Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Jack Horntip
Date: 30 Apr 25 - 12:27 PM

I walked down the street like a nice girl should,
A keen man followed like I thought he would.
This keen man whoever he may be.
Listen while I tell you what he did to me.

I went in the house like a nice girl should.
The keen man followed like I thought he would.
This keen man, etc.

I turned on the lights like a nice girl should.
He turned them off like I thought he would.
This keen man, etc.

1 got into bed like a nice girl should.
The keen man followed like I thought he would.
This keen man, etc.

I waited nine months like a nice girl should.
He left town like I thought he would.
This keen man whoever he may be.
It's none of your damn business what he did to me.

Anonymous

c1927. The Gordon Inferno Collection. Part of text #3773.


See here: https://archive.org/details/1917gordoninfernocollection/page/n175/mode/1up?q=%22girl+should%22

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Jack Horntip
Date: 30 Apr 25 - 12:43 PM

There are three Roud numbers for this song: 5132, 8156, and 27679. These need to be combined.


#5132: https://archives.vwml.org/search/all:combined/0_50/all/score_desc/extended-roudNo_tr:5132

#8156: https://archives.vwml.org/search/all:combined/0_50/all/score_desc/extended-roudNo_tr:8156

#27679 https://archives.vwml.org/search/all:combined/0_50/all/score_desc/extended-roudNo_tr:27679


The #27679 is the "I Went to church like an honest girl should" variant. The ballad index description:

"I went to church like an honest girl should,
And the boys come too,
Like other boys would.
I come home like an honest girl should,
And the boys came too...."
She ends up pregnant and has a baby,
"And the boys denied it, just like boys would."

.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Jack Horntip
Date: 30 Apr 25 - 12:57 PM

Like a nice girl should. Emogene Arthur Atkinson.

1946. Catalog of Copyright Entries.

Oscar Band never did say who sued him for violating copyright. Quite possibly this is who sued Band.


See here: https://books.google.com/books?id=NAFIJO1J5RkC&pg=PA365

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Jack Horntip
Date: 30 Apr 25 - 02:39 PM

As I gaed to the well at e'en,
As any honest auld woman will do,
The carl then he follow'd me,
As auld carles will do.

He woo'd me and loo'd me,
A wally how he woo'd me!
But yet I winna tell to you,
How the carl woo'd me.

As I sat at my wheel at e'en,
As any honest auld woman shou'd do,
The carl he came in to me,
As auld carles will do.
        He woo'd me and loo'd me, &c.

As I gaed to my bed at e'en.
As any other honest auld woman wou'd do,
The carl then he came to me.
As auld carles will do.
        He woo'd me and loo'd me, &c.

1776. Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, Heroic Ballads, Etc. Vol. 2. pp. 220-221.


See here: https://books.google.com/books?id=jkAr7ccTzHgC&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=%22woman%20shou'd%20do%22&pg=PA220

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Lighter
Date: 30 Apr 25 - 05:12 PM

Most odd that the 1965 Aussie text is identical to the 1933 Georgia text!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Jack Horntip
Date: 30 Apr 25 - 07:08 PM

Most folk songs, on the other hand, follow an AAAA-AAAAA
pattern. "On Top of Old Smoky," for instance, repeats the melody and
pattern of the first verse for all subsequent verses. Consequently,
when the folk songs first began to appear in the mart of popular
melody, publishers required that "B's" be added to them.

In 1942, I learned at Fort Dix and ancient bawdy song which used in
its twentieth-century incarnation the refrain, "A Gob Is a Slob."
It derived much of its comic flavor from its AAAA form:

I walked down the street like a good girl should,
He followed me down the street like I knew he would,
CH: A gob is a slob wherever he may be
Listen and I'll tell you what a sailor did to me,
I walked to my house like a good girl should,
He followed me to my house like I knew he would,
CH: A gob is a slob wherever he may be
Listen and I'll tell you what a sailor did to me,
I opened the door like a good girl should,
He followed me through the door like I knew he would,
CH: A gob is a slob wherever he may be
Listen and I'll tell you what a sailor did to me,
I walked up the stairs . . . etc . . . etc . . . etc . . . etc.

