Somebody's Tall and Handsome

DESCRIPTION: "Somebody's tall and handsome, Somebody's fond and true, Somebody's hair is very black, And somebody's eyes are blue." Said somebody comes to ask the singer to marry, "And of course I said all right."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1920 (Randolph); Wehman printed a similar broadside c. 1884
KEYWORDS: courting marriage mother father ship
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES (12 citations):
Randolph 380, "Somebody's Tall and Handsome" (2 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen-OzarkFolksongs-Abridged, pp. 310-311, "Somebody's Tall and Handsome" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 380A)
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 275, "Somebody" (2 text plus mention of 2 more)
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5 275, "Somebody" (2 tunes plus text excerpts)
Warner-TraditionalAmericanFolkSongsFromAnneAndFrankWarnerColl 163, "Tommy" (1 text, 1 tune, heavily localized, in which Tommy owns a speedboat and father is happy to be rid of his daughter)
Fuson-BalladsOfTheKentuckyHighlands, pp. 101, "Someone" (1 text, which has degenerated into a repeating song with this first verse as chorus: "Someone called for (mother/brother/sister/father), And mother went out to see, Mother came back with a tear in her eye, Someone has asked for me")
Wolfe/Boswell-FolkSongsOfMiddleTennessee 74, pp. 120-122, "Solebody's Tall and Handsome" (1 text, 1 tune, much longer than the typical version)
Sandburg-TheAmericanSongbag, pp. 464-465, "Somebody" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-SingingFamilyOfTheCumberlands, pp. 55-56, "[Somebody]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-FolkSongsOfTheSouthernAppalachians, p. 82, "Somebody" (1 text, 1 tune)
Browne-AlabamaFolkLyric 33, "Somebody" (3 texts, 1 tune)
DT, SOMBODY
ST R380 (Full)
Roud #761
RECORDINGS:
Carolina Tar Heels, "Somebody's Tall and Handsome" (Victor V-40128, 1929; on CrowTold02; recorded Apr 3 1929)
Martha Ann Midgette, "Tommy" (on USWarnerColl01)
Evelyn & Douston Ramsey, "Somebody's Tall and Handsome" (on FarMtns 2)
Abigail Hall Ritchie, "Somebody's Tall and Handsome" (on Ritchie03)
File: R380

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