Jaybird, The

DESCRIPTION: Songs about the exploits about the jaybird and how it cheekily survives, e.g. "The jaybird a-setting of a swinging limb, He winked at me and I winked at him, He laugh at me when my gun 'crack.' It kick me on the flat o' my back."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1922 (Talley)
KEYWORDS: bird humorous nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 153, "The Jaybird" (4 short texts, of which ""D" is this piece; "B" and "C" are "Jaybird Died With the Whooping Cough; "A" mixes the two)
Scarborough-OnTheTrailOfNegroFolkSongs, pp. 190-191, (no title) (2 fragments, the first having the verse of "The Jaybird" and the chorus of "The Blue-Tail Fly" [Laws I19])
NOTES [53 words]: Although I doubt the author of this song knew this, jays are a member of the bird family corvidae -- crows, ravens, magpies, jays. This is generally considered the most intelligent group of birds, although jays (which are not social birds) don't seem to me to be nearly as clever as the highly social crows and ravens.
Last updated in version 6.4
File: Br3153B

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