Drunkard's Courtship- Zona Baker (AR) 1946 Garrison
[From The Native American Influence in Folk Songs of North Arkansas, by Theodore Garrison; The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Summer, 1947), pp. 165-179. His notes follow.
No informant named by Garrison. According to a reprint by Mid-Atlantic Folklore it was "Sung by Mrs. Zona Baker of Zack, Arkansas, in July, 1942."
R. Matteson 2017]
Not all of the Ozark folk songs, of course, are of such a sad and tragic nature. The humorous songs of the region are worthy of consideration. Many of them are in the form of exchanges of sarcastic wit between lovers. "The Drunkard's Courtship" falls into this category, although the speakers here can hardly be called lovers.
This song has been recorded in various places through-out the southeastern part of the United States; but in all the other versions that I have seen, the battle of abuse is definitely the woman's victory. Nowhere except in this Arkansas text is the rejected suitor permitted the last word.
THE DRUNKARD'S COURTSHIP Sung by Mrs. Zona Baker of Zack, Arkansas, in July, 1942.
Kind sir, have you come again?
Pray tell me, is it so?
I saw you at the garden gate,
And I told you to come no more.
And I told you to come no more.
0 madam, I have a very fine house
And newly painted white;
And you can have it at your command,
If you will be my wife.
If you will be my wife.
I also know your big, fine house;
I also know your yard.
But who would stay at home with me
When you're off a playing cards?
When you're off a playing cards?
Madam, I never threw a card;
I never thought it right.
If you'll consent to marry me,
I won't stay out one night.
I won't stay out one night.
Madam, I have a big, fine horse;
He paces like a tide.
And you can have him at your command,
If you will be my bride,
If you will be my bride.
I also know your big, fine horse;
He stands in yonder's barn.
His master also likes to drink,
And I'm afraid your horse will learn.
I'm afraid your horse will learn.
Madam, I think you are an old maid
And awful hard to please.
Some of the cold and frosty nights
I hope to the Lord you'll freeze.
I hope to the Lord you'll freeze.
Kind sir, I think you are an old batch[1],
And you are getting gray.
Some of these cold and windy days
I hope you'll blow away.
I hope you'll blow away.
O madam, I have a very fine horse;
He works to the buggy well.
I'll drink my whiskey and play my cards,
And you can go to hell.
And you can go to hell.
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1. batchelor