Billy Boy- Owens (KY) 1950 Owens
[From Texas Folk Songs, Owens 1950. His notes follow.
R. Matteson 2014]
BILLY BOY
In Lamar county, Texas, "Billy Boy" was sung as a "funny" song and as a riddle. The comic element is in the parody of "Lord Randall," though the latter apparently was never sung in that area. The stanzas here are only samples of the many improvisations. The riddle was in the last stanza and her age varied as the singers tried to think up more difficult addition and multiplication.
Billy Boy- Sung by William A. Owens.
"Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?"
"I have been to seek a wife, she's the darling of my life,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother."
"Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?"
"She can bake a cherry pie quicker'n a gnat can wink his eye,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother."
"Can she make a feather bed, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make a feather bed, charming Billy?"
"She can make a feather bed with the feet up at the head,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother."
"Did she ask you to come in, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she ask you to come in, charming Billy?"
"Yes, she asked me to come in, she had grease on her chin,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother."
"How old is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How old is she, charming Billy?"
"Twice six, twice seven, forty-nine and eleven,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother."