The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #129897   Message #2920816
Posted By: Bill D
04-Jun-10 - 06:08 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Poor Old Woman/Housewife's Lament
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Poor Old Woman/Housewife's Lament
I've been singing it for..ummm... over 40 years. I 'think' I learned it from Joan O' Bryant, who taught folklore in Kansas and made a 10" LP for Folkways.....but *shrug*.. The extra verse about cooking & dishwashing was there when I learned it.

There are few songs which get such a reception in an audience who hasn't heard much 'folk'.

(The last two verses are usually sung without the traditional chorus in between... you have to stare down the audience, because they are usually ready to sing it again!)