As a result of the folk song revival, I was asked for some "folk songs
which might become popular." I offered the above retitled, "A Guy Is
a Guy." Mitch Miller, an important A. and R. man, agreed that the
centuries-old song had merit, but asked for a "B." And so, I
interrupted the "A's" with the following:

I never saw the boy before, so nothing could be sillier,
At closer range
His face was strange,
But his manner was familiar.

The song was recorded by popular singer Doris Day and was the number
one song of the year. I always wonder whether the "release" had
anything to do with the success of the old folk tune.

1962. The Ballad Mongers by Oscar Brand. pp. 99-100.


See here: https://archive.org/details/balladmongers0000unse_w9b6/page/99/mode/1up?q=%22gob+is+a+slob%22

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Jack Horntip
Date: 01 May 25 - 09:34 AM

Ballad Index entry #1: https://balladindex.org/Ballads/RL187.html

---

Rogue, The

DESCRIPTION: The girl walks down the street "like a good girl should" followed by a rogue, a sailor, a knave or some such. She rather coyly seduces him. (He coyly gets her pregnant.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1750 (Percy Folio)
KEYWORDS: bawdy sex seduction pregnancy
FOUND IN: US(So) Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Gardham-EarliestVersions, "AS I GAED TO THE WELL AT E'EN"
Kinloch-TheBalladBook XXVII, p. 82-83, "The Knave" (1 text)
Randolph/Legman-RollMeInYourArms I, pp. 187-190, "The Rogue" (2 texts, 1 tune)
DT, KNAVEKN NAVENAVE*
ADDITIONAL: Frederick J. Furnivall, _Bishop Percy's Folio Manuscript: Loose and Humorous Songs_, printed by and for the Editor, London, 1868, p. 108, "A Dainty Ducke" (1 fragment)
MANUSCRIPT: {MSPercyFolio}, The Percy Folio, London, British Library, MS. Additional 27879, page 487
Roud #8156 and 5132
RECORDINGS:
Lizzie Higgins, "Auld Roguie Grey" (on LHiggins01)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
A Gob Is a Gob
Knaves Will Be Knaves
NOTES [41 words]: I think [Roud #5136 and #8156] are really the same song, and if I were calling the shots I would lump them under "The Rogue." Lizzie Higgins' version ends up after her "bairnie" is born with the "auld Roguie" returning to her and marrying her. - DGE
Last updated in version 6.8
File: RL187

---

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

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The Ballad Index Copyright 2025 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Jack Horntip
Date: 01 May 25 - 09:41 AM

Ballad Index entry #2: https://balladindex.org/Ballads/MHAp028.html

---

Honest Girl (I Went to Church Like an Honest Girl Should)

DESCRIPTION: "I went to church like an honest girl should, And the boys come too, Like other boys would." I come home like an honest girl should, And the boys came too.... She ends up pregnant and has a baby, "And the boys denied it, just like boys would."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1933 (Henry, collected from Mrs. Samuel Harmon)
KEYWORDS: courting pregnancy abandonment lie
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Henry-SongsSungInTheSouthernAppalachians, pp. 28-29, "Honest Girl" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Roger deV. Renwick, _Recentering Anglo/American Folksong: Sea Crabs and Wicked Youths_, University Press of Mississippi, 2001, p. 86, "Honest Girl" (1 text)
Roud #27679
NOTES [16 words]: This may be the best five-stanza summary of the relationship between the sexes I've ever seen. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: MHAp028

---

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2025 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Jack Horntip
Date: 01 May 25 - 03:11 PM

As the approached the house they heard a number of rather
unmusical voices engaged in shouting--for it could not be called
singing--in chorus a song, the character of which may be imagined from
the burthen, as follow--

Mankind are rogues of every degree,
So, as long as we have breath we jolly rouges will be.

