Songs of the Cumberlands by Bess Alice Owens
The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 49, No. 193 (Jul. - Sep., 1936), pp. 215-242
SONGS OF THE CUMBERLANDS
BY BESS ALICE OWENS
These songs are selected from more than fourteen hundred ballads and ditties collected in Pike County, Kentucky, in the foothills of the Cumberlands. Many of the Kentucky variants were secured through students of Pikeville College and Pikeville High School. The melodies were notated by Miss Alta May Lumbard, Professor of Music at Pikeville College, and by Dr. D. West Richards, a recognized composer and student of folklore in Wales, his native country, and now Professor of Music at Western Bowling Green, Kentucky.
It is a pleasure to acknowledge my indebtedness to Miss Lumbard and Dr. Richards, to those students and to the many friends who entrusted me with their rich heritage of song. For valued encouragement during the collecting I wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Charles S. Pendleton, Professor of the Teaching of English at George Peabody College, and to Professor Percy W. Long of New York University. This selection must not be taken as a cross section of the music of the Cumberlands. In number it represents less than one-fiftieth of those songs found by one collector, and only when considered with the traditional ballads and folk-songs recorded here and in other regions can it be considered an adequate picture of these reticent, fun-loving, Stoical, God-fearing people.
CONTENTS
I. Jamie and Jeanie
2. Patty McGuire
3. Short Life o' Trouble
4. Darling, We Have Long Been Parted
5. Shady Grove
6. Out Last Night [Little Sadie]
7. Jumbo
8. Ida Red
9. Poor Peggie
10. In the Pines
11. Loving Nancy
12. Carolina Lady
13. Lorena
14. Mary Was a Servant Girl
15. A Mountaineer's Courtship
16. Catherine Moore
17. We Hooped and We Hollo'd
18. Turkey in the Straw
19. Johnny Sands
20. Banks of the Wainbow Wellow
21. The Old Man in the Wood
22. The Fellow That Looks Like Me
23. An Ancient Riddle
24. Cumberland Gap
1. JAMIE AND JEANIE- Contributed by Mr. Marshel Watterson, a student who came to Pikeville College from Hendersonville, North Carolina in 1931.
"I'll bring ye a braw new goon, Jeanie,
I'll bring ye a braw new goon, lassie,
And it'll be a silken goon
Wey flounces set aroon, lassie."
"O, that's no gift a'va, Jamie,
O, that's no gift a'va, laddie,
For there's no a goon in a' the toon
I'd like when ye'r awa', laddie."
"When I come back agin, Jeanie,
When I come back again, lassie,
I'll bring wi' me a gallant gay
To be ye'r own guid man, lassie."
"Be my guide man yersel, Jamie,
Be my guide man yersel, laddie,
An' take me ower to Germany,
At hame wi' ye to dwell, laddie."
"I dinna ken how that can be, Jeanie,
I dinna ken how that can be, lassie,
For I hae a wife and bairnies three,
And I dinna ken how ye'd agree, lassie."
"Ye should 'a telt me that in time, Jamie,
Ye should 'a telt me that lang syne, laddie,
For had I kent o' yer false heart,
Ye ne'er would gotten mine, laddie."
"Yer ee was like a spell, Jeanie,
Yer ee was like a spell, lassie,
And ilka day bewitched me sa'
I could'na help masel, lassie."
"Gang back to yer wife and hame, Jamie,
Gang back to yer bairnies three, laddie,
And I will pray they ne'er may thoil
A broken heart like mine, laddie."
"O, dry yer tearfu' ee, Jeanie,
O, dry yer tearfu' ee, lassie,
For I ha' neither wife nor bairns,
And I'll wed name but ye, lassie."
"Think well for fear ye rue, Jamie,
Think well for fear ye rue, laddie,
For I have neither gowd nor lan'
To be a match for ye, laddie."
"All Blairathol is mine, Jeanie,
Little Dunkeld is mine, lassie,
St. Anton's Towers and Etrie Bowers,
And all that's mine is thine, lassie."
2. PATTY MCGUIRE- Taken down from the singing of Mrs. Clark Farley of Oklahoma.
I met Kate at the door, I gave her an Irish hug;
She returned the compliment but slapped me on the mug;
Saying, "Pat, you'd better be aisy for mother's a-watching you,"
Just then the old woman hollered out, as old women often do:
Chorus.
Got Kate in the corner, told her lots of love,
Told her she was an angel from regions far above.
