Uploaded September 2020 | Updated September 2026, 6 days ago
Day 189 of the American Songbag Stay-at-Home Series
In his poem, I Hear America Singing, Walt Whitman (1855) gives a great definition of folk music:
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day — at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
This song, "Yonder Comes My Pretty Little Girl" adds the song of the no-good, two-timing gambler with a foot fetish and a pregnant mistress.
NOTE: When a lyric mentions apron strings that hang low, that's another way of saying, "with child".
Day 189 of the American Songbag Stay-at-Home Series
In his poem, I Hear America Singing, Walt Whitman (1855) gives a great definition of folk music:
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day — at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
This song, "Yonder Comes My Pretty Little Girl" adds the song of the no-good, two-timing gambler with a foot fetish and a pregnant mistress.
NOTE: When a lyric mentions apron strings that hang low, that's another way of saying, "with child".
