Whoa Back Buck
(chorus)
Whoa back Buck---gee by the lamb,
Who made the back band---whoa g******.
18, 19--20 years ago,
Took my gal to the country store,
Took my gal to the country store,
Buy m' pretty little gal little calico.
Me and my gal walkin' down the road,
Her knees knock together playin' "Sugar In The Gourd",
Sugar in the gourd and the gourd in the ground,
If you want a little sugar got to roll the gourd around.
My old man's good old man
Washed his face in a frying pan,
Combed his hair with a wagon wheel,
And died with a toothache in his heel.
Papa loved mama---mama loved men,(three times)
Mama's in the graveyard and papa's in the pen.
I gee to the mule but the mule wouldn't gee, (3 times)
So I hit him side the head with the single tree.
I haw to the mule wouldn't haw, (3 times)
So I broke his back with my mother-in-law.
(The above are the verses Art Thieme used to sing.)
Also recorded by Guy Carawan & Leadbelly.
Additional verses:
Eastbound train on the westbound track
Westbound train on the eastbound track
Both those trains were running fine
But what a terrible way to run a railroad line!
Cho
_____________
Whoa, back, Buck, git over Paul
You steppin on my cotton, say, one & all.
Whoa, back, Buck, git over Lamb,
You steppin on my cottobn like you don't give a d***.
I'm a rowdy soul, Im a rowdy soul
Don't see a n***** in a mile or mo.
Took my gal to the party-o,
She sat on a steeple,
She let a fart & broke my heart
And ______ (s***?) all over the people.
Tell my wife when you go to the hills,
I"m here workin at the sorghum mill.
Last year was a good crop year
And everybody knowed it.
Paw didn't raise but a bushel of corn
And some d*** rascal stole it.
I'm a rowdy soul, I'm a rowdy soul.
I'm rowdy all around my red a******.
There is a set of lyrics Leadbelly must have modified for children:
WHOA BACK BUCK (OX DRIVER'S SONG) (Ledbetter) from Smithsonian Folkways 40105
Chorus
Ta, whoa-ho, gee, back up!
Whoa, buck an' gee, by the lamb
Who made the back band, oh, Cunningham.
Whoa, buck an' gee, by the lamb
Who made the back band, oh, Cunningham.
Oh, ham, and oh Cunningham,
Who made the back band, oh, Cunningham.
Eighteen, nineteen, twenty years ago,/I taken my gal to a country store.
Taken my gal to a country store,/I bought my gal some calico.
Tall-ya ho ho, gee, back up, yeah.
(Chorus)
I taken my gal to a country store,/I bought my gal some calico,
Taken my gal to a party-o/Wouldn't let her dance but a set or so.
Tall-ya hey hey, gee, back up, git over there, yeah.
(Chorus)
You take Sal and I'll take Jane/Oh good lookin', but they ain't the same
You swing Sal and I'll swing Sue/Mighty little different between them two.
Tall-ya whoa, gee, back up, git over there, yeah.
(Chorus)
Tall-ya, whoa, gee, back up, git over there, yeah.
(chorus)
Whoa back Buck---gee by the lamb,
Who made the back band---whoa g******.
18, 19--20 years ago,
Took my gal to the country store,
Took my gal to the country store,
Buy m' pretty little gal little calico.
Me and my gal walkin' down the road,
Her knees knock together playin' "Sugar In The Gourd",
Sugar in the gourd and the gourd in the ground,
If you want a little sugar got to roll the gourd around.
My old man's good old man
Washed his face in a frying pan,
Combed his hair with a wagon wheel,
And died with a toothache in his heel.
Papa loved mama---mama loved men,(three times)
Mama's in the graveyard and papa's in the pen.
I gee to the mule but the mule wouldn't gee, (3 times)
So I hit him side the head with the single tree.
I haw to the mule wouldn't haw, (3 times)
So I broke his back with my mother-in-law.
(The above are the verses Art Thieme used to sing.)
Also recorded by Guy Carawan & Leadbelly.
Additional verses:
Eastbound train on the westbound track
Westbound train on the eastbound track
Both those trains were running fine
But what a terrible way to run a railroad line!
Cho
_____________
Whoa, back, Buck, git over Paul
You steppin on my cotton, say, one & all.
Whoa, back, Buck, git over Lamb,
You steppin on my cottobn like you don't give a d***.
I'm a rowdy soul, Im a rowdy soul
Don't see a n***** in a mile or mo.
Took my gal to the party-o,
She sat on a steeple,
She let a fart & broke my heart
And ______ (s***?) all over the people.
Tell my wife when you go to the hills,
I"m here workin at the sorghum mill.
Last year was a good crop year
And everybody knowed it.
Paw didn't raise but a bushel of corn
And some d*** rascal stole it.
I'm a rowdy soul, I'm a rowdy soul.
I'm rowdy all around my red a******.
There is a set of lyrics Leadbelly must have modified for children:
WHOA BACK BUCK (OX DRIVER'S SONG) (Ledbetter) from Smithsonian Folkways 40105
Chorus
Ta, whoa-ho, gee, back up!
Whoa, buck an' gee, by the lamb
Who made the back band, oh, Cunningham.
Whoa, buck an' gee, by the lamb
Who made the back band, oh, Cunningham.
Oh, ham, and oh Cunningham,
Who made the back band, oh, Cunningham.
Eighteen, nineteen, twenty years ago,/I taken my gal to a country store.
Taken my gal to a country store,/I bought my gal some calico.
Tall-ya ho ho, gee, back up, yeah.
(Chorus)
I taken my gal to a country store,/I bought my gal some calico,
Taken my gal to a party-o/Wouldn't let her dance but a set or so.
Tall-ya hey hey, gee, back up, git over there, yeah.
(Chorus)
You take Sal and I'll take Jane/Oh good lookin', but they ain't the same
You swing Sal and I'll swing Sue/Mighty little different between them two.
Tall-ya whoa, gee, back up, git over there, yeah.
(Chorus)
Tall-ya, whoa, gee, back up, git over there, yeah.