She said she'd never flew yet, just then the old woman did shout:
"Barney, you little papoon, I'll whip you when he gets out."
Chorus.
Now we are married, the honey-moon is o'er;
There never was a happier pair e'er walked old Ireland's shore.
We have two sons and daughters to increase our joy;
I ofttimes think of Barney, the impudent Irish boy.
Chorus.
3. SHORT LIFE O' TROUBLE- This was communicated by a pupil in Pikeville High School and a variant by Mr. Tom Owens, who learned it in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Now you've broke your promise,
Go marry whoever you may;
This old world is so big and wide,
I'll ramble back some day.
If I owned this whole wide world,
And all that's in it, too,
I'd give it all in silver and gold
If I was only married to you.
4. DARLING, WE HAVE LONG BEEN PARTED- From Miss Flossie Martin.
I am dreaming of you, darling,
Dreaming of your eyes so blue;
Take me back for I am dying,
I'll be happy, so will you.
Oh, they tell you I'm unworthy.
And they tell you I'm untrue;
How it makes my heart ache, darling,
For I love no one but you.
Think how often we have wandered
Down by that moonlit sea,
Where you promised you'd be true, dear,
And never love no one but me.
I will send your letters to you
But your picture I love well.
Henceforth we meet, we'll meet as strangers
Where we cannot say farewell.
Go and try to win another,
Try to win her for your bride,
I am bound with sad experience,
Love can never win this time.
We are parting now forever,
Gathering flowers from the dell;
On each one it's plainly written
The sad and lonely word, "Farewell."
5. SHADY GROVE- From Miss Nancy Trivette, Jonancy.
"What's your name, my pretty little miss?
What's your name, my honey?"
She answered me with a te-he-he,
"My name's Easter Sunday."
"How old are you, my pretty little miss?
How old are you, my honey?"
She answered me with a te-he-he,
"I'll be sixteen next Sunday."
"Will you walk with me, my pretty little miss?
Will you walk with me, my honey?"
She answered me with a te-he-he,
"I'll walk with anybody."
"Will you marry me, my pretty little miss?
Will you marry me, my honey?"
She answered me with a te-he-he,
"I'll marry anybody."
6. OUT LAST NIGHT- From Mrs. Ethel McCoy, a cook in Pikeville. She learned it in Genoa,
Layne County, West Virginia.
Made a little run, but it was most too slow
They overtook me in Jericho;
Got back home the judge and jury was on the stand,
Judge held the papers in his own right hand.
Saying, "Kind sir, is your name Thomas Lee
Who met little Sadie and shot her down ?"
"No sir, kind sir, my name is Brown;
If you have any papers, please read them to me."
7. JUMBO- Taken down from two singers, Miss Ella Danron, Island Creek, and Mrs.
P. H. Owens, Pikeville.
Come last Saturday night he did,
And stayed till almost three;
Said he never loved a girl
As well as he loved me.
Chorus.
Mama sent me to the spring,
Told me not to stay;
I fell in love with a pretty little boy
And stayed till Christmas Day.
Chorus.
Jumbo gave me peaches,
Jumbo gave me pears,
Jumbo gave me fifty cents
To kiss him on the stairs.
Chorus.
I gave him back his peaches,
I gave him back his pears;
I gave him back his fifty cents
And kicked him down the stairs.
Chorus.
8. IDA RED- From Miss Mae Smallwood, Dorton, Pike County.
Bought me a horse and made me a sled,
Nobody can't ride but Ida Red.
Ida Red, if you were mine?
You wouldn't do nothing but starch and iron;
Starch and iron and stitch and sew,
Fix to go to meeting when you want to go.
Ida Red, she lives in town,
Weighs three hundred and forty pound.
Ida Red, riding through town,
Riding a billy-goat and leading a hound.
The old hound barked and the billy-goat jumped,
Throwed little Ida right a-straddle of a stump.
9. POOR PEGGIE- Noted from the singing of Mrs. P. H. Owens, Pikeville. It was learned
from her grandmother, who came from Scotland as a child.
Chorus
"Your mother's gone left you and I can't tell for why;
But when she returns, she shall never come in,
She will have to go sailing with her soldier again."
He walked the streets with a damsel so fair
Who held in her arms his infant so dear,
He saddled his horse and away he did ride
Intending to halt her down by the seaside.
When he got there, being late in the day,
Poor Peggie and the soldier had just sailed away.
They had not been sailing more than a week, two or three,
Till Peggie and the soldier they did disagree.
He kicked her, he cuffed her, he called her by names,
He made her return to her own country again.
And when she returned, she went in the night
Because she was ashamed to be seen in daylight;
She crept to the window to listen awhile,
To hear her old husband sing to her dear child:
She rapped at the window, she rapped it again,
She called for her husband, she called him by name.
"Go 'way from my window, there's no lodging here,
You will have to sail o'er the sea with a soldier."
10. IN THE PINES- Secured by Miss Carolyn Elizabeth Owens from Miss Grace Helvey.
The longest train I ever saw rolled down that Georgia line,
It backed back at a signal stop, and killed that girl of mine.
In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines,
And shivered where the cold winds blow.
CHORUS
Her hair was in a charm of curls,
And rosy cheeks she had.
In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines,
And shivered where the cold winds blow.
CHORUS
11. LOVING NANCY- Recorded by Miss Flossie Martin from Miss Imel Thompson, Burning
Fork of Coon.
I courted loving Nancy
'Til her favors I won,
Straight after another
Although I did go.
In the haste of my practice,
And the course of my woe,
I lost loving Nancy
By courting too slow.
Then I took a slight sail,
I sailed o'er the main,
The bluebirds were singing
And making their game.
The thoughts of loving Nancy
Still roved in my mind,
I thought of her often,
As I walked along.
I wrote her a letter
For to let her know
I had not forgot her
Although I did go.
She wrote me an answer
For to let me know
That she was lawfully married
And I was too slow.
Sweet William came to hear this,
It struck him for death,
Says, "Must I die love-sick
And never get rest ?"
Loving Nancy came to hear this,
It filled her with grief,
Says, "I'll go to sweet William
And give him relief."
And as she was standing
Near by his bedside,
She says, "This is the one
That should have been your bride.
Though I am lawfully married,
I'll die for your sake."
She threw her arms around him,
And felt his heart break.
"Don't slight my poor husband,
Don't slight him, I say,
Don't throw this up to him
When I'm gone away."
Sweet William is dead,
I hope he's at rest;
Loving Nancy, she fainted,
And died on his breast.
12. CAROLINA LADY- From Miss Ila Scott, Burning Fork of Coon, whose great grandparents,
two of them Irish and two German, settled first in Virginia.
At length there came two loving brothers
This fair young lady for to see;
One of them was a brave lieutenant
And one of them was a bold sea captain
That belonged to a ship called "Colonel Cord."
Up spoke, up spoke that fair young lady
Saying, "I can only be one man's bride,
But come ye here tomorrow morning
And this case we will decide."
Then she called for coach and horses
To be ready at her command.
Then these three lovers rode on together
Until they came to a lions' den.
And there they stopped and there they halted,
While these two brothers stood gazing round;
All for a space of half an hour
She lay speechless on the ground.
At length she did recover
And threw her fan in a lions' den,
Saying, "Which of you will gain this lady
Will bring to me my fan again."
Up spoke, up spoke that bold sea captain
Saying, "Lady, I don't disapprove,
Although I am a man of honor,
I cannot lose my life for love."
Up spoke, up spoke that brave lieutenant
Saying, "Lady, I don't disapprove,
Although I am a man of honor,
I will return your fan or die."
Down in the den of lions he ventured,
Those fierce lions, they looked so grim,
He ripped and stormed around among them
And did return her fan again.
And when she saw her love a-coming
And unto him no harm was done,
She threw herself all in his arms,
Saying, "This is the prize you've won."
Up spoke, up spoke this bold sea captain
Just like a man been troubled in mind,
Saying, "Through these lonesome hills I'll wander
Where no man shall never me find."
13. LORENA- Contributed by Mrs. P. H. Owens, Pikeville. Dr. Bert Roller of Peabody College, Nashville, Tennessee, said "Lorena" was the one song sung by both North and South.
A hundred months have passed, Lorena,
Since last I clasped your hand in mine,
And felt your pulse beat fast, Lorena,
But mine beat faster, far, than thine!
A hundred months - 'twas flow'ring May
When up the hilly slope we'd climb
To watch the dying of the day
And hear the village church-bells chime.
We loved each other then, Lorena,
More than we ever dared to tell;
And what might we have been, Lorena,
Had but our lovin' prospered well!
But all is past, those years are flown,
I'll not call back their shadowy forms;
I'll say to those lost years, sleep on -
Sleep on, nor heed life's pelting storms.
