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SANFORD BARNES (THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; ARKANSAS TRAVELER (II); BILL STAFFORD) Sung by: Dorothy Stuart Recorded in Banner, AR 8/27/63 Click here to listen to the original recording I came from Buffalo town. I’ve traveled this world all over. I’ve traveled this world around. I’ve had my ups and downs in life, And better times I’ve saw, But I never knew what misery was 'Til I came to Arkansas. Was in the year of eighty-two, In the early month of June, I landed in Hot Springs One Sunday afternoon. Up came a walking skeleton And handed me his paw, Invited me to his hotel, The best in Arkansas. I followed my conductor To his respected place, And very poorly was it shown In his melancholy face. His hair hung down in ringlets All o'er his wrinkled jaw. He was a photograph of all the men Who were raised in Arkansas. I started out next morning To catch the early train. He says, “You’d better work for me; I have some land to drain. I’ll give you fifty cents a day, Your wash and board and all. You’ll find you are a different man When you leave Arkansas.” I worked six weeks for the son of a gun. Joe Howell was his name. He was nine feet in his stocking feet, And tall as any crane. His hair fell down in ringlets All o’er his wrinkled jaw. He was a photograph of all the men Who were raised in Arkansas. He fed me on corn dodgers As hard as any rock, ‘Til my teeth began to loosen And my knees began to knock. I got so thin on sassafras tea, I could hide behind a straw. Indeed, I was a different man When I left Arkansas. (Mrs. Stewart: “I think there’s just two lines in that song that I . . .” Dr. Wolf: “There’s one more stanza.” ??: “There’s one more stanza, about ‘The next time I see Arkansas, It’ll be through a telescope.’” Mrs. Stewart: “I’ve got mixed up.”) Farewell to all hard countries, The mountains and the hills. Farewell to sage and sassafras tea, And all corn dodger pills. If ever I view this land again, I’ll give to you my paw. I’ll view it through a telescope From here to Arkansas. Also found in Randolph, Vol. III, #347, “The State of Arkansas”; Brown, Vol. III, #331, “Arkansas Traveler (II)”; Belden, p. 424, “Bill Stafford.” |
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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 |