Randolph #69 A

THE SKIN-AND-BONE WOMAN

There was an old woman all skin and bones,
Who went to the church all alone, oh, oh, oh,
When she got to the church stile,
She thought she'd rest a little while, oh, oh, oh,

When she got to the church door,
She thought she’d rest a little more, oh, oh, oh,
She got up an’ she went in,
With a smile an’ then a grin, oh, oh, oh.

She looked up an’ she looked down,
She seen a corpse layin’ on the ground, oh, oh, oh,
The woman unto the corpse did say,
When I am dead will I look that-a-way? oh, oh, oh.

The corpse unto the woman did say,
When you are dead you’ll look this-a-way, oh, oh, oh


Ozark Folksongs, collected and edited by Vance Randolph (University of Missouri Press, 1980)

Song #69A, sung by Miss Leone Duvall, Pineville, Missouri - July 16, 1923