Billy Boy- Gilbert (AR) 1969 Max Hunter

Billy Boy- Gilbert (Arkansas) 1969

[From: Max Hunter Folk Song Collection, online.

R. Matteson 2011, 2014]


Billy Boy- As sung by Ollie Gilbert, Mountain View, Arkansas on June 25, 1969

Listen: http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=814

VERSE 1
Where are you goin', Billy boy, Billy boy
Where are you goin', charmin' Billy
Up an' down the road, t' choose me a wife
She's a young thing, she caint leave 'er mamma

VERSE 2
Did she ask you in, Billy boy, Billy boy
Did she ask you in, charmin' Billy
She asked me in, with the dimples in 'er chin
She's a young thing, she caint leave 'er mamma

VERSE 3
Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy boy, Billy boy
Can she bake a cherry pie, charmin' Billy
She can bake a cherry pie, quick's a cat can wink its eye
She's a young thing, she cannot leave 'er mamma

VERSE 4
How old is she, Billy boy, Billy boy
How old is she, charmin' Billy
Twice six, twice seven, three times twenty an' eleven
She's a young thing, she caint leave 'er mamma

Ollie repeats the 17th chapter of the Gospel of St. John, I think she wanted to show her "membrance". Says, she is 76 years old.