Poor Howard

DESCRIPTION: "Poor Howard's dead and gone, Left me here to sing this song." "Who's been here since I've been gone? Pretty little girl with a red dress on." "Who's been here... Great big man with a derby on" And so forth, through as many visitors as desired
AUTHOR: Huddie Leadbetter
EARLIEST DATE: 1936 (copyright)
KEYWORDS: nonballad death
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 63, "Poor Howard" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Moses Asch and Alan Lomax, Editors, _The Leadbelly Songbook_, Oak, 1962, p. 21, "Poor Howard" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11673
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Stavin Chain" (lyrics)
NOTES [50 words]: There was a nineteenth century song "Who's Been Here Since I've Been Gone." It is not this. It involves a jealous husband who, after two years in the army, comes home to find that his wife has had a baby -- which she says she got from sleeping with one of his letters home. I'm not making that up. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.1
File: FSWB063

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