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Billy Boy

"Billy Boy" is a traditional English-derived folk song and nursery rhyme popular in the United States since the early 19th century, structured as a series of questions posed to the titular suitor about his prospective wife, with responses featuring hyperbolic and humorous mismatches such as her advanced age juxtaposed against claims of youthfulness.^[1]^[2] The lyrics, which emphasize absurd traits like the bride being "three score and ten" years old yet able to "bake a cherry pie quick as a cat can wink her eye," derive from older ballads including "Lord Randall" and reflect themes of courtship folly common in Anglo-American oral traditions.^[3] First printed in sentimental form as "My Boy Tammy" in 1791 Scotland, the tune evolved into a staple of children's repertoire and minstrel performances by the mid-1800s, underscoring its role in preserving vernacular humor and domestic imagery.^[4]^[5] While adapted in various regional variants and instrumental jazz renditions, such as Miles Davis's 1958 version, its enduring appeal lies in the lighthearted critique of matrimonial pursuits embedded in simple, repetitive verse.^[6]

Lyrics and Musical Structure

Core Lyrics and Form

"Billy Boy" employs a dialogic structure typical of many English folk songs, featuring a repetitive question-and-response pattern between an interrogator and the protagonist, Billy, who describes his intended bride in increasingly absurd and hyperbolic terms.^[2] Each stanza begins with a query about the woman's attributes—such as her fairness, domestic skills, or age—followed by Billy's reply that paradoxically underscores her youth or unsuitability, culminating in the refrain that "she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother."^[7] This form builds cumulatively across verses, creating a humorous narrative through escalation, often structured in quatrains with an ABAB or AABB rhyme scheme.^[8] The core lyrics, as documented in early 20th-century collections, open with the journey motif: "Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? / Oh, where have you been, charming Billy? / I have been to seek a wife, / She's the joy of my life, / She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother."^[4] Subsequent verses probe specifics, such as: "Can she make a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? / ... / She can make a cherry pie / Quick as a cat can wink her eye / But she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother," highlighting ironic proficiency mismatched with immaturity.^[9] The age verse delivers the punchline: "How old is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? / ... / She's three times six and four times seven, / Twenty-eight and 'leven, she's just eleven / But she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother," using arithmetic to imply an implausibly advanced or juvenile age, reinforcing the song's satirical courtship theme.^[10] This repetitive, stanzaic form facilitates oral transmission and group singing, with the fixed refrain anchoring variants while allowing regional substitutions in descriptors.^[4] Metrically, verses align to iambic tetrameter and trimeter lines, supporting a lilting, march-like rhythm suited to communal performance.^[9]

Linguistic and Variant Features

The lyrics of "Billy Boy" (Roud 326) demonstrate a dialogic structure rooted in traditional ballad forms, featuring repetitive interrogative refrains such as "Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Oh, where have you been, Charming Billy?" that facilitate oral transmission and group participation.^[4] This question-and-answer pattern, inherited from antecedents like "Lord Randall," employs simple, rhythmic phrasing with internal rhymes (e.g., "wife" and "life") and alliteration to enhance memorability, while the endearment "charming Billy" reflects folksy colloquialism common in 19th-century English vernacular.^[1] Archaic verb forms, such as "bade" for "bid," appear sporadically, preserving echoes of older dialectal usage without overt Scots or regional inflections in core American renditions.^[11] Variant features across traditions reveal adaptive linguistic shifts: British iterations, particularly Northumbrian capstan shanty versions collected in the early 20th century, incorporate dialect words like "bonny" (meaning attractive or fine) and extended metaphorical comparisons, such as likening the bride's suitability "as the haft is to the knife."^[4] In contrast, American folk collections from the Appalachians and broader United States simplify phrasing for nursery rhyme suitability, emphasizing hyperbolic descriptions of the bride's youth or mismatched attributes—e.g., "a big buckle has she" or "she's too young to be wed"—often truncating verses to avoid suggestive undertones present in adult oral variants, like queries on lying "close as the bark to the tree."^[1] These modifications, documented in early 20th-century field recordings, prioritize humorous absurdity over narrative depth, with regional American texts varying in verse count from 5 to over 10, reflecting performative improvisation.^[8] Lyrical divergence underscores the song's evolution from English origins, traced to "My Boy Billy" variants published by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1912, where modal hexatonic scales align with textual cadence but linguistic content adapts to cultural contexts—e.g., sea shanty emphases on endurance motifs versus domestic courtship in land-based tellings.^[4] No standardized orthography exists due to oral provenance, leading to phonetic spellings in transcriptions that capture singer-specific dialects, such as elongated vowels in Southern U.S. renditions for rhythmic drawl.^[2]

