Nobody's Child

DESCRIPTION: The singer passes an orphan home to watch the children play. He asks one boy why he is not playing. The boy cries and says "People come for children and take them for their own But they all seem to pass me by and I am left alone"
AUTHOR: Alfred Lee and Frank W. Green (source: Howson-SongsSunginSuffolk)
EARLIEST DATE: 1865 (Howson-SongsSunginSuffolk); in tradition, 1951 (MUNFLA-Leach)
KEYWORDS: lament nonballad children
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond)) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Howson-SongsSunginSuffolk, #81, "I'm Nobody's Child" (1 text)
Roud #10718
RECORDINGS:
Francis Dunphy, "Nobody's Child" (on MUNFLA-Leach)
Hank Snow (The Singing Ranger) and his Rainbow Ranch Boys, "Nobody's Child" (RCA Victor 21-0143-A , 1949)
NOTES [42 words]: Howson-SongsSunginSuffolk points out that there have been many pop recordings of this, such as the one by Hank Snow; it seems likely that the traditional collections derive from the modern recordings rather than going back to the 1860s sheet music. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.0
File: ML3NoChi

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