The Good Old Man- Napier (KY) 1913 Niles
[From: The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles; 1961. His notes follow. Niles comments that in American tradition "Our Goodman" is not very widely known. This is contradicted by Joe Hickerson who began collecting US versions of the ballad in 1957 and ended up with over five hundred versions!
R. Matteson 2013]
The Good Old Man
(Niles No. 57)
Some time between July 11 and July 13, 1913, in Hazard, Ky., a onetime blacksmith named Jules Napier, an elderly fellow with a good singing voice, sang me 12 verses of a ballad much liked by men. This is a curious preference, in view of the fact that the principal character is a man deceived by a woman. Perhaps the woman's deft answers contribute to the ballad's popularity among male citizens. (Jules Napier was related to the "Red Jules" and "Black Jules" mentioned in connection with Niles No. 5 B.) The reason for the long time involved in getting a clear copy of the text and tune of "The Good Old Man" was that my singer was employed in helping dismantle a large tent, recently used by a revivalist. The dismantling crew worked very slowly, all of them being old men. Mr. Napier would stop in between jobs and sing a little. Then he would go back to work, and I would wait around.
I tried to find him again in 1936, but was told that he had gone out west. Several of his relatives lived in Oklahoma. Following my usual procedure, I asked Mr. Napier what he thought the ballad was all about, whether it contained a lesson, whether he thought it was based on actual happenings, whether he felt that the old man in the ballad had acted wisely, etc. Napier said he thought the good old man was simply collecting evidence, and that in a short while the wife would find herself in the courthouse with a divorce action to defend. Yes, there was a lesson in the ballad, but he was not quite sure what it was. He felt sure that it must all have happened, though perhaps not quite in this way, and would continue to happen so long as there were hard-working, trusting old men married to young females with roving eyes. In this connection, it should be noted that the use of the term "old woman" does not indicate that the wife is old. It is common parlance in the Southern mountains, and elsewhere in rural areas; for a man to refer to his wife as "the ol' woman," even though she is no more than 18 years of age. Mr. Napier thought the good old man was very wise in not "going into action" as soon as he saw three strange horses in his stable. "Just think," said Napier, "what might-a happened if this nice old feller had gone to rampin' and club-swingin' through the house. Why, a body might-a got injured!"
At the bottom of my notebook page I find these words: "Slow workers. All old."
Home come the old man, buzzing like a bee,
"Traveled four-and-forty miles, mayhap 'twas only three,
Tell me, old woman, what might all this be,
Horses in yon stable stand, by one, by two, by three?"
"You old fool, you blind fool, or can't you so well see?
'Tis nothing but a milking-cow my mother sent to me."
"Traveled four-and-forty miles, mayhap 'twas only three,
Saddle on a milking-cow I never more did see."
In come the old man, buzzing like a bee,
Found a man a-standing where himself ought to be.
"Tell me, old woman, what might all this be,
What's this man a-doing here without the leave of me?"
"You old fool, you blind fool, or can't you so well see?
'Tis nothing but a milking-maid by mother sent to me."
"Traveled four-and-forty miles, mayhap 'twas only three,
Breeches on a milking-maid I never more did see."
In walked the old man, buzzing like a bee,
Saw some boots a-leaning where his boots ought to be.
"Tell me, old woman, what might all this be,
Unco [1] boots a-leaning here without the leave of me?"
"You old fool, you blind fool, or can't you so well see?
'Tis nothing but some coffee-pots my mother sent to me."
"Traveled four-and-forty miles, mayhap 'twas only three,
Bootstraps on a coffee-pot I never more did see."
In walked the old man, buzzing like a bee,
Looking in the kitchen to see what he could see.
"Tell me, old woman, what might all this be,
Whose hat is that hat, where my hat ought to be?"
"You old fool, you blind fool, or can't you so well see?
'Tis nothing but a butter-churn my mother sent to me."
"Traveled four-and-forty miles, mayhap 'twas only three,
Hatband on a butter-churn I never more did see."
Out walked the old man, buzzing like a bee,
Looking in the passage to see what he could see.
"Tell me, old woman, what might all this be,
What's this coat a-hanging here, without the leave of me?"
"You old fool, you blind fool, or can't you so well see?
'Tis nothing but a blanket my mother sent to me."
"Traveled four-and-forty miles, mayhap 'twas only three,
Buttons on a blanket I never more did see."
Up walked the old man, buzzing like a bee,
Looking in the bedroom to see what he could see.
"Tell me, old woman, what might all this be,
Whose head is that head where my head ought to be?"
"You old fool, you blind fool, or can't you so well see?
'Tis nothing but a cabbage-head my mother sent to me."
"Traveled four-and-forty miles, mayhap 'twas only three,
Whiskers on a cabbage-head I never more did see."
1. Unfamiliar