Melody and Performance Tradition

Traditional Melody Characteristics

The traditional melody of "Billy Boy" (Roud 326) exhibits simplicity and repetition, hallmarks of Anglo-American folk tunes suited for communal singing and oral transmission. It adheres to a major scale with a tonal center on do, facilitating easy memorization and performance by groups, including children, as evidenced in recordings from Texas schoolchildren in 1936 collected by John A. Lomax for the Library of Congress.^[12] The melodic contour primarily employs stepwise motion with occasional small leaps, spanning a minor ninth range that includes the tone set t, D, r, m, f, s, l, d' in Kodály solfege, incorporating the leading tone ti and tuning elements like d'-m for resolution.^[12] Rhythmically, the tune features a duple meter, often notated in 2/4 or 4/4 time, with basic patterns such as quarter notes (ta), paired eighth notes (ti-ti), syncopated elements (ti-tai), and an anacrusis for forward momentum in the refrain.^[9] ^[12] This structure supports the song's strophic form with refrain (AA'BC), where the recurring "Billy Boy, Billy Boy" phrase provides a call-and-response anchor that mirrors the lyrics' interrogative dialogue.^[12] Harmonic accompaniment, when present in traditional renditions, relies on primary chords I and V, reinforcing the melody's diatonic stability without complex modulations.^[9] Regional variants, such as those from Dorset singers like Marina Russell or American Southern traditions, preserve these core traits while allowing minor inflections in phrasing or tempo, typically rendered at a moderate pace to emphasize humorous narrative delivery rather than virtuosic display.^[4] ^[12] The melody's pentatonic-leaning subsets within the major framework—favoring r, m, f, s, l—contribute to its archaic, ballad-like quality, linking it to broader English courting song traditions without evidence of modal ambiguity in documented early versions.^[12]

Instrumental and Vocal Adaptations

"Billy Boy" has been adapted vocally in various folk and popular contexts, often retaining its call-and-response structure suitable for group singing. The Almanac Singers, featuring Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, recorded a version in 1941 emphasizing its communal performance style during the American folk revival and World War II-era protest movements.^[13] In 1948, the song appeared in Disney's animated film So Dear to My Heart, performed by actor Burl Ives as the character Uncle Hiram Douglas, integrating it into a narrative of rural American life.^[14] Folk singer Ed McCurdy released a rendition in the mid-20th century, highlighting its nursery rhyme qualities for child audiences.^[15] More recently, shanty groups like the Exmouth Shanty Men adapted it as a capstan shanty variant in their 2022 album Tall Ships and Tavern Tales, drawing on Northumbrian seafaring traditions.^[4] Instrumental versions have extended the tune into jazz and other genres, transforming its simple melody into improvisational frameworks. Cannonball Adderley arranged "Billy Boy" for Miles Davis's 1958 album Milestones, where Davis's trumpet and Adderley's alto saxophone explored harmonic variations over the folk structure, establishing it as a jazz standard.^[16] The Oscar Peterson Trio performed an uptempo live rendition on July 28, 1961, at the London House in Chicago, featuring piano, bass, and drums in a swinging interpretation that accentuated rhythmic drive.^[17] British skiffle band Dick Charlesworth and His City Gents issued an instrumental take in 1961 on their album Meet the Gents, adapting it for clarinet-led ensemble playing reflective of post-war dance hall traditions.^[18] These adaptations demonstrate the melody's versatility, allowing instrumentalists to overlay sophisticated phrasing while preserving the original's lilting 6/8 time signature.

