Songs from Kentucky Florence Truitt
The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 36, No. 142 (Oct. - Dec., 1923), pp. 376-379
SONGS FROM KENTUCKY
COLLECTED BY FLORENCE TRUITT
SONG I. (Sung by Julius Vaugh [now living] twenty-five years ago in Mason County.)
1. Jumbo was an elephant
As large as all creation.
He sailed across the ocean
To join the Yankee nation.
CHORUS: Jumbo, lumbo, Slombo, Jum,
Bound to see old Jumbo.
2. His tail was as large as a telegraph-wire,
And his legs were tremendous.
He weighed three hundred and seventeen tons,
Something quite tremendous.
3. Kangaroos sitting on their knees,
Winking at the foxes,
And old Jumbo sitting on his tail,
Eating up dry-good boxes.
4. Ladies feed him on sugar-plums,
And say he is too beautiful,
Little children playing around his feet.
Looking at his tusks.
5. He jars the ground as he turns around,
Jumbo, elephant Jumbo.
Biggest animal in this world,
Barnum's elephant Jumbo.
6. He swallows peanuts by the ton,
I tell you he's a snorter,
'Lasses, cake, and gingerbread,
And gone on soda-water.
7. He humpted his tail and made a growl.
It was like a clap of thunder.
When it came, the people stopped and stared,
And gazed around and wondered.
SONG II. (Sung by a man by the name of O. Groge about twenty-five years ago in Mason County.)
1. As I was going to Darby on a market day,
There I saw the finest sheep that was ever fed on hay.
CHORUS: Sing a high falda ra,
Sing a high fal de ra.
2. The sheep was fat before, the sheep was fat behind,
And every foot the sheep had covered an acre or more of ground.
(Chorus.)
3. The wool on the sheep's belly was dragging to the ground,
And the wool on his tail weighed forty thousand pounds.
(Chorus.)
4. The wool on the sheep's back was reaching to the sky,
Where the eagles built their nests, for I heard the young-uns cry.
(Chorus.)
5. The first tooth he had made a hundred horn,
And the next tooth cribbed thirty barrel of corn.
(Chorus.)
6. In one of his nostrils the school-teacher taught,
And in between his horns the Baptist preacher preached.
(Chorus.)
7. The man that stuck the sheep was stifled in the blood,
And the man that held the basin was washed away in the flood.
(Chorus.)
8. The blood from the sheep ran forty miles or more,
And it turned a water-mill that was never turned before.
(Chorus.)
9. Oh, the man that owned the sheep must have been entirely sick,
Or the man that made this song a lying son of a gun.
(Chorus.)
SONG III (Sung by Julius Vaughn twenty years ago in Mason County.)
1. Mr. Fox went out hunting one moonshiny night,
Walking on his hind-feet, just about right.
Said, "I'm going to have some meat this night
If there's any meat in townio, in townio, in townio."
2. He marched down to the farmer's gate.
There he spied an old blue drake.
"Old blue drake, come gayne 'long with me,
Prettiest littleman in townio, in townio, in townio!"
3. The drake shook his head, and the word meant "no."
"If you have no meat 'til you eat a meat o' mine,
You'll eat no meat in townio, in townio, in townio."
4. He marched on to the farmer's roost,
There he spied an old gray goose.
"Old gray goose, come gayne 'long with me,
Prettiest little man in townio, in townio, in townio."
5. The goose shook her head,
And the word was "No."
"If you eat no meat 'til you eat meat o' mine,
You'll eat no meat in townio, in townio, in townio."
6. He grabbed that old goose by the neck,
And threw that old goose across his back.
Her wings went flip-flop around his breast,
And her feet went jing, jing janglo, jing janglo, jing janglo.
7. Old Mother Hubbard jumped out of bed,
Said, "Old man, your goose is dead.
I heard her go quink quankeo, quink quankeo, quink quankeo."
8. Old man jumped out with fife and flute,
Said, "Mr. Fox, you had better look cute.
You'll have sweet music all around you, all around you, all around you."
9. He marched on to his den.
There he had young ones nine or ten.
"Papa, O papa! when you going back again? "-
"It must have been a lucky little townio, little townio, little townio."
SONG IV (Sung by Mrs. Duckworth about thirty years ago in Batto County.)
1. The raccoon he's a-chopping wood,
And the 'possum he's a-hauling,
And my old coon dog is on the hill,
Killing himself a-bawling.
CHORUS: Hop along, old Miss Lizy!
Hop along, Liza Jane!
Hop along, Lizy, poor gal!
And she died on the train.
2. If I had no hoss to ride,
You'd find me crawling
Up and down this rocky road,
Looking for my darling.
(Chorus.)
3. Wish I was a bunch of grapes
Hanging on the vine,
So, when my true-love came along,
She'd say, "This bunch is mine."
(Chorus.)
4. Wish I was an apple
Hanging on the tree,
So, when my true-love came along,
She'd take a bite of me.
(Chorus.)
5. Higher up the cherry-tree
Riper grows the cherry,
More a boy courts a gal,
The more he wants to marry.
(Chorus.)
6. You may ride the old gray hoss,
And I will ride the roan.
You may talk to your sweetheart,
But, God! leave mine alone.
(Chorus.)
7. I would not marry a poor gal,
And I'll tell you the reason why:
She's got so many poor kin folks,
That they would make the biscuits fly.
(Chorus.)
8. I would not marry an old maid,
I will tell you the reason why:
Her neck is so long and skinny,
I'm afraid she would never die.
(Chorus.)
9. I would not marry a rich gal,
An' I'll tell you the reason why:
She blows her nose in the corn-bread,
And calls it pumpkin pie.
(Chorus.)