G'day ,

This is for GHUEST: Eileen, who asked for these words a few weeks back. I was able to scan them from the shhet music. It PROBABLY worked out easier with the scanner (compared to simply typing it all out) – I just had to do a lot of re-assembly to get the 3 pages back into verse form.

Anyway, here are the words for your Father:

He Holds The Lantern (While His Mother Chops The Wood)
(by Lanny Grey, Arthur Terker, and Roy Jacobs)

Tempo de Hill-billy
I know the best hearted fellow,
He'd even give his oldest shirt a way,
The neighbors all know he's a kind hearted fellow and here's what you hear them say: Oh!

1. HE HOLDS THE LANTERN while his mother chops the wood,
He holds the lantern just as any good son should,
He's mighty handy and he's always standing by,
When she's through chopping one load he'll get her a new supply,
And when she is exhausted he's equal to the test,
He lays right down beside her and helps his maw to rest,
Oh! While she is axing, He is busily relaxing,
HE HOLDS THE LANTERN while his mother chops the wood,

2. HE HOLDS THE LANTERN while his mother chops the wood,
He holds the lantern and he surely does it good,
She hacks and hacks away until her back is sprained,
While her son holds the lantern so her eyes will not get strained,
You'll never find him stopping to take a holiday,
'Cause when it comes to chopping ev'ry day is Mother' Day,
While she's perspiring her dear son is most inspiring
HE HOLDS THE LANTERN while his mother chops the wood,

3. HE HOLDS THE LANTERN while his mother chops the wood,
While she is pantin', he pants too, that's under stood,
He's tender hearted when she chops he almost cries,
He can't stand seeing mother work so he just shuts his eyes,
He's big and strong and healthy and he weighs two fifty net
But moving those big muscles is what he ain't done yet,
But he's sure respected her and to show he's not neglectin' her,
HE HOLDS THE LANTERN while his mother chops the wood,

4. HE HOLDS THE LANTERN while his mother chops the wood,
He has a tantrum if she doesn't chop it good,
It's second nature for this boy to hold a lamp,
When paw worked on the railroad he was the lampholding champ!
Her son is always gallant, he loves the golden rule,
But maw has all the talent, when it comes to chopping fuel,
While she is chopping his poor brow he keeps on mopping
HE HOLDS THE LANTERN while his mother chops the wood,

5. HE HOLDS THE LANTERN while his mother chops the wood,
He holds the lantern so the work turns out real good,
You may not think it but he's not afraid to toil,
'Cause when the lantern's running low he fills it up with oil,
According to the neighbors and they say these are the facts,
He buys his maw each Christmas a brand new shiny axe,
He tries to save her ev'ry bit of extra labor
HE HOLDS THE LANTERN while his mother chops the wood.

And here is the tune, in MIDIText format:

Click to play

ABC format:

X:1
T:
M:4/4
Q:1/4=128
K:C
F8|DFF2F2F2|^DG6G|AAAAG2A2|^A2GF4F|DFF2F2FF|
^D2GGGG2G|FF2FG2A2|^A4F4|F4D3^D|F2^A2A2^A2|
c^A3A2GF|-F8|F8|-F4F3^D|D2F2E2F2|G2F2^D2DC|
-C8|F8|-F4D3^D|F2^A2A2^A2|c2^A2A2G2|F6^A2|
A2c2^D2A2|G2^A2D2G2|F2^F2G2A2|^A6D2|C2^A2A2G2|
A2F4D2|C2^A2A2G2|A6D2|C2^A2A2G2|A2F4D2|D2F2E2G2|
F4F4|F4D3^D|F2^A2A2^A2|c2^A2c2^c2|d2d6|^d4^d3^d|
d2^A2A2^A2|cG3A2F2|^A13/4||

Regards,

Bob Bolton
^^

To play or display ABC tunes, try concertina.net