"Dolly Day" (1850)
(from Foster's Plantation Melodies, No. 2)
As sung by the
Christy and Cambell Minstrels,
and New Orleans Serenaders.
Written, Composed & Arranged
by Stephen Collins Foster, 1826-1864

1.
I've told you 'bout de banjo,
  De fiddle and de bow,
Likewise about de cottenfield,
  De shubble and de hoe;
I've sung about de bulgine
  Dat blew de folks away,
And now I'll sing a little song
  About my Dolly Day.

CHORUS
Oh Dolly Day looks so gay,
  I run all round and round,
To hear her fairy footsteps play,
  As she comes o'er de ground.

2.
I like to see de clover
  Dat grows about the lane,
I like to see de 'bacco plant,
  I like de sugar cane;
But on de old plantation
  Der's nothing half so gay,
Der's nothing dat I love so much
  As my sweet Dolly Day.

(CHORUS)

3.
When de work is over
  I make de banjo play,
And while I strike de dulcem notes,
  I think of Dolly Day.
Here form is like a posy --
  De lily of de vale,
Her voice is far de sweetest sound
  Dat floats upon de gale.

(CHORUS)

4.
Massa give me money
  To buy a peck of corn
I'se guine to marry Dolly Day
  And build myself a barn;
Den when I'm old and feeble,
  And when my head is grey,
I'll trabble down de hill of life
  Along wid Dolly Day.

(CHORUS)