In his post 15 May 05 - 01:57 AM in the 'Origins: Do they matter' thread,Q gave his opinions on the racial origin of some of the songs that I listed as being of African American origin. One of those songs was the Grey Goose. Q's comment was "Grey Goose- several. But if it is the one sung by Lead Belly, it's B." {'B'='Black' origin}

One version of this song is listed in the DigiTrad here:
a href="@displaysong.cfm?SongID=6390">Gray Goose: Leadbelly

It should be noted that this is NOT the 'Go Tell Aunt Rhody" {the old grey goose is dead}song.

For a perspective on the hidden meaning of 'The Old Gray {Grey} Goose' see this excerpt from the Sterling Brown essay that is hyperlinked in my previous post:

"One of the best folk ballads, however, is in the simpler, unrhymed African leader-chorus design. This is "The Grey Goose," a ballad about a seemingly ordinary fowl who becomes a symbol of ability to take it. It is a song done with the highest spirits; the "Lord, Lord, Lord" of the responding chorus expressing amazement, flattery, and good-humored respect for the tough bird:

Well, last Monday mornin'
    Lord, Lord, Lord!
Well, last Monday mornin'
    Lord, Lord, Lord!

They went hunting for the grey goose. When shot "Boo-loom!" the grey goose was six weeks a-falling. Then it was six weeks a-finding, and once in the white house, was six weeks a-picking. Even after the great feather-picking he was six months parboiling. And then on the table, the forks couldn't stick him; the knife couldn't cut him. So they threw him in the hog-pen where he broke the sow's jawbone. Even in the sawmill, he-broke the saw's teeth out. He was indestructible. Last seen the grey goose was flying across the ocean, with a long string of goslings, all going "Quank- quink-quank." Yessir, it was one hell of a gray goose. Lord, Lord, Lord!"