Historical Origins

Earliest Documented Versions

The earliest documented references to "Billy Boy" trace to Scottish song collector David Herd's manuscripts, dated to 1776, where variants akin to the courting dialogue structure appear under titles such as "My Boy Billy" or related forms emphasizing a youth's unsuccessful suit.^[19] These collections preserved oral traditions from the Anglo-Scottish border region, predating widespread printing and linking the song to broader ballad forms like "Lord Randal" (Child Ballad 12), though scholars maintain "Billy Boy" as a distinct parody or derivative focused on humorous incompatibility in courtship rather than the poisoning motif of its putative ancestor.^[19] A sentimental printed iteration, "My Boy Tammy," surfaced in 1791 within an Edinburgh periodical, adapting the refrain "Whar hae ye been a' day, my boy Tammy?" to a narrative of maternal reluctance and youthful persistence, marking one of the first broad disseminations beyond manuscript.^[4] This version, attributed dubiously to poet Hector MacNeill by some later analysts, reflects Enlightenment-era polishing of folk material for urban audiences, with lyrics probing the suitor's qualifications in a repetitive, interrogative format that would standardize in subsequent renditions.^[19] The associated melody received its inaugural printed notation in volume four of James Johnson's The Scots Musical Museum in 1797, compiled under Robert Burns's editorial influence, establishing a lilting, march-like tune in common time that facilitated transatlantic transmission as a sea shanty and play-party song.^[20] Early broadside printings from circa 1800–1810, such as those in the Bodleian Library holdings, further disseminated textual variants, often omitting the full dialogic depth for brevity suited to street balladry.^[19] These foundational documents underscore the song's evolution from oral Scots-English folk practice into documented repertoire, with core elements—refrain queries on the bride's age, baking skills, and familial ties—persistent across versions despite regional linguistic shifts.^[19]

Connections to Broader Folk Traditions

"Billy Boy" forms part of the Anglo-American folk song tradition, classified under Roud Folk Song Index number 326, which catalogs over 318 variants primarily from North America but rooted in British Isles sources.^[4] Its earliest documented appearances trace to Scotland as "My Boy Tammy," a sentimental piece attributed to Hector MacNeill and printed in James Johnson's Scots Musical Museum (volume VI, 1803, song 502), reflecting broader Lowland Scottish song forms that blended literary composition with oral folk elements.^[21] English variants, such as "My Boy Willie" collected by Cecil Sharp in Gloucestershire (1916), demonstrate transmission across the British Isles, with parallels in northern English and Northumbrian versions adapted for communal singing.^[21] The song's repetitive question-and-answer dialogue structure aligns with patterns in traditional ballads of the British Isles, facilitating easy memorization and performance in social settings. Scholars including Cecil Sharp and Sabine Baring-Gould have proposed links to the older "Lord Randal" (Francis James Child Ballad 12), viewing "Billy Boy" as a potential comic parody that repurposes the maternal interrogation motif—originally tied to themes of poisoning and betrayal—into lighthearted courtship banter, though this connection remains debated due to absent narrative parallels.^[4]^[22] Similarly, folklorist Bertrand Bronson appended "Billy Boy" to his "Lord Randal" tune analyses, citing metrical similarities, yet later researchers like Steve Gardham emphasize the link as superficial, prioritizing independent evolution within courtship song subgenres.^[22] This adaptation exemplifies how tragic ballads from Anglo-Scottish border traditions evolved into humorous nursery forms, influencing minstrel shows and sea shanties where variants like capstan work songs emerged among sailors.^[4] In the American context, "Billy Boy" integrated into frontier and Appalachian folk repertoires, with sheet music publication by Edward L. White in Boston (1847) marking early commercialization, while retaining ties to British prototypes through collectors like John Lomax.^[21] Such cross-Atlantic dissemination underscores its role in the cumulative dialogue tradition shared with songs like "The Twelve Days of Christmas," emphasizing incremental revelation for audience engagement over linear storytelling.^[23]

