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Penguin: When I Was A Little Boy

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When I Was A Little Boy (from The Penguin Book Of English Folk Songs)


Alan of Australia 02 Jul 00 - 09:51 AM
Goose Gander 23 Mar 08 - 11:19 PM
Goose Gander 24 Mar 08 - 11:15 AM
Goose Gander 24 Mar 08 - 12:55 PM
Goose Gander 24 Mar 08 - 08:03 PM
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Subject: Penguin: When I Was A Little Boy
From: Alan of Australia
Date: 02 Jul 00 - 09:51 AM

G'day,
From the Penguin Book Of English Folk Songs, Ed Pellow's rendition of the tune of When I Was A Little Boy can be found here.

WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY

When I was a little boy to London I did go,
But now I've turned a roguish blade, my courage it will show.
My feet was on the table, sir, my head was hanging down,
And I jumped over Kingston's Hill and never touched the ground,
With my tooral laddy, whack fol laddy, tooral looral ling.

I bought myself a little bull about three inches high;
The people all admired me, it's for to hear him cry.
The people all admired me for he made such an awful sound,
He made the steeple of St Paul's Church come tumbling to the ground
With my, etc.

I bought myself a flock of sheep and most of them were wethers;
Sometimes they brought me fine wool, sometimes they brought me feathers.
They were as fine a flock, sir, as anyone could possess,
For every month or six weeks' time they brought me six lambs apiece,
With my, etc.

I bought myself a little hen, and of her I took great care;
I set her on a mussel shell and she hatched me out a hare.
The hare grew up a milk-white steed about eighteen yards high,
And if anyone tell you a bigger story, I'll tell you it's a bloody lie.
With my, etc.

I bought myself a little box about three acres square;
I stowed it into my breeches pocket, the guineas they were there.
Now the people all admired me, thanked me for what I'd done,
And they gave me a portion of silver and gold about ten thousand ton,
With my, etc.

Sung by John Stickle, Baltasound, Unst, Shetland (P.S.-S. 1947)

Click here for another version (Autumn To May).

Previous song: The Whale-Catchers.
Next song: When I Was Young.


Cheers,
Alan


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Subject: RE: Penguin: When I Was A Little Boy
From: Goose Gander
Date: 23 Mar 08 - 11:19 PM

Little Fat Boy

Bill Jackson
Arvin, 1941

When I was a little boy fat as I could wad (whistle)
Tuk me by the heels and I slung me up to God
Turn a rink tum a tolly roddle day

When I was a little boy fat as I could be (whistle)
Sat on the roadside to see what I could see
Tum a rink tom a tolly roddle day

As I sat there a giant passed by (whistle)
Head on the ground and feet in the sky
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day

Asked me for a wrastle and I beat his own game (whistle)
Shot him with his own gun wasn't that a shame
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day

People seen the good I done (whistle)
They give enough money to weigh a million ton
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day

Gave me a little box half an acre square (whistle)
And in my little box I put my money there
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day

When I travel I travel like an ox (whistle)
And in my shirt pocket I carry my little box
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day

Gonna take a journey not a very long while (whistle)
I'm just a goin bout ten thousand mile
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day

Gonna be gone just two days and a half (whistle)
Them two days gonna eat a caw and calf
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day

Got a little dog his name is Blue (whistle)
Showed me the hog where the hole went through
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day

Got a little dog his color is a dun (whistle)
His body weighs a million and his tail weighs a ton
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day

Got a little cow and her name is Rose (whistle)
Milk her in the house and I churn her out of doors
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day

Got a little hen her color is fair (whistle)
Set her on a mussel shell and she hatched out a hare
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day

The hare turned to a horse nineteen feet high (whistle)
And if you beat that you'll have to sing a lie
Tum a rink tum a tolly roddle day.

SOURCE:
Voices From the Dust Bowl

And from the Ballad Index . . .

