|
THE ORPHAN GIRL (THE ORPHAN CHILD) Sung by: Almeda Riddle At the door of a princely hall. She trembling stood on the marble step And leaned on the marble wall. “My daddy, alas, I never knew; He was lost on the ocean brine. My mommy sleeps in a newmade grave. It’s an orphan who begs tonight.” “Oh, give me a place out of this cold wind, Just a place to lie down,” she said. “A pallet in the corner would do for me, But give me a piece of bread.” The rich man shook his haughty head, And he slammed his mansion door, And his proud mouth curled in scorn when he said, “I’ve no room or bread for the poor.” Then the little girl sank down on the step And tried to cover her feet With a ragged dress all tattered and torn, And covered with snow and sleet. And the rich man lay on a couch of down, And he dreamed about silver and gold, While the little girl lay in the ice on the step, And murmured, so hungry and cold. When the sun rose in the morning, the little girl Lay dead by the rich man’s door, But her soul had fled to her Mommy and Dad, Where there’s room and bread for the poor. And the rich man lay on his couch of down, But his soul, too, had fled. Now I don’t know where rich men go; I just know the rich man’s dead. Also found in Randolph, Vol. IV, #725, “The Orphan Child”; Brown, Vol. II, #148, “The Orphan Girl.” |
|
All Songs Recorded by John Quincy Wolf, Jr., unless otherwise noted The John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas Back to the Song Index Back to the Wolf Collection Homepage ©Copyright 2002 Lyon College |