Don't Leave Your Mother When Her Hair Turns Gray

DESCRIPTION: "Stick to your mother, Tom, And don't you leave her worry, lad." The singer, who lost his father at a young age, reminds Tom of how his mother cared for him. So Tom is advised to care for mother, even when her hair turns gray
AUTHOR: Words: Charles Osborne/Music: Ernest J. Symons (?)
EARLIEST DATE: 1885 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: age mother sailor orphan
FOUND IN: US(MW,So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 717, "Stick to Your Mother, Tom" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7380
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "I'm a Decent Boy from Ireland" (theme)
NOTES [19 words]: Apparently originally titled "Stick to Your Mother, Tom," but I've used the only title I found in tradition. - RBW
File: R717

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