Blind Man's Regret, The

DESCRIPTION: "Young people attention give And hear what I do say...." "hen I was young and in my prime I used to go so gay, For I did not think right of time But idled time away." The singer laments wasting time and going blind
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (Cox)
KEYWORDS: injury hardtimes nonballad
FOUND IN: US(Ap,So)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Cox-FolkSongsSouth 154, "The Blind Man's Regret" (1 text)
Moore/Moore-BalladsAndFolkSongsOfTheSouthwest 174, "The Blind Man's Regret" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST JHCox154 (Full)
Roud #6365
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Young People, Take Warning" (lyrics)
NOTES [112 words]: I know of no other version of this song (though see the notes on "Young People, Take Warning"), and I don't find it surprising. There really isn't much plot; with the exception of a single stanza claiming that the singer went blind in the "year of eighty-four," there is no story. It's just a series of warnings and complaints, quite repetitious, mostly warning against wasting time.
Cox's informant claims that this is the story of a man who tried to avoid being involved in the Civil War, and so hid in a cave and damaged his sight. This is not impossible -- but the song does not give the theory any support (and note that the blindness did not strike until 1884). - RBW
Last updated in version 3.3
File: JHCox154

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