Just Plain Folks

This item is part of the I. G. Greer Folksong Collection which consists of more than 300 individual song titles and their variants as collected by Isaac Garfield Greer (1881-1967) from informants, primarily in Ashe, Wilkes and Watauga counties. The collection includes manuscripts, typescript transcriptions produced by Dr. Greer’s clerical staff, and handwritten musical notations. Songs range from traditional Child Ballads, traditional English and Scottish ballads as well as their American variants, to 19th century popular music to musical compositions of local origin.

Folk songs--United States

Parents--Songs and music

Social classes--Songs and music

Pride and vanity--Songs and music

AC.113 Isaac Garfield (I.G.) Greer Papers and Recordings

W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University

Greer, I. G. (Isaac Garfield), 1881-1967

PDF

English

Text

Just Plain Folks

To a mansion in the city come a couple old and grey
To see their son who’d left them long ago.
He has prospered and grown wealthy
Since a youth he’dawent away
And now his life was one of pomp and show
But coldly did he greet them
For his friends were by his side
Who’d often heard him boost of home so grand
Then the old man sadly looked at him
And said with modest pride
While he gently took his dear wife by the hand.

CHORUS
We’re just plain folks your mother and me
Just plain folks like our own folks used to be
As our presents seem to grieve you
We will go away and leave you
For we’re sadly out of place here
For we’re just plain folks

Taint so long ago that you were just a simple country lad
And did the work a country lad should do
In those days you never looked with shame on mother and old dad
In fact my boy we both were proud of you
But something seems too’ve changed you
Your wealth has brought strange pride
But riches sometimes takes its wings they say
Then you’ll always find a hearty welcome at your parents side
They’ll greet you in the same old way.

Randolph, 862

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