We have passed youth's golden glow, Lorena,
Those days are with the eternal past;
Our heads will soon lie low, Lorena,
Life's tide is ebbing out so fast.
But there's a future - oh, thank God,
Of life this is so small a part;
'Tis dust to dust beneath the sod,
But there, up there, 'tis heart to heart.
[1] Repeat last two lines of each stanza for refrain.
14. MARY WAS A SERVANT GIRL- Contributed by Miss Margaret Boyd, who learned it from Miss Burchett
of Franklin Furnace, Ohio.
When you go, don't you tell your name,
Or let my parents know
That you are little young Edward
Who plowed the lowlands low."
There he sat dreaming,
Until time to go to bed,
But little did he know of the sorrow
That soon would crown his head.
He arose and went to bed,
But had scarcely fallen asleep,
Till Mary's cruel old father
Into his room did creep.
He stabbed and dragged him out of bed
Down by the seaside shore,
And sent his body bleeding
To plow the lowlands low.
Mary was lying sleepin',
She dreamed a frightful dream,
She dreamed of seeing her true love's blood
All flowing in a stream.
She arose, put on her clothes
Just at the break of day,
Saying, "Father, where is that young man
Who came here last night to stay?"
"He is dead, not a tale to tell,
His gold will make a show.
I sent his body bleeding
To plow the lowlands low."
"Father, father, cruel old father,
You shall die a public show
For killing my true lover
Who plowed the lowlands low."
His body lies in the ocean,
Cold waves roll over his breast,
His body's in a motion,
I hope his soul's at rest.
15. A MOUNTAINEER'S COURTSHIP- Contributed by Myrtle Meade, Pike County.
"Oh how long do you think you will court me, court me, court me,
Oh how long do you think you will court me,
My dear old reckless boy?"
"I expect I will court you all night, all night, all night,
I expect I'll court you all night,
If cold weather is good."
"Oh when do you think we will marry, we will marry, we will marry,
Oh when do you think we will marry,
My dear old reckless boy?"
"I expect we'll marry in a week, in a week, in a week,
If cold weather is good."
"Oh what are you going to ride to the wedding in, the wedding in, the wedding in,
My dear old reckless boy?"
"I expect I will ride my log sled, my log sled, my log sled,
I expect I will ride my log sled,
If cold weather is good."
"Who are you going to bring to the wedding inn, the wedding inn, the wedding inn,
Oh who are you going to bring to the wedding inn,
My dear old reckless boy?"
"I expect I'll bring my children, my children, my children,
Oh I expect I'll bring my children,
If cold weather is good."
"Well, I didn't know you had any children, any children, any children,
Well, I didn't know you had any children,
My dear old reckless boy."
"Oh yes, I have six children, six children, six children,
Oh yes, I have six children, Jales, Jim, Joles, Sally and the baby."
"Run and tell Aunt Sally, Aunt Sally, Aunt Sally,
Oh run and tell Aunt Sally, the old gray goose is dead;
The one that she's been saving, been saving, been saving,
The one she been saving to make her feather bed."[1]
[1] The last stanza is from "Go Tell Aunt Nancy" (Sally).
16. CATHERINE MOORE- Contributed by Mr. T. I. Reynolds of Belfry, Kentucky. He obtained it
from T. J. Lesley of John's Creek, in 1866.
Come all you young and silly lads, And listen to my story
I'll tell you of the plan I fixed, To fool Miss Catherine Moore.
I went into her father's house
Just like a clever fellow.
I told her the grapes and plums were ripe,
Let's spend one social hour.
When we got well nigh the place,
"There is something to fear, sir,
My father he'll come down this way
And see us here, sir."
She says, "You climb up yonder tree
Until he passeth by, sir,
And we will gather grapes and plums,
And we will sport and play, sir."
I climbed straightway into the tree,
Not being the least offended.
My true love stood close by the tree
To see how I ascended.
And when I got well nigh the top,
She looked at me and smiled, sir,
Saying, "Eat your plums and suck your thumbs
And quickly I'll go home, sir."
I ripped and tore and cursed and swore
Just like a man distracted,
I ripped and tore at Catherine Moore
To see how she had acted.
And when my thoughts returned to me
To see how she'd recommended,
I went and made a wife of her
And all my troubles ended.
17. WE HOOPED AND WE HOLLO'D- Contributed by Mrs. B. J. Wells (nde Katherine Roscoe Howard) from
Summer County, Tennessee. Her ancestors brought it from Roscoe in the northern part of England in a shire bordering on Scotland.
