THE LITTLE SHIRT MY MOTHER MADE FOR ME
Recorded by Marty Robbins - Written by Harry Wincott
[D] I can't forget the day that I was [A7] born;
Was on a cold and frosty winter's [D] morn.
The doctor said I was a chubby [A7] chap,
But [E] when the nurse, she took me on her [A7] lap,
She [G] washed me all over, I re- [D] member,
And [G] after powder-puffin' me, you [D] see,
She laid me in the cradle [D7] by the [G] window
In The [A7] Little Shirt My Mother Made For [G] Me.
When I began to crawl, it was a sight.
I used to frighten mom from morn till night.
There's no mistake; I was a little curse,
'Cause when my daddy, he came home from work,
Every night he would say, "Where's Little Sam got?"
As down the kitchen, happy as could be,
They used to find me scrapin' out the jampot
In The Little Shirt My Mother Made for Me.
The first day that I wore my Knickerbocks,
I felt so funny after wearin' smocks.
I looked a little picture, they did say,
But when they let me out to run and play,
Well, I didn't like the britches I was wearin',
And in the street, I took 'em off, you see.
I started walkin' home so bold and darin',
In The Little Shirt My Mother Made for Me.
Last year when I was on my holidays,
Upon the briny ocean I did gaze.
The water looked so nice I thought I'd go
To have a swim, but, in a minute, oh!
All the girls along the beach at me were starin'
And some were takin' pictures, I could see.
Was a good thing for me that I was wearin'
The Little Shirt My Mother Made for Me.
Source: Marty Robbins - Just Me And My Guitar, 1983.
CBS Records LSP 15388; Bear Family Records BFX-15119.
Liner notes state: The origin of this song remains obscure, but Robbins probably learned it from Bradley Kincaid's 1933 Bluebird recording. Kincaid, in his biography written by Loyal Jones, maintains that he learned this song from other musicians at WLS, where for many years he starred on the National Barn Dance.