Samuel Morris, May 7, 2020
Split into 2 groups if you can for this one, have a leader
sing the first line and the rest answering...
Leader: Old Mother Riley's got a farm
Others: Way down yonder in the cornfields
L: And on that farm she's got a farm
O: Way down yonder in the cornfields
L: Down by the sea
O:Down by the sea
L: Where the watermelons grow
O: Where the watermelons grow
L: Back to my home
O: Back to my home
L: I dare not go
O: I dare not go
L: For if I go
O: For if I go
L: My ma will say
O: My ma will say
All: Have you ever seen a cow with a green eyebrow,
Have you ever seen a cow with a green eyebrow?
Down by the e-i-o, HO!
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post focues on examples of that song that include the line "Have you ever seen a cow with a green eyebrow" in "Down By The Sea" /Down By The Bay songs.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown composer/s of the "Down By The Sea" ("Down By The Banks") song. Thanks also to the unknown composer/s of the versions of that song that are featured in this post.
-snip-
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series about the history of the song "Down By The Sea"/ "Down By The Bay" (including the 2020 adaption "Down By The Bay Where The Watermelons Rot"
Although almost all pancocojams posts focus on African American culture and other Black cultures around the world, this "Down By The Sea"/"Bay" series is presented for general folkloric purposes.
"Down By The Sea" (also known as "Down By The Bay" has pre-World War I (1914-1918) origins as indicated in a number of online pages, including .https://www.folklounge.org/where-are-the-watermelons-from-anyway/ "Where are the Watermelons from anyway?" March 20, 2023, Daniel Kelly.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/03/johnny-come-long-old-shanty-that.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "Johnny, Come-A-Long" : An Old Shanty That Includes The Chorus For The Song "Down By The Sea" also known as "Down By The Bay (Where The Watermelons Grow)"
Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/03/where-watermelons-rot-original-song-by.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Where The Watermelons Rot" (an original song by Madelynne Whitt based on "Down By The Bay Where The Watermelons Grow").
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INFORMATION ABOUT EARLY SONGS THAT INCLUDE THE LYRICS "HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A COW WITH A GREEN EYEBROW?"The earliest source that I have found for the line "Have you ever seen a cow with a green eyebrow is the 1918 song "Way Down Yonder in the Cornfields"* in the book entitled More Tommy's Tunes, second series, [by] Nettleinghame, 1918]
Click https://www.google.com/books/edition/More_Tommy_s_Tunes/DSKtAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Have+you+ever+seen+a+cow+with+a+green+eyebrow%3F&pg=PA18&printsec=frontcover
[page 17 and 18]
More Tommy's Tunes - An Additional
Collection of Soldiers' Songs, Marching Melodies, Rude Rhymes and Popular
Parodies, Composed, Collected, and Arranged on Active Service with the B E F
Nettleinghame, E, F T(middlesex Regiment) compiler
Published by Erskine Macdonald, London, 1918
[page 17 and 18]
-snip-
*WARNING -There are a number of late 19th century United States songs
with different lyrics that have the title “Way Down
Yonder In The Corn Field . “Way Down Yonder In The Corn Field” songs were
sung by Black or White people and most of those songs include what is now called “the n word.
**
Here's information about a 1930 source for the line ""Have you ever seen a cow with a green eyebrow?" from From https://www.folklounge.org/where-are-the-watermelons-from-anyway/ "Where are the Watermelons from anyway?" March 20, 2023, Daniel Kelly
…."I found the 1930 text, but it had several titles, including The Long Trail (which is online, a 1965 re-print).
(Down by the sea!)
Where the watermelons grow
(Where the watermelons grow!)
Back to my home
(Back to my home!)
I dare not go
(I dare not go!)
For if I do
(For if I do)
My wife will say:
(My wife will say)
Did you ever see a cow with a green eye brow
(Did you ever see a cow with a green eye brow
Down where the watermelons grow?
The repetitive rhymes were intoned very softly, and the
whole piece of nonsense was sung slow and sweet till the last two lines which
went with speed and gusto. Although most soldiers didn’t realize ,this was
almost certainly a pre-War ditty.” "
-snip-
This is the end of the quote from that song page from that 1930 book entitled The Long Trail.
In that quote "Air" means "Tune".
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COMMENTS THAT MENTION 'THE COW WITH A GREEN EYEBROW" IN DOWN BY THE BAY"/ "DOWN BY THE SEA" SONGS
These online sources are given in no particular order. Numbers are included for referencing purposes only.
Online Source #1
From Subject: RE: Origins: Down by the Bay / Sea
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=108942
1.GUEST,h.b.
