"American folk song. The first published version appeared as 'Levee Song' in Carmina Princetonia, a book of Princeton University songs published in 1894.
"The 'Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah' section, with its noticeably different melody, is actually an older song that has been absorbed by 'I've Been Working on the Railroad'. It was published as 'Old Joe, or Somebody in the House with Dinah' in London in the 1830s or '40s, with music credited to J. H. Cave. The melody for this section of the song may have been adapted from 'Goodnight, Ladies', written (as 'Farewell Ladies') in 1847 by E. P. Christy. The 'Dinah won't you blow' section is a more modern addition." Warning: template has been deprecated.
