Negro Folk Rhymes / Wise and Otherwise: With a Study

Foreign Section Index

• African Rhymes
  • Byanswahn-Byanswahn, 219
  • Near Waldo Teedo o mah nah mejai, 216
  • Sai Boddeoh Sumpun Komo, 218
  • The Frogs, 220
  • The Owl, 217
  • The Turkey Buzzard, 220
  • Tuba Blay, 217

• A Philippine Island Rhyme, 227

• Trinidad Rhymes
  • A Tom Cat, 226
  • Un Belle Marie Coolie, 225

• Jamaica Rhyme
  • Buscher Garden, 222

• Venezuelan Rhymes
  • A "Would Be" Immigrant, 224
  • Game Contestants' Song, 223

Part II

• A Study in Negro Folk Rhymes, 228

COMPARATIVE STUDY INDEX

Love Songs

• Bitter Lovers' Quarrel; One Side, 127

• Courting Boy, The, 141

• It Is Hard to Love, 132
• I Wish I Was an Apple, 133

• Lovers' Good-night, 129

• Me and my Lover, 132
• Mourning Slave Fiancees, 129

• Pretty Polly Ann, 142

• Rejected by Eliza Jane, 134
• Roses Red, 128

• She Hugged Me and She Kissed Me, 131

• Vinie, 130

• Wooing, 140

• You Have Made Me Weep, 128
• You Love your Girl, 95

Dance Songs

• Ark, The, 44
• Aunt Dinah Drunk, 53

• Baa! Baa! Black Sheep, 27
• Banjo Picking, 21
• Brother Ben and Sister Sal, 46
• Bull Frog Put on the Soldier Clothes, 20

• Chicken Pie, 69
• Cotton-eyed Joe, 32
• Cow Needs a Tail in Fly-time, The, 35

• Devilish Pigs, 24
• Die in the Pig-Pen Fighting, 39
• Dinah's Dinner Horn, 18
• Don't Ask Me Questions, 63

• Forty-four, 71
• Fox and Geese, 40

• Gooseberry Wine, 41
• Gray and Black Horses, 45

• Ham Beats All Meat, 67
• He Is my Horse, 16
• Hoecake, 49

• I am not Going to Hobo Any More, 70
• I Love Somebody, 51
• I Went down the Road, 50
• I Would not Marry a Black Girl, 56
• I Would not Marry a Yellow or a White Negro Girl, 63
• I'd rather Be a Negro than a Poor White Man, 42

• Jack and Dinah Want Freedom, 215
• Jaybird, 14
• Jaybird Died with the Whooping Cough, 36

• Little Red Hen, 37
• Little Rooster, The, 29

• Master is Six Feet One Way, 40
• Master's "Stolen Coat," The, 62
• My Fiddle, 39
• My Mule, 19
• My Wonderful Travel, 55

• Negro and the Policeman, The, 66
• Nobody Looking, 48

• Off from Richmond, 15
• Old Gray Mink, 33
• Old Hen Cackled, The, 50
• Old Molly Hare, 22
• Old Section Boss, The, 64
• Old Woman in the Hills, The, 54
• Opossum Hunt, An, 23

• Plaster, 60
• 'Possum up the Gum Stump, 3
• Promises of Freedom, 25

• Rabbit Soup, 33
• Raccoon and Opossum Fight, 31
• Ration Day, 38
• Rattler, 46
• Run, Nigger, Run! 34

• Sail Away, Ladies! 20
• Shake the Persimmons Down, 34
• Sheep and Goat, 17
• Sheep Shell Corn, 59
• Sick Wife, A, 55
• Simon Slick's Mule, 47
• Sugar in Coffee, 30
• Suze Ann, 68

• Uncle Ned, 61

• Walk, Tom Wilson, 68
• Wanted: Cornbread and Coon, 37
• We Are "All the Go", 52
• When My Wife Dies, 26

• Year of Jubilee, 58

Animal and Nature Lore

• Animal Attire, 158
• Animal Fair, 159
• Animal Persecutors, 205
• Awful Harbingers, 149

• Bob-White's Song, 155
• Bridle Up a Rat, 157
• Buck and Berry, 172
• Buck-eyed Rabbit! Whoopee! 175

• Chuck Will's Widow Song, 156

• Frog in a Mill, 167
• Frog Went a-Courting, 190
• Full Pocketbook, A, 99

• Great Owl's Song, 151

• Jaybird, 14
• Judge Buzzard, 16

• Last of Jack, The, 149
• Little Dogs, 150

• Man of Words, A, 208
• Miss Terrapin and Miss Toad, 162
• Molly Cottontail, 8
• My Dog, Cuff, 150
• My Speckled Hen, 170