Little Brown Dog
DESCRIPTION: "When I was a little boy As fat as I could go, They set me there upon the fence...." The boy fights and defeats a giant, induces his hen to hatch out a hare, acquires a dog with legs ten feet long, and otherwise does the impossible
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1891 (JAFL 4)
KEYWORDS: talltale animal chickens dog horse sheep humorous nonsense fight
FOUND IN: Britain(Shetlands) US(MA,NE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Randolph 357, "When I Was a Little Boy" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
FSCatskills 145, "The Lofty Giant" (1 text)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 101, "When I Was a Little Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hudson 129, p. 275, "To London I Did Go" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 24-29, "A Tale of Jests" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Leach-Labrador 111, "The Lying Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 87, "The Liar's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 103-106, "The Little Bull Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 79, "The Little Bull" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 394, "Little Brown Dog" (1 text)
DT, (AUTUMNTO)
Roud #1706
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Derby Ram"
cf. "The Swapping Boy"
cf. "The Seven Wonders"
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Big Jeest
Once I Had
The Lie Song
Notes: I've listed this song under a title by which it's well known; as it was extremely popular in the 1960s folk revival. -PJS
Versions of this song may take almost any form, as long as there is enough exaggeration. The piece is recognized by its short lines and stanzas. Here are samples: "When I was a little boy, To London I did go, Upon that banished (?) steeple, My gallantry to show." "I bought me a little hen, I did not take much care; I set her on an oyster shell, And she hatched me out a bear."
Hudson calls this a rhymed version of the story of Jack the Giant Killer. Some versions were doubtless influenced by that, but the song doesn't require killing a giant. - RBW


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Subject: RE: Penguin: When I Was A Little Boy
From: Goose Gander
Date: 24 Mar 08 - 11:15 AM

When I Was A Little Boy

Sung by: Mrs. Mills Gammill
Recorded in Timbo, AR, 7/30/53

When I was a little boy, to London I'd go.
(Whistle)
When I was a little boy, to London I'd go;
I'd sit upon a picket like a monkey at a show,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

I set there as a giant passed by.
(Whistle)
I set there as a giant passed by;
I looked up on him and his head was in the sky,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

He banged me a wrastle with a hop step jump run.
(Whistle)
He banged me a wrastle with a hop step jump run;
Took him by the cuff of the neck and I slung him over town,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

Anybody here ever see this deed I done?
(Whistle)
Anybody here ever see this deed I done?
The gold and the silver they give me
    weighed five thousand ton,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

When I travel, I travel like an ox.
(Whistle)
When I travel, I travel like an ox,
And in my britches' pocket I carry my little box,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

When I lay down both tired and lame,
(Whistle)
When I lay down both tired and lame,
I snore so loud they can hear me in Spain,
To my rye ding-a-ding, ding, diddle all the day.

Also found in Randolph, Vol. III, #357; Brown, Vol. III, #131.

SOURCE:
Wolf Folklore Collection


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Subject: RE: Penguin: When I Was A Little Boy
From: Goose Gander
Date: 24 Mar 08 - 12:55 PM

When I Was A Little Boy

As sung by Mr. John Mullins, Springfield, Missouri on May 22, 1960

When I was a little boy
Just as fat as I could be
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
When I's a little boy
Just as fat as I could be
Settin' by th roadside
Just for t' see
Sing, trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day

As I sit there
A giant came by
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
As I sit there a giant came by
Feet in th road
An' his head in th sky
Sing, trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day

Well, he thought he'd scare me
Just for fun
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
He tried t' scare me
Just for fun
Called my little dog
An' put 'im on th run
Sing, trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day

Well, had a little dog
An' his color was done
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
Had a little dog
An' his color was done
He had short legs
But he sure could run
Singin', trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day

When ever I traveled
I stirred up a fog
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
Werever I traveled
I stirred up a fog
An' right on my heels
There'd be my little dog
Sing, trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day

Well, I won a little hen
At th country fair
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
Won a little hen
At th county fair
Set 'er on a nest
An' she hatched out a hare
Sing, trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day

Hare grew up to be a mule
Sixteen hands high
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
Hare grew up to be a mule
Sixteen hands high
An' th man beats that
Gonna have to tell a lie
Singin', trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day
Trup-a-leery, fa-dum-day


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Subject: RE: Penguin: When I Was A Little Boy
From: Goose Gander
Date: 24 Mar 08 - 08:03 PM

Source for the John Mullins version was the Max Hunter collection.


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