Mammy Went 'Way - She Tell Me to Stay
Mammy Went 'Way - She Tell Me to Stay
Mommy Went Away, She Told Me to Stay
Lullaby
Lullaby
(Historical Black American English)
(English)
Mammy went 'way--she tell me to stay,
And take good care of de baby.
She tell me to stay and sing disaway,
O, go to sleepy, li'l baby,
O, shut you eye and don't you cry,
Go to sleepy, li'l baby.
'Cause mammy's boun' to come bime-by,
O, go to sleepy, li'l baby.
We'll stop up de cracks and sew up de seams,
De booger man never shall cotch you.
O, go to sleep and dream sweet dreams,
De booger man never shall cotch you.
De river run wide, de river run deep,
O, bye-o, sweet li'l baby.
Dat boat rock slow, she'll rock you to sleep,
O, bye-o, sweet li'l baby.
Chorus
O, go to sleepy, sleepy, li'l baby,
'Cause when you wake, you'll git some cake,
And ride a li'l white hossy.
O, de li'l butterfly, he stole some pie,
Go to sleepy, li'l baby.
And flew so high till he put out his eye,
O, go to sleepy, li'l baby.
Mommy went away - she told me to stay,
And take good care of the baby.
She tell me to stay and sing this-a-way,
O, go to sleepy, little baby,
O, shut your eye and don't you cry,
Go to sleepy, little baby.
'Cause mommy's bound to come by-and-by,
O, go to sleepy, little baby.
We'll stop up the cracks and sew up the seams,
The boogie man never shall catch you.
O, go to sleep and dream sweet dreams,
The boogie man never shall catch you.
The river runs wide, the river runs deep,
O, bye-o, sweet little baby.
That boat rocks slow, she'll rock you to sleep,
O, bye-o, sweet little baby.
Chorus
O, go to sleepy, sleepy, little baby,
'Cause when you wake, you'll get some cake,
And ride a little white horsey.
O, the little butterfly, he stole some pie,
Go to sleepy, little baby.
And flew so high till he put out his eye,
O, go to sleepy, little baby.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
This song was written down in the Work Projects Administration's Slave Narratives. The government sent out interviewers in the late 1930's to talk with the ex-slaves and write down what they had to say. This song is from an interview of Annie Little. She was born a slave in Springfield, Missouri in January, 1856. Her "master" owned a plantation in Mississippi, and sent Annie's family there while she was a baby. At the time of the interview, Annie lived in Mart, Texas.
Here's what Annie said about this song: "Dolphus and me marries in Missipp' but come to Texas and lives at Hillsboro on Massa John Willoughby's farm. We has ten chillen and I'm livin' with my baby boy right now. I'll tell you de song I gits all dem chillen to sleep with…"
