“Skin and Bones (The Skin and Bones Lady)”

Description

"There was an old woman, all skin and bones." The old woman decides to go to church. At the church she encounters a (rotting?) corpse. She asks the (parson/clock), "Will I be thus when I am dead." When told "Yes," she screams and/or dies

Recordings

• Anonymous singer, "There Was an Old Woman All Skin and Bones" (on USWarnerColl01)

References

1. Belden, pp. 502-503, "Old Woman All Skin and Bone" (3 texts)
2. Randolph 69, "The Skin-and-Bone Woman" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
3. BrownIII 142, "Old Woman All Skin and Bones" (4 texts plus 2 excerpts and mention of 3 more; the "B" text seems to have picked up a "Worms Crawl In" chorus)
4. Brewster 53, "The Skin-and-Bone Lady" (1 short text, clearly this though it lacks the "skin-and-bone" reference)
5. Eddy 86, "The Skin-and-Bone Lady" (2 texts, 1 tune)
6. Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 11-12, "[Skin and Bones]" (1 text, 1 tune)
7. Ritchie-Southern, p. 20, "Skin and Bones" (1 text, 1 tune)
8. JHCox 167, "The Skin-And-Bone Lady" (2 texts)
9. Flanders/Brown, pp. 180-181, "The Old Woman All Skin and Bones" (2 texts, 1 tune)
10. Linscott, pp. 44-46, "Old Woman All Skin and Bone" (1 text, 1 tune)
11. Opie-Oxford2 293, "There was a lady all skin and bone" (1 text)
12. Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #92, pp. 86-88, "(There was a lady all skin and bone)"
13. Chase, p. 186, "The Old Woman All Skin and Bones" (1 text, 1 tune)
14. Botkin-NEFolklr, p. 586, "Old Woman All Skin and Bone" (1 text, 1 tune)
15. DT, SKINBONE
16. Roud #501
17. BI, R069