Old Johnny Walker

DESCRIPTION: "Old Johnny Walker's dead and gone, dead and gone, dead and gone... He never died before." He had a wife who died, then he killed her, then she rose and had three more children. He children go sliding on thin ice; they all fall in or run away
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1969 (Gardham-EastRidingSongster)
KEYWORDS: death husband wife resurrection children disaster humorous floatingverses
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Gardham-EastRidingSongster 5, "Old Johnny Walker" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #764
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Three Little Girls A-Skating Went" (lyrics)
cf. "Bollochy Bill the Sailor" (lyrics)
cf. "Old Roger is Dead (Old Bumpy, Old Grimes, Pompey)" (theme)
cf. "Bohunkus (Old Father Grimes, Old Grimes Is Dead)" (lyrics)
NOTES [79 words]: This is confusing and no mistake. The opening "Old Johnny Walker" verse is often associated with "Bollochy Bill the Sailor"; I've never seen the middle elsewhere; the ending is "Three Little Girls A-Skating Went." Roud files it as #764, which equates very loosely with "Bohunkus (Old Father Grimes, Old Grimes Is Dead)" but is also sort of like "Old Roger is Dead (Old Bumpy, Old Grimes, Pompey)." The result is enough of a mess that I decided to just file it on its own. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.5
File: Gard005

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography