"Oh! Sam" (1872)
A Famous Minstrel Song.
Words and composed by
William Shakespeare Hays, 1837-1907

[Source: pp. 61-63, reprinted in
"Minstrel Songs Old and New" (1883);
J. L. Peters, Plate No. 972-3]

1.
[SOLO]
Oh, Sammy, put dat banjo down,
[CHORUS]
O Sam!
[SOLO]
You good for nuffen lazy houn',
[CHORUS]
O Sam!
[SOLO]
Drive de dog in, out de rain,
Milk de cows for Liza Jane;
Liza's got de hoopin' cough,
De ole man's drunk in de stable loff.

CHORUS
Oh! Sammy, just you put dat banjo down,
De hog's in de garden rootin' up de groun',
De mule am dead, an' de hoss am sick,
Come here, Sam, I want you quick---you hear me, O Sam!

2.
[SOLO]
De coon an' possum settin' on de limb,
[CHORUS]
O Sam!
[SOLO]
I eat so much it make me slim,
[CHORUS]
O Sam!
[SOLO]
O, I can't get married any more,
Or slide wid Liza on de cellar door;
De wind blows hard and it's gwine to rain;
Stuff dat hat in de winder pane.

(CHORUS)

3.
[SOLO]
Oh, de roof it leaks, an' de chimney smokes,
[CHORUS]
O Sam!
[SOLO]
Hold up your head like udder folks,
[CHORUS]
O Sam!
[SOLO]
Pull your hair down on your head,
Pour more 'lasses on your bread;
Send you off to go to school,
An' you come back home a bigger fool.

(CHORUS)

4.
[SOLO]
Ole Nelson's blind an' fell in de well,
[CHORUS]
O Sam!
[SOLO]
Aunt Hannah's got a big sick spell,
[CHORUS]
O Sam!
[SOLO]
An' de calk laid down for to catch his breff,
An' de dog he barked himself to deff;
De cow run off, an' de well run dry,
An' Liza's blind in her off-wheel eye.

(CHORUS)

5.
[SOLO]
I got married de udder day,
[CHORUS]
O Sam!
[SOLO]
My wife got mad an' run away,
[CHORUS]
O Sam!
[SOLO]
I tried to make her "come to taw,"
I laid my han' on her lower jaw;
She run straight home to stay wid her mudder,
An' leff me lookin' around for anudder.

(CHORUS)