Themes and Interpretations

Humorous Courtship Motifs

The song "Billy Boy" features humorous courtship motifs primarily through a question-and-answer format that interrogates the suitor's choice of bride, revealing her qualities via increasingly absurd exaggerations and contradictions that undermine the romance.^[24] These elements parody traditional bragging songs, where boasts about a partner's virtues devolve into comic disclosures of incompatibility, such as the bride's age being depicted as paradoxically infantile—"She's only three years old"—or ancient—"She's a hundred like and nine"—while insisting she cannot yet leave her mother.^[25] This motif satirizes the gullibility of the suitor and the folly of mismatched unions, transforming earnest courtship into fabliau-style ridicule akin to tales of deceptive sirens or overinquisitive matchmakers.^[24] Physical descriptions amplify the humor through hyperbolic mismatches, as in verses portraying the bride as "tall as any pine / And as slim as a pumpkin vine," or so corpulent she cannot pass through a door without greasing herself.^[25] Domestic skills are similarly twisted into farce, with claims like her ability to bake a pie "as quick as a cat can wink" or a chicken pie so potent "it makes the preachers cry," implying either incompetence or supernatural excess rather than virtue. These motifs draw from broader folk traditions of exaggerated courtship satire, descending from potentially tragic inquiries—echoing ballads like "Lord Randal"—into parody, where the suitor's optimism persists amid evident flaws.^[24] Variants collected in Appalachian traditions, such as those documented in 1916 by Cecil Sharp from singer Mrs. Jane Gentry, preserve this comic improvisation, allowing endless ad-libbed absurdities that sustain the song's appeal across oral performances.^[25] The humor underscores causal mismatches in courtship—youth versus readiness, beauty versus practicality—without moralizing, relying instead on the listener's recognition of inherent ridiculousness to evoke laughter.^[24] Such elements reflect empirical patterns in folk narrative, where exaggeration serves to critique social expectations around marriage through lighthearted deflation rather than direct condemnation.

Psychological and Cultural Analyses

The "Billy Boy" song functions culturally as a parody of the darker Anglo-Scottish ballad "Lord Randal," inverting motifs of maternal interrogation, poisoning, and impending death into a genial dialogue on failed courtship, thereby adapting tragic folk narratives for communal entertainment and child-appropriate transmission in English-American oral traditions. This transformation, noted by folklorist Bertrand Bronson, employs escalating absurdities—such as the bride's paradoxical youth and advanced age—to mock mismatched unions, reflecting pre-20th-century rural skepticism toward impulsive marriages driven by infatuation rather than practicality.^[4]^[8] Psychologically, the protagonist's persistent affirmations of the woman's virtues amid evident flaws illustrate self-deceptive rationalization in mate selection, a cognitive pattern where romantic idealization overrides empirical assessment of compatibility, as evidenced by contradictory claims like her ability to bake pies "quick as a cat can wink" despite being "old as my mother." Such hyperbolic denial serves as a humorous mechanism for cultural processing of rejection, embedding lessons on discernment without overt moralizing, consistent with folk songs' role in reinforcing social realism through exaggeration. Analyses of female imagery in American folk repertoire further reveal phonetic strategies, including assonant /i/ sounds in terms like "Billy," "dimple," and "young thing," that linguistically construct an idealized, diminutive femininity tied to dependency on family, contrasting narrative incompetence to heighten ironic humor.^[26] Culturally, the song perpetuates evaluations of women through domestic proficiency—sweeping, cooking, and child-rearing—mirroring 19th-century Anglo-American norms where bridal worth hinged on household utility, with the repeated questioning format simulating communal vetting rituals to caution against hasty pairings. This emphasis on tangible skills over abstract affection underscores causal priorities in historical mate choice, prioritizing reproductive and economic viability amid agrarian constraints, rather than egalitarian ideals absent in the era's empirical record.^[2] The enduring appeal lies in its unvarnished depiction of gendered labor divisions, preserved in variants collected from the 18th century onward, without sanitization for modern sensibilities.^[4]

