(Of My Old Kentucky Home)
A fox trot ballad from 1926
Words by Gus Kahn
Music by Walter Donaldson
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- I saw a lot of little birds today
Getting set to fly away
Fly away and stay away down south
Wish I were a little birdie, too
Just to have a little bird’s-eye view
Of a place I knew away down south
Chorus:
What I’d do for a bird’s-eye view of a place I knew
Where the sunflower’s grew
Just a bird’s-eye view of my old Kentucky home
What I’d do for a postal card
Or a picture card of the old backyard
And the golden rod in my old Kentucky home
Somewhere a voice is calling
And there’s where I’m gonna roam
In an birds are glad ‘cause they have some view
But I’ll be sad till I get one too
Just a bird’s-eye view
Of my old Kentucky home
- I’m gonna get myself an aeroplane
Just so I can fly away
Fly away and stay away down south
Bring along my little Kodak, too
Just to take some old time scenes I knew
I will get some view away down south
Patter:
If my heart had wings I’d fly away
Fly away today
If my feet were wheels I’d roll away
Roll away to stay
But I’ve got no wings and my feet ain’t wheels
And my shoes ain’t all O.K.
Oh, I’ve got no ticket and the walkin’s wicked
But I’ve got to get back some way.
I know that
[After Patter]
Sorrow will fade tomorrow
‘Cause down where I’m gonna roam
In an aeroplane I would gladly go
In a parachute I would drop below
For a bird’s-eye view
Of my old Kentucky home