Richie,

Here is the 'Roustabout' info I promised, albeit a bit later than anticipated.

Here are the lyrics to Dink Roberts' [1894-1989] version of 'Roustabout':

ROUSTABOUT ("Buffalo")

Where you been?
You - roustabout
Say, when you go a-courtin'
Yea, when you go a-fishin'
Carry a hook and line
Yea, when you go a-courtin'
Court with a willin' mind
Yea, who been here since I been gone?
Little bitty girl with the red dress on

Source: transcription in booklet in Various Artists 'Black Banjo Songsters of North Carolina and Virginia' Smithsonian/Folkways SFCD 40079.

The notes by Cece Conway and Scott Odell to this piece read in part:

Along with 'Coo Coo', this ['Roustabout'] is one of the important showpiece tunes in the black banjo repertory ... This tuning [gCGBD] ... was also used by the earliest minstrels. The song is likely a reminder of the older uses of this tuning that was current when whites first learned the banjo from blacks in the 1830s and later when the 5-string banjo appeared ...

Dink says that he learned this song at age 15 from his family in the Piedmont. He took it with him when he moved to Mt Airy in Surry County to farm and to work on the railroad. The 2-part structure with the striking key change is found in other black versions and also in Fred Cockerham's. An outstanding white banjo player, Fred grew up and lived most of his life in Low Gap, not far from Mt Airy, but did not remember any black musicians in the area; nor is there any indication that he and Dink ever heard each other play. Some black players, including John Tyree and Rufus Kasey, call this tune 'Hop Light' or 'Hop Along Lou', echoing the refrain used in some versions, including Cockerham's. To the best of Fred's memory, Mal Smith brought 'Roustabout' to the area from Virginia in the first quarter of the century and called it 'Long Steel Rail'. The likelihood of a Virginia source is strengthened by the complex and closely related versions of black players Rufus Kasey, Josh Thomas and others from Virginia, many of whom were working on or near the railroads during this same period.[Cece Conway and Scott Odell, pp25-26 in booklet to SFCD 40079]

I have John Tyree's recording of 'Hop Along Lou' on Various Artists 'Virginia Traditions: Non-Blues Secular Black Music' Global Village CD 1001, but it is an instrumental piece only.

Here is my transcription of Fred Cockerham's version:

ROUSTABOUT

Roustabout, oh roustabout
Where have you been so long?
Oh I been and I been with a forty dollar man
Honey, I'm goin' back again
Hop high, hop high, hop high
Oooo, baby, oh hop high you Lulu girl

Where did you get those brand new shoes
Shoes that you wear so fine?
Well, I got my shoes from a railroad man
My dress from a driver in the mine
Hop high, hop high, hop high
Oooo, baby, oh hop high you Lulu girl

Who's gonna shoe your pretty little feet?
Who's gonna glove your hand?
Mama will shoe my pretty little feet
Papa will glove my hand
Hop high, hop high, hop high

Source: transcription of Fred Cockerham 'Roustabout' on Various Artists 'More Clawhammer Banjo Songs & Tunes From the Mountains' County LP 717.

--Stewie.