Cultural Impact and Usage

Folk and Nursery Rhyme Role

"Billy Boy" occupies a dual role as both a folk song and nursery rhyme in Anglo-American oral traditions, particularly in the United States, where its question-and-answer format encourages participatory singing in family and community settings.^[4] The repetitive chorus—"Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? / Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?"—facilitates memorization and rhythmic engagement, making it a staple for children's play-parties and informal gatherings without instrumental accompaniment.^[19] This structure mirrors broader folk practices of call-and-response, adapted for intergenerational transmission.^[4] In nursery rhyme contexts, the song's exaggerated courtship narrative—describing a bride "as tall as a pine" with "teeth...none to be seen"—delivers gentle humor about mismatched unions, suitable for young listeners to explore themes of suitability and exaggeration without explicit content.^[27] Collected variants, such as those in the Roud Folk Song Index (number 326), number over 300 instances, predominantly from North America, underscoring its persistence in children's repertoires.^[4] Educational resources, including U.S. government compilations of traditional songs, classify it explicitly as both a folk tune and nursery rhyme, promoting its use in language and cultural learning for preschoolers.^[28] Folk archive recordings, like those preserved by the Library of Congress from the 1930s onward, capture performances by rural singers such as Beatrice Nidleman, illustrating its embedding in everyday folk life before widespread commercialization.^[29] These versions emphasize vocal delivery over melody variation, aligning with nursery applications where simplicity aids child participation.^[30] Unlike more solemn ballads, "Billy Boy" variants avoid tragic elements, prioritizing playful irony that resonates in both adult folk circles and children's rhyme sessions.^[19]

Recordings and Modern Performances

The traditional folk song "Billy Boy" entered commercial recordings during the American folk revival of the early 20th century. The Almanac Singers, including members such as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, recorded a version adapted with pacifist lyrics for wartime contexts, released on the Smithsonian Folkways compilation That's Why We're Marching: World War II and the American Folksong Movement, drawing from its simple structure to convey anti-war sentiments.^[13]^[31] In the mid-20th century, British folk artists preserved variants of the tune. Martin Carthy included a rendition on his 1974 album Sweet Wivelsfield, emphasizing its narrative humor in acoustic arrangement.^[4] Similarly, Billy Conroy performed it on whistle for the 1972 Topic Records release Ballads and Songs From Newcastle and Thereabouts, reflecting regional English folk traditions.^[4] Instrumental jazz adaptations emerged in the 1950s, transforming the melody into a standard. Pianist Ahmad Jamal recorded an arrangement in 1952, followed by Red Garland's influential 1957 version on All Mornin' Long with the Red Garland Quintet, notable for its block-chord piano style that has influenced subsequent jazz pianists.^[32] Contemporary performances often feature the song in children's educational music and nursery rhyme contexts. Muffin Songs released a family sing-along version in 2015, aimed at preschool audiences with animated visuals.^[33] More recent covers include Nursery Rhyme Geek's 2024 acoustic rendition, distributed via platforms like Apple Music, maintaining the original interrogative structure for young listeners.^[34] These versions underscore the song's enduring role in oral traditions and early childhood repertoire, with live renditions common in school assemblies and folk gatherings.^[35]

