Jimmy Ransom- Mrs. Griffin (GA-FL) 1877 Morris A
[From Morris; Folksongs of Florida; 1950. Mrs. G.A. Griffin was born in Georgia in 1863. She learned this from her father before 1877 when she moved to Florida.
R. Matteson 2016]
Jimmy Ransom- Sung by Mrs. G.A. Griffin, learned in Georgia before 1877.
Jimmy Ransom walked out at the setting of the sun,
Out under a bower a shower to shun;
Jimmy Ransom went with Polly, just as it was dark,
And, ho, ho, ho, ho[1], he did not miss his mark.
Jimmy Ransom ran to her with a gun in his hand,
And he brushed her in his arms till he found that she was dead;
She's the beautifulest girl hit ever I saw,
And, ho, ho, ho, ho, I can die for my dear.
Jimmy Ransom run home with the gun in his hand
Saying, "Father, dear Father, I've shot Polly Vann;
She was the beautifulest girl hit ever I saw,
And, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, I can die for my dear."
In stepped an old man with his head all so gray,
Saying, "Jimmy, dear Jimmy, don't you go away;
Stay in your own country till your trial comes on,
And you never shall be hanged for the crime that you've done."
In a day or so at her uncle's she appeared,
Saying, "Uncle, dear Uncle, Jimmy Ransom is clear;
I had my apron pinned around me till they thought that a sworn[2],
And, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, it was me poor Polly Vann."
1. Corruption of "And oh, and alas,"
2. A corruption of swan.