'Simmons, dear, (persimmons), and this was the one I was NOT posting when we were talking about Gypsy songs, and how derogatory 'Mrs. Stein' was.
I learned the whole thing in heavy dialect [at church camp 40 years ago], with your first verse, Bud's first as the second with "Dat wite man mus'be crazy, he sure ain't got no sense or he'd nebber leave dat melon on de vine,
And the last lines of the last verse "But Oh dat white man saw me, an' shot me tru de fence (or pants), but I nebber lef' dat melon on de vine.
Chorus also has a lip smacking sound, as I recall, at the end of the first two phrases, and I'm sure this has some historical significance that escapes me at the moment, but it's right up there with 'Little Black Sambo', 'Aunt Jemima' and 'My Dear ol' Mammy'.
Blessings,
Barbara