Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 07 Aug 20 - 10:29 PM

cnd - I would think that wake as an annual festival is more likely for the song than the the death-celebration. If you fancied a dance I would have thought a festival more likely than a death-wake.

Partridge gives cat as verb, lateC18-20:low coll., to vomit. And gives Shoot The Cat as a related phrase. The euphemism (as guest at 03:39, 7 Aug 20 noted) is clear, though the vomiting meaning seems unlikely from the way it's phrased in the song.

Mick

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: Lighter
Date: 08 Aug 20 - 10:27 AM

Since a sexual "shoot the cat" fits well here, why look further?

If the phrase was well known, it would have been instantly recognized.

If not, people whose minds worked like ours (i.e., just about anyone who appreciated the song) would presumably think it was a hilarious neologism.

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: and e
Date: 13 Jan 23 - 04:43 PM

From pg 6 of the Hubert Canfield Collection. Dated ca 1926.

COMING HOME FROM THE WAKE

If you go to the wake, I'll tell you to beware,
If you go to the wake, young Roger will be there,
And he'll take you in his arms to shield you from all harms,
In the morning you'll be sorry coming from the wake.

The wake being over, and morning coming on,
Roger took Nellie through the fields of corn,
Said Roger to Nellie, let's sit down and have a chat,
And I'll show you the game that they call, Shoot the Cat.

They sat down on a rock as you may suppose,
And pretty soon Roger began to pull up Nellie's clothes;
Said Nellie to Roger, Now what are you at?
Said Roger to Nellie, Why I'm going to shoot your cat.

Six month passed by, and three more a-coming on,
Nellie brought forth a charming son,
We will name it, we will name it, we will name it for his sake,
We will name it Shoot-the-Kitten-Coming-Home-from-the-Wake.

And when this young bastard had grown to be a man,
He went down town with his cock in his hand,
And every lady he met he'd give it a little shake,
And then he'd shoot their kitten coming home from the wake.

See here: https://archive.org/details/1926canfieldcollection/page/n5/mode/2up

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: and e
Date: 13 Jan 23 - 08:44 PM

From Rugby Songs Volume 2, LP. [n.d, ca 1965] By SportsDisc Records:

Roger of Kildare

Oh, mother, mother dear, may I go to the fair?
May I go to the fair with young Roger of Kildare
For I know he's kind and gentle and he'll love me for my sake.
And I know he will not harm me coming home from the lake.

Yes daughter, daughter dear, you may go to the fair.
You may go with Sir Roger, Sir Roger of Kildare
For I know he's kind and gentle and he'll love you for you sake.
And I know he will not harm you coming home from the lake.

So she went with Sir Roger, she went to the fair
She went with Sir Roger, Sir Roger of Kildare
And he stuffed her up with ice-cream and he stuff her up with cake
He stuffed it right up her coming home from the lake.

So all you pretty maidens beware oh beware
Beware of Sir Roger, Sir Roger of Kildare
For although he's kind and gentle and he'll love you for your sake
Just keep your legs together coming home from the lake.

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 15 Jan 23 - 03:32 PM

Hi and e
That's a very interesting collection (Canfield) particularly as it's of an earlier date 1926 as the usual ones. Most of the usual suspects are there. I wonder if John Mehlberg and the others who collect this bawdy material are aware of it.

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 12:30 PM

Aidan O'Hara, "I'll Live 'til I Die: The Delia Murphy Story" (Leitrim, 1997):

"[During WW2] Delia did two free concerts for Fr. Joe Flanagan in Woolwich, to help in raising funds for the church. While there, she sent a card to his mother in Co. Galway asking for the words of the song, 'The Wake in Kildare', also known as 'Coming Home from the Wake.' Delia recorded the song, and Fr. Joe’s brother, Ger, said ‘his mother would play the record but not when anyone was around because of the words, “And I slipped a kiss to Nellie coming home from the wake.” However his was the ‘sanitized’ version of the song. Delia’s unexpurgated version was not for ‘polite people’." . . .

"Delia also said she got a variant of the song, 'Coming home from the Wake,' or, 'The Wake in Kildare', from the Australian Prime Minister, Joseph Benedict (Ben) Chifley, whose people came from Ireland and who succeeded another Irish-Australian— John Curtin — as Prime Minister, in 1945."

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 01:45 PM

Sung by lumberjack Ed Thrasher (b. 1877) for Alan Lomax, Round Lake, Mich., 1938:

‘Twas Nellie the milkmaid so handsome and so gay,
So fond of a dance and going to a spree,
It’s one joke[?] to give and another for to take,
Says Nellie to the mistress, May I go to the wake?

