Reel 398, Item 5
Collected by: Fred Smith
Georgine Cawood Bentonville, Ark.
October 15, 1963
IF I WAS AS YOUNG AS I USED TO BE
(This song is called "If I Was as Young as I Used to Be", and I learned it from an old man in Texas.)
Young folks, listen to my song,
I'm old and won't detain you long.
I'm eighty-four, I'll have you know,
And the old folks call me Uncle Joe.
My hair, once black, has all turned gray,
But what's the odds while I feel gay.
I love to sing a song of glee,
For it makes me as young as I used to be.
Fi-di-hi-de-hup-te-do,
How I love to sing to you;
How I could sing with joy and glee,
If I was as young as I used to be.
When I was young and in my prime,
I was chasing the girls the most of the time.
I'd take 'em out each day for a ride,
And always have one at my side.
I'd hug and kiss them just for fun,
And I ain't forgot the way it's done.
Any girl here is in love with me,
She'll find me as young as I used to be.
Fi-di-hi-de-hup-te-do,
How I love to sing to you;
How I could sing with joy and glee
If I was as young as I used to be.
When I was young I knew life's joys,
But now I'm old, and I'm still one of the boys;
I can take a smile or sing a song With any good fellow that comes along.
I can tell a story or crack a joke,
And never refuse to drink or smoke.
I'm a gay old sport, you'll all agree,
And I feel just as young as I used to be.
Fi-di-hi-de-hup-te-do,
How I love to sing to you.
How I could sing with joy and glee
If I was as young as I used to be.
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