Old Joe Clark
Credit: traditional / arranged and adapted by Gail & James Pokorny and David Heitler-Klevans / (c) 1994
Album: Friends
Lyrics: (Chorus:)
Fare thee well, Old Joe Clark
Fare thee well, I say
Fare thee well, Old Joe Clark
I best be on my way
I went down to Old Joe's house, he invited me to supper
Stubbed my toe on the table leg and stuck my nose in the butter!
(Chorus)
Old Joe Clark, he had a house; fifteen stories high
Every story in that house was filled with chicken pie!
(Chorus)
Old Joe Clark had a yellow cat, she would neither sing nor play
Stuck her head in the buttermilk jar and washed her cares away
(Chorus)
Old Joe Clark, he had a mule; her name was Morgan Brown
Every tooth in that mule's head was sixteen inches 'round!
(Chorus)
[Warning! Grownups are sometimes grossed out by this next verse.
Kids, however, rarely seem to be troubled by it]
Don't ever marry Old Joe Clark, I'll tell you the reason why:
He blows his nose in old corn bread, and calls it pumpkin pie!
(Chorus)
[Note: As with most traditional songs, there are many different versions with dozens of different verses. For some of the other possibilities, see Rise Up Singing, a songbook published by Sing Out!]
Fare thee well, Old Joe Clark
Fare thee well, I say
Fare thee well, Old Joe Clark
I best be on my way
I went down to Old Joe's house, he invited me to supper
Stubbed my toe on the table leg and stuck my nose in the butter!
(Chorus)
Old Joe Clark, he had a house; fifteen stories high
Every story in that house was filled with chicken pie!
(Chorus)
Old Joe Clark had a yellow cat, she would neither sing nor play
Stuck her head in the buttermilk jar and washed her cares away
(Chorus)
Old Joe Clark, he had a mule; her name was Morgan Brown
Every tooth in that mule's head was sixteen inches 'round!
(Chorus)
[Warning! Grownups are sometimes grossed out by this next verse.
Kids, however, rarely seem to be troubled by it]
Don't ever marry Old Joe Clark, I'll tell you the reason why:
He blows his nose in old corn bread, and calls it pumpkin pie!
(Chorus)
[Note: As with most traditional songs, there are many different versions with dozens of different verses. For some of the other possibilities, see Rise Up Singing, a songbook published by Sing Out!]