“Drunkard and His Daughter, or Please Mr. Barkeeper”

Description

"Please, Mr. Barkeeper, has father been here?" The bartender tells the girl her father is in jail. At the jail,she begs for his release. They tell her to go home. She refuses. Because she is so cold, they release her father. He stops drinking

Notes

Cambiaire claims this is a true story about a mountaineer whose pretty 13-year-old daughter begged for his release. He also claims the song remained popular for fifty years in East Tennessee. I rather wonder if Cambiaire didn't write the poem himself, no doubt thinking of the pretty young girl all the while. - RBW.

References

  1. Cambiaire, pp. 123-124, "The Drunkard and His Daughter, or Please Mr. Barkeeper" (1 text)
  2. BI, Camb123

About

Author: unknown
Earliest date: 1933 (Cambiaire)
Found in: US(Ap)