“Boys Can Whistle, Girls Can Sing”
Description
"Grandma Grunt said a curious thing, Boys can whistle but girls must sing." Various people confirm this observation: "[Papa] said to me, 'It's the usual thing For boys to whistles and girls to sing.'" Whistling girls will reportedly meet a bad end
Notes
The first place I saw this was in the Prairie Home Companion book, and the Brown collection proves that it is a genuine folksong. Sadly, the Prairie Home Companion book does not document sources, so we do not know where this song survives. - RBW
References
- BrownIII 145, "Whistling Girls and Crowing Hens" (1 text)
- Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 73, "Boys Can Whistle, Girls Can Sing" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Roud #7012
- BI, PHCFS073