Cho.:
With my hal fal the lay!

Says the mistress to Nellie, I’d have you to beware,
For, sure as you go, young Rogers he’ll be there.
He’ll take you in his arm and he’ll do to you some harm,
And you’ll be sorry comin’ home in the morn.

Nellie she got ready, was out upon the way,
Wishing all the time that Rogers he’d be there;
He’ll take me in his arm and he’ll shield me from all harm,
And I won’t be sorry comin’ home in the morn.

Early in the morning, before the break of day,
Rogers throwed Nellie down beside a stack of hay;
Says Rogers to Nellie, I’ll lay you here so deep,
And I’ll play to you the game that they call shoot-the-cat.

Three months passed and the fourth month a-come,
The rose in Nellie’s cheeks they both grew into one.
Her apron wouldn’t tie and her corset wouldn’t lap,
And they laid it to the game that they call shoot-the-cat.

Eighth month passed, and the ninth month a-come,
Borne unto Nellie a fine young son!
Says Mistress to Nellie, we’ll name him for your sake,
And we’ll call him Shoot-the-Cat-Comin’-Home-from-the-Wake!

This young devil grew up to be a man,
He run around town with his codger in his hand;
And every lady that he’d meet, at her he would shake it,
And he said his mama shot a cat comin’ home from the wake.



The tune bears a resemblance to that of “Felix the Soldier.”

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 02:03 PM

William Merriam Rouse, “The Rough-Neck,” Munsey’s Magazine (Oct., 1921):

“Brumley was built like a chopping-block, and they said his voice had turned milk sour in his own pantry. He swung over the rail of the Mary Ann and spoke out loud.
         “‘Shoot the cat!’ says he. ‘Shoot the cat comin' home from the wake!’
        “The words didn't mean anything particular, but when Hen Brumley advised folks to shoot the cat it was a sign that he intended to bust up all the civilization in his neighborhood within a reasonable time.”

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: and e
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 04:50 PM

Citation and link to the Lomax recording. The title of the song is "Shoot the Cat" the recording below also has "Root Hog or Die". Which seems to have eluded my "collection" until now.

Thrasher, E. & Lomax, A. (1938) Shoot the Cat; Root, Hog, or Die.
Round Lake, MI and Mackinac County, MI, September 8. [Audio]
Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1939007_afs02321b/

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 07:11 PM

Peter Nerváez, "Of Corpse" (Utah State U.P., 2003):

                

                         SHOOT THE CAT

Nellie was the prettiest girl that ever you did see,
Oft times she [was] asked to a dance or a spree                                 
And she was asked a question and the answer for to make,
And she kindly asked her Mrs. could she go to the wake.
Yay, yay, fell the dee, don’t you know what I mean?

Yes, you may go but be civil and beware,
For Johnny is going and you know he will be there.
He will kiss you and he’ll court you, and he’ll keep your belly warm,
And perhaps you will be sorry coming home in the morn.
Yay, yay, fell the dee, don’t you know what I mean?

Oh the dance being over and all cleared away,
Johnny took his Nellie onto some bed of hay,
And Johnny said unto Nellie let me lie you on your back
And I’ll show you the game what they call “shoot the cat”
Yay, yay, fell the dee, don’t you know what I mean?

Oh six months being over and seven on the rail,
Nellie’s rosy cheeks they began to look pale,
Her apron strings they wouldn’t tie, and her stays they wouldn’t lap,
And they put it to the game what they call “shoot the cat.”
Yay, yay, fell the dee, don’t you know what I mean?

Oh eight months being over and nine coming on,
Nellie was the mother of a bouncing young son,
And says Mrs. unto Nellie let me name it for [your] sake                        
And we’ll call it “Shoot the cat coming home from the wake.”
Yay, yay, fell the dee, don’t you know what I mean?

This young bugger he grew up to be a man,
And coming round the corner with his rooster in his hand,
And every girl he'd meet he would give to him a shake,
Saying, "Daddy shoot [sic] the cat coming home from the wake."      
Yay, yay, fell the dee,


“Collected by Jesse Fudge from Robert Childs, Ramea [Newf.], Dec. 22, 1977....For a commercially released variant hear ‘Daddy Shot the Cat’ on [Con] O’Brien and [Ronnie] Power [“A Time in Bay Bulls,” St. Johns: Homespun Records, cassette HSR 003 47] (1990).”

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: and e
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 07:38 AM

SHOOT THE CAT

VERSE 1
Nellie was a milk maid
So fair and so gay
Had a mind for to choose
And a mind for to take
So, she questioned Mr. Rogers
For to take her to th wake

VERSE 2
Go to th wake, Mr. Rogers
He'll be there
An' he'll roll you in his arms
An' he'll keep you from the storms
And you'll be late
Gettin' home in th morn

VERSE 3
Th wake be'in over
And Nell a be'in scorned
Mr. Rogers and Miss Nellie
Went thru a field of corn
Mr. Rogers says, Miss Nellie
Let's set down and take a chat
An' I'll show you th game
That they call shoot th cat

VERSE 4
They set down
As I do suppose
Mr. Rogers begin
To pull up Nellie's clothes
Miss Nellie says, Mr. Rogers
What you goin' do to that?
Nothing, Miss Nellie
But I'm goin' to shoot your cat

VERSE 5
Six months all over
All over an' gone
Her apron wouldn't tie
An' her corset wouldn't lap
And she laid it to th game
That they call
Shoot th cat

VERSE 6
Nine months all over
All over an' gone
Miss Nellie become th mother
Of a darlin' little son
She says, Mr. Rogers
You can call it that for your sake
But I'll call it shoot th cat
Goin' home from th wake

As sung by Fred High of High, Arkansas on February 12, 1958,
The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection, Missouri State University,
Cat. #0027 (MFH #563),


Recording, text, and music available online here:


https://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=27

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: and e
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 08:26 AM

shoot the cat v.1 [late 19C+] to have sexual intercourse.

Pg 1274, Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, Jonathan Green (editor).


See online: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cassell_s_Dictionary_of_Slang/5GpLcC4a5fAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22shoot+the+Cat%22+slang&pg=PA1274&printsec=frontcover

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 12:30 PM

Aidan O'Hara, "I'll Live 'til I Die: The Delia Murphy Story" (Leitrim, 1997):

"[During WW2] Delia did two free concerts for Fr. Joe Flanagan in Woolwich, to help in raising funds for the church. While there, she sent a card to his mother in Co. Galway asking for the words of the song, 'The Wake in Kildare', also known as 'Coming Home from the Wake.' Delia recorded the song, and Fr. Joe’s brother, Ger, said ‘his mother would play the record but not when anyone was around because of the words, “And I slipped a kiss to Nellie coming home from the wake.” However his was the ‘sanitized’ version of the song. Delia’s unexpurgated version was not for ‘polite people’." . . .

"Delia also said she got a variant of the song, 'Coming home from the Wake,' or, 'The Wake in Kildare', from the Australian Prime Minister, Joseph Benedict (Ben) Chifley, whose people came from Ireland and who succeeded another Irish-Australian— John Curtin — as Prime Minister, in 1945."

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 01:45 PM

Sung by lumberjack Ed Thrasher (b. 1877) for Alan Lomax, Round Lake, Mich., 1938:

‘Twas Nellie the milkmaid so handsome and so gay,
So fond of a dance and going to a spree,
It’s one joke[?] to give and another for to take,
Says Nellie to the mistress, May I go to the wake?

Cho.:
With my hal fal the lay!

Says the mistress to Nellie, I’d have you to beware,
For, sure as you go, young Rogers he’ll be there.
He’ll take you in his arm and he’ll do to you some harm,
And you’ll be sorry comin’ home in the morn.

Nellie she got ready, was out upon the way,
Wishing all the time that Rogers he’d be there;
He’ll take me in his arm and he’ll shield me from all harm,
And I won’t be sorry comin’ home in the morn.

Early in the morning, before the break of day,
Rogers throwed Nellie down beside a stack of hay;
Says Rogers to Nellie, I’ll lay you here so deep,
And I’ll play to you the game that they call shoot-the-cat.

Three months passed and the fourth month a-come,
The rose in Nellie’s cheeks they both grew into one.
Her apron wouldn’t tie and her corset wouldn’t lap,
And they laid it to the game that they call shoot-the-cat.

Eighth month passed, and the ninth month a-come,
Borne unto Nellie a fine young son!
Says Mistress to Nellie, we’ll name him for your sake,
And we’ll call him Shoot-the-Cat-Comin’-Home-from-the-Wake!

This young devil grew up to be a man,
He run around town with his codger in his hand;
And every lady that he’d meet, at her he would shake it,
And he said his mama shot a cat comin’ home from the wake.



The tune bears a resemblance to that of “Felix the Soldier.”

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 02:03 PM

William Merriam Rouse, “The Rough-Neck,” Munsey’s Magazine (Oct., 1921):

“Brumley was built like a chopping-block, and they said his voice had turned milk sour in his own pantry. He swung over the rail of the Mary Ann and spoke out loud.
         “‘Shoot the cat!’ says he. ‘Shoot the cat comin' home from the wake!’
        “The words didn't mean anything particular, but when Hen Brumley advised folks to shoot the cat it was a sign that he intended to bust up all the civilization in his neighborhood within a reasonable time.”

