George Coleman- Warf (VA-NC) 1939 Brown H, Abrams
[From Brown Collection, version H, no text given. Text from an MS titled George Collins (Lady Alice), Variant 7, in the Abrams Collection. From Lena Warf, 1920-?; as learned from her mother Ollie J. Warf, 1889-1982 born in Bedford, VA. Lena Warf a student of Dr. Abrams. Recorded 10-6, 1939.
William Amos “Doc” Abrams (1905-1991), originally from Pinetops in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, was chairman of the English Department at Appalachian State Teacher’s College (ASTC) from 1932 to 1946. The W. Amos Abrams Folksong Collection, presented online as part of the Documenting Appalachia digital initiative, consists of approximately 1,100 document pages that comprise some 400 individual song titles, most of which have multiple variants.
R. Matteson 2015]
GEORGE COLEMAN - Sung by Lena Warf, 1939. "I first heard this sung by mother. She was born in 1889, Bedford, Virginia."
George Coleman drove home one cold winter's night,
George Coleman drove home so fine,
George Coleman drove home one cold winter's night,
Was taken sick and died.
Dear Mary was seated in yonder room,
Sewing on silk so fine,
And when she heard her poor George was dead,
She laid her silk aside.
She followed him up, she followed him down,
She followed him to his grave.
And there on a bended knee alone,
She wept, she moaned, she prayed.
Dear Mary, dear Mary, what makes you weep so?
There are plenty more boys beside George,
But Mother dear, George had my heart,
And now he is dead and gone.
The happiest hours I ever spent
Were by George Coleman's side,
The saddest hours I ever spent
Were when George Coleman died.
Listen to the lonesome dove
That sails from pine to pine
He's grieving for his lost true love
Why can't I grieve for mine?
Roll back the coffin, screw off the lid,
Fold back the linen so fine,
And let me kiss poor George's lips
For I know they will never kiss mine.