Down Where the Watermelon Grows

DESCRIPTION: "I've got a girl in Caroline, Down where the watermelons grow, Someday she will be mine... down where..., How I love her God only knows." But he finds her in the arms of another guy.
AUTHOR: Words: Ren Shields / Music: George Evans (source: SecondHandSongs.com)
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (performed by Eddie Foy and by John King, according to SecondHandSongs.com)
KEYWORDS: love food rejection marriage
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Zander/Klusmann-CampSongsNThings, p. 22, "Down Where the Watermelons Grow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Zander/Klusmann-CampSongsPopularEdition, p. 10, "Down Where the Watermelons Grow" (1 text)
Roud #27821
RECORDINGS:
Phil Reeve & Ernest Moody, "Down Where the Watermelons Grow" (Victor 20540, 1927?)
NOTES [67 words]: There seems to be confusion over whether this is "Down Where the Watermelons Grow" or "Down Where the Watermelon Grows." The Volo Bogtrotters, from whom I learned it and who had it from Reeve and Moody, sing "Watermelon Grow," but several books seem to reverse that. Possibly this is because there were several early versions; Ren Shields apparently wrote local verses for performances in some areas. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: ZanK022

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