Billy Boy- Karickhoff (WV) 1940 Boette
[I've arranged lines in typical stanza form. From Singa Hypsy Doodle, Boette, 1971. Boette's notes follow. Sung by Hazel Karickhoff; Upshur County, WV. With music, autoharp in C. Collected by Marie Boette
R. Matteson 2014]
BILLY BOY
Hazel Karickhoff sang this song in the summer of 1940. There are many variants in the final stanza. Mrs. Louise Baumgard of Marietta, Ohio, wrote: "Twice six, twice seven, forty nine and eleven-she's a young thing and cannot leaue her mother."
Frances Johnson Bennett, born and, reared in Belpre, Ohio, wrote: "Three times six, four times seven, twenty-eight and eleven, (but) she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother."
Needless to say, this song has appeared in many school songbooks and is a favorite because of its lively tune and humor.
Billy Boy- Sung by Hazel Karickhoff; Upshur County, WV., with music, autoharp in C. Collected by Marie Boette
1-Where have you been, Billy Boy?
Where have you been, charming Billy?
Oh, I've been to seek my wife, she's the joy of my life-
She's a young thing, too young to leave her mother.
2-Did she bid you to come in, Billy Boy?
Did she bid you to come in, charming Billy?
Yes, she bid me to come in-there's a dimple in her chin-
She's a young thing, too young to leave her mother.
3-Did she offer you a chair, Billy Boy,
Did she offer you a chair, charming Billy?
Yes, she offered me a chair-with the ringlets in her hair-
She's a young thing, too young to leave her mother.
4-Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy,
Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?
She can bake a cherry pie quick as a cat can wink an eye-
She's a young thing, too young to leave her mother.
5-How old is she, Billy Boy,
How old is she, charming Billy?
She's six times seven, twenty-eight and eleven-
She's a young thing, too young to leave her mother!
(She's nineteen, eleven, fourteen and seven [substitute for third line].)