Kind Miss- Ann Anderson (KY) 1927 Sandburg
[From: American Songbag- Carl Sandburg 1927. Sandburg's notes follow. This is a hybrid version. Only the first stanza is Drowsy Sleeper, the second resembles the "Spanish Lady." A longer version was found in Mississippi by Hudson and is titled, "Annie Girl."
R. Matteson 2016]
KIND MISS
"Did she marry him for love or money?" is about as old as the query, "Would you rather marry a handsome man who is poor or a man with lots of money and a face like a mud fence?" The answer among children is, "I'd rather have both." In the Kentucky song here we have an offer of marriage, even elopement. The girl refuses and tells why. . . . Ann Riddell Anderson of the University of Kentucky communicates this; her father, Hugh Riddell, is judge in a circuit of courts including "Bloody Breathitt" County.
1 Kind miss, kind miss, go ask your mother
If you, my bride shall ever be.
If she says "Yes," come back and tell me,
If she says "No," well run away.
2. Kind miss, I have much gold and silver,
Kind miss, I have a house and land,
Kind miss, I have a world of pleasure,
And all of these at thy command.
3. What do I care for your gold and silver
What do I care for your house and land?
What do I care for your world of pleasure,
When all I want is a handsome man?