From Unprintable Ozark Folksongs and Folklore: Roll Me in Your Arms, Vol. 1 by Vance Randolph (Fayetteville : University of Arkansas Press, 1992), page 97:

(This song appears with musical notation for the melody line.)


THE LITTLE BALL OF YARN

It was in the month of May an' the jacks begin to bray,
An' the jinnies begin to hover 'round the barn,
An' I met a little maid an' unto her I said,
Let me wind up your little ball of yarn, yarn, yarn,
Let me wind up your little ball of yarn.

Oh, no siree, said she, you're a stranger unto me,
Perhaps you may have some other charm,
But you'd better to to those who have money an' fine clothes,
An' wind up their little ball of yarn, yarn, yarn,
An' wind up their little ball of yarn.

Well, I took her 'round the waist an' I gently laid her down,
Not thinkin' I was doin' any harm,
While the blackbird an' that thrush were a-banging in the brush,
I wound up her little ball of yarn, yarn, yarn,
I wound up her little ball of yarn.