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Another American Version of“The Babes in the Woods”
This page was last modified on Thursday, November 25, 2004.
The “Babes in the Woods” continues to attract interest!
Another American Version has have been graciously and generously provided by Allyson Long of Houston, Texas and her mother (who grew up in a small town near Lubbock, Texas called Denver City). They both learned it from Ms. Long’s grandmother (who was from West Texas). They kindly provided the variant below and the background information associated with it.
Ms. Long wrote,
“ I have always been in love with "Babes in the Woods". The
story in my family goes that my grandmother sang it to my mother and her
mother sang it to her. We were told it was a song to teach children not to
wander off. My sister and I at a young age were obsessed with memorizing it.
In college, I took a “Music for Children” class. I sang this song for my
classmates and it seems to have a trance like effect on even adults. It
seems that there is an endless number of versions. The version my mother sang
to me is below. However, my mother's oldest singer sings it slightly
different. Unfortunately, I'm not completely sure of the difference and why.
Regardless of how it is sung, I absolutely love it. Thank you for your wonderful
website.” Thanks again to Ms. Long and her relatives for their significant assistance in documenting the history of the versions of this song.
Dennis Flynn Flynn’s Point, Colliers, NewfoundlandThursday, November 25, 2004
Disclaimer:
Please note that all the versions of “Babes in the Woods” are variants
of an ancient song that has been handed down by word of mouth from person-to
person for well over 100 years, and possibly much longer. It was obviously
first written in a very colonial minded historical period and some of the
phrases and sentiments might be politically incorrect by modern standards. I
merely recorded all of them as I found them without any alterations for the
sake of accuracy and as an example of local folklore, which is disappearing
at an alarming rate as older storytellers die off. No disparagement to any
group, racial or otherwise, is intended or should be taken.
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as sang by Allyson Long of Houston, Texas:
A long
time ago, Those
babes in the woods Their
names I don't know. Went
strolling along One
bright summer's day. And
never returned, Or
so people say. And
when it was night, So
sad was their fright. They
cried and they cried, They
cried through the night. So
sad was their fright, They
laid down and died. Poor
babes in the woods, Poor
babes in the woods. And
when it was light A
robin so red, Brought
strawberry leaves And
over them spread. And
sang them a song, The
whole day long. Poor
babes in the woods Poor
babes in the woods.
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