Lyr. Add: THE OLD GRAY HORSE
Three old verses from Perrow

A
Went to the river at break uv day,
Couldn't get across, en' uh had to stay;
Paid five dollars fer un ole gray horse,
Wouldn't go erlong, en' 'e wouldn't stand still,
But jumped up en' daown like un ole flutter-mill.
(TN, mountain whites, 1908)
B
I went to the river and couldn't get across;
Paid five dollars for an old gray horse,
Horse wouldn't ride, horse wouldn't swim,
And I'll never see my five dollars agin.
(MS, country whites, MS of Miss Reedy; 1909)
C
I went to the river and couldn't get across;
Jumped on a toad-frog and thought he was a horse*
VA, mountain whites, 1912)
*In college song books, included in "Polly Wolly Doodle."

From E. C. Perrow, Songs in which Animals Figure. E. C. Perrow, 1911, "Songs and Rhymes from the South," JAFL, vol. 25, pp. 137-155.

A version of "Old Gray Mare, 1906, Perrow, was posted above, 26 May 05. From mountain whites.