My Boy Willie- Ritchie(KY) 1959 REC w/ Brand, Sear
[From: A Folk Concert in Town Hall, New York with Jean Ritchie, Oscar Brand and David Sear FW02428, 1959. Teh program notes only say, ''This is one of Jean Ritchie's variants of the Billy Boy songs." This version is a shortened version of Burl Ives version published in 1953.
R. Matteson 2014]
"MY BOY WILLY"- performed by Jean Ritchie and Oscar Brand
Where have you been all the day, my boy Willy
Where have you been all the day, Willy won't you tell me now
I have been, all the day, courtin' with my lady gay
But she is too young to be taken from her Mammy
But she is too young to be taken from her Mammy.
Can she brew and can she bake, my boy Willy
Can she brew and can she bake, Willy won't you tell me now
She can brew, she can bake, she can make a wedding cake
But she is too young to be taken from her Mammy
But she is too young to be taken from her Mammy.
Can she weave and can she spin, my boy Willy
Can she weave and can she spin, Willy won't you tell me now?
She can weave, she can spin, she can do most anything
But she is too young to be taken from her Mammy
But she is too young to be taken from her Mammy.
Can she make up a bed, my boy Willy
Can she make up a bed, Willy won't you tell me now
She can make up a bed, fifty feet above her head
But she is too young to be taken from her Mammy
But she is too young to be taken from her Mammy.
Did you ask her to wed, my boy Willy
Did you ask her to wed, Willy won't you tell me now
Yes I asked her to wed, and do you know what she said
I am much too young to be taken from my Mammy
I am much too young to be taken from my Mammy!