• Old Molly Hare, 22
• Origin of the Snake, The, 165

• Snail's Reply, The, 170
• Strange Brood, A, 166

• Tails, 5
• Town Bird and the Country Bird, The, 166
• Turtle's Song, The, 30

• Why the Woodpecker's Head is Red, 203

Nursery Rhymes

• A. B. C., 154
• Alabama Way, The, 164
• Animal Fair, 159
• Are You Careful?, 203
• Aspiration, 159
• Awful Harbingers, 149

• Baby Wants Cherries, 181
• Bat! Bat!, 202
• Black-eyed Peas for Luck, 200
• Blessings, 204
• Bob-White's Song, 155
• Buck-eyed Rabbit! Whoopee!, 175
• Butterfly, 182

• Captain Coon, 176
• Children's Seating Rhyme, 179
• Chuck Will's Widow Song, 156
• Cooking Dinner, 156
• Crossing the River, 6

• Deedle, Dumpling, 171
• Destinies of Good and Bad Children, 200
• Did You Feed My Cow?, 78
• Don't Sing before Breakfast, 186
• Doodle-Bug, 174

• End of Ten Little Negroes, The, 163

• Fishing Simon, 177
• Flap-jacks, 196
• Four Runaway Negroes; Whence They Came, 205
• Frog Went a-Courting, 190
• From Slavery, 162

• Getting Ten Negro Boys Together, 184
• Go to Bed, 175
• Good-by, Ring, 171
• Grasshopper Sitting on a Sweet Potato Vine, 173
• Grasshopper-Sense, 169
• Great Owl's Song, The, 151
• Guinea Gall, 176

• Hated Blackbird and Crow, The, 183
• Hawk and Chickens, 185
• Here I Stand, 153

• In '76, 178
• In a Mulberry Tree, 158
• In a Rush, 183

• Judge Buzzard, 16

• Little Boy Who Couldn't Count Seven, 160
• Little Dogs, 150
• Little Negro Fly, The, 199
• Little Pickaninny, A, 186
• Little Sleeping Negroes, 187

• Mamma's Darling, 188
• Miss Blodger, 199
• Miss Terrapin and Miss Toad, 162
• Mother Says I am Six Years Old, 164
• Mud-Log Pond, 185
• My Baby, 180
• My Dog, Cuff, 150
• My Folks and your Folks, 187
• My Little Pig, 157
• My Speckled Hen, 170
• Mysterious Face Washing, 174

• Negro Baker Man, 154
• Nesting, 180

• Old Aunt Kate, 179
• Origin of the Snake, The, 165

• Paying Debts with Kicks, 184
• Periwinkle, 201
• Pig Tail, 153
• 'Possum up the Gum Stump, 3
• Pretty Little Girl, 172
• Pretty Pair of Chickens, A, 181

• Rabbit Hash, 203
• Rabbit Soup, 33
• Race-Starter's Rhyme, A, 180
• Randsome Tantsome, 202
• Raw Head and Bloody Bones, 174
• Redhead Woodpecker, 178

• Sam is a Clever Fellow, 151
• Shoo! Shoo!, 196
• Stealing a Ride, 188
• Stick-a-ma-stew, 155
• Strange Family, A, 171
• Strange Old Woman, A, 178
• Strong Hands, 167

• Tails, 5
• Taking a Walk, 183
• Teaching Table Manners, 197
• Too Much Watermelon, 182
• Training the Boy, 201
• Tree Frogs, 168
• Turtle's Song, The, 30
• Two Sick Negro Boys, 173

• Washing Mamma's Dishes, 189
• What Will We Do for Bacon?, 185
• Wild Hog Hunt, 165
• Willie Wee, 189

