When He Got to the River- Tickle (VA) 1923 Davis B
[My title. From Traditional Ballad of Virginia; edited Davis, 1929. This one verse fragment was collected by Miss Alfreda Peel in the same area of Virginia she collected the other fragment of this ballad. This same verse appears in other ballads so it's certainly speculation as to which ballad this is taken from.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
When He Got to the River- Rosa Tickle (Bland, VA) 1923 Davis B
When he got to the river,
He smote his breast and swum,
And when he got to dry land,
He took to his heels and run.