1850. Vice and Its Victim: Or, Phoebe, the Peasant's Daughter. A Romantic Tale.


See here: https://books.google.com/books?id=bj1WAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA431&dq=%22rogues+of+every+degree%22

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Lighter
Date: 03 May 25 - 08:15 AM

Vancouver Sun (Apr. 22, 1947):

“He repeated stanzas of the song [sung by a stripper onstage] (‘I walked down the street like a good girl should – He followed me as I knew he would’) from memory. When he was finished, several spectators in the court started to clap.”

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: GUEST,Kevin W. aka Reynard the Fox on Youtube
Date: 12 May 25 - 02:19 PM

I came across another traditional text of this song to add.

A blind singer and accordion player, Dorman Ralph of St. John's, Newfoundland sang it for the folk song collector Prof. Kenneth S. Goldstein in 1981. Dorman Ralph's version is quite bawdy and straightforward.

Transcription as follows:

Oh, the woman went in the house like an honest woman would,
The boy went in behind her but she wouldn't think he would,
Boys may be boys, and wherever they may be,
And I tell you by and by what the boy did to me.

The woman took off her coat like an honest woman would,
The boy took off his coat but she wouldn't think he would,
Boys may be boys...

The woman went in the hall like an honest woman would,
The boy went in behind her but she wouldn't think he would,
Boys may be boys...

Oh, the woman went up the stairs like an honest woman would,
The boy went up behind her but she wouldn't think he would,
Boys may be boys...

The woman went in the room like an honest woman would,
The boy went in behind her but she wouldn't think he would,
Boys may be boys...

The woman took off her pants like an honest woman would,
The boy took off his but she wouldn't think he would,
Boys may be boys...

The woman got in the bed like an honest woman would,
The boy got in behind her but she wouldn't think he would,
Boys may be boys...

The woman began to slew like an honest woman would,
The boy began to screw but she wouldn't think he would,
Boys may be boys...

The woman began to cuff like an honest woman would,
The boy didn't went off but she wouldn't think he would,
Boys may be boys, and wherever they may be,
And now I have told you how the boy ...... me.

I uploaded the recording to my Youtube folk archive channel. It can be heard here:
https://youtu.be/lqZDgpmZ-7c

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Lighter
Date: 12 May 25 - 04:28 PM

Thanks for posting, Kevin.

Ralph's tune has a mixolydian quality like that of Lizzie Higgins's "Aul' Roguey Gray," though it isn't quite the same.

Trad music in Newfoundland owes a lot to Scots influence.

BTW, I think the tune that "Roguey" reminded me of was the one used by A. L. Lloyd for his "Three Drunken Huntsmen," a different song about a more acceptable form of stalking.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Jack Horntip
Date: 12 May 25 - 07:22 PM

"Roguey" reminded me of the opening of "She Was A Rum One" as sung by her mother Jean Redpath.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Jack Horntip
Date: 12 May 25 - 10:38 PM

Ralph Dorman recording was done 20 August 1981. He learned his
version in 1943. The recording is in the Kenneth Goldstein.
Song is at the 40 min mark.


Listen here: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/kgreels_can/182/

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: GUEST,Kevin W. aka Reynard the Fox on Youtube
Date: 13 May 25 - 08:46 AM

I forgot to mention it yesterday. In the recording Dorman Ralph says he learned it from a man named Henry Camden from Jackson's Arm, Newfoundland in 1943.

I can also add the following Scottish text which was sung by Doris Rougvie at a Traditional Music and Song Association Kirriemuir Folk Festival Singing Competition in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. Recorded by Dr. Margaret Bennett in 1985.