We hooped and we hollo'd And the next thing we did find Was a
moon in the water And that we left behind. Looka there, now!
Some said it was a moon
Others they said "nay."
Some said it was a cheese
With its half cut away.
Looka there, now!
We hooped and we hollo'd
And the next thing we did find
Was a pig in the mud
And that we left behind.
Looka there, now!
Some said it was a pig (bag)
Others they said "nay."
Some said it was an elephant
With its snout cut away.
Looka there, now!
We hooped and we hollo'd
And the next thing we did find
Was an owl in a tree
And that we left behind.
Looka there, now!
Some said it was - --
Others said it was "nay."
Some said it was the devil
And we all ran away.
Looka there, now!
18. TURKEY IN THE STRAW- Contributed by Miss Sally Howard, Lynn Grove, Kentucky. This is
sung to the tune of "Polly Woddle Doodle."
As I was a-gwine down the road,
Tired team and a heavy load,
Crack my whip and the leader sprung;
I says "day-day" to the wagon tongue.
CHORUS Turkey in the straw, turkey in the hay,
Roll them and twist them up a high tuckahaw,
And hit 'em up a tune called "Turkey in the straw."
Went out to milk and I didn't know how,
I milked the goat instead of the cow;
A monkey on a pile of straw
A-winkin' at his mother-in-law.
Met Mister Catfish coming down stream,
Says Mister Catfish, "What does you mean?"
Caught Mister Catfish by the snout
And turned Mister Catfish wrong side out.
Come to the river and I couldn't get across,
Paid five dollars for an old blind horse.
Wouldn't go ahead, nor he wouldn't stand still,
So he went up and down like an old saw mill.
As I came down the new cut road,
Met Mister Bullfrog, met Miss Toad,
And every time Miss Toad would sing
Ol' Bull Frog cut a pigeon wing.
I jumped in the seat and I saw a little gell,
The horse ran away, broke the wagon all to hell;
Sugar in the gourd and honey in the horn,
I never was so happy since the hour I was born.
19. JOHNNY SANDS
A man whose name was Johnny Sands
Had married Betty Hague,
And though she brought him gold and lands
She prov'd a terrible plague;
For oh, she was a scolding wife,
Full of caprice and whim.
He said that he was tired of life
And she was tired -of him,
And she was tired of him,
And she was tired of him.
Says he, "Then I will drown myself,
The river runs below."
Says she, "Pray do, you silly elf,
I wished it long ago."
Says he, "Upon the brink I'll stand,
Do you run down the hill
And push me in with all your might."
Says she, "My love, I will,"
Says she, "My love, I will,"
Says she, "My love, I will."
"For fear that I should courage lack
And try to save my life,
Pray tie my hands behind my back."
"I will," replied his wife.
She tied them fast, as you may think,
And when securely done,
"Now stand," she says, "upon the brink,
And I'll prepare to run,
And I'll prepare to run,
And I'll prepare to run."
All down the hill his loving bride
Now ran with all her force,
To push him in - he stepped aside,
And she fell in, of course.
Now splashing, dashing, like a fish,
"Oh save me, Johnny Sands!"
"I can't, my dear, tho' much I wish,
For you have tied my hands,
For you have tied my hands,
For you have tied my hands."
20. BANKS OF THE WAINBOW WELLOW- Contributed by Mrs. Nancy Priddy, Kessing, Kentucky.
Songs of the Cumberlands.
I dreamt a dream the other night All in my arms I held her, When
I awoke and found her not there I got up and went to find her.
I went into her father's room,
There I inquired for her.
Her father said, "There's no such here,"
Which set my heart to weeping.
That charming little girl a-being upstairs,
She heard my voice so tender.
"I'd like to go with you, my dear,
But lock and bolts do hinder."
The locks they did break and the bolts they did quake
And I in the room did enter.
I took her by the lily-white hand
And led her to the window.
And this is the way to gain sweethearts:
Take swords and fight forever.
And this is the way to gain sweethearts:
Take swords and fight forever.
I put her on the big, black bay
And I on the golden yellow.
I rode by the side of my charming little girl
To the banks of the Wainbow Wellow.
Her father ran to other men
So quickly did he follow,
He said he'd have her back again
Or in my blood he'd wallow.
I put her on the big black bay
And I on the golden yellow.
I rode by the side of my charming little girl
To the banks of the Wainbow Wellow.
