“The Old Gray Mule (Johnson's Mule)”
Description
"Mr. Thomas had an old gray mule, And he drove him to a cart, And he loved that mule and the mule loved him." The song describes how Thomas mistreats the mule (currying it with a rake, feeding it on boot tops). The mule kicks and eventually dies
Notes
Reading Pound's text, I can't help but believe that parts of it were originally about a goat, not a mule. But I can't locate similar "goat" stanzas. In any case, many of the same lines appear in Gardner and Chickering.
Brown's text is also about a mule, but the few lines it contains are all goat-applicable. - RBW
References
- LPound-ABS, 103, pp. 213-214, "The Old Gray Mule" (1 text)
- Gardner/Chickering 186, "Johnson's Mule" (1 text)
- BrownIII 512, "Johnson's Mule" (1 short text)
- Roud #3704
- BI, LPns213