Little Blossom

DESCRIPTION: Lonely little (Blossom/Phoebe), left alone by her mother, sets out to find her father. She finds him in the saloon; when she interrupts him, he grabs a chair and attacks her with it. He comes to his senses, but the child is already dead
AUTHOR: (based on a poem by Martha J. Bidwell)
EARLIEST DATE: 1922 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: father drink homicide children
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,So)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Randolph 311, "Little Blossom" (2 texts plus an excerpt, 2 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen-OzarkFolksongs-Abridged, pp. 260-263, "Little Blossom" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 311A)
Henry-SongsSungInTheSouthernAppalachians, pp. 118-123, "Little Blossom (I), (II)" (2 texts)
Sackett/Koch-KansasFolklore, pp 130-132, "Little Blossom" (1 text)
ArkansasWoodchopper, pp. 56-58, "Little Blossom" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, LTLBLSSM*
Roud #7788
RECORDINGS:
Arkansas Woodchopper [pseud. for Luther Ossenbrink], "Little Blossom" (Conqueror 7886, 1931)
NOTES [55 words]: Randolph notes, "Little girls in starched white dresses used to sing [this song] in front of the courthouse at election time." Sackett/Koch-KansasFolklore's informant also described it being used for political purposes at a prohibition program, reportedly in 1888. Almost makes modern political ads sound tolerable, doesn't it? - RBW
Last updated in version 5.2
File: R311

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