Old Smokey, Lyric Variant 03

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

Courtship--Songs and music

Mountains--Songs and music

Abusive parents--Songs and music

On Top of Old Smokie, On Top of the Smokies All Covered with Snow, On Top of Old Smokies, Advice to Girls, Pretty Polly, Pretty Polly, I'm Going Away

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

Old Smokey
On top of old Smokey
All covered with snow,
I lost my true lover
By courting too slow.

Courting is a pleasure
Parting is grief,
But hard-hearted parents,
Are worse than a thief.

Your parents are against me
And mine are against you.
But, Nancy, I love you
Whatever I do.

I am going now to leave you,
And tell you goodbye,
And leave you weeping
On Smokey so high.

It’s a raining
It’s a hailing,
The moon gives no light
Your hoss can’t see to travel
This dark lonesome night.

My hoss he is hungry,
But he won’t eat your hay,
Your Daddy’s so darn stingy,
I’ll be on my way.

Old Smokey, old Smokey,
Keep watch o’er my love,
She’s as true as your mountains
And as pure as a dove.

Brown, Folk Lyric - 253

113_OldSmoky_Lyric_03