My Old Coon Dog [Whoa Mule]
[This is a version of "Whoa Mule," written in 1879 by William Shakespeare Hays, (1837-1907):
"Whoa! I Tell You!" (1879)
Song & Chorus; Words and Music by
William Shakespeare Hays, 1837-1907
Cincinnati, OH: Geo. D. Newhall & Co., 62 West 4th St.
1.I hear dem sleighbells ringin',
De snow am fallin' fast,
I put dis mule in harness,
An' got him hitch at last.
O, Lisa get your bonnet,
Come and take your seat,
Grab de board you're sittin' on,
An' kiver up your feet.
CHORUS: Whoa! (I tell you!)
Whoa! (I say!)
Keep your seat, my Liza Jane,
An' hold on to de sleigh.
The song has long since entered tradition (sung by both blacks and whites) and has become a popular bluegrass and old-time country song.
R. Matteson 2014]
MY OLD COON DOG
Once I had an old coon dog,
As blind as he could be.
But every night at supper time,
I believed that dog could see.
CHORUS: Whoa mule, I'm telling you,
Whoa mule, I say,
Tie a knot in that mule's tail,
And he'll run away.[1]
Somebody stole my old coon dog,
I wish they'd bring him back,
To run the big hops o'er the fence,
The little ones through the cracks. [2]
Possum in a simmons tree,
A raccoon on the ground.
The raccoon said, "You son-of-a-gun,
Shake them simmons down. [2]
Watch that mule go 'round the hill,
Watch him how he sails.
Watch him how he shakes his ears,
And how he wiggles his tail.
1. before he runs away. (the joke is: the knot keeps the mule from going anywhere.)
2. Also associated with "Bile Dem Cabbage Down."