Polly Wolly Doodle

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"Polly Wolly Doodle" is a song introduced by Daniel Decatur Emmett's Virginia Minstrels in the 1840s and is a popular children's song today. The origin of the song is unknown, but it may well have its origins as a song sung by slaves in the south.

"Polly Wolly Doodle" appears in the existing manuscript for Laura Ingalls Wilder's These Happy Golden Years exactly as it is used in the published version. It was not mentioned in any of the Pioneer Girl manuscripts.

[edit] Lyrics

Oh, I went down South for to see my Sal

singing Polly wolly doodle all the day

my Sal, she am a spunky gal

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Fare thee well, fare thee well,

fare thee well my fairy Fay

for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Oh, my Sal, she is a maiden fair

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

with curly eyes and laughing hair

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Fare thee well, fare thee well,

fare thee well my fairy Fay

for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Oh I like watermelon and I have for years

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

I eat watermelon because it gets upon my ears

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Fare thee well, fare thee well,

fare thee well my fairy Fay

for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Oh, a grasshopper sittin' on a railroad track

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

a pickin' his teeth with a carpet tack

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Fare thee well, fare thee well,

fare thee well my fairy Fay

I'm going to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Behind the barn, down on my knees

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

I thought I heard a chicken sneeze

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Oh he sneezed so hard with the whooping cough

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

he sneezed his head and his tail right off

sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Fare thee well, fare thee well,

fare thee well my fairy Fay

for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna

sing Polly Wolly Doodle

sing Polly Wolly Doodle

sing Polly Wolly Doodle all the day

(Traditional / De Sylva)