My mom sang gospel songs while she did her housework, but my dad was the bedtime singer and storyteller. He sang quite a variety, including children's songs like "Animal Fair", "The Old Woman & Her Pig" and "Go Tell Aunt Patsy" (same as "Aunt Rhody" except for the name); cowboy ballads like "Jesse James", "Billy the Kid" and "Utah Carroll"; and parlor songs like "Beautiful Brown Eyes", "Over the Hill to the Poorhouse" and "Forsaken Love". "Dead baby" songs were not omitted from the repertoire: if you think the song about the little lost monkey was disturbing, think about going to sleep listening to "Put My Little Shoes Away"--no wonder I'm warped!

Fortunately I've always had a good memory for lyrics, so I can still remember a lot of those songs; and I'm working on finding some of the ones that I remember only in part. I recently found the full lyrics to "Over the Hill to the Poorhouse" on a website, and a songbook with the missing fifth verse to "The Prisoner at the Bar". Singing them is a real connection to my parents, both of whom have passed on.