The recording can be listened to here:
https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/91852?l=en

Transcription as follows:

Well, I went tae a dance like a decent lady would,
He asked me hie tae dance, now the auld roguie did,
But I'll gie him roguie if he tries tae roguie me,
And I'll tell you by and by what the rogue he did tae me.

Well, I went fae the dance like a decent lady would,
He followed me fae the dance, now the auld roguie did,
But I'll gie him roguie...

Well, I went in the house like a decent lady would,
He followed me in the house, now the auld roguie did,
But I'll gie him roguie...

Well, I went up the stairs like a decent lady would,
He followed me up the stairs, now the auld roguie did,
But I'll gie him roguie...

Well, I took off me ...[*] like a decent lady would,
And he took off his trousers, now the auld roguie did,
But I'll gie him roguie...

Well, I took off me skirt like a decent lady would,
And he took off his shirt, now the auld roguie did,
But I'll gie him roguie...

Well, I took off me slip like a decent lady would,
And he took off his socks, now the auld roguie did,
But I'll gie him roguie...

Well, I climbed intae bed like a decent lady would,
And he climbed in beside me, now the auld roguie did,
And I gied him roguie when he tried tae roguie me,
And ye aa' ken yersel' what the roguie did tae me.

[*] There's one unfamiliar word here, perhaps someone can help me. I'm not a native English speaker, let alone Scots, I couldn't get that word.

The tune of this version is nearly the same as Dorman Ralph's above. There's no information on where Doris Rougvie learned it. At first I assumed it was a cover of Lizzie Higgins' traditional Aberdeenshire version, but text and tune are different enough to be worth posting here. I never heard the opening verse about the dance before, and Lizzie didn't sing the verses about taking off various clothing items.

For comparison, here's Lizzie Higgins' text again which she learned from her mother Jeannie Robertson:

I walked on the street
Like a decent woman should dae1
Fan the aul roguie follyd me,
The aul roguie Grey,
An I'll tell yez by and by
Fat the roguie done to me.

I went up the stairs
Like a decent woman should dae,
Fan the aul roguie followed me,
The aul roguie Grey,
An I'll tell yez by and by
at the roguie done to me.

I gaed intae ma bed l
Lke a decent woman should dae,
Fan the aul roguie followed me,
The aul roguie Grey,
An I'll tell yez by and by
Fat the roguie done to me

Aa nicht he slept ben me,
The aul roguie grey,
Aa nicht he slept ben me,
The dirty roguie Grey,
An I'll tell yez by and by
Fat the roguie done to me.

Nine months has passed,
I'd a bairnie on my knee,
Nine months has passed
And the roguie's merried me,
And the end of ma tale aboot
The aul roguie Grey.

Lizzie's version can be heard here:
https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/82139?l=en
And a slightly later recording here:
https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/81955?l=en

And finally, here's another short traditional text "The Body He Cam Wi Me", as sung by James Laurenson of Fetlar, Shetland. Recorded by John Graham in 1959.

It can be listened to here:
https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/98440?l=en

Song transcription as follows:

I gied tae the well an the body he cam wi me
An then I never kent what the body wanted o me.

I gied tae the stack an the body he cam wi me
An yet I never kent what the body wanted o me.

I gied tae the byre an the body he cam wi me
An then I never kent what the body wanted o me.

I gied tae me bed an the body he cam wi me
An then I cam tae ken what the body wanted o me.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Lighter
Date: 13 May 25 - 08:50 AM

Art Homer, The Drownt Boy: An Ozark Tale (1994), referring to 1950s: “Sonny MacNeil…taught me my first bawdy song:

        I went to town like a good girl should.
        That sucker followed me like I knew he would.
        Come and let me tell you what he done to me.

        I went to the store like a good girl should….

        I went back home….

        I went on my porch….

        I went to the parlor….

        I went upstairs….

        I got into bed….

        None yer [sic] damn business what he done to me.”