References

[1]
Billy Boy (American Version) - Contemplator
Billy Boy (American Version) Play/Download Music File Lesley Nelson ; Information. Lyrics ; The tune is probably from 19th century England and was originally ...
[2]
Billy Boy- An American Folk Song - Playtivities
Mar 20, 2023 · Billy Boy has its origins in 19th century England. It is a traditional folk song in a question-and-answer format with recurring verses.
[3]
“Billy Boy” - pioneergirl.com
“Billy Boy” ... Billy Boy is an English folk song or sea shanty (sung by sailors), based on the traditional “Lord Randall.” There are many variations in the ...
[4]
Billy Boy (Roud 326) - Mainly Norfolk
Jul 26, 2025 · Billy Boy first appeared in print as a sentimental song, My Boy Tammy, in 1791, and we're told that an Edinburgh actress of the time, Miss Duncan, made a big ...
[5]
Billy Boy - Lyrics, Meaning & Video - NurseryRhymes.info
The Lyrics and history behind Billy Boy. What does it mean? How do you sing it ... In the 19th century, it was suggested it was a song for minstrel shows ...Missing: folk | Show results with:folk
[6]
Billy Boy | Miles Davis Official Site
Release Date: Sep 2, 1958 Songwriters: Traditional From The Album: Milestones Tracklist Playlist Pop-up Player Play/Pause Billy Boy 00:30 Lyrics
[7]
[PDF] Billy Boy - lyrics - American English
Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy, Oh, where have you been charming. Billy? I have been to seek a wife, she's the joy of my life, She's a young ...
[8]
Folk Song “Billy Boy” - denelecampbell
Where does she live, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Oh, where does she live, Charming Billy? She lives on the hill, forty miles from the mill. But she's ...
[9]
Billy Boy Beth's Notes Songs & Resources
"Billy Boy" is a traditional folk song, a nursery rhyme, with lyrics about seeking a wife. It has a major scale and 2 meter.
[10]
[PDF] FOLK SONGS OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA - Journals
Where have you been, BillyBoy, Billy Boy? Oh, where have you been, charming Billy? Ihave been to seek a wife, she's the darling of my life,. She's a young ...
[11]
Billy Boy - Song, Karaoke, Printable Sheet Music, PDF - Singing Bell
2. Did she bid you to come in, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Did she bid you to come in, Charming Billy? Yes, she bade me to come in, There's a dimple in her chin.
[12]
Kodály Center for Music Education - Song
### Summary of "Billy Boy #1" Song Analysis
[13]
Billy Boy | Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Explore Overview · News · Labels and Collections · Artist Profiles · Playlists ... UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music · Western Jubilee Recording Company ...Missing: tune | Show results with:tune
[14]
Billy Boy | Disney Wiki - Fandom
"Billy Boy" is a traditional folk song and nursery rhyme found in the United States. It was sung in Disney's 1948 film, So Dear to My Heart by Uncle Hiram ...Missing: melody | Show results with:melody
[15]
Billy Boy (American folk song) - Ed McCurdy - YouTube
Jun 29, 2011 · The popular American folk song (often sung by children), "Billy Boy," sung by folk singer Ed McCurdy.Missing: vocal recordings
[16]
Billy Boy - Miles Davis - YouTube
May 19, 2015 · Provided to YouTube by Columbia/Legacy Billy Boy · Miles Davis ... Traditional Producer: George Avakian Reissue Producer: Michael Cuscuna ...Missing: vocal | Show results with:vocal
[17]
Billy Boy (Live At The London House, Chicago, 7/28/1961 (Version 1))
Jun 6, 2019 · Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Billy Boy (Live At The London House, Chicago, 7/28/1961 (Version 1)) · Oscar Peterson Trio The ...Missing: song vocal<|separator|>
[18]
Original versions of Billy Boy by Dick Charlesworth and His City Gents
Billy Boy by Dick Charlesworth and His City Gents. Written by: [Traditional]; Instrumental; Released on. Meet the Gents Album 1961. Rating. rollover to rate.Missing: folk | Show results with:folk
