Old Maid and the Burglar, The [Laws H23]

DESCRIPTION: The old maid prepares for bed by removing her teeth, wig, and glass eye. She then discovers the burglar hiding under her bed. She threatens to shoot him if he will not marry her. He answers, "Woman, for the Lord's sake, shoot!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1901 (recording, John Terrell)
KEYWORDS: oldmaid robbery humorous
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Laws H23, "The Old Maid and the Burglar"
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore2 192, "The Burglar Man" (1 text)
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore4 192, "The Burglar Man" (1 excerpt, 1 tune)
Hudson-FolksongsOfMississippi 110, pp. 249-250, "The Old Maid and the Burglar" (1 text)
Browne-AlabamaFolkLyric 74, "The Burglar Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Bush-FSofCentralWestVirginiaVol5, pp. 34-35, "The Burglar Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
List-SingingAboutIt-FolkSongsInSouthernIndiana, pp. 223-224, "The Jolly Burglar Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Rainey/Pinkston-SongsOfTheOzarkFolk, p. 30, "The Burglar Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 780, OLMDBURG

Roud #658
RECORDINGS:
Reubin [Reuben?] Burns, "The Burglar Man" (Champion 15376, 1928; rec. 1927)
Bob Carpenter, "The Burglar Man" (on LomaxCD1702)
Fiddlin' John Carson, "The Burglar and the Old Maid" (OKeh 45259, 1928)
Bill Clifton, "Burglar Man" (Blue Ridge 403, n.d.)
Frank Hutchison, "The Burglar Man" (OKeh 45313, 1929; rec. 1928)
Eddy Primroy, "The Burglar" (on MUNFLA/Leach)
Riley Puckett, "Burglar Man" (Columbia 15015-D, 1925; rec. 1924)
Ernest V. Stoneman, "The Old Maid and the Burglar" (Edison 52369, 1928) (CYL: Edison [BA] 5531, 1928)
Arthur Tanner, "Burglar Man" (Silvertone 3514, 1926)
John Terrell, "A Bergular's [sic] Experience with an Old Maid" (Zon-O-Phone 1-9665, c. 1901)
Henry Whitter, "The Burglar Man" (OKeh 45063, 1926); Henry Whitter & Fiddler Joe [Samuels], "The Burglar Man" (OKeh, unissued, 1926)

CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Warranty Deed" (theme)
cf. "Bluebell (One Night I Thought I'd Enjoy Myself)" ("Woman, for the Lord's sake shoot" line)
File: LH23

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