Negro Folk Rhymes / Wise and Otherwise: With a Study

by Thomas Washington Talley

COMPARATIVE STUDY INDEX

Love Songs

• Bitter Lovers' Quarrel; One Side, [127]

• Courting Boy, The, [141]

• It Is Hard to Love, [132]
• I Wish I Was an Apple, [133]

• Lovers' Good-night, [129]

• Me and my Lover, [132]
• Mourning Slave Fiancees, [129]

• Pretty Polly Ann, [142]

• Rejected by Eliza Jane, [134]
• Roses Red, [128]

• She Hugged Me and She Kissed Me, [131]

• Vinie, [130]

• Wooing, [140]

• You Have Made Me Weep, [128]
• You Love your Girl, [95]

Dance Songs

• Ark, The, [44]
• Aunt Dinah Drunk, [53]

• Baa! Baa! Black Sheep, [27]
• Banjo Picking, [21]
• Brother Ben and Sister Sal, [46]
• Bull Frog Put on the Soldier Clothes, [20]

• Chicken Pie, [69]
• Cotton-eyed Joe, [32]
• Cow Needs a Tail in Fly-time, The, [35]

• Devilish Pigs, [24]
• Die in the Pig-Pen Fighting, [39]
• Dinah's Dinner Horn, [18]
• Don't Ask Me Questions, [63]

• Forty-four, [71]
• Fox and Geese, [40]

• Gooseberry Wine, [41]
• Gray and Black Horses, [45]

• Ham Beats All Meat, [67]
• He Is my Horse, [16]
• Hoecake, [49]

• I am not Going to Hobo Any More, [70]
• I Love Somebody, [51]
• I Went down the Road, [50]
• I Would not Marry a Black Girl, [56]
• I Would not Marry a Yellow or a White Negro Girl, [63]
• I'd rather Be a Negro than a Poor White Man, [42]

• Jack and Dinah Want Freedom, [215]
• Jaybird, [14]
• Jaybird Died with the Whooping Cough, [36]

• Little Red Hen, [37]
• Little Rooster, The, [29]

• Master is Six Feet One Way, [40]
• Master's "Stolen Coat," The, [62]
• My Fiddle, [39]
• My Mule, [19]
• My Wonderful Travel, [55]

• Negro and the Policeman, The, [66]
• Nobody Looking, [48]

• Off from Richmond, [15]
• Old Gray Mink, [33]
• Old Hen Cackled, The, [50]
• Old Molly Hare, [22]
• Old Section Boss, The, [64]
• Old Woman in the Hills, The, [54]
• Opossum Hunt, An, [23]

• Plaster, [60]
• 'Possum up the Gum Stump, [3]
• Promises of Freedom, [25]

• Rabbit Soup, [33]
• Raccoon and Opossum Fight, [31]
• Ration Day, [38]
• Rattler, [46]
• Run, Nigger, Run! [34]

• Sail Away, Ladies! [20]
• Shake the Persimmons Down, [34]
• Sheep and Goat, [17]
• Sheep Shell Corn, [59]
• Sick Wife, A, [55]
• Simon Slick's Mule, [47]
• Sugar in Coffee, [30]
• Suze Ann, [68]

• Uncle Ned, [61]

• Walk, Tom Wilson, [68]
• Wanted: Cornbread and Coon, [37]
• We Are "All the Go", [52]
• When My Wife Dies, [26]

• Year of Jubilee, [58]

Animal and Nature Lore

• Animal Attire, [158]
• Animal Fair, [159]
• Animal Persecutors, [205]
• Awful Harbingers, [149]

• Bob-White's Song, [155]
• Bridle Up a Rat, [157]
• Buck and Berry, [172]
• Buck-eyed Rabbit! Whoopee! [175]

• Chuck Will's Widow Song, [156]

• Frog in a Mill, [167]
• Frog Went a-Courting, [190]
• Full Pocketbook, A, [99]

• Great Owl's Song, [151]

• Jaybird, [14]
• Judge Buzzard, [16]

• Last of Jack, The, [149]
• Little Dogs, [150]

• Man of Words, A, [208]
• Miss Terrapin and Miss Toad, [162]
• Molly Cottontail, [8]
• My Dog, Cuff, [150]
• My Speckled Hen, [170]

• Old Molly Hare, [22]
• Origin of the Snake, The, [165]

• Snail's Reply, The, [170]
• Strange Brood, A, [166]

• Tails, [5]
• Town Bird and the Country Bird, The, [166]
• Turtle's Song, The, [30]

• Why the Woodpecker's Head is Red, [203]

Nursery Rhymes

• A. B. C., [154]
• Alabama Way, The, [164]
• Animal Fair, [159]
• Are You Careful?, [203]
• Aspiration, [159]
• Awful Harbingers, [149]

