She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain
The song "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain" comes from the men laying down the railroad tracks after the Civil War in the USA.
"Many a tracklaying foreman was hired chiefly for his singing ability since his singing made the work go smoother and kept the men in better spirits. These are the men who gave us this song as we know it today... The melody of this song was originally both the old folk hymn 'The Old Ship of Zion' and the still older spiritual 'When the Chariot Comes'… Railroad men gave this melody a snappy, hillbilly kind of twist, and it is probably these same men who also made up the repetitious words of the song." –Quoted From "The Songs We Sang" (1964)
Clearly the verse about wearing pajamas and having to sleep with grandma were added on later! -Mama Lisa
She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain
Folk Song
She'll be coming round the mountain
When she comes
She'll be coming round the mountain
When she comes
She'll be coming round the mountain,
She'll be coming round the mountain,
She'll be coming round the mountain
When she comes.
She'll be driving six white horses
When she comes
She'll be driving six white horses
When she comes
She'll be driving six white horses,
She'll be driving six white horses,
She'll be driving six white horses
When she comes.
Oh, we'll all go out to meet her
When she comes
Oh, we'll all go out to meet her
When she comes
Oh, we'll all go out to meet her,
Oh, we'll all go out to meet her,
Oh, we'll all go out to meet her
When she comes.
She'll be wearing red pajamas
When she comes
She'll be wearing red pajamas
When she comes
She'll be wearing red pajamas,
She'll be wearing red pajamas,
She'll be wearing red pajamas
When she comes.
She will have to sleep with Grandma
When she comes
She will have to sleep with Grandma
When she comes
She will have to sleep with Grandma,
She will have to sleep with Grandma,
She will have to sleep with Grandma
When she comes.
Notes
Katie wrote: "Learned from my grandpa (born in 1907):
Oh we'll kill the old red rooster when she comes...
Oh we'll all have chicken and dumplings when she comes..."
Thanks for sharing those lines Katie! -Mama Lisa
Comments
Monique wrote me, "The version we sing over here in France is half French, half English." The French version is called "Elle descend de la montagne" (click link for song).
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to M. Farrell for contributing this song and to Monique Palomares for creating the midi music.
Image composed by Mama Lisa.
Thanks so much!
