Four Nights- Frank Proffitt (NC) 1937 Brown C
[My title, instead of the generic title. From The Brown Collection of NC Folklore, Volume II, 1952; music from Volume IV. Additional text from the Abrams Collection where it's titled, Our Good Man. "
This is very similar to the version ( "Four Nights" ) my grandfather, Maurice Matteson, collected in that area in 1933. He bought a dulcimer from Nathan Hicks, Frank Proffitt's father-in-law. The date of this version, 1937, shows that Proffitt was disseminating his songs and ballads at that time (he sent this into Abrams, possibly through contact with my grandfather and Melinger Henry.)
Edited for spelling. The discrepancy between what Proffit sang (sheet music) for the Brown collection and what he wrote (see his text below) can be seen by reading the sheet music text. It's likely that some of the words were not understood from the recording- like the opening words.
R. Matteson Jr. 2013]
About the Abrams collection (used by Frank Brown in the Brown Collection):
William Amos “Doc” Abrams (1905-1991), originally from Pinetops in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, was chairman of the English Department at Appalachian State Teacher’s College (ASTC) from 1932 to 1946. Dr. Abrams possessed both B. A. and M. A. degrees from Duke University, in addition to a Ph.D. from Cornell University. From 1946 until his retirement in 1970, he served as editor of the North Carolina Education Association publications. He was married to Lillian Cost. Starting in the 1930s, Dr. Abrams built a reputation as an enthusiastic collector, scholar and promoter of North Carolina folklore. He served multiple terms as president of the North Carolina Folklore Society and contributed a number of articles to the society’s journal. A significant number of the folksong variants in his collection (some collected in association with Dr. Frank C. Brown and later with Dr. Cratis D. Williams) appear in the seven volume The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, published in 1962. Dr. Abrams received the Society’s Brown-Hudson Award in 1974.
Brown Collection: C. 'Our Goodman.' Sent in by Frank Proffitt of Sugar Grove, Watauga county, in 1937. Essentially the same version as B, but the series runs to four: coat (bed quilt with pockets on it), horse (milk cow with saddle on), head (cabbage with a mustache on), and (by misplacement, apparently) boots (cream pitcher with boots on).
Four Nights (titled, Our Good Man, in the Abrams Collection)- Sung by Frank Proffitt of Sugar Grove, Watauga County, North Carolina; date 1937.
1 The first night when I come home,
I'se drunk as I could be,
I found a coat, a hanging on the rack,
Where my coat ought to be.
2 Come here my little wifie,
And explain this thing to me,
How come a coat's a-hanging on the rack
Where my coat ought to be?
3 Oh, you old blind fool you,
Can't you never see?
It's nothing but a bed quilt,
My granny give to me!
4 I been living in this world,
Forty years or more,
But pockets on a bed quilt
I never did see before.
The second night when I come home,
I'se drunk as I could be,
I found a horse standing in the stable,
Where my horse ought to be.
Come here my little wifie,
And explain this thing to me,
How come a horse standing in the stable,
Where my horse ought to be?
Oh, you old blind fool you,
Can't you never see?
It's nothing but a milk cow,
My granny give to me!
I been living in this world,
Forty years or more,
But a saddle on a milk cows back
I never did see before!
The third night when I come home,
I'se drunk as I could be,
I found a head on the pillow
I never did see before.
Come here my little wifie,
And explain this thing to me,
How come there's a head on the pillow,
I never did see before?
Oh, you old blind fool you,
Can't you never see?
It's nothing but a cabbage head,
My granny give to me!
I been living in this world,
Forty years or more,
But a moustache on a cabbage
Head I never did see before.
The fourth night when I come home,
I'se drunk as I could be,
I found boots sitting in the corner,
Where my boots ought to be.
Come here my little wifie,
And explain this thing to me,
How come there's a boots sitting in the corner,
I never did see before?
Oh, you old blind fool you,
Can't you never see?
It's nothing but a cream pitcher,
My granny give to me!
I been living in this world,
Forty years or more,
But a cream pitcher with booties on,
Head I never did see before.