• You Had Better Mind Master, 126
• Young Master and Old Master, 169

Charms and Superstitions

• Bat! Bat!, 202
• Black-eyed Peas for Luck, 200

• Don't Sing before Breakfast, 186

• How to Make it Rain, 101

• Jaybird, 14

• Molly Cottontail, or Graveyard Rabbit, 8
• My Speckled Hen, 170

• Periwinkle, 201

• Speak Softly, 214

Hunting Songs

• Fox and Geese, 40

• He will Get Mr. Coon, 28
• Hunting Camp, The, 43

• Miss Slippy Sloppy, 100

• Opossum Hunt, An, 23

• Rattler, 46

Drinking Songs

• Aunt Dinah Drunk, 53

• Bring on your Hot Corn, 29

• Little Red Hen, 37

Wise and Gnomic Sayings

• Brag and Boast, 213

• Don't Tell All You Know, 214
• Drinking Razor Soup, 211

• Fed from the Tree of Knowledge, 212

• How to Plant and Cultivate Seeds, 208

• Independent, 209

• Learn to Count, 207

• Man of Words, A, 208

• Old Man Know-all, 211

• Self-control, 213
• Speak Softly, 214
• Still Water Runs Deep, 214

• Temperance Rhyme, 209
• That Hypocrite, 210
• Tongue, The, 212

• War is On, The, 207

Harvest Songs

• Harvest Song, 57

Biblical and Religious Themes

• Ark, The, 44

• How to Keep or Kill the Devil, 104

• Jawbone, 12
• Jonah's Band, 1

• Satan, 93

Play Songs

• Anchor Line, 87

• Budget, A, 79

• Did You Feed my Cow?, 78
• Down in the Lonesome Garden, 89

• Green Oak Tree! Rocky-o!, 81

• Hawk and Buzzard, 75
• He Loves Sugar and Tea, 84
• Here Comes a Young Man Courting, 85

• Kissing Song, 82
• Kneel on This Carpet, 82

• Likes and Dislikes, 76
• Little Sister, Won't You Marry Me?, 90

• Old Black Gnats, The, 80

• Peep Squirrel, 78
• Precious Things, 84

• Raise a "Rucus" To-night, 90

• Sallie, 87
• Salt-rising Bread, 83
• Song to the Runaway Slave, 88
• Sugar Loaf Tea, 81
• Susan Jane, 77
• Susie Girl, 76
• Sweet Pinks and Roses, 92

Miscellaneous

• Antebellum Courtship Inquiry, 135
• Antebellum Marriage Proposal, 137
• As I Went to Shiloh, 13
• Aunt Jemima, 107

• Bad Features, 100
• Bedbug, 96
• Blindfold Play Chant, 73
• Bought Me a Wife, 145

• Captain Dime, 5
• Care in Bread-making, 112
• Caught by the Witch Play, 74
• Christmas Turkey, 98
• Clandestine Letter, A, 136
• Coffee Grows on White Folks' Trees, 107
• College Ox, The, 112
• Courtship, 138
• Crooked Nose Jane, 99
• Crossing a Foot-Log, 109

• Day's Happiness, A, 125
• Destitute Former Slave Owners, 97
• Do I Love You?, 129
• Does Money Talk?, 113

• Elephant, The, 116

• Fattening Frogs for Snakes, 97
• Few Negroes by States, A, 117
• Fine Plaster, A, 124
• Fox and Geese Play, 73
• Fox and Rabbit Drinking Proposition, 111
• Frightened Away from a Chicken-Roost, 95

• Going to be Good Slaves, 101
• Good-by, Wife!, 148
• Goosie-Gander Play Rhyme, 75

• Half Way Doings, 120
• Hawk and Chickens Play, 74
• He Paid Me Seven (Parody), 122
• Hear-say, 114
• How to Get to Glory Land, 96
• How to Please a Preacher, 117

• I Walked the Road, 139
• I'll Eat when I'm Hungry, 114
• I'll Get You, Rabbit!, 116
• I'll Wear Me a Cotton Dress, 118
• I'm a "Round-Town" Gentleman, 108
• If You Frown, 137
• Indian Flea, 12
• Invited to Take the Escort's Arm, 135

• Joe and Malinda Jane, 4
• John Henry, 105
• Johnny Bigfoot, 93
• Juba, 9
• Jump Jim Crow, 13

• Kept Busy, 109

• Let's Marry Courtship, 138
• Looking for a Fight, 118
• Love is Just a Thing of Fancy, 2

• Mule's Kick, The, 98
• Mule's Nature, The, 108

• Negro Soldier's Civil War Chant, 115
• Negroes Never Die, 11
• Newly Weds, The, 144
• No Room to Poke Fun, 99

• On Top of the Pot, 10
• Our Old Mule, 112
• Outrunning the Devil, 103

• Page's Geese, 102
• Parody—He Paid Me Seven, 122
• Parody on "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep", 115
• Parody on "Reign, Master Jesus! Reign!", 122
• Presenting a Hat to Phoebe, 140
• Pretty Little Pink, 127

• Rascal, The, 106
• Request to Sell, A, 123

• Sex Laugh, 102
• Short Letter, A, 113
• Slave Marriage Ceremony Supplement, 143
• Sparking or Courting, 136
• Stand Back, Black Man, 10
• Still Water Creek, 2

• "They Steal" Gossip, 110
• This Sun is Hot, 108
• Thrifty Slave, The, 94
• To Win a Yellow Girl, 102
• Turkey Funeral, 111
• T-U-Turkey, 6
• Two Times One, 121

• Uncle Jerry Fants, 109

• Walk, Talk, Chicken With your Head Pecked, 4
• We'll Stick to the Hoe, 123
• When I Go to Marry, 144
• When I Was a Roustabout, 145
• Why Look at Me?, 113
• Wild Negro Bill, 94
• Wind Bag, A, 101