This seems to be a fuller version of the song the original poster (Edmund Flynn) remembered.

This song appears with musical notation for one voice and piano accompaniment, in The Best College Songs compiled by Emil Schwab (Boston: C. B. Brown & Co., 1897), page 46:


THE PRODIGAL SON
A comical ballad.
Words by Bill Nye. Music arranged by Josephine Gro.

1. There was an old men and he had two sons,
He had, he had.
He lived on a ranch, so the story runs,
He did, he did.
'Twas built on the good old Queen Anne plan
Right next to the New Jerusalem.
The vicinity it does not matter a bit.*
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.

2. The elder son was a goodly man,
He was, he was,
And built on the Moody and Sankey plan,
He was, he was.
With calm and sanctimonious face,
He talked about love and undying grace,
And hoped for a seat in the heavenly place.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.

3. The younger one was a son-of-a-gun,
He was, he was.
He shuffled the cards and he played for mon,
He did, he did.
He wore a red tie and a high-standing collar,
Would go with the boys and get full and then holler.
O, he was a regular Jim-Dandy loller.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.

4. The old fellow's purse was long and fat,
It was, it was.
The prodigal he was quite onto that,
He was, he was.
And he of the sanctimonious smile,
Just kept his weather eye on the pile,
And hoped he would get there after a while.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.

5. To divide on the square, he did his best,
He did, he did.
The prod took his share and went out west,
He did, he did,
Fell in with some cowboys and had a great time,
Woke up in the morning with nary a dime,
Stranded way out in a foreign clime.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.

6. A telegraph man in his office sat,
Out west, out west,
When in rushed a tramp without a hat,
Or coat, or vest.
"Come, send this message right over the track.
The prod is a wreck and is coming back.
Have plenty of veal for one on the rack."
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.

7. The answer he got was both short and direct,
It was, it was.
It read: "Yours received. Go to blazes. Collect."
It did, it did.
The prod he was used to this knockdown of fate,
So pawned his suspenders and put on a skate,
And started for home on a limited freight.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.

8. To a lawyer's office he went next day,
He did, he did,
And sued the old folks for pay while away,
He did, he did,
Got out an injunction and put them out.
O he was a "la-la," you hear me shout.
That's the sort of a prod I am singing about.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.

9. That's all the yarn yours-truly knows,
It is, it is.
I've gone as far as the parable goes,
I have, I have.
I've never heard what became of Pa.
The religious brother is tending bar
And the prod I believe is driving a car.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Sing tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.

[* Sic, as printed. I'm guessing it would be sung as "damn", since Edmund Flynn remembers it as having a "damn", or maybe it was one of those songs that teases you with the expectation of something risqué, and then substitutes a tamer word for humorous effect.]