• Baby Wants Cherries, [181]
• Bat! Bat!, [202]
• Black-eyed Peas for Luck, [200]
• Blessings, [204]
• Bob-White's Song, [155]
• Buck-eyed Rabbit! Whoopee!, [175]
• Butterfly, [182]

• Captain Coon, [176]
• Children's Seating Rhyme, [179]
• Chuck Will's Widow Song, [156]
• Cooking Dinner, [156]
• Crossing the River, [6]

• Deedle, Dumpling, [171]
• Destinies of Good and Bad Children, [200]
• Did You Feed My Cow?, [78]
• Don't Sing before Breakfast, [186]
• Doodle-Bug, [174]

• End of Ten Little Negroes, The, [163]

• Fishing Simon, [177]
• Flap-jacks, [196]
• Four Runaway Negroes; Whence They Came, [205]
• Frog Went a-Courting, [190]
• From Slavery, [162]

• Getting Ten Negro Boys Together, [184]
• Go to Bed, [175]
• Good-by, Ring, [171]
• Grasshopper Sitting on a Sweet Potato Vine, [173]
• Grasshopper-Sense, [169]
• Great Owl's Song, The, [151]
• Guinea Gall, [176]

• Hated Blackbird and Crow, The, [183]
• Hawk and Chickens, [185]
• Here I Stand, [153]

• In '76, [178]
• In a Mulberry Tree, [158]
• In a Rush, [183]

• Judge Buzzard, [16]

• Little Boy Who Couldn't Count Seven, [160]
• Little Dogs, [150]
• Little Negro Fly, The, [199]
• Little Pickaninny, A, [186]
• Little Sleeping Negroes, [187]

• Mamma's Darling, [188]
• Miss Blodger, [199]
• Miss Terrapin and Miss Toad, [162]
• Mother Says I am Six Years Old, [164]
• Mud-Log Pond, [185]
• My Baby, [180]
• My Dog, Cuff, [150]
• My Folks and your Folks, [187]
• My Little Pig, [157]
• My Speckled Hen, [170]
• Mysterious Face Washing, [174]

• Negro Baker Man, [154]
• Nesting, [180]

• Old Aunt Kate, [179]
• Origin of the Snake, The, [165]

• Paying Debts with Kicks, [184]
• Periwinkle, [201]
• Pig Tail, [153]
• 'Possum up the Gum Stump, [3]
• Pretty Little Girl, [172]
• Pretty Pair of Chickens, A, [181]

• Rabbit Hash, [203]
• Rabbit Soup, [33]
• Race-Starter's Rhyme, A, [180]
• Randsome Tantsome, [202]
• Raw Head and Bloody Bones, [174]
• Redhead Woodpecker, [178]

• Sam is a Clever Fellow, [151]
• Shoo! Shoo!, [196]
• Stealing a Ride, [188]
• Stick-a-ma-stew, [155]
• Strange Family, A, [171]
• Strange Old Woman, A, [178]
• Strong Hands, [167]

• Tails, [5]
• Taking a Walk, [183]
• Teaching Table Manners, [197]
• Too Much Watermelon, [182]
• Training the Boy, [201]
• Tree Frogs, [168]
• Turtle's Song, The, [30]
• Two Sick Negro Boys, [173]

• Washing Mamma's Dishes, [189]
• What Will We Do for Bacon?, [185]
• Wild Hog Hunt, [165]
• Willie Wee, [189]

• You Had Better Mind Master, [126]
• Young Master and Old Master, [169]

Charms and Superstitions

• Bat! Bat!, [202]
• Black-eyed Peas for Luck, [200]

• Don't Sing before Breakfast, [186]

• How to Make it Rain, [101]

• Jaybird, [14]

• Molly Cottontail, or Graveyard Rabbit, [8]
• My Speckled Hen, [170]

• Periwinkle, [201]

• Speak Softly, [214]

Hunting Songs

• Fox and Geese, [40]

• He will Get Mr. Coon, [28]
• Hunting Camp, The, [43]

• Miss Slippy Sloppy, [100]

• Opossum Hunt, An, [ 23]

• Rattler, [46]

Drinking Songs

• Aunt Dinah Drunk, [53]

• Bring on your Hot Corn, [29]

• Little Red Hen, [37]

Wise and Gnomic Sayings

• Brag and Boast, [213]

• Don't Tell All You Know, [214]
• Drinking Razor Soup, [211]

• Fed from the Tree of Knowledge, [212]

• How to Plant and Cultivate Seeds, [208]

• Independent, [209]

• Learn to Count, [207]

• Man of Words, A, [208]

• Old Man Know-all, [211]

• Self-control, [213]
• Speak Softly, [214]
• Still Water Runs Deep, [214]

• Temperance Rhyme, [209]
• That Hypocrite, [210]
• Tongue, The, [212]

• War is On, The, [207]

