“The Drunkard's Lone Child”
Description
"Out in the gloomy night sadly I roam, No one to love me, no friends and no home, Nobody cares for me, no one would cry Even if poor little Bessie should die." Bessie is alone: "Father's a drunkard and mother is dead." She hopes father will sober up
Notes
Cohen, in his edition of Randolph, has extensive notes on thie origin of this song; they boil down to, "Something is fishy here." - RBW
Cross references
- cf. "The Little Beggar Boy" (lyrics)
- cf. "The Drunkard's Child (I)" (plot)
- cf. "Father, Dear Father, Come Home with Me Now" (theme) and references there
Recordings
- Dock Boggs, "Drunkard's Lone Child" (on Boggs1, BoggsCD1)
- Walter Coon, "Father's a Drunkard and Mother is Dead" (Conqueror 7271, 1929)
- Arthur Fields, "The Drunkard's Lone Child" (Grey Gull 4200, 1928)
References
- Randolph 309, "The Drunkard's Lone Child" (4 texts plus an excerpt, 3 tunes)
- Randolph/Cohen, pp. 257-259, "The Drunkard's Lone Child" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 309A)
- BrownIII 25, "The Drunkard's Lone Child" (1 text plus a fragment and mention of 1 more)
- Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 191-192, "The Drunkard's Lone Child" (1 text, 1 tune)
- cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 477, "Bessie, the Drunkard's Lone Child" (source notes only)
- DT, DRNKCHLD* DRNKCHL2*
- Roud #723
- BI, R309