There are umpty-seven variants on the song. I always do "Blackjack Davey," in which the liberated-chick-before-her-time is pursued not by dear old dad but by hubby. There are, as usual with many Anglo-American derivatives, two sides of the family song-variant tree, one in which she stays with her lover and one in which she tearfully comes home--not for hubby, who is sort of a dork anyway, but for her blue-eyed baby-oh.

I got Blackjack Davey from some old book of Carolina songs that was written and illustrated in pre-PC days, but now that all racist strife has ceased, we may assume that Davey deals 21 in Vegas.

Another "Justice or Reality?" quandary shows up with "Golden Vanity," in case someone is about to call my bluff on "Oh, yeah, happens all the time, just hang around." In GV #1, the mean evil captain leaves the kid to drown. In GV #2, the kid says, "OK, mean evil Cap'n, what goes around comes around," and sinks his own ship. In GV#3, the kid really gets religion and says, "OK, mean evil Cap'n, I'd sink you too, but hey, there are women and children on board, so I'll just stay here and drown; don't mind me." Well, actually, all those utterances rhyme, but you Catters all get my DRIFT. [Oh, gawd!!!]

You can tell I'm off for a long weekend soon. :)

CC