Joe Bowers

My name it is Joe Bowers, I"ve got a brother Ike,
I"m just here from Missouri, and all the way from Pike;
I"ll tell you why I left there and why I came to roam,
And leave my aged parents so far away from home.
I used to court a girl there, her name was Sally Black,
I asked her if she"d marry, she said it was a whack;
She says to me, "Joe Bowers, before we"ve hitched for life,
You ought to get a little home to keep your little wife."
Says I, "My dearest Sally, oh Sally, for your sake,
I"ll go to California and try and raise a stake."
Says she to me, "Joe Bowers, you"re just the one to win."
She gave me a kiss to seal the bargain and throwed a dozen in.
I"ll never forget my feelings when I bid adieu to all.
Sal she cotched me around the neck, and I began to bawl.
When I began they all commenced, you never heard the like,
How they took on and cried and cried the day I left old Pike.
When I got to this country, I had nary a red;
I had such wolfish feelings, I wished myself most dead.
But the thoughts of my dear Sally soon made this feeling git,
And whispered hope to Bowers Lord, I wish I had "em yet.
At last I went to mining, put in my biggest licks,
Come down upon the boulders just like a thousand bricks;
I worked both late and early, in rain, in sun and snow,
I was working for my Sally, "twas all the same to Joe.
One day I got a letter from my dear brother Ike,
It came from old Missouri all the way from Pike.
It taught me the darndest news that ever you did hear,
My heart it is a-breaking, so please excuse this tear.
It said my Sal was false to me, that her love for me had fled,
That she had gotten married to a butcher whose hair was red;
It told me more than that; it"s enough to make me swear,
That Sal had had a baby and the baby had red hair.
Now I told you everything about this sad sad affair,
About Sally"s marrying the butcher and the baby had red hair;
But whether it was a boy or girl the letter never said,
It only said the baby"s hair was inclined to be red.