I Wouldn't Have an Old Man

DESCRIPTION: The singer refuses to have any part of an old man. She contrasts old and young men: The old are "slobbery," bony, have too many cows to milk, and hog the covers; young men are well-dressed and can keep a girl warm
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (recording, Frank Crumit)
KEYWORDS: nonballad age rejection youth marriage
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,Ro,SE,So)
REFERENCES (12 citations):
Eddy-BalladsAndSongsFromOhio 135, "I Wouldn't Have an Old Man" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering-BalladsAndSongsOfSouthernMichigan 174, "An Old Man and a Young Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
List-SingingAboutIt-FolkSongsInSouthernIndiana, pp. 174-176, "Shoo Flies, Don't Bother Me" (1 text, 1 tune, with the chorus of "Shoo Fly" and the verses of "I Wouldn't Have an Old Man")
Randolph 401, "Stand Back, Old Man, Get Away" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 17, "I Wouldn't Marry" (7 text (some short) plus 6 excerpts, 1 fragment, and mention of 5 more, of which "M," "N," and "R" belong here)
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5 17, "I Wouldn't Marry" (5 tunes plus excerpts of texts, of which "M" and "R" belong here)
Shellans-FolkSongsOfTheBlueRidgeMountains, pp. 8-9, "Git Away, Old Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hubbard-BalladsAndSongsFromUtah, #78, "Go Way, Old Man" (2 texts)
Boette-SingaHipsyDoodle, p. 123, "Get Away Old Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Bush-FSofCentralWestVirginiaVol2, pp. 33-34, "Get Away, Old Man, Get Away" (1 text, 1 tune)
Shay-BarroomBallads/PiousFriendsDrunkenCompanions, p. 199, "Get Away, Old Man, Get Away!" (1 text)
DT, AWAOLDMN*
Roud #3719
RECORDINGS:
Frank Crumit, "Get Away, Old Man, Get Away" (Victor 20137-B, 1926)
Vernon Dalhart, "Get Away Old Man, Get Away" (Brunswick 123, 1927) (Pathe 32254, 1927) (Columbia 969-D, 1927) (Supertone 9228, 1928) (CYL: Edison [BA] 5321, n.d.)
Durium Dance Band w. Carson Robison & his Pioneers, "Get Away Old Man" (Durium [UK] EN-25, 1932)
Arthur Fields, "Get Away Old Man" (Broadway 8049, rec. 1927)
Mack Brothers, "Get Away, Old Man, Get Away" (Decca 5073, 1935)
Charlie Newman, "Get Away Old Man, Get Away" (OKeh 45095, 1927)
Chubby Parker, "Get Away Old Maids, Get Away" (Conqueror 7888, 1931; Montgomery Ward M-4945, 1936; on CrowTold02)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Maids When You're Young Never Wed an Old Man"
cf. "Old Man Came Over the Moor, An (Old Gum Boots and Leggings)"
cf. "I Wouldn't Marry an Old Man"
NOTES [83 words]: I suspect this may be a clean version of "I Wouldn't Marry an Old Man," but Ed Cray did not equate the two, and who am I to argue? (It is worth noting that Roud doesn't seem to consider this a song in its own right).
Paul Stamler points out that this song also exists in a version which complains about women, sung by Chubby Parker, and wonders if we shouldn't do something about the title. But the majority of versions complain about men; I suspect the Parker text of being a deliberate rewrite. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.0
File: R401

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