Harvest Songs

• Harvest Song, [57]

Biblical and Religious Themes

• Ark, The, [44]

• How to Keep or Kill the Devil, [104]

• Jawbone, [12]
• Jonah's Band, [1]

• Satan, [93]

Play Songs

• Anchor Line, [87]

• Budget, A, [79]

• Did You Feed my Cow?, [78]
• Down in the Lonesome Garden, [89]

• Green Oak Tree! Rocky-o!, [81]

• Hawk and Buzzard, [75]
• He Loves Sugar and Tea, [84]
• Here Comes a Young Man Courting, [85]

• Kissing Song, [82]
• Kneel on This Carpet, [82]

• Likes and Dislikes, [76]
• Little Sister, Won't You Marry Me?, [90]

• Old Black Gnats, The, [80]

• Peep Squirrel, [78]
• Precious Things, [84]

• Raise a "Rucus" To-night, [90]

• Sallie, [87]
• Salt-rising Bread, [83]
• Song to the Runaway Slave, [88]
• Sugar Loaf Tea, [81]
• Susan Jane, [77]
• Susie Girl, [76]
• Sweet Pinks and Roses, [92]

Miscellaneous

• Antebellum Courtship Inquiry, [135]
• Antebellum Marriage Proposal, [137]
• As I Went to Shiloh, [13]
• Aunt Jemima, [107]

• Bad Features, [100]
• Bedbug, [96]
• Blindfold Play Chant, [73]
• Bought Me a Wife, [145]

• Captain Dime, [5]
• Care in Bread-making, [112]
• Caught by the Witch Play, [74]
• Christmas Turkey, [98]
• Clandestine Letter, A, [136]
• Coffee Grows on White Folks' Trees, [107]
• College Ox, The, [112]
• Courtship, [138]
• Crooked Nose Jane, [99]
• Crossing a Foot-Log, [109]

• Day's Happiness, A, [125]
• Destitute Former Slave Owners, [97]
• Do I Love You?, [129]
• Does Money Talk?, [113]

• Elephant, The, [116]

• Fattening Frogs for Snakes, [97]
• Few Negroes by States, A, [117]
• Fine Plaster, A, [124]
• Fox and Geese Play, [73]
• Fox and Rabbit Drinking Proposition, [111]
• Frightened Away from a Chicken-Roost, [95]

• Going to be Good Slaves, [101]
• Good-by, Wife!, [148]
• Goosie-Gander Play Rhyme, [75]

• Half Way Doings, [120]
• Hawk and Chickens Play, [74]
• He Paid Me Seven (Parody), [122]
• Hear-say, [114]
• How to Get to Glory Land, [96]
• How to Please a Preacher, [117]

• I Walked the Road, [139]
• I'll Eat when I'm Hungry, [114]
• I'll Get You, Rabbit!, [116]
• I'll Wear Me a Cotton Dress, [118]
• I'm a "Round-Town" Gentleman, [108]
• If You Frown, [137]
• Indian Flea, [12]
• Invited to Take the Escort's Arm, [135]

• Joe and Malinda Jane, [4]
• John Henry, [105]
• Johnny Bigfoot, [93]
• Juba, [9]
• Jump Jim Crow, [13]

• Kept Busy, [109]

• Let's Marry Courtship, [138]
• Looking for a Fight, [118]
• Love is Just a Thing of Fancy, [2]

• Mule's Kick, The, [98]
• Mule's Nature, The, [108]

• Negro Soldier's Civil War Chant, [115]
• Negroes Never Die, [11]
• Newly Weds, The, [144]
• No Room to Poke Fun, [99]

• On Top of the Pot, [10]
• Our Old Mule, [112]
• Outrunning the Devil, [103]

• Page's Geese, [102]
• Parody—He Paid Me Seven, [122]
• Parody on "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep", [115]
• Parody on "Reign, Master Jesus! Reign!", [122]
• Presenting a Hat to Phoebe, [140]
• Pretty Little Pink, [127]

• Rascal, The, [106]
• Request to Sell, A, [123]

• Sex Laugh, [102]
• Short Letter, A, [113]
• Slave Marriage Ceremony Supplement, [143]
• Sparking or Courting, [136]
• Stand Back, Black Man, [10]
• Still Water Creek, [2]

• "They Steal" Gossip, [110]
• This Sun is Hot, [108]
• Thrifty Slave, The, [94]
• To Win a Yellow Girl, [102]
• Turkey Funeral, [111]
• T-U-Turkey, [6]
• Two Times One, [121]

• Uncle Jerry Fants, [109]

• Walk, Talk, Chicken With your Head Pecked, [4]
• We'll Stick to the Hoe, [123]
• When I Go to Marry, [144]
• When I Was a Roustabout, [145]
• Why Look at Me?, [113]
• Wild Negro Bill, [94]
• Wind Bag, A, [101]