THE DAYS "BEFORE THE WAR."
33
Ef I was an alligater what'd I do?
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
Run 'way wid ol' brack Sue,
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
Run 'way wid ol' brack Sue,
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
Massa ketch yer, what'd he do?
Hi, hi, honey; hi, hi, honey.
Cut yer back an' ol' brack Sue's,
He, he, honey; he, he, honey.
Hi, hi, honey; hi, hi, honey.
Cut yer back an' ol' brack Sue's,
He, he, honey; he, he, honey.
I cuss massa 'hin' de fence,
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
Massa don' hyar make no differyence,
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
Massa don' hyar make no differyence,
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
Turn dat han' spike roun' an' roun',
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
Brack man tote de buckra's load,
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
Brack man tote de buckra's load,
Hol' hard, honey; hol' hard, honey.
As the refrain died away the bell for the noon rest sounded faintly in the distance, gradually drawing nearer, and again their rich and plaintive voices blended together in sweet cadences as they finished placing the heavy load to the satisfaction of their drivers:
Hark, dat merry, purty bell go
Jing-a-lingle, jing-a-lingle, jingle bell,
Jing-a-lingle, jing-a-lingle, jing-a-lingle bell,
Jingle bell, jingle bell.
Jing-a-lingle, jing-a-lingle, jingle bell,
Jing-a-lingle, jing-a-lingle, jing-a-lingle bell,
Jingle bell, jingle bell.
