“Two Little Girls in Blue”

Description

A young man finds his uncle gazing at a photograph in tears. When asked why, the uncle explains the photo is of the boy's mother's sister, who married the uncle. The uncle and his wife have parted, and now he regrets it

Supplemental text

Two Little Girls in Blue
  Partial text(s)

          *** A ***

From Norman Cazden, Herbert Haufrecht, Norman Studer, Folk Songs
of the Catskills, #106, pp. 394-396. From the singing of Celia Kelder.

An old man gazed on a photograph
  Locket he'd worn for years;
His nephew then asked him why
  That picture caused him tears;
"If you will listen, a story I'll tell,
  A story that's strange but true:
Your father and I, one day at school,
  Met two little girls in blue.

  Refrain:
  "Two little girls in blue, lad,
    Two little girls in blue,
  We were two brothers and they were sisters,
    We learned to love the two;
  But one little girl in blue, lad,
    She won your father's heart,
  Became your mother; I married the other,
    But we have drifted apart."

(1 additional stanza) 

Same tune

• Two Little Girls In Blue (Parody) (Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 125-126)

Cross references

• cf. "'Tis Not Always the Bullet that Kills" (plot)

Recordings

• Leo Boswell, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (Columbia 15290-D, 1928)
• W. C. Childers, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (Champion 16098, 1930)
• Murray Keller, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (Brunswick 188, 1927)
• Bradley Kincaid, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (Decca I.4456, n.d.)
• Bela Lam and His Green County Singers, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (OKeh, unissued, 1927)

References

1. FSCatskills 106, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text, 1 tune)
2. Dean, pp. 74-75, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text)
3. Randolph 816, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text)
4. Cambiaire, p. 12, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text)
5. MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 163-164, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text)
6. Leach-Labrador 61, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text)
7. Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 181-181, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 fragmentary text, 1 tune)
8. ST FSC106 (Partial)
9. Roud #2793
10. BI, FSC106