[Warning: derogatory racial terms. It is presented as a part of music history.]
sheet music found online at the Sheet Music Point website
music taken from the book Heart Songs
published by The Chapple Publishing Company Ltd., 1909
From The Songs We Sang by Theodore Raph:
“This American folk song has been popular since the mid-1850s. The song seems completely anonymous although some believe it to be of Negro origin. This was one of the most performed songs of the black-faced minstrels. Just before the Civil War this song was heard in every theater, on every riverboat, and in every town.”
Lyrics
1. Oh, I went down south for the see my Sal
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
My Sally am a spunky gal
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
Chorus
Fare thee well, fare-well
Fare thee well, fare-well
Fare thee well, my fairy fay
For I’m going to Lou’siana
For to see my Susyanna
Sing Polly wolly doodle all the day
2. Oh, my Sal, she am a maiden fair
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
With curly eyes and laughing hair
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
3. Oh, I came to a river, an’ I couldn’t get across
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
An I jumped upon a nigger, an’ I thought he was a hoss
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
4. Oh, a grasshopper sittin’ on a railroad track
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
A-pickin’ his teef wid a carpet tack
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
5. Oh, I went to bed, but it wasn’t no use
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
My feet stuck out for a chicken roost
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
6. Behind de barn, down on my knees
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
I thought I heard that chicken sneeze
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
7. He sneezed so hard wid de hoopin’ cough
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
He sneezed his head an’ his tail right off
Sing Polly Wolly doodle all the day
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Sung here by Fred Feild: