How well I remember when I was a boy, We lived in the old fashioned home,

voiceColle cted by Merlin Mitchell Transcribed by Kyle Perrin Reel Item A. H. Wallace Fayetteville, Ark. March 22 , 1950 The Old Hickory Cane How well I remember when I was a boy, We lived in the old fashioned home, The chimbley was deep and the stove hearth was broad, The fire dogs(?) how brightly they shown. The spirit of mischief seemed ever as plain, I tried to keep still but in vain, The signal for quiet I never shall forget, Twas a thump of the old hickory cane. The old hickry cane, the old hickry cane, The cane that was knotty and worn, Our father's companion, the staff of his life, It's absence we ne'er could have borne. Twas pleasant when living far out on the farm To welcolm the old dinner horn, The long winter evenings brought ciders and fruits, And poping of chestnuts and corn. We thought it a treat when with hand on his cane, Our father a story would tell, Each eye would be bent on his good natured face, Ah, me, I remember it well. The old hickry cane, the old hickry cane, The cane that was knotty and worn, Our father's companion, the staff of his life, It's absence we ne'er could have borne. His high backed old arm chair sits silent and lore, His Bible is lying there still, Since tim es laid the snows of old age on his head, And bent the cold form to His will. But the nitch in the c o m e r still holds the old cane, But the hand that caressed it is cold, We laid him to rest but still ever will keep The cane that is knotty and worn. (more) The Old Hickory Cane (Cont.) The old hickry cane, the old hickry cane, The cane that was knotty and worn, Our father's companion, the staff of his life, It's absence we ne'er could have borne. Mitch....That's fine, Sir. Did you learn it from your father? Wallace..Yes. Mitch....And do you happen to know about how long ago that was? Wallace..Well, I learned it when I was a child and I prabably knew it when I was five years old. Mitchl...And where was that, Sir? Wallace..That was in Iowa. When I was two. Mitch....And where did your father come from? Wallace. .He was b o m in Tennessee and lived in Missouri in his younger life. Went to Missouri when he was seven years old. In 1830 he went to Missouri. Mitch....And then, I suppose you moved from Iowa down here. Wallace..Moved from Iowa to Kansas and from Kansas to Colorado and we moved from Colorado to Texas, from Texas to Oklahoma and over to Arkansas. Mitch....Well, you took ever state in step, didn't you. Wallace..This song I'm going to sing now is one I learned when I was just a child. And I'm now eighty-two years old. So, you see, it's not a new song but it's just one of the old timers and it's entitled The Patter of the Shingle.Funding for digitization provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Happy Hollow Foundation