Farmer McGee

DESCRIPTION: "I'm old Farmer McGee, and I'm seeing the town, And I'm spending my money so free." He buys "the old lady a sparkling new gown." He has two pretty daughters. He buys a donkey. His family makes products to sell; do you want them?
AUTHOR: possibly Ben/Jack Turple
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (recorded from Turple by Helen Creighton)
KEYWORDS: farming nonballad commerce wife clothes children
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Pottie/Ellis-FolksongsOfTheMaritimes, pp. 30-31, "Farmer McGee" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #31159
NOTES [100 words]: Helen Creighton collected this in 1952, and Pottie/Ellis-FolksongsOfTheMaritimes print her version, but the sources don't agree on the informant's name! The Nova Scotia Creighton archive (which lists this recording as Rec no. 2084 , Loc. no. AR 5529, AC 2313, MF no. 289.439) says that the singer was Jack Turple, but Pottie/Ellis-FolksongsOfTheMaritimes, who have it from the Creighton archive, list him as Ben Turple. They also imply that he wrote the song, but don't quite say so. Given that Creighton got several dozen songs from Jack Turple, I strongly suspect that that is the correct name. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: PoEll030

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