Nickety Nackety- Riggsby (KY) 1959 Roberts B
[From: In the Pines, Roberts. This is the second adaption of Nickety Nackety (See Horton Barker- Richard Chase) with the Wife Wrapped text. The chorus (refrain) is very close to Chubby Parker's and may be influenced by the recording. Roberts A version does not include elements of the ballad and is included in the Appendix --277 A. Roberts' notes follow:]
[31. RISSELTY RASSELTY (Child 277)
Child's headnote is based upon five late texts (earliest of 1803) from Scotland, all except E having refrains. C and D have refrains somethinglike the present text: "Nickity, Nackity (Rifty Rafty) now, now, now." In additions (V, 304- 305, child has two more variants. one is Newell's Massachusetts text from 'li-{F, VII: 23 (labeled F by Sargent and Kittredge). The other one, from Suffolk, mas the Linko Clashmo refrain. These three refrains persist in America. Child traces the narrative back to an old tale, "The Wife Lapped in Morrill's Skin." A Man finds himself coupled with a very cross and restive wife. He kills his horse Morrill, salts the hide, beats his wife in the cellar till she swoons, and then wraps her in the hide. On her recovery she is perfectly reformed. Child does not trace the ballad on the Continent.
Coffin lists about fifty references to the balad in America underthree types. In A is the full story, including the reform of the wife; in B the man runs away to his father's house, declaring that his wife has lice; and in C the wife is beaten, sometimes without the dodge of the wether's skin. The ballad has been found in Nova Scotia, Maine, Vermont, Pennsylvania, West Virginia (FSS, no. 29, 5 texts; TBFWV, no. 13, 3); Virginia (TBV, no.45, 12 texts; and MTBV, no. 39, 7); North Carolina NCF, II, IV, no. 44,4 texts); Mississippi, Florida, Indiana, Missouri (BBM, pp.92-94, 2 texts); Ozarks, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and Utah. Lawless lists 6 in print.
Kentucky has not yielded very many versions of the ballad [ignores Sharp's version, Cox's, Lomax's and Jean Ritchie's]. There is one listed in the Kentucky Syllabus, Niles has one in BB, no. 59, and I have four texts. There is a related ballad in Appalachia called by my informant "The Bachelor Boy" (TSCF, no. 12) and by SharpK "The Holly Twig" (no. 53, 3 texts from Virginia). Miss Karpeles in her note (II, 397) cites four other appearances, three from England and one from JAF, 39:156.
The present (A) song, "Risselty Rasselty," was recorded by Bertram Draughn in 1961 from the singing of Mildred Creighton, both of Floyd County. The following (B) piece, "Nickety Nackety," is more obviously Child 277. It was collected without music in 1959 by Bonnie Ruth Lewis from the recitation of Lolita Ratliff Riggsby, both of Morgan County.
B. NICKETY NACKETY (Child 277)- collected without music in 1959 by Bonnie Ruth Lewis from the recitation of Lolita Ratliff Riggsby, both of Morgan County.
I married me a wife in the month of June,
Nickety Nackety now now now,
I escorted her home by the light of the moon,
Nickety Nackety now now now.
Refrain: Nickety nackety nay down thackety
Willity wallity rustico quality
Nickety nackety now now now.
One day when I came in from the plow,
Nickety nackety now now now
Says, "Oh, my good wife, is my dinner ready now?"
Nickety nackety now now now.
Refrain:
There's a little piece of cornbread on the shelf,
Nickety nackety now now now
If you want any more you can bake it yourself,
Nickety nackety now now now.
Refrain:
Oh, I went out behind the barn,
Nickety nackety now now now
And I cut me a hickory as long as my arm,
Nickety nackety now now now.
Refrain:
Then I went out to my sheep pen,
Nickety nackety now now now
And I grabbed me up an old sheep skin,
Nickety nackety now now now.
Refrain:
I laid that skin all around her back,
Nickety nackety now now now,
And with that stick I went whickety-whack
Nickety nackety now now now.
Refrain: