Joe Bowers Pete Seeger

My name it is Joe Bowers, I've got a brother Ike
I'm just here from Missouri, and all the way from Pike
I'll tell you why I left there and why I came to roam
And leave my aged parents so far away from home

I used to court a girl there, her name was Sally Black
I asked her if she'd marry, she said it was a whack
She says to me, "Joe Bowers, before we've hitched for life
You ought to get a little home to keep your littlе wife"

Says I, "My dearest Sally, oh Sally, for your sakе
I"ll go to California and try and raise a stake"
Says she to me, "Joe Bowers, you're just the one to win"
She gave me a kiss to seal the bargain and throwed a dozen in

I'll never forget my feelings when I bid adieu to all
Sal she cotched me around the neck, and I began to bawl
When I began they all commenced, you never heard the like
How they took on and cried and cried the day I left old Pike

When I got to this country, I had nary a red
I had such wolfish feelings, I wished myself most dead
But the thoughts of my dear Sally soon made this feeling git
And whispered hope to Bowers Lord, I wish I had 'em yet

At last I went to mining, put in my biggest licks
Come down upon the boulders just like a thousand bricks
I worked both late and early, in rain, in sun and snow
I was working for my Sally, 'twas all the same to Joe