ON THE TRAIL OF NEGRO FOLK-SONGS

A Collection Of Negro Traditional & Folk Songs with Sheet Music Lyrics & Commentaries - online book

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	SONGS ABOUT ANIMALS						195
	SHANGHAI CHICKEN
	IT* J j i ft ft J; I J J I M S
	Shang - hai chick - en an* he grow so tall, Hoo - day!
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	Hoo-day! Takedat egg a month to fall, Hoo-day! Hoo-day! Shanghai chicken an* he grow so tall, Hooday! Hooday! Take dat egg a month to fall, Hooday I Hooday I Other fowls have their tribute of praise, even if chickens do come first. The ditty concerning one Aunt Patsy and her old grey goose, which appeared in the first chapter of this volume, has its variants as well. The owner of the unfortunate goose appears diversely as Aunt Nancy, Aunt Abby, and so on, but the goose remains constant, always old and always grey, and its sad fate ever the same. Professor Kittredge writes me, concerning this lament: "This is borrowed from the whites. My grandfather, born in New Hampshire in 1798, used to sing it, 'Tell Aunt Dinah/ etc." But I am reluctant to sur­render this favorite to the whites — especially the Yankees! Lois Upshaw, of Dallas, Texas, gives a version with a little additional tune. Go Tell Aunt Tabbie Go tell Aunt Tabbie, Go tell Aunt Tabbie, Go tell Aunt Tabbie, The old grey goose is dead. The one she was a-savin', The one she was a-savin', The one she was a-savin' To make a feather bed. Chorus She was in the pond a-swimmm', In the pond a-swimmin^ In the pond a-swirnmin,, An* now she is dead;