The Adulteress- Stockton (NC) pre1917 Parsons
[This African-American version is taken from: Tales from Guilford County, North Carolina by Elsie Clews Parsons found in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 30, No. 116 (Apr. - Jun., 1917), pp. 168-200.
R. Matteson 2013]
61. THE ADULTERESS. [1]- Maude Stockton. About 30. Born and bred in Rockingham County.
While de man was gone from home, anoder man come and get in de bed. This man come home, an' said, -
"Ol' lady, ol' lady, what's dat tied out dar?"-
"You fool, you fool! you blin' as you can be.
It is nothing but a milch-cow my mother sent to me." -
"I been here, I been here, forty years or more,
I never seen a milch-cow with saddle on before.
"Ol' lady, ol' lady, what's dat on de floor?" -
"You fool, you fool! you blin' as you can be.
It is nothing but a churn my mother sent to me." -
"I been here, I been here, forty years or more,
I never saw a churn with heel-tops on before.
"Ol' lady, ol' lady, what's dat hangin' up?"-
"You fool, you fool! you blin' as you can be.
It is nothing but a strainer my mother sent to me."-
"I been here, I been here, forty years or more,
I never saw a strainer with a brim on it before.
"Ol' lady, ol' lady, what's dat in de bed?"-
"You fool, you fool! you blin' as you can be.
It is nothing but a baby my mother sent to me."-
"I been here, I been here, forty years or more,
I never saw a baby with a mustache on before."
Footnote: 1. Maude Stockton. About 30. Born and bred in Rockingham County. Neither my informant nor a much older woman who knew this fragment of the ballad of "Our Gude Man Come Hame at E'en" had any knowledge of its being sung. On Andros Island, Bahamas, it is still sung.