THE AMSTERDAM MAID

In Louisville I met a maid,
Mark well what I do say,
An' she was mistress of her trade,
It was diddle, diddle, diddle alla day.

I put my hand upon her toe,
Mark well what I do say,
She says, Young man, you're rather low,
For to diddle, diddle, diddle alla day.

I put my finger on her knee,
Mark well what I do say,
She says, Young man, you're rather free,
For it's diddle, diddle, diddle alla day

I put my arm around her waist,
Mark well what I do say,
She says, Young man, you're in great haste
For to diddle, diddle, diddle alla day.

I put my hand upon her thigh,
Mark well what I do say,
She says, You're getting pretty nigh
To my diddle, diddle, diddle alla day.

I put my hand upon her ass,
Mark well what I do say,
She says, Let's lay down on the grass
An' diddle, diddle, diddle alla day.


Sung as above by Mr. L. B., Joplin, Missouri, April 14, 1933. He learned it about 1890, in southwest Missouri. Randolph notes: "This is 'The Amsterdam Maid,' found in many songbooks. See: Finger, Frontier Ballads (1927) pp. 156—57; Johnson, Bawdy Ballads and Lusty Lyrics (1935) pp. 32—33; Joanna Colcord, Songs of American Seamen (1938) p. 87; Burl Ives, Song Book (1953) pp. 114—15." Again, this is a world-famous song, with half a dozen fine melodies—that given here not being one of them—which would require the space of a monograph properly to display and discuss. Numerous older British country versions exist, the usual bawdy nautical form being a recent development, with its usual title "A-Rovin'," and probably the best tunes, in Hugill, Shanties from the Seven Seas, pp. 46—51 and 101 with four tunes. See a few further references in Cray, Erotic Muse, pp. 18—19 and 152, the most valuable being to the still unpublished Robert Gordon manuscripts.

Source: Roll Me In Your Arms: 'Unprintable' Ozark Folksongs and Folklore, Volume 1 (collected by Vance Randolph, edited by G. Legman, University of Arkansas Press, 1992) - #20, page 124