come and I'll make mine.
Roll, roll, boys.
B
From Howell J. Hatcher. Trinity College student. December 5. 1919,
with music and note : "Sung by Negro worker on farm." As in Wliite
ANFS 258 (without music).
Some of these days and it won't be long
You're gona call me and I'll be gone.
^ "Barlowe knife" — a cheap pocket knife, of a sort once conimoii in the
South.
268 N O R T II C A R L 1 N A FOLKLORE
242
I Aix't A-Gonxa Work a No j\1o' !
I->oni J. I). Johnson, Jr., of Garland, Sampson county, December 1919;
witli note: "Sung to banjo by old Negro in eastern North Carolina."
As in White ANFS 294 (without music).
I aint a gonna work a no mo' !
I aint a gonna work a no mo' !
Done an' work-ed 'till my hands got sore.
1 aint a gonna work a no mo' !
243
Roll Down Dem Bales o' Cotton
From Miss Jewell Robbins, Pekin, Montgomery county (later Mrs. C. P.
Perdue), with recording, c. 1925.
Roll down dem bales o' cotton.
Roll down dem bales o' cotton,
Roll down dem bales o' cotton ;
I ain't sfot lonc" to stay here now.
244
I Wish My Captain Would Go Blind
From Thomas Litaker, Trinity College student (in 1922 and 1926) from
Concord, Cabarrus county, with music and note: "Heard in Cabarrus
County, N. C." As in White ANFS 258 (without music).
1 wish my captain would go blind.
Wouldn't go to work till half past nine.
245
Lavender Girl
This is the first stanza of the once-popular sonj^ 'Lavender Girl.'
to be found in a well-known songliook of a hundred years ago,
The I'orgct-Mc-Xot Songster, and doubtless elsewhere. Our text
differs .scarcely at all from that of the songbook.
No title. Contributed by Mrs. R. D. Blacknall of Durham as one of
several "old songs of my mother's. . . . She sang them, to my knowl-
edge, since 1862."
When the sun climbs over the hills
And the skylark sings so merrily,
Tlien I my^httle basket till
And trudge away to the village cheerily.
Light my burden, light my heart ;
W OK K S () N C S 269
Nought care 1 for Cupid's darl.
I kee]) uiy mother, uiyself, aucl my brother
P)y trudgiug away to sell uiy lavender.
Ladies, try it ! Come and l)u\' it !
Never saw ye nicer lavender.
Ladies, buy it. try it. buy it!
Come. come, and bu\' mv lavender.
246
Run Here, Doctor. Run Here Quick
Reported as Negro song from North Carolina (ANFS 279),
South Carolina (JAFL xliv 426). and with some alteration as a
rope-skipping rhyme from Massachusetts (JAFL lii 305) and a
Negro song from Virginia (TNFS 151). In the form given below
it is a work song; the "huh" is a grunt of physical effort.
'Run Here. Doctor.' Contributed I)y Dr. N. I. White in 1922 vvitli the
notation: "First heard about 1908."
Run here, doctor (hub)
Run here quick; (huh)
Little Mary (huh)
Swallowed a stick, (bub)
247
The Washtub Bfates
This simple but poignant little song is the humble lyrical ecjuiva-
lent of Pearl Buck's story The frill.
'The Washtub Blues.' Obtained by Julian P. Boyd from one of his
pupils in the school at Alliance, Pamlico county, in 1927.
1 I washed dat woman's clo'es
And I hung 'em on de line.
My back most a-breakin',
I's a-burtin' all de time.
2 And when I got 'em finished
I tuck 'em to her do'.
She fussed and she raved
And .she flinig 'em on de flo'.
3 Ob, Lordy, lissen heab,
Lm mighty weak !
You'll have to come right near,
'Cause I ffot de washtub blues!