Old Rosin the Bow- Jackson McDowell 1895
[The tune has been identified by Bayard and dates back to 1740. The lyrics, attributed to Lawrence T. Wilson, were first published 1867 and date back to 1830s.
R. Matteson 2014]
OLD ROSIN THE BOW
1. I've traveled this wide world over,
And now to another I'll go,
I know that good quarters are waiting,
To welcome old Rosin the Bow.
2. My life is now drawn to a closing,
And all at the last will be so
So take a full glass at the parting
To the name of Old Rosin The Bow.
3. And when I'm laid out on the counter,
All dead from my head to my toe;
Just, sprinkle plain whiskey and water
0n the corpse of Old Rosin The Bow.
4. And when to my grave I am carried
The ladies will all want to know;
Just lift up the lid of the coffin
And look at Old Rosin The Bow.
5. Then pick me out six trusty fellows
And let them all stand in a row,
They'll dig a big hole in the middle
To bury Old Rosin The Bow.
6. And when they have got me all buried
A stone at my head and my toe;
They'll take out a big-belled bottle
And drink to Old Rosin The Bow.
Memorized in childhood by L.L. McDowell, from the singing of Jackson McDowell his father. Mrs. McDowell remembers her father singing it.