American Ballads and Folk Songs: page - 0522

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	American Ballads and Folk Songs Smith, wrote the poem. Immediately it was sung by his companions. "Soon ft was sung in every state in the Union, and even in England." Yet another story is that Frank Smith wrote "Joe Bowers" as a joke on Joe, who was himself fond of joking. Later it got into print and then became a song. Joe never came back from California to dear old Pike County. And more about Sally no one knows.
	My name it is Joe Bowers, I've got a brother Ike, I came from old Missouri, yes, all the way from Pike 5 I'll tell you why I left thar and how I came to roam, And leave my poor old mammy so far away from home. I used to love a gal thar, they called her Sally Black j I axed her for to marry me, she said it was a whack 5 "But," says she to me, "Joe Bowers, before we hitch for life, You'd orter have a little home to keep your little wife." Says I, "My dearest Sally, oh, Sally, for your sake, I'll go to Californy and try to raise a stake." [422]