A few days ago, somebody (I was sure it was Q.) posted lyrics for an American minstrel song. The lyrics had been printed in New York City by a firm called Anderson. There was no melody.

I thought the song had some cute ideas, but it seemed carelessly written. So I opened up my folk processor, adjusted the timing, scraped off the condescension and blew up the tires.

Here's how the lyrics are now. I think it would make a great song for schoolkids or for around the campfire. The hyphen are there to line the lyrics up with the notes of the tune.
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I come from Ca-ro-li-na and my head is full of knowledge,
I ne-ver went to yon-der school; I ne-ver went to college.
But I can tell you one thing, it is a cer-tain fact,
of Noah and the el-e-phant and how the dove came back.

CHORUS:
Walk in
Walk in
Walk in the par-lor.
Walk in the pa-rlor and hear the ban-jo play.

Oh, Light-ning is a pret-ty girl, she lives up in a cloud.
- Storm King is a great big man, and he can hol-ler loud,
But when he kis-ses Light-ning, she darts out in won-der,
Then he jumps up and shakes the cloud, and that's what makes it thunder.

CHORUS

Oh, No-ah built a great big ark, he filled the hold with sausage.
Then all the bugs and an-i-mals, they booked a ca-bin passage.
E-le-phant was ve-ry late; Old No-ah said "You're drunk!"
"Ah, no," said he, "it took me all this time to pack my trunk.

CHORUS

Then No-ah sent the white dove out, a dry place for to seek,
The dove she flew, and she re-turned with'a ban-jo in her beak ... .
I tuned up the ban-jo and played 'em all this tune.
All the pret-ty la-dies there, they fell in-to a swoon.

CHORUS
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I wrote a tune and added a sketchy accompaniment. It has a bit of a Caribbean feel, and there's nothing wrong with that. Caribbean tunes, notably in the form of Cakewalks, have been in the South a long time.

If all goes well, the link to my MIDI will appear here.

Click to play MIDI (joeweb).

I hope you like it. I renounce all copyright. Go ahead and sing it.