Parson Jones- Murphy (MS) pre1936 Hudson
[Another nearly identical text from Mississippi titled "Parson Jones" was sent by an African-American informant to Scarborough pre 1936. The words from 3rd stanza, left out, apparently are: "You god-damned fool!" which Hudson choose not to print.]
22. OUR GOODMAN
(Child, No. 274)
One text, entitled "Parson Jones," was obtained by Mr. George F. Swetnam from Mr. Spencer L. Murphy, Grenada. This is a fragment of a ribald version of the Old English and Scottish ballad, said to be well known among students of the University of Mississippi. For a brief discussion of it and of the theme-type to which it belongs, see p. 58. For other American variants,
see Brown, p. 91 Campbell and Sharp, No. 32; Cox, No. 28; Davis, No. 43; Barry, No. 46.
1. Parson Jones looked in the bed,
And there what did he see?
Oh, there he saw another man's head
Where his head ought to be.
2. "My wife, my wife, my little wife,
My darling wife!" said he.
Why in the hell's this other man's head
Where my head ought to bel"
3. "You fool, you fool, you drunken fool,
"You ---- --------" said she.
That is just a cabbage-head
My mother sent to me."
4 "I've traveled east, I've traveled west,
Ten thousand miles or more,
But whiskers on a cabbage-head
I never saw before."