American Songs for American Children. United States Folk-Song Series: No. 6
B. A. Botkin
Music Educators Journal, Vol. 31, No. 5 (Apr., 1945), pp. 36+51
American Songs for American Children
UNIIED STATES FOLK-SONG SERIES-NO. 6
IN PLAYING "Hog Drovers," the players
and march around a boy and a girl seated
To stanzas 1 and 3, sung by the group, 1
center replies as in stanzas 2 and 4. The
stanza 4 chooses a girl who goes to the
circle to take the place of the girl already
latter becomes the boy's partner to go roi
and "help sing."
The version of "Hog Drovers" given
corded from the singing of Mrs. Ina Jones,
Miss nellie Prewitt, and Mrs. Vivian Skinner, near Burnsville, Miss.,
and has been transcribed by Charles Seeger from a record in the Archive of American Folk Song. Forother versions and ways of playing, see The American
Play-Party Song, by B. A. Botkin, Lincoln, Nebraska,1937, pp. 205-208. In Oklahoma, as in the Irish original,
the point of the game is that certain occupations, such
as cowboys and oil drillers, are rejected, to the jeering
of the group; while others-gold miners and school teach
ers-are accepted.
"Rolly Trudum" and "The Derby Ram" are two jocose
songs-the second a tall tale in verse-transcribed by
Charles Seeger from recordings of Mrs. Emma Dusenbury,
a remarkable folk singer of Mena, Arkansas.
"-Rolly Trudum" is sometimes "Lolly Trudum" (or
"Toodum"); and "The Derby Ram" or "The Ram of
J I Derby" (Darby) is known to Mrs. Dusenbury as "The
J-J F" .Big Sheep." Her original refrain for "Rolly Trudum,"
"Roldy trudum, tru-rolly, Trudi rolldy day," has been
simplified here. -B. A. BOTKIN
EXTRA STANZAS
Hog Drovers
(2) I have but one daughter and she sits by my side,
And none of you hog drovers can have her for a bride,
And you can't have lodging here, oh, here,
And you can't have lodging here.
(3) Care nothing for your daughter, much less for yourself,
We'll travel down South and seek better wealth,*
And we don't want lodging here, oh, here,
And we don't want lodging here.
(4) I have but one daughter that sits by my side,
And Mr. can get her for a bride
By bringing me a prettier one here, oh, here, 4_ - t
By bringing me a prettier one here.
Variant: I'll travel down south and better myself.
Rolly Trudum
(2) "Oh, hush your silly prattle, oh, hush your silly tongue."
I Rolly trudum, trudum, rolly trudum day.
"Oh, hush your silly prattle, oh, hush your silly tongue,
I You know you can't get married, you know you are too
young."
Rol- ly Rolly trudum, trudum, rolly trudum day.
(3) "Oh, pity my condition, just as you would your own,
For fourteen long years I've lived all alone."
(4) "Supposin' I was willin', oh, where'd you get your man?"
"Why, Lord sakes, Mammy, I would marry handsome Sam."
day. (5) "Supposin' he would slight you just as you did before."
"Why, Lord sakes, Mammy, I could marry forty more."
(6) "Oh, now she is married, it's well for to be.
Six married daughters, and I believe I'll marry too."
(7) "Why, Lord sakes, Mammy, it's who would marry you?"
"There's lawyers and doctors and many for to agree."
(8) "Now I am married, it's well for to be.
Ha! ha! jolly girls, the fit is off of me."
The Darby Ram
(2) Oh, the sheep he had two eyes, sir,
And on four feet did stand;
And every foot he had, sir,
It covered an acre of land.
(3) Oh, the sheep he had two horns, sir,
That reached to the moon.
A man went up in April
And never got down till June.
(4) Oh, the wool that's on his back, sir,
Reached to the sky.
The eagles built their nest there,
For I heard the young ones cry.
(5) Oh, the wool that's on his sides, sir,
Reached to the ground;
And the wool that's on his tail, sir,
Weighed four thousand pound.
Hog Drovers
Hogd ro - ver hog dro - vs, hog Hog dro - veyr, hog dro - vers, hog
are, A court - ing your daugh - ter so
fair. Can we get Icdg - ing
here, Can we get lodg - ing
Rolly Trudum
As I walked out one morn - ing to tal
air, Rol - ly tru - dum, tru - dum,. rol - ly tru- d
I walked out one morn - ing to take the pleas- ant
heard a kind old moth - er a - scold-ing her daugh-te
tru - dum tru - dum, rol - y tru - dum
The Darby Ram
As I went down to Dar-by town All on a mar
saw the big - gest ram, sir, That ev - er lived on
ram - ble, did- n't he ram -
ram - bled till the butch-ers cut him down.
s form a ring
[EDITORIAL NOTE: The United States Folk-Song series is prehay.
t h, osef ntthede bpyro gthrea mM iEniNtiCat eCdo mbmy itthteee 1o9n4 0F-1o9l4k2 MCuosmic maist teae , ctoon taincuqautaiionnt
music educators and their pupils with authentic examples of the
great wealth of our country's folk songs. The first five installments
U IP h ?of the series were published in the JOURNAL issues of January,
February-March, April, September-October, 1944, and January, 1945.
ble? Yes, he The Committee and the Editorial Board are grateful to B. A. Botkin,
Assistant in Charge of the Archive of American Folk Song of the
Library of Congress, and to Charles Seeger, Chief of the Music
i B*? Division of the Pan American Union, who serve the Committee as
| ' i technical experts in the selection and editing of the songs and in
the preparation of the comments which are so important as "background"
information for teachers and students.]
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