Little Mohee, version 2

Little Mohee, version 2

Folk songs

This is a hand-transcribed version of the ballad, "The Little Mohee." A note on the second page attributes this version to Mrs. Lou Brookshire and says she learned it from her mother who learned it from her mother.

Bobby McMillon

Bobby McMillon Collection, Southern Appalachian Archives, Mars Hill University

Southern Appalachian Archives, Liston B. Ramsey Center for Appalachian Studies, Mars Hill University

Mrs. Lou Brookshire

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The Little Mohee

As I was out walking for pleasure one day
In sweet recreation to while time away
As I sat amusing myself on the grass
No one should come near me but a fair Indian lass.

She sat down beside me and taking my hand
Saying, you are a stranger and in a strange land
But if you will follow you're welcome to come
And dwell in the cottage I call my home.

The sun was fast sinking far o'er the salt sea
As I wandered away with my pretty Mohee
Together we wandered, together we roved
Till we came to a hut in the coconut grove.

As this kind expression she made unto me
If you will consent sir to stay here with me
And go no more roaming far o'er the salt sea
I'll teach you the language of the Indian Mohee.

Oh no my fair maiden that never could be
For I have a true love in my own country
And I cannot forsake her I know she loves me
Her love is as true as the pretty Mohee.

So early one morning, one morning in May
When to this fair maiden these words I did say
I'm going to leave you so farewell my dear
My ship sails a spreading and home I must steer.

The last time I saw her she stood on the sand
And as my boat passed her she waved me her hand
Saying dear when you've landed on your own native shore
Just think of the Mohee in the coconut grove.

[verso]:
Mrs. Lou Brookshire
Learned from her mother who learned it from her mother

And where I had landed on my own native shore
With friends and relations around me once more
I looked all about me but none could I see
That I could compare with my pretty Mohee.

The girl I had trusted proved untrue to me
So I'll turn my course backward far
o'er the salt sea
I'll turn my course backward
far o'er the salt sea
I'll go spend my days with my
Pretty Mohee.

Handwritten text on pages of a blue journal.