Woman, Dog, and Hickory Tree (1909)

[Jonathan Lighter]

"Beefsteak when I'm hungry..."

Frequently reported in the traditional song "Rye Whiskey."

JL

Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Wilson Gray
Subject: Re: Woman, Dog, and Hickory Tree (1909)
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On Jan 30, 2005, at 11:57 PM, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:

> Pg. 632:
> Beefsteak when I'm hungry.
> Whiskey when I'm dry,
> Money when I'm hard up,
> And heaven when I die.

One version of the final verse of "Junker Partner," a New Orleans black
traditional song:

Give me water when I'm thirsty
Give me whiskey when I'm dry
Give me kindness when I'm sickly
Give me heaven when I die

Black traditional rhyme of unknown origin

When I die
Bury me deep
Put two jugs of molasses
At my feet
Put two big biscuits in my hand
I'm gon' sop my way to the Promised Land


> Pg. 634:
> I asked my mother for fifty cents,
> To see the elephant jump the fence;
> He jumped so high, he touched the sky,
> And didn't get back till the fourth of July.

The way I learned it as a child in Texas

Mary Mack
Dressed in black
Silver and gold buttons all down her back
She asked her mother for fifty cents
To see the elephant jump the fence
He jumped so high, he touched the sky
And didn't come down till the Fourth of July

Euphemism:

I'll be John Brown! for I'll be God-damned!

-Wilson Gray


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