Matilda

DESCRIPTION: "Matilda, she tke me money and run Venezuela." The singer had saved up his money to buy house and land, hiding it in his bed, but she locates it, sells his cart and horse, and leaves the country. The singer warns against trusting women
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1953 (recorded by Harry Belafonte, according to Wikipedia)
KEYWORDS: love separation robbery theft emigration
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: Harold Courlander, _A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore_, Crown Publishers, 1976, pp. 108-109, "Matilda" (1 text)
NOTES [76 words]: The origin of this song is unclear. Harry Belafonte made it popular, and appears to have copyrighted his version, but it seems to have existed before that. Courlander seems to say that a text was printed in Caribbee Cruise in 1938, as sung by "Duke of Iron," but Courlander's citations are so sloppy that I cannot be sure of this. On the other hand, Belafonte's assignment of credit (and sometimes of royalties) is also reported to be rather dubious. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.4
File: Crln108

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