Billy Boy- W. T. Jernigan (Arkansas) 1959
[From the John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection online.
R. Matteson 2011, 2014]
BILLY BOY- W.T. Jernigan; Recorded by Wolf in Batesville, AR on 7/12/59.
[Click here to listen W.T. Jernigan]
"Oh, where have you been, Billy boy, Billy boy?
Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?"
"I've been to seek me a wife for the pleasure of my life.
She is a young thing, cannot leave her mammy-o."
"Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy boy, Billy boy?
Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?"
"She can bake a cherry pie, quick as a cat can wink its eye.
She is a young thing, cannot leave her mammy-o."
"Does she often go to church, Billy boy, Billy boy?
Does she often go to church, charming Billy?"
"She often goes to church, with her bonnet white as starch. [1]
She is a young thing, cannot leave her mammy-o."
1. birch