Date: 19 Mar 13 - 11:18 PM
"For me, it was a camp song from about 1957 - the first verse
ending with:
**
2. GUEST
Date: 30 Aug 15 - 06:10 PM
as the day was dawning
See the little engines all in a row
see the little drivers pulling out the levers
chuff chuff chuff and away they go
down to the sea
where the watermelons grow.
I dare not go,
for if I do,
my mother will say
"did you ever see a cow with a green eyebrow, down by
the sea?"
**
3. GUEST,Fiona
Date: 09 Feb 16 - 09:27 AM
Early in the morning as the day is dawning
See the little engines all in a row
See the little driver
Pull the little leaver
Choo choo choo
And away we go
Down by the sea
Where the watermelons grow
But too my home
I dare not go
For if i do
My wife will say
Have you ever seen a cow
With a green eyebrow
Down by the sea
My nanny was welsh and she used to sing it in welsh
afterwards and we loved it as kids, just wish i could remember it in Welsh i
sing the above version"
-snip-
Examples #2 and #3 combine two songs: 1. The song beginning with the line "Early in the morning as the day is dawning" and 2. The song beginning with "Down by the sea".
That first song is best known as "Down By The Station". Here's some information about and lyrics for that song from https://allnurseryrhymes.com/down-by-the-station/
..."Down by the Station is a contemporary nursery rhyme and one
of the most popular children’s train songs. The first written account of the
song dates back to a 1931 edition of the children’s magazine “Recreation”
edited by the National Recreation Association.
The first known recording of “Down by the Station” happened in 1948 by Slim Gaillard and Lee Ricks but the song was made famous by Tommy Dorsey’s version from the same year.
The tune of the song is very similar to the popular French song “Alouette”
Down by The Station Lyrics
Down by the station
Early in the morning
See the little pufferbellies
All in a row
See the station master
Turn the little handle
Puff, puff, toot, toot
Off we go!"
-snip-
It appears that the song "Down By The Station" was based on an earlier song that began with the "Early in the morning as the day is dawning" line.
**
4. GUEST
Date: 10 Apr 16 - 04:24 PM
"My father sang this version to me on 1950's and that was in
Devon, UK, always sea and the cow with the green-eyed version."
**
5. GUEST
Date: 05 Mar 17 - 01:50 PM
"My father used to sing it to us as you have put
it but finish by saying "Have you ever seen a cow with a green eyebrow,
down by the sea"! He was born in 1916, so don't know whether it has
Edwardian origins"
**
6. GUEST,Vanessa in the Uk
Date: 16 Sep 18 - 08:31 AM
"So excited to have found this thread! Im in the middle of
packing up my home ready for a move and was reminiscing about my late father
(born 1914 Birmingham UK) who sang to me in my infancy & then to his
grandchildren many years later about down by the sea ... and the cow with the
green eyebrow! I was never sure if it was a real song or something my dad made
up, so I had a lovely surprise finding this and learning that many children
across the world and across time have enjoyed this dirty ?"
-snip-
Guest, Vanessa in the Uk wrote a post correcting that last word. She meant to
write“ditty”
7.
Date: 19 Mar 23 - 05:35 PM
"Have not had much luck with the wiki of late. Tune may be
Greek but, I doubt a Greek Mother Riley. Learned this one as Old Mother Riley
(had a farm) but the title was:
1918
Solo: Old Mother Riley's got a farm,
Chorus: Way down yonder in the cornfields,
S. And on this farm she's got a cow,
C. Way down yonder in the cornfields.
S. Down by the sea,
C. Down by the sea,
S. Where the water melons grow,
C. Where the water melons grow,
S. Back to ma home,
C. Back to ma home,
S. I dare not go––
C. I dare not go,
S. For if I do––
C. For if I do,
S. My Ma will say––
C. My Ma will say:
S. Have you ever seen a cow with a green eyebrow?
C. Have you ever seen a cow with a green eyebrow?
C. Down by the E.I.O.”
[More Tommy's Tunes, 2nd series, Nettleinghame, 1918]
-snip-
From
"Old Mother Riley is a fictional [British] character portrayed from
about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as
part of a British music hall act.[1][2]"...
-snip-
It appears that the character "Old Mother Riley" was replaced by Old Mother Hubbard (who went to the cupboard to get her dog a bone) and by Old McDonald (who had a farm).
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Online Source #2
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CSxGHve60E Raffi Down By The Bay YouTube, Lena Rogers, Sep 5, 2012
"Did you ever see a COW with a green eyeBROW" My Dad sang it to me when I was little..I'm
nearly 80 now and still love it. Thanks Raffi"
-snip-
The silly (nonsense) rhyme "cow with a green eyebrow" isn't included in Raffi's performances of "Down By The Bay". Raffi's first recording of "Down By The Bay" was in 1976.
****
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