If I Had the Gov'ner

DESCRIPTION: "If I had the gov'ner Where the gov'ner has me, Before daylight I'd set the gov'ner free. I begs you' gov'ner, Upon my soul: If you won't gimme a pardon, Won't you gimme a parole?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: prisoner request pardon
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-OnTheTrailOfNegroFolkSongs, p. 31, (no title) (1 short text)
NOTES [52 words]: Scarborough reports having gotten this from Texas governor Pat Neff, who heard it as the refrain of a song by a prisoner requesting help. I rather doubt this; it looks like a loose fragment of something else -- perhaps "Take This Hammer." But until something more definite emerges, it has to file separately. - RBW
File: ScaNF031

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