Billie Boy- Blaylock (GA) 1932 Henry E
[From Folk Songs from the Southern Highlands by Mellinger Henry 1938; version E, p. 387.
R. Matteson 2014]
E. "Billie Boy." Obtained from Miss Susie H. Blaylock, Rabun Gap, Georgia, May 17, 1932, for whom it was recorded from a singer in the Georgia mountains.
1. Oh, where are you going, Billie Boy, Billie Boy?
Oh, where are you going,
(Refrain) I am going to see my wife;
She's the joy of my life;
She's a young thing
And cannot leave her mother.
2. Did she bid you to come in, Billie Boy, Billie Boy?
Yes, she bade me to come in;
She's a dimple on her chin. Refrain
3. Did she set for you a chair, Billie Boy, Billie Boy?
Yes, she set for me a chair With a ringlet in her hair.
Refrain
4. Can she make a cherry pie, Billie Boy, Billie Boy?
Yes, she can make a cherry pie
Quick as a cat can wink her eye. Refrain
5. Can she make up a bed, Billie Boy, Billie Boy?
She can make up any bed,
Seven feet above her head. Refrain
6. How tall is she, Billie Boy, Billie Boy?
She's as tall as any pine
And crooked as a pumpkin vine. Refrain
7. Can she bake a loaf of bread, Billie Boy, Billie Boy?
She can bake a loaf of bread
That will rise above her head. Refrain
8. Did she ask you for a ride, Billie Boy, Billie Boy?
Yes, she asked me for a ride;
She sat right by my side. Refrain
9. How old is she, Billie Boy, Billie Boy?
Twice six, twice seven, Twice twenty and eleven.
Refrain