Girl that Wore a Waterfall, The [Laws H26]

DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a pretty girl who "wore a waterfall." Eventually he walks her home, where he encounters her husband. The singer is beaten black and blue and relieved of watch and money. He says he will no longer approach girls with waterfalls!
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: courting hair punishment fight
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Laws H26, "The Girl That Wore a Waterfall"
Randolph 389, "The Girl with the Waterfall" (1 text, 1 tune)
McNeil-SouthernFolkBalladsVol2, pp. 44-46, "The Girl That Wore a Waterfall" (1 text, 1 tune)
Wolfe/Boswell-FolkSongsOfMiddleTennessee 70, pp. 114-115, "The Girl Who Wore the Waterfall" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peters-FolkSongsOutOfWisconsin, p. 304, "The Girl with the Waterfall" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fife/Fife-CowboyAndWesternSongs 64, "The Girl That Wore a Waterfall" (1 text, 1 tune)
Browne-AlabamaFolkLyric 58, "The Waterfall" (1 fragment, 1 tune, plus a citation of a songster version)
DT, WATERFL2
Roud #2189
NOTES [68 words]: The "waterfall" as a hair style came into vogue in 1845, and continued to be used until shortly after the Civil War. Randolph describes it as "a mass of artificially curled hair, worn at the back of the head, arranged about a nucleus of false hair known as a 'rat.'" The word can also refer to a neck scarf.
The popularity of the song is evidenced by a reference to it in the Canadian song "Hogan's Lake." - RBW
Last updated in version 4.3
File: LH26

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