I Can't Come In- Hobbs (OK) pre1964 Moores C
[No title given- first line used. Fragment of one stanza from the Moores, Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest, 1964. Despite the 1964 date of publication, most of the ballads are old from the early 1900s. The Moores' notes follow.
R. Matteson 2014]
17 Young Hunting
Young Hunting (Child, No. 68) as sung by Oklahomans resembles the Child F story, which closes with the conversation between the murderer and the parrot. The rest of the story relates the discovery of a body by the King's duckers and the lady's declaration of innocence and her accusation of one of her maids. It closes with a trial by fire which leaves the maid unharmed but burns up the guilty lady. For references and texts, see Arnold, 60-61; Barry, Eckstorm, and Smyth, 122-28; Belden, 34-37; Chappell, 2l-22; Child, II, 142-55; Cox, 42-44; Creighton and Senior, 36-39; Davis, 282-90; Hudson, 77-78; Iournal, Vol. XVIII, 295 (Barry), Vol. XX, 252 (Pettit), Vol. XXX, 297 (Kittredge), Vol. LII, 30 (Treat) ; Morris, 263-65; Owens, 44-45; Randolph, I, 90-93; Sandburg, 64-65; Scarborough, Song Catcher,134-36; Sharp, I, 101- 14; and Smith, 107.
C. [I Can't Come In] In the text sung by Mrs. Charles Hobbs of Norman, "Henry" makes answer in a manner similar to that found in the majority of Oklahoma texts. Here is her stanza:
"I can't come in, Lady Margie," he said,
"And stay all night with thee,
For the girl I have left in the Arkansas land
Will think I'm a long time coming home."