Billy Boy- Bagwell (TN) c1933 Henry D
[From Folk Songs from the Southern Highlands by Mellinger Henry 1938; version D, p. 387.
R. Matteson 2014]
D. Billy Boy. The song was recorded in the vicinity of Harrogate, Tennessee, by Ruth Bagwell, a student in Lincoln Memorial University.
1. Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?
I have been out west to find me a wife;
She's the joy of my life,
And she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
2. Can she make a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make a cherry pie, charming Billy ?
She can make a cherry pie
Quicker than a cat can wink its eye;
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
3. Can she make up the beds, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make up the beds, charming Billy?
She can make up the bed,
Set the pillow at the head;
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
4. Can she sweep up the floors, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she sweep up the floors, charming Billy?
She can sweep up the floors,
Set the broom behind the door;
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
5. How tall is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How tall is she, charming Billy?
She's as tall as any pine,
Slim as any pumpkin vine;
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
6. How old is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How old is she, charming Billy?
She's twice six, twice seven,
Twice twenty, and eleven;
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.