Down in Old Missouri
Sung by: Unknown
Recorded in Mountain View, AR 4/20/63

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??: “Well, I don’t know what Jimmy told you about this song, but I’ll try to sing it. All right. This is about a mule named Harry who comes from Missouri. It’s not about any presidents living or dead or anything like that.”

Well, I had a barn and a farm and a mule,
Down in old Missouri,
And a dog named Tim and a pig named Jim,
And the mule’s name, it was Harry.

Well, Harry was a cranky mule,
Down in old Missouri.
He hated Tim and he hated Jim,
And I think he hated Harry.

Well, I had some dynamite in my barn,
Down in old Missouri,
And Tim ate a piece, and Jim ate a piece,
And they wouldn’t give none to Harry.

So Harry got so doggone mad,
Down in old Missouri,
He kicked old Tim, and he kicked old Jim,
And that was the end of Harry.

That barn blew up into the sky,
All over old Missouri,
And Tim took a trip, and Jim took a trip,
And we never saw more of Harry.

Well, the moral of my little tale,
Down in old Missouri:
Never trust a mule with dynamite.
Remember my mule Harry.

All Songs Recorded by John Quincy Wolf, Jr., unless otherwise noted

The John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection
Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas
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