For the purposes of comparison, here are 2 of the earliest recorded versions of the song. Fiddlin' John Carson's was the first version recorded - in 1924. Although 'Dem' is retained in the title of the song, Fiddlin' John definitely sings 'them'. However, the 'dem', the 'master', the 'yella girl' and the taking of the wife to 'New Orleans' (John was a Georgian chicken farmer) would seem to betray the song's minstrel/medicine show and black tradition connections. Carson's version was a reasonably sedate affair, accompanied only by his fiddle. Earl Johnson's version, recorded in 1927, is a much more spirited hoedown treatment - and it has totally different verses.

As an instrumental, 'Bile dem cabbage down' was part of the countryman's common stock - black and white - of traditional music that also included tunes like 'Old Hen Cackle', 'Turkey in the Straw', 'Sourwood Mountain', 'Leather Britches', 'Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy' and dozens of others. Clayton McMichen, the 'reluctant hillbilly' and member of the Skillet Lickers', said he won the national fiddle championship 16 times playing the tune. Evidently, he would improvise on the melody like a jazz soloist or modern bluegrasser. Some later fiddlers absorbed part of his improvisations as a normal part of the tune.

Anyhow, here are the lyrics of the 2 earliest recordings of the piece as a song. Like all transcriptions of early 78s, they are tentative and subject to correction by other ears - but I have done my best with the equipment at my disposal. Both are very different from that in the DT.

Cheers, Stewie.

BOIL DEM CABBAGE DOWN

Boil them cabbage down
Boil them cabbage down
The only tune that I can sing
Boil them cabbage down

Master had a little mule
And he called him silent slick
That mule it had such dreamy eyes
But how that mule could kick

Quit that ticklin' me
Quit that ticklin' me
Mule go away you let me be
And quit that ticklin' me

Feet was light as a feather
Face was made of lead
Mule's (?) kick you feel so quick
Land you on your head

Boil them cabbage down
Boil them cabbage down
The only tune that I can sing
Boil them cabbage down

Whisky by the gallon
Sugar by the pound
Great big bowl to put it in
Spoon to stir it around

Quit that ticklin' me
Quit that ticklin' me
Mule go away you let me be
And quit that ticklin' me

Wouldn't marry a yella girl
I'll tell you the reason why
She'd get up the very next morning
Be sure to tell a lie

Boil them cabbage down
Boil them cabbage down
The only tune that I can sing
Boil them cabbage down

If I had a scolding wife
I'd whup her sure as she's born
Tear her down to New Orleans
Trade her off for corn

Quit that ticklin' me
Quit that ticklin' me
Mule go away you let me be
And quit that ticklin' me

Now I got no money
Got no place to stay
Got nowhere to lay my head
Chicken a-crowin' for day

Quit that ticklin' me
Quit that ticklin' me
Mule go away you let me be
And quit that ticklin' me

Fiddlin' John Carson 73040-A-OK 40306 New York 18 December 1924. Reissued on Fiddlin' John Carson 'Complete Recorded Works Vol II' Document DOCD 8015.

BOIL DEM CABBAGE DOWN

Boil them cabbage down
Turn them hoecakes around
The only tune that I can play
Is boil them cabbage down

I went up on the mountain
(It is not known around) (?) Put me in a coffee pot
Blowed me through the spout

Boil them …

I asked that girl to marry me
She said she'd see me later
She mashed my nose all over my face
Like a great big hard potato

Boil them …

Wish I had a nickel
Wish I had a dime
Wish I had a redhaired girl
And I could call her mine

Boil them …

Wish I had a wide (?) brim hat
Push it in the crown
Go to see some pretty little girl
And turn my damper down

Boil them …

Greenback in my pocket
Whisky when I'm dry
If I come drunk and ragged
I'll live until I die

Boil them …

Earl Johnson and His Dixie Entertainers 80265-A-OK 45112 23 March 1927 Atlanta Georgia.Reissued on Earl Johnson 'Complete Recorded Works Vol I' Document DOCD 8005.