Bob McClary - Girl I Left Behind Me - Texas, 1942
The calls below come from "Play and Dance," A Collection of Songs and Tunes from the Library of Congress Archive of Folk Song. Recorded in 1942 by John A. Lomax. Liner notes and transcription created by B.A. Botkin.
Bob McClary, a caller "from away back," demonstrates the hearty southwestern style of singing and half-singing dance calls, to which a tune like "The Girl I Left Behind Me" is excellently suited.
The Dallas Square Dance Club is typical of the many local groups of square-dance enthusiasts which have sprung up all over the country. John Lomax, who recorded these dances, notes: "The Dallas Square Dance Club, with Dr. Ramsey Moore president, is composed of young married couples popular in society, who gather twice a month for the fun of square dances at the Dallas Tennis Club Building. Bob McClary, of Farmers Branch, calls the turns ... the recordings catch the spirit of the dance; the 'band' plays in genuine old style, and the caller's couplets are fairly clear."
Played by Oscar Harper on the fiddle, Harman Clem on the guitar, Homer Peters on the banjo, and Ray Hanby on the bass viol, with calling by Bob McClary, at Dallas Square Dance Club, Dallas, Tex., 1942. Recorded by John A. Lomax.
THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME
Break and trail home, Lady in the lead and the gents follow up.
Circle eight and you'll all get straight, And everybody dance.
Don't be lazy, do-si-do, and a little more dough.
Chicken in the bread tray scratchin' out dough.
Granny, will your dog bite? No, child, no.
And everybody dance.
Swing your partners, promenade,
And-a home you go and you meet your taw.
Everybody dance just as pretty as you can.
Four young gents swing out to the right,
And swing them by the right hand.
Swing your partners by the left
And promenade the girl behind you.
Oh, that girl, that pretty little girl,
The girl I left behind me,
With the rosy cheeks and the curly hair,
Oh, the girl I left behind me.
Everybody rest.
Four young gents swing out to the right,
And swing them by the right hand.
Swing your partners by the left
And promenade the girl behind you
Oh, that girl, that pretty little girl,
The girl I left behind me,
With the rosy cheeks and the curly hair,
Oh, the girl I left behind me.
Four young gents swing out to the right, etc.
Four young gents swing out to the right,
And swing them by the right hand.
Swing your partners by the left
And promenade the girl behind you.
Oh, that girl, that pretty little girl,
The girl I left behind me.
I'll weep and cry till the day I die
For the girl I left behind me.
Circle eight and you'll all get straight,
And everybody dance.
Don't be lazy, do-si-do, and a little more dough.. . .
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Bob McClary, a caller "from away back," demonstrates the hearty southwestern style of singing and half-singing dance calls, to which a tune like "The Girl I Left Behind Me" is excellently suited.
The Dallas Square Dance Club is typical of the many local groups of square-dance enthusiasts which have sprung up all over the country. John Lomax, who recorded these dances, notes: "The Dallas Square Dance Club, with Dr. Ramsey Moore president, is composed of young married couples popular in society, who gather twice a month for the fun of square dances at the Dallas Tennis Club Building. Bob McClary, of Farmers Branch, calls the turns ... the recordings catch the spirit of the dance; the 'band' plays in genuine old style, and the caller's couplets are fairly clear."
Played by Oscar Harper on the fiddle, Harman Clem on the guitar, Homer Peters on the banjo, and Ray Hanby on the bass viol, with calling by Bob McClary, at Dallas Square Dance Club, Dallas, Tex., 1942. Recorded by John A. Lomax.
THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME
Break and trail home, Lady in the lead and the gents follow up.
Circle eight and you'll all get straight, And everybody dance.
Don't be lazy, do-si-do, and a little more dough.
Chicken in the bread tray scratchin' out dough.
Granny, will your dog bite? No, child, no.
And everybody dance.
Swing your partners, promenade,
And-a home you go and you meet your taw.
Everybody dance just as pretty as you can.
Four young gents swing out to the right,
And swing them by the right hand.
Swing your partners by the left
And promenade the girl behind you.
Oh, that girl, that pretty little girl,
The girl I left behind me,
With the rosy cheeks and the curly hair,
Oh, the girl I left behind me.
Everybody rest.
Four young gents swing out to the right,
And swing them by the right hand.
Swing your partners by the left
And promenade the girl behind you
Oh, that girl, that pretty little girl,
The girl I left behind me,
With the rosy cheeks and the curly hair,
Oh, the girl I left behind me.
Four young gents swing out to the right, etc.
Four young gents swing out to the right,
And swing them by the right hand.
Swing your partners by the left
And promenade the girl behind you.
Oh, that girl, that pretty little girl,
The girl I left behind me.
I'll weep and cry till the day I die
For the girl I left behind me.
Circle eight and you'll all get straight,
And everybody dance.
Don't be lazy, do-si-do, and a little more dough.. . .