Huberstephan sing Nellie Bly

The words and music are by Stephen Foster:


Foster originally wrote the lyrics in what he believed was the accent or dialect of the southern black, but generally, when his lyrics are reprinted now, they are brought up to date.

Over time, some of the lyrics have morphed a bit. Here's one version:

Nelly Bly! Nelly Bly!
Bring the broom along,
We'll sweep the kitchen clean, my dear,
And have a little song.
Poke the wood, my lady love
And make the fire burn,
And while I take the banjo down,
Just give the mush a turn.

Chorus: Hey, Nelly! Ho Nelly!
Listen, love, to me,
I'll sing for you and play for you
A dulcem melody.

Nelly Bly has a voice
Like a turtle dove,
I hear it in the meadow
And I hear it in the grove.
Nelly Bly has a heart
Warm as a cup of tea,
And bigger than the sweet potatoes
Down in Tennessee.

Chorus: Hey, Nelly! Ho Nelly!
Listen, love, to me,
I'll sing for you and play for you
A dulcem melody.


Nelly Bly shuts her eye
When she goes to sleep.
When she wakens up again
Her eyeballs start to peep.
The way she walks, she lifts her foot,
And then she bumps it down;
And when it lights, there's music there
In that part of the town.

Chorus: Hey, Nelly! Ho Nelly!
Listen, love, to me,
I'll sing for you and play for you
A dulcem melody.


Nelly Bly! Nelly Bly!
Never, never sigh;
Never bring the tear drop
To the corner of your eye.
For the pie is made of pumpkins
And the mush is made of corn,
And there's corn and pumpkins plenty, love,
A-lyin' in the barn.

Some people think this is sung to Nellie by her lazy husband or lover, but Foster wrote it for two women's voices, so others think it's sung by two maids to each other, encouraging one another to get the work done. Sounds more like the former than the latter to me.

I first heard of this song when I was a small girl, but I only read the lyrics, I couldn't find anybody to tell me the tune, so I was tickled to think of looking this up on youtube!