I Am One of the Boys (One of the Boys)

DESCRIPTION: "I am one of the boys and up to the joys Of a New York City life." Adventures of a volunteer fireman named Mose and his "g'hal" Lize. "A high old fight" is always the objective.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1858 (Elton's Illustrated Songster)
KEYWORDS: bragging fight violence humorous
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Frank-JollySailorsBold 115, "I Am One of the Boys (One of the Boys)" (1 text)
Jackson-EarlySongsOfUncleSam, pp. 57-59, "One of the Boys" (1 text)
Roud #31384
NOTES [109 words]: "The song has its roots in a pair of plays by Benjamin A. Baker ... staged simultaneously in New York Theatres in 1848. A Glance at New York: a local drama in two acts ... New York As It Is" (Frank-JollySailorsBold p. 249). There are references to Mose, Lize, and the "b'hoys" in U.S. broadsides and song books, but I haven't seen a broadside that is anything like this song. - BS
Jackson-EarlySongsOfUncleSam claims to have it from Elton's Illustrated Songster. Google Books does not yet have this book, but Elton's Illustrated Song Book Volume 4, which is dated 1858, lists the contents of the Songster, so we can be sure the song existed by 1858.
Last updated in version 7.0
File: FJSB115

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