Every seed that I do sow
Harvest time, nothing's grown.
Coffee's cold and I've been sold for
Half a dollar bill
Before I have ten dollars saved,
I'll be resting in my grave
Coffee's cold and I've been sold for
Half a dollar bill
I've been broke a thousand times
No one cares where I lie(?)
Coffee's cold and I've been sold for
Half a dollar bill
When I lay my burden down
No peace or comfort have I found
Coffee's cold and I've been sold for
Half a dollar bill
Angels, I am on my knees
But you'll never sing for me
Coffee's cold and I've been sold for
Half a dollar bill
Some folks say that times are hard
I just say, oh my Lord,
Coffee's cold and I've been sold for
Half a dollar bill
Its beauty now is fastly fading
Once it was the brightest red
It's withering fast, its head is bowing
Since no kind words to it are said.
Don't neglect the rose in your garden
Show it your love every day
It will bloom for you in all its beauty
And it will not fade away
I guess by now you know my story
Don't neglect a love that's true
For it may prove to be the sweetest flower
That will ever bloom for you.
Could be your mother, sister or brother
Husband, wife or a little child
It may prove to be your own true lover
You've neglected all the while.
Please don't neglect the rose in your garden
Show it your love every day
And it will bloom for you in all its beauty
And it will not fade away
And it will not fade away
Now Ida Red, she ain't no fool,
She rides out on a humpbacked mule.
If I'd've listened to what Ida said
I'd be sleeping in Ida's bed
Ida Red, Ida Yellow,
Wish that I could be her fella
Ida Red, she's come to town
Wrote me a letter, she's settling down
Ida Red, I dunno,
Should I stay or should I go?
And if I ever cried, I knew it wouldn't last
The candy bars I split, I got the big half
Knew I had strong legs and I could run fast
And if I ever cried, I knew it wouldn't last
And is that how I lost you?
Love -I lost my one true
I lived up on the mountain, and the view was long
Knew the band would always play my favourite song
In a crowd of strangers, I knew just how to belong
I lived up on the mountain, and the view was long
And is that how I lost you?
Love -I lost my one true
And every place I wanted to go - been there!
Every thing I had, I had enough to share
Never worried, I only wondered what to wear
Every place I wanted to go - been there!
And is that how I lost you?
Love - I lost my one true
And is that how I lost you?
Love - I lost my one true
I laid her in the shade
I laid her in the shade,
I gave her every dime I made
What else could a poor boy do?
What else could a poor boy do?
Some rounder come along
Rounder come along with his mouth full of gold
Rounder stole my greenback roll
And I've got no sugar honey baby now
Who'll call me honey?
Who'll call me honey and who'll sing this song?
Who'll rock the cradle when you're gone?
Who'll rock the cradle when you're gone?
I'll rock that cradle
I'll rock that cradle and I'll sing this song
I'll rock the cradle when you're gone
I'll rock the cradle when you're gone
Ain't got no use
Ain't got no use for that red rocking chair
I've got no sugar baby now
I've got no sugar honey baby now
Note: the best known version of this song was adapted by Dock Boggs in the 1920s, but that version did not include the "Rounder" verse, and differs in other respects from the Uncle Earl adaptation. For another, significantly different, version see here
You can rebuke me all you want to
I'm travelling home to God
I'm well acquainted with crosses
And know my ways are hard
My warfare will soon be ended
My race is almost run
My warfare will soon be ended
And I am going home
They say my Lord is the Devil
They call His Saints the same
I'm not expecting any more down here
Than grief and scorn and shame
My warfare will soon be ended
My race is almost run
My warfare will soon be ended
And I am going home
God bless them, Holiness People
The Christians and the Jews
All the Children of Abraham
The praying Moslems too
My warfare will soon be ended
My race is almost run
My warfare will soon be ended
And I am going home
And when I get to Heaven
I want to see you there
And when I say Amen
I want you to say so too
My warfare will soon be ended
My race is almost run
My warfare will soon be ended
And I am going home
Pappa's gonna shoe my pretty little feet,
Mamma's gonna glove my hand,
Sister's gonna kiss my red ruby lips,
I don't need no man
The fastest train I ever did ride
Was a hundred coaches long
The only woman I ever did love
Is on that train and gone.
On that train and gone, boys, on that train and gone
The only woman I ever did love
Is on that train and gone.
Who's gonna shoe your pretty little feet?
Who's gomnna glove your hand?
Who's gonna kiss your red ruby lips?
Who's gonna be your man?
Pappa's gonna shoe my pretty little feet,
Mamma's gonna glove my hand,
Sister's gonna kiss my red ruby lips,
I don't need no man.
Note: this song seems to draw from two quite different sources. The main section is from "The Lass of Loch Royal", probably the oldest song featured here, and certainly older than the first published versions which appeared in the Eighteenth Century. According to this version, the expected next verse from that song would be:
"Who will comb your long yellow hair,
Who will pay your fee?
And who will father your sweet little babes,
While I'm on the raging sea?"
"Mother will comb my long yellow hair,
Father will pay my fee,
And there will be no sweet little babes
While you're away from me.
However, the verse mentioning trains must be of more recent date, and may have been added from a general oral tradition, emphasising the theme of separation. The two verses given here are found together in a Connie Dover recording called "Winter's Night" (2000), but I do not know whether they have a longer history of being combined in one song.
She dressed herself up like a sailor,
on her breast she wore a star,
her lovely fingers long and slender,
she gave them all just a smear of tar.
Dally dilly dum, dilly dum dum day
On the ship there being a skirmish,
she was one amongst the rest,
a silver button flew off her jacket,
there appeared her snow white breast.
Dally dilly dum, dilly dum dum day
Said the Captain to this fair maid,
"What misfortune has took you here?"
"I'm in search of my true lover,
whom you pressed on the other year".
Dally dilly dum, dilly dum dum day
"If you're in search of your true lover,
tell me what might be his name"
"Willie Taylor's what they call him
but Fitzgerald is his name"
Dally dilly dum, dilly dum dum day
"If You get up tomorrow morning,
early as the break of day,
there you'll spy your Willie Taylor,
walking along with a lady gay."
Dally dilly dum, dilly dum dum day
So she got up the very next morning,
early as the break of day,
There she spied her Willie Taylor
walking along with a lady gay.
Dally dilly dum, dilly dum dum day
So she pulled out a brace of pistols
that she had at her command,
and there she shot her Willie Taylor
with his bride at his right hand.
Dally dilly dum, dilly dum dum day
When the Captain came to hear
of the deed that she had done,
he made her a ship's commander,
over a vessel for the Isle of Man.
Dally dilly dum, dilly dum dum day
Although this song was collected in Ireland, from the 90 year old singer "Pa" Cassidy, it is actually English and part of a long tradition of songs about "warrior maids", serving in the army or navy. Although the conventions of the search for a lost lover, the women's disguise, the apparent short-sightedness of the officers, and the matter-of-fact acceptance of their eventual discovery, might give the songs a somewhat unreal air today, an attested historical foundation does lie behind these songs. This book review gives an assessment of the tradition from a perspective of historical sociology. The two links just below the title of that page lead to the titles of a large collection of ballads from that tradition, and to one other complete example .
Thanks to Garian Vigil for suggesting amendments to a couple of phrases