Lyr. Add: THE GATESVILLE CANNONBALL
(Tune- Wabash Cannonball)

Gather 'round me all you maidens,
And I will tell my tale,
Of how I got my ticket
On the Gatesville Cannonball.

From the honky-tonks of Houston,
To the slums of San Antone,
To the great pool halls of Fort Worth,
Wherever I may roam,
You may have heard about me,
Of how I made my fall
And how I won my ticket
On the Gatesville Cannonball.

When I was young and handsome,
It was to my heart's delight
To go to balls and parties,
To stay out late at night.
It was at a ball I met her,
I asked her for a dance.
She could tell I was a Gatesville boy
By the way I wore my pants.

My stomps were neatly polished,
My ducks were neatly combed.
Before the dance was over,
I asked to walk her home.
Walking down the sidewalk,
You could hear the couples say,
"There goes the fair young maiden,
Just throwing her life away."

It was at her father's doorstep,
I asked if I may try.
It was at her mother's bedside,
I forced her down to lie.
I pulled her pants so gently.
I raised her dress so high.
I said "I'll be a son of a bitch,
I'll go the rest or die."

It was the very next morning,
The sheets were spotted red.
The mother said, "You son of a bitch,
You've got her maiden's head.
Gather 'round me all you fair maidens,
Listen to my pleas.
Never trust a Gatesville boy
An inch above the knee."

Gatesville, Texas, is the site of a large facility for the incarceration of wayward youth.

Pp. 79-81, Ed Cray, 1992, "The Erotic Muse," 2nd. ed., Univ. Illinois Press.
In Randolph and Legman, 1992, "Roll Me In Your Arms," 9c, pp. 76-80, under the title "An Inch Above Your Knee."

'Ducks' or ducktail, referring to a hairstyle of the 1940s-1950s, is probably older in the form of 'ducks.'

The Gatesville Cannonball" is based on the numerous versions of "The Night-Hawk," versions going back to the 1890s. Several titles, discussed by Randolph-Legman. Some versions use the same tune as "The Wabash Cannonball," which is usable in many songs, and anecdotally goes back to the 1890s.
Versions collected by Sharp and Karpeles. Also Canadian versions.

The form of the quatrains of "W C" is used in many songs; it will probably take quite a bit of digging to find where the tune was first used.