If I Were As Young As I Used to Be (Uncle Joe)

DESCRIPTION: The singer is now (84/92); his black hair has turned gray, and youngsters call him "Uncle Joe." But he still feels young, and promises "If any girl here is in love with me, She'll find me as young as I used to be."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1871 (Sol Smith Russell's Rhine Wein Sharley Songster)
KEYWORDS: age humorous
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW,So,SW)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Randolph 434, "Uncle Joe" (1 texts, 1 tune, plus two fragments that might or might not belong with this song)
Randolph/Cohen-OzarkFolksongs-Abridged, pp. 337-338, "Uncle Joe" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 434A)
Bronner/Eskin-FolksongAlivePart2 45, "When I Was Young and In My Prime" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cazden/Haufrecht/Studer-FolkSongsOfTheCatskills 150, "If I Were As Young As I Used to Be" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Newman/Devlin-NeverWithoutASong, pp. 215-216, "When I Was Young" (1 short text, 1 tune, probably this)
Peters-FolkSongsOutOfWisconsin, pp. 179-180, "Uncle Joe" (1 text, 1 tune, missing the initial statement of age but otherwise clearly this)
Gilbert-LostChords, pp. 7-8, "Not So Young As I Used to Be" (1 text)
DT, UNCLEJOE
ADDITIONAL: Sol Smith Russell's Rhine Wein Sharley Songster, Robert M. de Witt (New York), 1871 (available in the Robert Winslow Gordon online songster collection at the Library of Congress), p. 29, "Grandfather Sam" (1 text)
Roud #4377
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Seventy-Two Today" (plot)
File: R434

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