Boil Them Cabbage Down

A working songbook entry preserved from repertoire, set-list, or reference evidence.

Status: audio/reference · unknown
Writer / source: Traditional American fiddle/banjo song
Rights: Public domain in the United States. Traditional arrangement by The Scrips.
Related Scrips recording: No Scrips recording linked yet.

Source research

Documented lineage

Earliest evidence: Nineteenth/early twentieth-century folk tradition; exact first publication not located in this pass
Aliases / index: Bile Them Cabbage Down · Boil Em Cabbage Down
Working arrangement: Key G · Capo 0

Evidence 01 Evidence 02 Download full research note ↓

Lyrics + source text

Working song sheet

Download text file ↓ Download ChordPro ↓

Boil Them Cabbage Down
Traditional American fiddle/banjo song
Rights: public-domain-us

Boil them cabbage down, boys, boil them cabbage down; The only song that I can sing is boil them cabbage down.

Once I had an old grey mule, his name was Morgan Brown; Every tooth in that mule's head was two feet from the ground. Boil them cabbage down, boys, boil them cabbage down; The only song that I can sing is boil them cabbage down.

Went up on the mountain, to get a load of pine; Put it on the old mule's back and almost lost my mind. Boil them cabbage down, boys, boil them cabbage down; The only song that I can sing is boil them cabbage down.

Had an old hen, she had a wooden leg;Best old hen that ever laid, she laid an Easter egg. Boil them cabbage down, boys, boil them cabbage down; The only song that I can sing is boil them cabbage down.

Archive note

lyric/chord sheet present; reference audio file present

Chords

G · C · D