Happy Birthday

The original song was “Good Morning To You” sung to teachers at the beginning of the school day. A dispute arose as to who the legitimate authors were and it was eventually taken over by Warner/Chappell Music who made millions of dollars in licensing fees for movies and recordings. After a class action lawsuit it was returned to the public domain.

I got the idea for using this song for the Folk Den from my long time musical associate Bob Dylan who sang it for Brian Wilsons recent 81st birthday.

Click below to see Dylan sing Happy Birthday.

Lyrics:
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear ——-
Happy birthday to you

Hush Little Baby

This is a traditional Southern United States lullaby. The father promises many rewards for the baby’s silence. If one reward fails he vows to replace it with a better one.

This marks the 25th Anniversary of the Folk Den with over 300 songs YIPPEE!!!

Lyrics:
[G] Hush, little Baby, [D] don’t say a word,
Papa’s gonna buy you a [G] Mockingbird.

And if that mockingbird don’t sing,
Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring.

And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa’s gonna buy you a looking glass.

And if that looking glass gets broke,
Papa’s gonna buy you a billy goat,

And if that billy goat won’t pull,
Papa’s gonna buy you a cart and bull,

And if that cart and bull turn over,
Papa’s gonna buy you a dog named Rover.

And if that dog named Rover won’t bark,
Papa’s gonna buy you a horse and a cart.

And if that horse and cart fall down,
You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

The Keeper Did A-Hunting Go

This old English song (Roud 1519) dates back to the 14th century. A favorite of school children in the UK and abroad.
The hunting of the doe in this song originally suggested sexual pursuit, although this implication is quite lost on the children who now sing this song at school. “The second doe he trimmed he kissed” “Trimmed” meaning to hold a woman around the waist.

Lyrics:
[D]The keeper did a [G] hunting [D] go
[D] And under his cloak he [G] carried a [D] bow
All for to shoot a merry little [A] doe
[D] Among the leaves so [A] green, [D] O.

(Chorus:)
[D] Jackie boy! (Master!) Sing ye well! (Very well!)
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry [A] down
[D] Among the leaves so [A] green, [D] O
To my hey down down (To my ho down down )
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry [A] down
[D] Among the leaves so [A] green, [D] O

The first doe he shot at he missed;
The second doe he trimmed he kissed;
The third doe went where nobody wist
Among the leaves so green, O.

(Chorus:)
Jackie boy! (Master!) Sing ye well! (Very well!)
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green, O
To my hey down down (To my ho down down )
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green, O

The fourth doe she did cross the plain,
The keeper fetched her back again.
Where she is now, she may remain,
Among the leaves so green, O.

(Chorus:)
Jackie boy! (Master!) Sing ye well! (Very well!)
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green, O
To my hey down down (To my ho down down )
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green, O

The fifth doe she did cross the brook;
The keeper fetched her back with his crook;
Where she is now you may go and look
Among the leaves so green, O.

(Chorus:)
Jackie boy! (Master!) Sing ye well! (Very well!)
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green, O
To my hey down down (To my ho down down )
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green, O

The sixth doe she ran over the plain;
But he with his hounds did turn her again,
And it’s there he did hunt in a merry, merry vein
Among the leaves so green, 0.

(Chorus:)
Jackie boy! (Master!) Sing ye well! (Very well!)
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green, O
To my hey down down (To my ho down down )
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green, O

Buffalo Boy

This is an Appalachian courting song I learned at the Old Town School of Folk Music in 1957
Lyrics:
[E] When are we going to get married
[B7] Get married, [E] get married
When are we going to get married
[B7] My dear old Buffalo [E] Boy

Guess we’ll marry in the Fall
In the Fall, in the Fall
Guess we’ll marry in the Fall
That is if the weather is good

What you going to bring to the wedding
To the wedding, to the wedding
What you going to bring to the wedding
My dear old Buffalo Boy

Guess I’ll bring my ox cart
My ox cart, my ox cart
Guess I’ll bring my ox cart
That is if the weather is good