[19]
Billy Boy - The Traditional Ballad Index
DESCRIPTION: Asked where he has been, Billy says he has been courting, and has found a girl, "but she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
[20]
"Where Have You Been, Billy Boy?" - Google Groups
"Billy Boy, in various versions, goes back at least to ,1776 ina Herd MS. Melody was first printed in THE SCOTS MUSICAL MUSEUM, 1797. There are a two or ...
[21]
Origins: Billy Boy - mudcat.org
Jan 12, 2004 · Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Oh, where have you been, charming Billy? I have been to seek a wife; She's the joy of my life,Missing: history | Show results with:history<|separator|>
[22]
Origins: Lord Randall variants/reworkings - Mudcat.org
Sep 10, 2012 · The Billy boy discussion seems to point to a reworking, or at least starting from the basics of Lord Randall creating a new kind of song. It ...
[23]
https://bluegrassmessengers.com/12a-billie-boy-bronson.aspx
[24]
John Langstaff sings American and English Folk Songs and Ballads
In BILLY BOY question-and-answer descends from tragic to comic, almost ... The exaggeration of the ancient bragging song is always popular, particularly in ...
[25]
[PDF] English folk songs from the southern Appalachians - Internet Archive
... Billy boy, Billy boy,. How old is she, charming Billy ? She's a hundred like and nine,. And I hope she will be mine ;. She's a young girl and cannot leave her ...
[26]
[PDF] CREATION AND PERCEPTION OF FEMALE IMAGES IN SONG ...
(6) Did she bid you to come in, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Did she bid you to come in, tell me Billy? Yes, she bade me to come in,. There's a dimple in her chin ...Missing: Roud | Show results with:Roud
[27]
Billy Boy - Nursery Rhymes
“Billy Boy” is a traditional nursery rhyme and folk song, popular in America. The song is probably a version of Lord Randall, and it was first known as Willie ...
[28]
Billy Boy - American Children's Songs - The USA - Mama Lisa's World
Billy Boy. Folk Song. Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Oh, where have you been, Charming Billy? I have been to seek a wife,
[29]
Billy boy - Card catalog image | Library of Congress
Title. Billy boy. Other Title. alternative: Billy Boy. Names. Halpert, Herbert (Recordist); Nidleman, Beatrice (Singer). Created / Published. New York, New York ...
[30]
Caught My Ear: Robert Winslow Gordon & “Boogerman”
Mar 30, 2018 · I can clearly see W.E. Bird for instance as he sings the song “Billy Boy” into the recorder out in Jackson County and the bright Asheville ...
[31]
[PDF] world war ii and the american folk song movement
English ballad, "Lord Randall." Its popularity and simplicity made "Billy Boy" perfect for rewording into an anti-war song. The lyrics express the ...
[32]
Billy Boy and Red Garland's block chords style - Riccardo Scivales
Billy Boy is perhaps Garland's most celebrated recording and his “block chord” style has become a widely used resource in modern jazz piano. Have fun in trying ...
[33]
Muffin Songs - Billy Boy | Family Sing Along - Pinterest
Jul 16, 2015 · Billy Boy | Family Sing Along - Muffin Songs. Video by. Muffin Songs. on. youtube. ·.<|control11|><|separator|>
[34]
Billy Boy (Nursery Rhyme Version) - Apple Music
Jul 5, 2024 · Listen to Billy Boy (Nursery Rhyme Version) by Nursery Rhyme Geek on Apple Music. 2024. Duration: 1:34.
[35]
"Billy Boy" sing out loud A Traditional Song with Katherine Jeanette ...
Sep 16, 2025 · "Billy Boy" sing out loud A Traditional Song with Katherine Jeanette or just listen my friends. I remember singing this oldie but goodie in grade school.Col Joye's song Billy Boy from 1961 in Australian music - FacebookMick/WPA have also sung a lot of traditional tunes. These are the ...More results from www.facebook.comMissing: modern | Show results with:modern