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 07:11 PM

Peter Nerváez, "Of Corpse" (Utah State U.P., 2003):

                

                         SHOOT THE CAT

Nellie was the prettiest girl that ever you did see,
Oft times she [was] asked to a dance or a spree                                 
And she was asked a question and the answer for to make,
And she kindly asked her Mrs. could she go to the wake.
Yay, yay, fell the dee, don’t you know what I mean?

Yes, you may go but be civil and beware,
For Johnny is going and you know he will be there.
He will kiss you and he’ll court you, and he’ll keep your belly warm,
And perhaps you will be sorry coming home in the morn.
Yay, yay, fell the dee, don’t you know what I mean?

Oh the dance being over and all cleared away,
Johnny took his Nellie onto some bed of hay,
And Johnny said unto Nellie let me lie you on your back
And I’ll show you the game what they call “shoot the cat”
Yay, yay, fell the dee, don’t you know what I mean?

Oh six months being over and seven on the rail,
Nellie’s rosy cheeks they began to look pale,
Her apron strings they wouldn’t tie, and her stays they wouldn’t lap,
And they put it to the game what they call “shoot the cat.”
Yay, yay, fell the dee, don’t you know what I mean?

Oh eight months being over and nine coming on,
Nellie was the mother of a bouncing young son,
And says Mrs. unto Nellie let me name it for [your] sake                        
And we’ll call it “Shoot the cat coming home from the wake.”
Yay, yay, fell the dee, don’t you know what I mean?

This young bugger he grew up to be a man,
And coming round the corner with his rooster in his hand,
And every girl he'd meet he would give to him a shake,
Saying, "Daddy shoot [sic] the cat coming home from the wake."      
Yay, yay, fell the dee,


“Collected by Jesse Fudge from Robert Childs, Ramea [Newf.], Dec. 22, 1977....For a commercially released variant hear ‘Daddy Shot the Cat’ on [Con] O’Brien and [Ronnie] Power [“A Time in Bay Bulls,” St. Johns: Homespun Records, cassette HSR 003 47] (1990).”

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: and e
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 04:50 PM

Citation and link to the Lomax recording. The title of the song is "Shoot the Cat" the recording below also has "Root Hog or Die". Which seems to have eluded my "collection" until now.

Thrasher, E. & Lomax, A. (1938) Shoot the Cat; Root, Hog, or Die.
Round Lake, MI and Mackinac County, MI, September 8. [Audio]
Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1939007_afs02321b/

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: and e
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 07:38 AM

SHOOT THE CAT

VERSE 1
Nellie was a milk maid
So fair and so gay
Had a mind for to choose
And a mind for to take
So, she questioned Mr. Rogers
For to take her to th wake

VERSE 2
Go to th wake, Mr. Rogers
He'll be there
An' he'll roll you in his arms
An' he'll keep you from the storms
And you'll be late
Gettin' home in th morn

VERSE 3
Th wake be'in over
And Nell a be'in scorned
Mr. Rogers and Miss Nellie
Went thru a field of corn
Mr. Rogers says, Miss Nellie
Let's set down and take a chat
An' I'll show you th game
That they call shoot th cat

VERSE 4
They set down
As I do suppose
Mr. Rogers begin
To pull up Nellie's clothes
Miss Nellie says, Mr. Rogers
What you goin' do to that?
Nothing, Miss Nellie
But I'm goin' to shoot your cat

VERSE 5
Six months all over
All over an' gone
Her apron wouldn't tie
An' her corset wouldn't lap
And she laid it to th game
That they call
Shoot th cat

VERSE 6
Nine months all over
All over an' gone
Miss Nellie become th mother
Of a darlin' little son
She says, Mr. Rogers
You can call it that for your sake
But I'll call it shoot th cat
Goin' home from th wake

As sung by Fred High of High, Arkansas on February 12, 1958,
The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection, Missouri State University,
Cat. #0027 (MFH #563),


Recording, text, and music available online here:


https://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=27

Subject: RE: Origins: Coming Home from the Wake/Nellie Milkmaid
From: and e
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 08:26 AM

shoot the cat v.1 [late 19C+] to have sexual intercourse.

Pg 1274, Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, Jonathan Green (editor).


See online: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cassell_s_Dictionary_of_Slang/5GpLcC4a5fAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22shoot+the+Cat%22+slang&pg=PA1274&printsec=frontcover