Why don’t you bring your buggy
Your buggy, your buggy
Why don’t you bring your buggy
My dear old Buffalo Boy

Ox won’t fit in the buggy
In the buggy, in the buggy
Ox won’t fit in the buggy
Not even if the weather is good

Who you going to bring to the wedding
To the wedding, to the wedding
Who you going to bring to the wedding
My dear old Buffalo Boy

Guess I’ll bring my children
My children, my children
Guess I’ll bring my children
That is if the weather is good

Didn’t know you had no children
No children, no children
Didn’t know you had no children
My dear old Buffalo Boy

Yes I got two children
Two children, two children
Yes I got two children
Because the weather was good

There ain’t gonna be no wedding
No wedding, no wedding
There ain’t gonna be no wedding
My dear old Buffalo Boy

Not even if the weather is good?

Not even if the weather is good!

OleAnna

Oleanna was a utopian experiment envisioned by violin virtuoso Ole Bull in the nineteenth century. He was very wealthy and purchased over 11,000 acres of land in Pennsylvania to form a perfect society. It didn’t work out so he returned to performing concerts.
Lyrics:
[D] Oh, to be in Oleanna!
[G] That’s where I’d like to [D] be,
[A] Than be bound in [D] Norway,
[A] And drag the chains of [D] slavery.

[Chorus:]
[D] Ole, Oleanna, [G] Ole, Ole [D] anna,
[A] Ole, Ole, [D] Ole, Ole, [A] Ole, Ole [D] anna.

In Oleanna land is free,
The wheat and corn just plant themselves,
Then grow a good four feet a day,
While on your bed you rest yourself.

Beer as sweet as Muchener
Springs from the ground and flows away,
The cows all like to milk themsleves
And hens lay eggs ten times a day.

Little roasted piggies
Just rush about the city streets,
Inquiring so politely if
A slice of ham you’d like to eat.

Aye, if you’d begin to live,
To Oleanna you must go,
The poorest wretch in Norway
Becomes a king in a year or so.

The Lone Fish Ball

“The Lone Fish Ball” is based on a true adventure. Harvard professor George Martin Lane (1823-1897) arriving in Boston after a journey, found himself hungry and had only 25 cents in his pocket. He needed to reserve half that money to pay his carfare to Cambridge. With the remaining 12 cents he entered a restaurant and ordered the least expensive item on the menu. It happened to be macaroni but over the years it was changed to one fish ball, a favorite breakfast food of Harvard undergraduates. The song remained popular with them for decades.

During the Civil War, several of Lane’s professorial colleagues turned his song into a fundraiser for Union soldiers. Folklorist Francis James Child ’46, LL.D. ’84, worked it up into a mock Italian operetta, Il Pesceballo, which was performed in Cambridge and Boston.

In 1944 Hy Zaret and Lou Singer revamped the song as a blues calling it “One Meatball.” It was a big hit for Josh White! The Andrews Sisters and Bing Crosby also recorded it.

I have written an new melody and added lyrics.

Lyrics:
The Lone Fish Ball

[G]There was a man went up and down,
[C]To seek a dinner thro’ the [Am] town. X2 [D] Hurray!

[C]What wretch is he who wife forsakes,
[D] Who best of jam and waffles makes! X2 They say

[G]He feels his cash to know his pence,
[C] And finds he has just but [Am] six cents. X2 [D] To pay

[C]He finds at last a right cheap place,
[D] He enters in with modest face. X2 Anyway

[G]The bill of fare he searches through,
[C] To see what his [Am] six cents will do. X2 [D] Today

[C]The cheapest viand of them all,
[D] Is “Twelve cents for two Fish-balls.” X2 everyday

[G]The waiter to him he doth call,
[C] And gently whispers – [Am] “One Fish-ball.” X2 [D] I pray

[C]The waiter roars it through the hall,
The guests they start at “One Fish-ball!” X2 Oh nay!