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Lighter
Date: 13 May 25 - 09:55 AM

Kevin, the missing word sounds to me like "blouse."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: GUEST,Kevin W. aka Reynard the Fox on Youtube
Date: 15 May 25 - 09:29 AM

Thank you Lighter, that's got to be it, it makes perfect sense. The Scottish pronunciation of "blouse" threw me off.

I can add a small detail I noticed yesterday. I listened to four different recordings of Lizzie Higgins singing "Auld Roguie Grey" and she sang a different ending verse in one of the recordings.

On the album "Up and Awa' Wi' the Laverock" (1975) Topic 12TS 260. Recorded by Tony Engle in Lizzie Higgins' home, Aberdeen, January 1975. And again on the album "In Memory of Lizzie Higgins" (2006) Musical Traditions MTCD337/8. Recorded by Peter Hall in the 1970s.

Lizzie's final verse was:

Nine months has passed,
I'd a bairnie on my knee,
Nine months has passed
And the roguie's merried me,
And the end of ma tale aboot
The aul roguie Grey.

In a recording made by John D. Niles in 1986 her final verse was:

Six weeks is passed,
And this maid grew very pale,
Six months is passed
And the roguie's merried me,
And the end of ma tale aboot
The aul roguie Grey.

Not a huge difference, but interesting. In another 1986 recording made by Stephanie Smith Perrin Lizzie went back to singing it like in earlier performances again, with the "bairnie on my knee".

Doris Rougvie's version is distinct from Lizzie's, I assumed it was a cover at first because the Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o Riches website titled it "Auld Roguie Grey". Perhaps just "Roguie" would've been a more fitting title for it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Lighter
Date: 15 May 25 - 09:44 AM

Quite interesting that she varied the ending that way. Unsure of the original words? Experimenting with her own ending?

BTW, I see no reason to capitalize "Gray." Though either is possible, I imagine he'd an "old gray-headed rogue," not an "old rogue named Grey."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Lighter
Date: 22 Jun 25 - 10:52 AM

D. I. Harker, ed., Songs from the Manuscript Collection of John Bell [1783-1864] (Leamington Spa: James Hall, 1985), p. 208:

                              
                      AS I GAED TO THE WELL AT E’EN
   
    As I gaed to the well at e'en,
    As any honest auld woman will do,
    The Carle he followed me bedeen,
    As auld carles will do.

       He woo'd me and loo'd me,
       A-wally how he woo'd me!
       But yet I winna tell to you,
       How the carle woo'd me.


    As I gae'd out to ser the gryce
    The auld carle was wi me in a trice

    As I gaed out to look the byre
    The carle he follow'd fierce as fire

    As I sat wi' my wheel to spin
    The carle wad s[t]ay the temper pin

    As I might hap to give a hitch
    The Carle he wad fadge and fitch

    As I might hap to claw my wame
    The carle he wad do the same

    As I leaned to rest my flanks
    The carle he wad shed my shanks

    As I gaed to my bed to sleep
    The carle wad me waukin' keep.

Carle = a man, esp. if low-born or old

Bedeen = immediately

Winna = will not

Ser = feed

Gryce = a young pig

Byre = a cow-shed

Temper pin = pin that regulates the speed of a spinning wheel

Hitch = a sudden movement

Fadge and fitch = fidget around

Claw my wame = scratch my belly

Shed = separate

Waulkin = waking


Bell received the text from the self-educated Roxburghshire shepherd James Telfer (1800-1862), perhaps in the 1840s.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: A Gob is a Slob, Wherever He May Be
From: Lighter
Date: 09 Sep 25 - 01:41 PM

Undoubtedly alluding to a variant title:


Cincinnati Post (Dec. 18, 1929):

“It is much too early in the evening ... for anybody to make a success by singing ‘Boys Will Be Boys' or ‘Abraham Brown, the Sailor.’ I have even known the best verses of ‘Hinky Dinky Parlez-Vous’ to fall flat at such a time.”

("Abraham Brown" was an earlier name of "Barnacle Bill.")