678. Trip, Play-Mo-Blay

678. Trip, Play-Mo-Blay
'Trip, Play-Mo-Blay.' Sung by Mrs. Mittie Ellis Henley, Raleigh, Wake  county, in 1931. There are two ms scores, which, however, are identical.  N. I. White notes : "The singer said she learned this from her mother and  her uncle, Rev. Wm. B. Jones, about 50 years ago." The score was transcribed  by the Rev. E. McNiel Poteat, Jr. In the opinion of this editor, there is
definitely a chorus which, however, should begin with the second half of the  twelfth measure. The ms score gave the tune as noted.

F-577

One Sun - day morn - ing ear - ly,
My pon - y I be - strode,
And by Miss An - na's cot - tage I took the well known road.
It was my great - est pride That she should see me ride,

Trip trip, trip pon - y,
Trip, trip, trip, trip,-

Trip play - mo - blay.
Trip, trip, trip pon - y,
Trip, trip, trip, trip, —

Trip, play - mo - blay.
drip - ping home I go.

Scale: Hexachordal (only the third stanza is heptachordal). Tonal Center: c.  Structure : aba1cbbdd (2,2,2,2,2,2,4,4) ; d is related to b. If the chorus begins   as suggested above, then the first twelve measures could be reduced to aa1b.
But this would not be a barform, as the 'epode' is merely a repetition of a1.  If, however, we take these same measures as epode, then we have an inverted  barform: nmm (12, 4, 4). The tonal center is the lowest tone.