[G]The guest then says, quite ill at ease,
[C]”A piece of bread, sir, [Am] if you please.” X2 I pray

[C]The waiter roars it through the hall,
[D] “We don’t give bread with one Fish-ball.” X2 any day

[G]Who’d have bread with his Fish-ball,
[C] Must get it first, or [Am] not at all. X2 We say

[C]Who’d Fish-ball with fixin’s eat,
[D] Must get some friend to send a treat. X2 His way

[G]So here’s the essence of it all
[C] You get no bread with one [Am] fish ball X2 [G] any day

(C) McGuinn Music BMI 2018

The A B C Song

It’s hard to imagine a song about the “ABC’s” without the tune to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” The song only uses eight of the letters of the alphabet. But that’s how I learned it from the John Quincy Wolf Collection OZARK FOLKSONGS. You can listen to the original version there. Not sure if there were verses for the rest of the letters and the guy just forgot them or that’s all they had to say. In any case I modulated keys on this to make it more musically interesting.
Lyrics:

[A] Oh, A was an archer,
And he shot a big frog.

[E] B was a butcher,
And he had a big [A] dog.

[A] And C was a carpenter
All covered with lace,

[E] And D was a drunkard,
And he had a red [A] face.

[D] Oh, E was a squire (Maybe that was originally Esquire)
With pride on his brow.

[E] And F was a farmer,
And he [D] followed the [A] plow.

[A] And G was a gamester,
And he had good luck.

[E] And H was a hunter,
And he hunted the [A] buck.

The Preacher And The Bear


A popular minstrel song form the 1800s.

Lyrics:

[C] A Preacher went out a-huntin’ was [F] on one Sunday [C] morn
It was against his religion, but he [D] took his rifle [G] along
[C] He shot himself three mighty fine quail
and [F] one little measly [C] hare
[F] And on his way [C] returning [Am] home,
[D] he met a great big [G] Grizzly [C] Bear

[Am] Now the bear marched out in the middle of the road
[Em] Right up to the Preacher [Am] you see
[D] The Preacher got so excited, he climbed up a cinnamon [G] tree
[C] The bear sat down upon the ground,
the [F] Preacher climbed out on a [C] limb
[F] Well he cast his [C] eyes to the [D] Lord in the skies,
[G] These words he said to [C] Him

[C] Oh Lordy, didn’t you deliver [F] Daniel from the lion’s [C] den
Also, deliver Jonah, from the [D] belly of a whale and [G] then
[C] Three Hebrew children from the fiery furnace
so the [F] Good Book do [C] declare
[F] Oh Lord, if you [C] can’t help [D] me,
[G] Please don’t help [C] that bear

[C] Now the Preacher was up in that tree,
[F] I think it was [C] all night
[C] He said Mr Bear if you bother me,
[D] I’ll give you an awful [C] fight
Just about that time the limb let go
and the [F] Preacher came a-tumblin’ [C] down
[F] You could see him getting his [C] razor [D] out
[G] before he hit the [C] ground

[Am] Now he hit the ground cuttin’ right and left,
[Em] he put up a very good [Am] fight
[D] Then the bear grabbed the Preacher,
and he squeezed him a little too [G] tight
[C] The Preacher dropped his razor, the [F] bear held on with a [C] vim
[F] Well he cast his eyes to the [C] Lord in the [D] skies
[G] These words he said to [C] Him
CH
[C] They fought all the way to the river,
[F] it was a terrible [C] fight
That bear just kept a-hanging on,
but the [D] Preacher was a-doing all [G] right
[C] He dragged that beast right down in the water
[F] it was three times in and [C] out
[F] Then the bear got up and he [C] limped [D] away
[G] and the Preacher began to [C] shout

[C] Oh, Lordy, didn’t you deliver [F] Daniel from the lion’s [C] den
Also, deliver Jonah, from the [D] belly of a whale, [G] Amen,
And oh Lord, it may-not look like much from way up there,
But the hardest job I ever done was a-baptizing that bear.

Reminds me of this joke:

The Atheist and the Bear!

An atheist was taking a walk through the woods, admiring all that the evolution had created. “What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!”, he said to himself.

As he was walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly charge towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing.

He ran even faster, so scared that tears were coming to his eyes. He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer. His heart was pumping frantically and he tried to run even faster. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.

At that instant the Atheist cried out “Oh my God!….”
Time stopped.
The bear froze.
The forest was silent.
Even the river stopped moving.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky, “You deny my existence for all of these years; teach others I don’t exist; and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?”

The atheist looked directly into the light “It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask You to treat me as Christian now, but perhaps could you make the bear a Christian?”

“Very well,” said the voice.
The light went out.
The river ran again.
And the sounds of the forest resumed.
And then the bear dropped his right paw ….. brought both paws together…bowed his head and spoke:

“Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful…AMEN!”
Author Unknown

Cat Come Back


This is a comic children’s song written by Harry S. Miller in 1893. It has since been adopted by numerous folk singers.

This is dedicated to all cat lovers, especially Cynthia Kula and Morgan Fairchild.

Lyrics:

[E] Old Mr. Johnson had some troubles of his own
He had a little kitty cat that wouldn’t leave his [B7] home
[E] He tried one day to give the cat away
So he gave it to the preacher and thought he [B7] would [E] stay.

[E] But the cat come back, [A] thought he was a goner
[E] But the cat come back, [B7] cat come back
[E] The very next day the [A] cat come back
[E] Oh he thought he was a goner
But he [B7] couldn’t stay [E] away

Gave it to a railroad engineer,
Take the little kitty cat away from here
But the boiler busted so they say
And the cat come back the very next day

But the cat come back, thought he was a goner
But the cat come back, cat come back
The very next day the cat come back
Oh he thought he was a goner
But he couldn’t stay away

He gave it to a man in a hot air baloon
Told him to give it to the man in the moon
But the balloon busted so they say
And the cat come back the very next day

But the cat come back, thought he was a goner
But the cat come back, cat come back
The very next day the cat come back
Oh he thought he was a goner
But he couldn’t stay away

(c) 2017 McGuinn Music /
New Lyrics By Roger McGuinn

The Farmer In The Dell


This is a classic children’s song and game brought to the United States by German immigrants in the mid 1820s. It has been translated into many languages around the world. In the game the players form a circle and hold hands. One person is selected to be the farmer. The people in the circle move around and the farmer chooses a wife. The wife joins the farmer in the center and chooses the child. They all choose someone until the cheese is left standing alone. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6306.

My wife Camilla remembers playing this game when she was a little girl in Beaufort South Carolina.

Lyrics:

[G] The farmer in the dell (2x)
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer [D] in the [G] dell

Instrumental:
[Em] [D] [G]

The farmer takes a wife (2×)
Hi-ho, the derry-o…
The farmer takes a wife

Instrumental:
[Em] [D] [G]

The wife takes the child (2×)
Hi-ho, the derry-o…
The wife takes the child

Instrumental:
[Em] [D] [G]

The child takes the maid (2×)
Hi-ho, the derry-o…
The child takes the maid

Instrumental:
[Em] [D] [G]

The maid takes the cow (2×)
Hi-ho, the derry-o…
The nurse takes the cow

Instrumental:
[Em] [D] [G]

The cow takes the dog (2×)
Hi-ho, the derry-o…
The cow takes the dog

Instrumental:
[Em] [D] [G]

The dog takes the cat (2×)
Hi-ho, the derry-o…
The dog takes the cat

Instrumental:
[Em] [D] [G]

The cat takes the mouse (2×)
Hi-ho, the derry-o…
The cat takes the mouse

Instrumental:
[Em] [D] [G]

The mouse takes the cheese (2×)
Hi-ho, the derry-o…
The mouse takes the cheese

Instrumental:
[Em] [D] [G]

The cheese stands alone (2×)
Hi-ho, the derry-o…
The cheese stands alone

Instrumental:
[Em] [D] [G]

The farmer in the dell (2x)
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer in the dell

Instrumental: X3
[Em] [D] [G]

(c) McGuinn Music 2016
New Music By Roger McGuinn