“Billy Boy”

His eyes twinkled at Ma while the music laughed and whirled and then he would sing… — By the Shores of Silver Lake, Chapter 22, “Happy Winter Days”
Billy Boy is an English folk song or sea shanty (sung by sailors), based on the traditional “Lord Randall.” There are many variations in the lyrics to “Billy Boy,” with the song sung as both a nursery song and with lyrics written to protest the first non-wartime draft in the 1940s. “Billy Boy” is part of the merriment enjoyed by the Ingalls and Boast familes on winter nights in the Surveyors’ House.
1. Oh where have you been Billy boy, Billy boy,
Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?
I have been to seek a wife, she’s the joy of my life,
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
2. Did she bid you to come in, Billy boy, Billy boy,
Did she bid you to come in, charming Billy?
Yes, she bade me to come in, there’s a dimple on her chin,
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
3. Did she set for you a chair, Billy boy, Billy boy
Did she set for you a chair, charming Billy?
Yes, she set for me a ahair, she has ringlets in her hair,
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
4. Can she make a cherry pie, Billy boy, Billy boy
Can she make a cherry pie, charming Billy?
She can make a cherry pie, quick as a cat can wink her eye;
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
5. Is she often seen at church, Billy boy, Billy boy,
Is she often seen at church, charming Billy?
Yes she’s often seen at church with a bonnet white as birch;
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
6. How tall is she, Billy boy, Billy boy,
How tall is she, charming Billy?
She’s as tall as any pine, and as straight as a pumpkin vine,
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
7. Are her eyes very bright, Billy boy, Billy boy,
Are her eyes very bright, charming Billy?
Yes her eyes are very bright but alas, they’re minus sight,
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
8. How old is she, Billy boy, Billy boy,
How old is she, charming Billy?
She’s three times six, four times seven, twenty-eight and eleven,
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
(from By the Shores of Silver Lake)
She can make a cherry pie,
Billy Boy! Billy Boy!
She can make a cherry pie,
Charming Billy
She can make a cherry pie
With a twinkle in her eye
But she’s a young thing
And cannot leave her mother.
CLICK HERE to listen.
Click on the above images to view an 1847 copy of sheet music of “Billy Boy,” published by Oliver Ditson & Company, Boston.
This music is archived in the Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music, part of Special Collections at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library of The Johns Hopkins University. The collection contains over 29,000 pieces of music and focuses on popular American music from 1780-1960.
“Billy Boy” (SSL 22)
“She can make a cherry pie…”