"Left! Left! I left my wife and 49 kids..." (Hoosier Folklore)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

I forgot to add this...There are a lot of variation to search for this one.


(GOOGLE GROUPS)
Julie Stampnitzky   Mar 30 2000, 12:00 am     show options
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom
From: Julie Stampnitzky <j... at yucs.org>
Date: 2000/03/30
Subject: Re: The hole in the Virgin Mary's roof (was Re: Tea)

On Thu, 30 Mar 2000, Beth Friedman wrote:
> Left, left, left right left
> I left my wife and 48 children
> Alone in the kitchen in starving condition
> With nothing but gingerbread
> Left, left, left right left.

The versions I learned as a kid had a slightly different rhythm.

Left, left, left my wife and 40 kids
Right, right, right in the middle of the kitchen floor.


and


Left, left, left my wife and 40 kids
I thought it was right, right...

--
Julie Stampnitzky         http://www.yucs.org/~jules
Rehovot, Israel           http://neskaya.darkover.cx



(GOOGLE)
http://dragon.sleepdeprived.ca/songbook/songs4/S4_29.htm
I Left My...

There appears to be a number of different versions of this song. Here is the one I know:

Left, left, left right left
I left my wife in Argentina
With 52 kids and a laughing hyena
I thought I was right, right,
Right in my country and whoop-de-doo!
Left, left! I left my wife...
Your left foot comes down on each "left" in the march. At the "whoop-de-do!" you do this little jig so that your left foot will come down on the "left" in the next line.

Here are a couple of other versions:

I had a good home and I left
I had a good home and I left
I left on my own and it served me right,
Left, right left right.
(Courtesy of Eileen Kermode, posted to the WAGGGS-L Mailing List)

I left my wife and foty-eight kids
On the verge of starvation with only one hamburger
Left, left to the left, right, left.
(Courtesy of Beth Fausnaugh, posted to the WAGGGS-L Mailing List)

Thanks very much to an anonymous Guide from the Jersey Channel Islands, who sent me this version!

I left, left,
I left my wife in New Orleans
With thirty-five kids and a bucket of beans
I thought it was right, right,
Right for my country whoop-ee-doo!
Left, left,
I left...
(courtesy of Kathi Livas)

Left, left,
Left my wife and forty-eight kids on the edge of starvation without any gingerbread.
Did I do right, right?
Right to my country but not to my flag.
Skip by jingo (do shuffle/skip step to end up on left foot)
Left, left...