The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #51808   Message #793274
Posted By: GUEST
28-Sep-02 - 11:16 PM
Thread Name: Origin of Ida Red
Subject: RE: Origin of Ida Red
Searching around in American Memory WPA interviews from the 1930s, I found this old dance lyric, remembered from the 1890s by a Mrs. Ingalls of Portland OR. Born in 1873, she remembered the words of this tune from dances. Not Ida Red, but interesting, and I wondered if it is in your notes.

WEEVILY WHEAT (spelt weavily in the article)

Your weevily wheat isn't fit to eat
And neither is your barley
We'll have the best of Boston wheat
To bake a cake for Charlie.

Oh Charley, he's a fine young man
And Charley he's a dandy
And Charlie loves to kiss the girls
Whenever they come handy.

Fragments of old songs occur in the thousands of interviews made in WPA make-work projects during the 1930s. A good thesis project for a folklore student would be to go through these tons of paper to sift out songs and poems. Unfortunately, of course, no music, although comparisons may be made with other tunes in some.