When I Was A Little Boy

Sung by: Mrs. Mills Gammill
Recorded in Timbo, AR, 7/30/53

When I was a little boy, to London I'd go.
(Whistle)
When I was a little boy, to London I'd go;
I'd sit upon a picket like a monkey at a show,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

I set there as a giant passed by.
(Whistle)
I set there as a giant passed by;
I looked up on him and his head was in the sky,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

He banged me a wrastle with a hop step jump run.
(Whistle)
He banged me a wrastle with a hop step jump run;
Took him by the cuff of the neck and I slung him over town,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

Anybody here ever see this deed I done?
(Whistle)
Anybody here ever see this deed I done?
The gold and the silver they give me
    weighed five thousand ton,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

When I travel, I travel like an ox.
(Whistle)
When I travel, I travel like an ox,
And in my britches' pocket I carry my little box,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

When I lay down both tired and lame,
(Whistle)
When I lay down both tired and lame,
I snore so loud they can hear me in Spain,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

Also found in Randolph, Vol. III, #357; Brown, Vol. III, #131.

SOURCE:
Wolf Folklore Collection