My mother used to sing that song, with what she thought of as a "hillbilly" accent, because she thought it was funny--but then, she also plastered her guitar with decorative decals that really slopped it up (See thread "Decorated Instruments"). I never much cared for it. I think the problem is that it tells the story in the first person and is supposed to be funny, when in fact, as was pointed out, it's about parents beating their daughter. Strange that my mom's weird folk music habits seem to be coming up for me today.