# Baby-O

## Classification

- Queue shelf: light
- Current website category: archive
- Research category: public-domain / traditional
- Rights status: public-domain-us
- Confidence: likely-confirmed, with exact-variant caution

## Writer / Source

Traditional American folk song; Scrips source follows the Kossoy Sisters title/lineage, also known as What'll We Do with the Baby-O?

## Earliest Located Evidence

The strongest quick match is the traditional song family indexed by VWML as Roud 826, with Seeger's *American Folk Songs for Children* listing in 1948 and Kossoy Sisters recording lineage in 1956. SecondHandSongs lists the Kossoy Sisters performance as written by Traditional and first recorded in August 1956.

## Context

Brad identified the Scrips title as often called “What do we do with the baby?” and associated with the Kossoy Sisters. That matches the inspected Scrips source text and cleaned ChordPro file. The song appears under related titles including “What'll We Do with the Baby-O?”, “What Will We Do with the Baby O,” and “What'll I Do with This Baby-O?”

## Rights Assessment

Treat the underlying song as traditional/public-domain for the website package, but keep a source note: the exact Kossoy Sisters recorded performance and Ruth Crawford Seeger printed arrangement are not themselves being claimed as public-domain arrangements. The Scrips should publish their working performance text/chords as their traditional arrangement and avoid copying protected notes, liner notes, or a modern published arrangement verbatim.

## Source Links

- https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/1063307/all
- https://secondhandsongs.com/work/224439/all
- https://archives.vwml.org/search/all%3Asingle%5Bfolksong-broadside%5D/0_50/all/score_desc/extended-roudNo_tr%3A826
- https://archive.org/details/americanfolksong0000seeg_h3l4
- https://www.bethsnotesplus.com/2015/02/whatll-we-do-with-the-baby-o.html
- https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.html

## Local Scrips Evidence

- Current source text: src/_content/song-text/baby-o.txt
- Cleaned Scrips ChordPro source: Baby-O.chopro
- Existing site status: cover, listed in master repertoire
- Existing site notes: lyric/chord sheet present; listed in master list; appears in setlist

## Scrips Arrangement Notes

The included text/chords follow The Scrips working ChordPro chart. The wording should be described publicly as The Scrips' traditional arrangement, not as a direct publication of the Kossoy Sisters recording text.

## Chords / Key / Tuning

- Key: C
- Capo: 0
- Tuning/comment: Banjo - Double C (gCGCD)
- Time: 4/4
- Tempo: 98

## Alternate Titles / Indexes

- Alternate titles: What'll We Do with the Baby-O?, What Will We Do with the Baby O, What'll I Do with This Baby-O?, Baby-O
- Roud number: 826

## Open Questions

- Before final public launch, confirm The Scrips want to publish the working text's sharper comic verses as-is.
- Confirm the website credit line should say “Traditional, arr. The Scrips” rather than “Kossoy Sisters.”