Knife & Fork, Like My Peaches & Shake My Tree (1944) and more

[Mullins, Bill]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society
> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Laurence Horn
> Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 9:26 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Knife & Fork, Like My Peaches & Shake My Tree
> (1944) and more
>
>
> At 1:24 AM -0500 2/15/05, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:
> >Pg. 799:
> >If you don't like my apples,
> >Then don't shake my tree;
> >I'm not your boy friend,
> >He's after me.
> >
>
> The first couplet above (but not the second one*) has been a
> staple in blues (and folk, and occasionally rock) songs for
> ages--well before '44, I'd wager.

I can find it back to "PIPELINER BLUES No. 2" (written by: Moon
Mullican, 1941).

See also "Squeeze my lemon til the juice run down my leg"
from Travellin Riverside Blues by Robert Johnson, 1937.