21. THE OLD MAN IN THE WOOD- Contributed by Myra Sturgill, West Island Creek, Kentucky.
There was an old man who lived in a wood as
you shall plain - ly see, He thought he could do more
work in one day than his wife could do in three.
"With all my heart," the old woman said,
"If you will allow,
You shall stay at home to-day,
And I will go follow the plough.
"And you must milk the tiny cow,
Lest she should go dry;
And you must feed the little pigs
That are within the sty;
"And you must watch the speckled hen,
Lest she should go astray;
Not forgetting the spool of yarn
That I spin every day."
The old woman took her stick in hand
And went to the plough;
The old man put the pail on his head
And went to milk the cow.
But Tiny she winced and Tiny she flinched
And Tiny she tossed her nose;
And Tiny gave him a kick on the shin
Till the blood ran down to his toes.
And a "Ho, Tiny!" and a "Lo, Tiny!"
And a "Pretty little cow, stand still;"
And "If ever I milk you again," he said,
"It shall be against my will."
And then he went to feed the pigs
That were within the sty;
He knocked his nose against the shed
And made the blood to fly.
And then he watched the speckled hen,
Lest she should go astray;
But he quite forgot the spool of yarn
That his wife spun every day.
And when the old woman came home at night,
He said he could plainly see
That his wife could do more work in a day
Than he could do in three.
And when he saw how well she ploughed
And made the furrows even,
Said his wife could do more work in a day
Than he could do in seven!
22. THE FELLOW THAT LOOKS LIKE ME- Contributed by Mrs. Nancy Priddy, Upton, Kentucky.
In sad despair I wander, My heart is filled with woe, As
on my grief I pon - der, What to do I do not know. For
cruel fate does on me frown, The trouble seems to be There's another
fellow in this town That's just the image of me.
Chorus
Oh, wouldn't I like to catch him, Who- ev- er he may be? Oh,
wouldn't I give him par-tic-u-lar fits, The fellowthat looks like me?
One night as I sat courting
A girl as dear as life,
In came another young lady,
Said, "Brown, how is your wife?"
In vain I am a single man
Though married I'd like to be.
Oh, wouldn't I like to catch him,
The fellow that looks like me?
Chorus.
To a ball one night I went,
Was just enjoying the sport,
When a policeman grabbed me by the arm,
Saying, "You're wanted down at court.
You have escaped us twice,
This time you'll not get free."
So I was arrested and taken to court
For the fellow that looked like me.
Chorus.
I was tried next day, found guilty, too,
And about to be taken down,
When another policeman came in
With this fellow named Brown.
They took him down, they set me free.
Oh, he was a sight to see,
The ugliest man I ever saw
Was the fellow that looked like me.
Chorus.
23. AN ANCIENT RIDDLE- Contributed by Miss Sally Howard, Lynn Grove, Kentucky.
Adam God made out of dust, But thought it best to make me first; So
I was made be-fore the man To answer God's most ho- ly plan.
My body God did make complete,
But without arms, or legs, or feet;
My ways and acts he did control,
But to my body gave no soul.
A living being I became,
And Adam gave to me my name.
I from his presence then withdrew
And more of Adam never knew.
I did my Maker's law obey,
Nor from it ever went astray.
Thousands of miles I go in fear,
But seldom on the earth appear.
For purpose wise, which God did see,
He put a living soul in me,
A soul from me my God did claim,
And took from me that soul again.
For when from me the soul had fled,
I was the same as when first made;
And without hands, or feet, or soul
I travel on from pole to pole.
I labor hard by day and night
To fallen men I have great light;
Thousands of people, young and old,
Will by my death great light behold.
No right nor wrong can I conceive;
The Scripture I cannot believe;
Although my name therein is found,
They are to me an empty sound.
No fear of death doth trouble me;
Real happiness I ne'er shall see;
To heaven I shall never go,
Nor to the grave, or hell below.
Now when these lines you slowly read,
Go search your Bible with all speed;
For that my name's recorded there,
I honestly do declare.
24. CUMBERLAND GAP- Contributed by Miss Ila Scott, Burning Fork of Coon.
I've got a wife in the Cumber-land Gap, I've got a
ba - by that calls me "pap"; Cumberland Gap is not my home,
Chorus
I'm goin' leave old Cum-berland a - lone. Cumberland Gap,
Floogan flat, Where's my granny and my granpap ? I'm goin'
back to the Cumberland Gap To see my granny and my granpap.
Johnny ran till he lost his cap,
A wild cat caught him in the Cumberland Gap.