The Old Man- Ingenthron (MO) (c. 1895) 1941 Randolph B
[From: Vance Randolph's Ozark Folksongs: British Ballads and Songs Vol. 1]
I WENT HOME ONE NIGHT
Derived from an old English piece called "Our Goodman" (Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, 1882-1898, No. 274), this ballad is widely known in the United States, usually under the title "Home Came the Old Man." See JAFL (18, 1905, p.294; 29, 19I6, p. 166; 30, 1917, pp. 199, 328; 35, 1922, p. 348), Campbell and Sharp (English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, 1917, No. 32), Cox (Folk -Songs of the South, 7925, p. 154), Scarborough iOn the Trait of Negro Folk-Songs, 1925, p. 61), Reed Smith (South Carolina Ballad's, 1928, p. 159), Finger (Frontier Ballad's, 1927, p. 161), Davis (Trad'itional Ballads of Virginia, 1929, pp. 485-494), Chappell (Folk-Songs of Roanoke and the Albemarle, 1939, p.41), Eddy (Ballads and
Sozgs from Ohio, 1939, pp. 82-83), Linscott (Folk Songs of Old New England, 1939, p. 259), Belden (Ballads and Songs,1940, pp. 39-91), Brewster (Ballads and Songs of Indiana, 1940, pp. 149-150; Southern Folhlore Quarterly 5, 1941, p. 169), and Anderson (Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin 8, 1942, p.72). This piece appears in the Brown (North Carolina Folk-Lore Society) collection.
The Kirklands (Southern Folklore Quarterly 2, 1938, p. 77) mention a commercial phonograph record entitled "Three Nights' Experience," [Earl Johnson 1927] giving the same details and practically the same words as several of the Tennessee and North Carolina texts.
B. "The Old Man Came Home"- Sung by Mr. Charles Ingenthron, Walnut Shade, Mo., Sept. 6, 1941. Learned about forty-five years ago. He says he used to sing several additional stanzas, but they are "vulgar," and he doesn't sing them any more since he joined the church.
The old man came home one night,
His dearest wife to see.
Whose horse hitched at the gate,
Where mine had ought to be?
You old fool, you blind fool,
And can't you plainly see
It's nothing but a milk-cow,
My granny sent to me!
It's miles I have travelled
This wide world all o'er,
But a saddle on a milk cow
I never saw before!
The old man come home one night
His dearest wife to see,
Whose saddle is on the porch
Where mine had ought lo be?
You old fool, you blind fool,
And canot you plainly see,
It's nothing but a bed-quilt
My granny sent to me.
It's miles I have traveled
This wide world all o'er,
But a bed-quilt made of leather
I never saw before.
The old man come home one night
His dearest wife to see,
Whose hat hangs on the peg
Where mine had ought to be?
You old fool, you blind fool,
And can't you plainly see,
It's nothing but a milk-jar
My granny sent to me.
It's miles I have travelled
This wide world all o'er,
But straps on a milk-jar
I never saw before.
The old man come home one night
His dearest wife to see,
Whose coat hangs on the nail
Where mine had ought to be?
You old fool, you blind fool,
And can't you plainly see,
It's nothing but a bed-sheet
My granny sent to me.
It's miles I have travelled
This wide world all o'er,
Sleeves in a bed-sheet
I never saw before!
The old man come home one night
His dearest wife to see,
Whose pants lays on the floor
Where mine had ought to be?
You old fool, you blind fool,
And can't you plainly see,
It's nothing but my drawers
My granny sent to me.
It's miles I have travelled
This wide world all o'er,
But pockets in drawers
I never saw before!
The old man come home one night
His dearest wife to see,
Whose head lays in the bed
Where mine had ought to be?
You old fool, you blind fool,
And can't you plainly see,
It's nothing but a cabbage head
My granny sent to me.
It's miles I have travelled
This wide world all o'er,
But whiskers on a cabbage head
I never saw before!