Thinnest Man, The

DESCRIPTION: "The (thinnest/skinniest) man I ever saw Lived over in (Hoboken), And if I told you how thin he was, You'd think that I was joking." Various tall tales about the thin man's exploits, and the dangers he faces (e.g. falling through his pants and choking)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1881 (Tom Warfield's "Helen's Babies" Songster)
KEYWORDS: humorous talltale
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Pankake/Pankake-PrairieHomeCompanionFolkSongBook, p. 175, "The Skinniest Man I Ever Knew" (2 texts, tune referenced)
Harbin-Parodology, #123, p. 37, "The Thinnest Man" (1 short text)
ADDITIONAL: Harbin-Parodology, #123, p. 37, "The Thinnest Man" (1 text, tune referenced)
Roud #15357
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Pep (The Peppiest Camp)" (lyrics, form)
NOTES [88 words]: The Pankakes list at least one of their versions as being to the tune of "Take Me Back to Tulsa," but as they date that song to 1941, it can hardly be the original melody. Harbin lists the tune as "O Me, O My," implying some older text along the same lines.
The gag in the song seems to be widely known. For example, Peter and Iona Opie, I Saw Esau: Traditional Rhymes of Youth, #96, runs, "Chartlie, Charlie, in the tub, Charlie, Charlie, pulled out the plug. Oh my goodness, oh my soul, There goes Charlie down the hole." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: PHCFS175

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