Bile Em Cabbage Down

Went upon the mountain
Give my horn a blow.
Thought I heard my true love say
Yonder stands my beau.
[chorus] Bile ‘em cabbage down, boys, turn the hoe cake brown.
The only song that I can sing is bile ‘em cabbage down.

Went to see my gal last night
I done it kind a-sneakin’
Kissed her mouth and hit her nose,
And the doggone thing was leakin’
[chorus]

Raccoon up a ‘simmon tree
Possum on the ground
Raccoon said to the possum
Shake them ‘simmons down.
[chorus]

Jaybird died with the whooping cough
Sparrow died with the colic
Along come the frog with a fiddle on his back
Inquirin’ his way to the frolic.
[chorus]

Took my gal to the blacksmith shop
To have her mouth made small
She turned around a time or two
And swallowed the shop and all.

(from "Front Porch Old-Time Songs Jokes & Stories," by Wayne Erbsen)
Erbsen says the song is a minstrel tune from the 1850’s. the verses float from song to song and can be found in Shady Grove, Whoa Mule, and Lynchburg Town, among others. The "hoe cakes" described in the song were a favorite in the antebellum south. Slaves apparently cooked hoe cakes on their hoes over an open fire. Confederate soldiers reportedly roasted them on bayonets.

MIDI file: BILEEM~1.MID

Timebase: 192

Name: Bile Em Cabbage Down
Text: By Traditional 1850's Minstrel Tune
Key: G
TimeSig: 2/4 24 8
Start
0000 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 74 110 0094 0 74 000 0002 1 74 110 0094 0 74 000 0050 1 71 110 0046 0 71 000 0002 1 74 110 0094 0 74 000 0002 1 74 110 0256 0 74 000 0032 1 74 110 0094 0 74 000 0002 1 74 110 0094 0 74 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 69 110 0336 0 69 000 0048 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0336 0 67 000 0048 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 74 110 0094 0 74 000 0002 1 74 110 0094 0 74 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 69 110 0256 0 69 000 0032 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0336 0 67 000
End

This program is worth the effort of learning it.

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ABC format:

X:1
T:Bile Em Cabbage Down
M:2/4
Q:1/4=120
K:G
B2d2d3B|d2d6|d2d2B2G2|A8|B2B2B2B2|c2c2c4|
B2B2A2A2|G8|B2B2B2B2|c4c4|d2d2B2G2|A6G2|B2B2B2B2|
c2c2c2c2|B2B2A2A2|G7||