“Ed's Thoughts”

Description

Recitation; the speaker and comrades try to break a logjam. The jam breaks but Ed McCoy is pinned under a small log. A big log knocks it loose. Asked what he was thinking, Ed answers, "My best girl I never thought of/I was afraid my lice would drown."

Long description

Recitation; the speaker and his comrades Ed McCoy and Bob Joy, are loggers attempting to break a logjam on the Au Sable river; the jam breaks and all head for the shore, but Ed is pinned under a small log. A big log comes along, but instead of crushing Ed, it knocks the small one away, freeing him. Asked if he thought of home, mother and his girlfriend, he answers, "My best girl I never thought of/I was afraid my lice would drown."

Notes

This, like the other pieces probably written by Ellsworth, does not seem to have entered oral tradition. - PJS

References

  1. Beck 101, "Ed's Thoughts" (1 text)
  2. Roud #8881
  3. BI, Be101

About

Author: Probably Marion Ellsworth
Earliest date: 1941 (Beck)
Found in: US(MW)