Billy Boy- Campbell (MS) pre1926 Hudson D
[From Ballads and Songs from Mississippi by Arthur Palmer Hudson; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 39, No. 152 (Apr. - Jun., 1926), pp. 93-194; four versions A-D. Hudson's notes follow.
R. Matteson 2011, 2014]
D. Billy Boy. Communicated by Mr. M. G. Campbell, Kosciusko, Mississippi, aged about sixty, who says that he learned it from his mother.
1. "Have you a girl, Billie Boy, Billie Boy,
Have you a girl, charming Billie ?"
"Yes, I have a girl with many a curl,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother."
2. "How old is she, Billy Boy, ............?"
"Twice six, twice seven, three times forty and eleven, ........" etc.
3. "How tall is she, Billy Boy,.......... ?"
"She's as tall as any pine, and as straight as a pumpkin vine," etc.
4. "Can she bake an cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she bake an cherry pie, charming Billy?"
"She can bake an cherry pie
As quick as a cat can wink its eye;
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother!"
5. "Can she make a feather bed, Billie Boy, Billie Boy ?
Can she make a feather bed, charming Billie ?"
"She can make a feather bed with pillows for the head,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother."