Billy Boy- Townsend (NC) 1942 Abrams Var. 1
[Abrams Collection online- Billy Boy, Variant 1 MS. Informants are Ora Leona Townsend, 1917-?; Mrs. Manley Townsend [Ollie Bell Harmon], 1898-1978; Ollie Harmon Townsend is Leona Townsend's mother. Leona student of Dr. Abrams from Banner Elk, Avery County, North Carolina. Copied by Leona Townsend: "learned from my mother Mrs. Manley Townsend, Banner Elk, N. C."
This version is dated c. 1942 which is about the time Abrams received the handwritten MS. Her mother probably learned this circa early 1900s. The stanza lines have been changed to fit conventional stanzas. The last stanza is unique.
R. Matteson 2014]
Billy Boy- Leona Townsend, as learned from her mother.
Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where have you been charming Billy?
I have been to see my wife
She’s the pleasure of my life
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
How old is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How old is she, charming Billy?
She’s twice six, twice seven, twice forty and eleven,
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
How tall is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How tall is she, charming Billy?
She’s as tall as any pine
And as straight as a pumpkin vine,
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Can she make a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make a cherry pie, charming Billy?
She can make a cherry pie
Quick as a cat can wink its eye,
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Can she make a pot of mush, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make a pot of mush, charming Billy?
She can make a pot of mush,
And it’s time for you to hush,
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.