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BILLY BOY (5)
(Edward L. White)

Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?
I have been to seek a wife;
She's the joy of my life,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

Did she bid you to come in, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she bid you to come in, charming billy?
Yes, she bade me to come in,
There's a dimple in her chin,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

Did she set for you a chair,Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she set for you a chair, charming Billy?
Yes, she set for me a chair,
She has ringlets in her hair,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

Can she make a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make a chery pie, charming Billy?
She can make a cherry pie,
Quick as a cat can wink her eye;
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

Is she often seen at church, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Is she often seen at church, charming Billy?
Yes, she's often seen at church,
With a bonnet white as birch;
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

How tall is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How tall is she, charming Billy?
She's tall as any pine,
And straight as a pumpkin vine,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

Are her eyes very bright, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Are her eyes very bright, charming Billy?
Yes, her eyes are very bright,
But alas, they're minus sight,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

How old is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How old is she, charming Billy?
She's three times six, four times seven,
Twenty-eight and eleven,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.


source: a broadside sheet and sheet music dated 1847 from the American Memory Co
llection
at the Library of Congress. Broadside and sheet music identical.

Child #12
Roud #326
@courtship
filename[ bllyboy5
TUNE FILE: bllyboy2
CLICK TO PLAY
FS
Feb07

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