"Billy Boy" is a traditional

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

and

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fr ...

found in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, in which "Billy Boy" is asked various questions, and the answers all center on his quest to marry a girl who is said to be too young to leave her mother. It has a

Roud Folk Song Index The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...

number of 326. It is a variant of the traditional

English folk song The folk music of England is a tradition-based music which has existed since the later medieval period. It is often contrasted with courtly, classical and later commercial music. Folk music traditionally was preserved and passed on orally with ...

"My Boy Billy", collected by

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

and published by him in 1912 as number 232 in ''Novello's School Songs''.

Origins and interpretations

The nursery rhyme, framed in question-and-answer form, is ironic and teasing in tone: The narrative of the song has been related by some to "

Lord Randall "Lord Randall", or "Lord Randal", () is an Anglo-Scottish border ballad consisting of dialogue between a young Lord and his mother. Similar ballads can be found across Europe in many languages, including Danish, German, Magyar, Irish, Swed ...

", a

murder ballad Murder ballads are a subgenre of the traditional ballad form dealing with a crime or a gruesome death. Their lyrics form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath. The term refers to the conten ...

from the British Isles, in which the suitor is poisoned by the woman he visits. By contrast,

Robin Fox Robin Fox (July 15, 1934 – January 18, 2024) was a British-American anthropologist who wrote on the topics of incest avoidance, marriage systems, human and primate kinship systems, evolutionary anthropology, sociology and the history of ide ...

uses the song to make a point about

cooking Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or Food safety, safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from ...

and

courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage or committed romantic, ''de facto'' relationship. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marri ...

, and observes:

Feeding has always been closely linked with courtship ��With humans this works two ways since we are the only animals who cook: the bride is usually appraised for her cooking ability. (“Can she bake a
cherry pie Cherry pie is a pie baked with a cherry filling. Traditionally, it is made with sour cherries rather than sweet cherries. Sour Cherry, Morello cherries are one of the most common kinds of cherry used, but other varieties such as the black cherr ...
, Billy boy, Billy boy?”) In some cultures this is far more important than her virginity.

In the traditional last verse of the song, Billy Boy is asked how old the girl is. While his answer is convoluted, it reveals an age that is old and not young, adding to the irony and humor of the song. The song was also parodied in 1941 by

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

and Lee Hays in an anti-war protest song of the same name.

In popular culture

A line from the song was used as the title for

Henry Jaglom Henry David Jaglom (born January 26, 1938) is an English-born American actor, film director and playwright. Life and career Jaglom was born to a Jewish family in London, England, the son of Marie (née Stadthagen) and Simon M. Jaglom, who wor ...

's 1983 film ''

Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? ''Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Henry Jaglom. It was screened in the ''Un Certain Regard'' section at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. The film takes place in and was filmed in the New York City borough of ...

'', which concerns a middle-aged

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

musician who, after being dumped by her husband, develops a relationship with a middle-aged divorced social worker. The song "Billy Boy" is also performed in the film. The song was heard in the 1943 film, The Iron Major, the story of football coach Frank Cavanaugh. In the 1948 Walt Disney film ''

So Dear to My Heart ''So Dear to My Heart'' is a 1948 American live-action/animated comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Its world premiere was in Chicago, Illinois, on November 29, 1948. Like 1946's ''Song of the South'', ...

'',

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...

performs snippets of the song throughout the movie. In the 1981 movie ''

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

'', both Bill and Barry play and sing the song. The song is used in the '' Sarah, Plain and Tall'' movie trilogy.

Recordings

*Further variants have been recorded, some greatly extending the number of verses and the tasks that the wife can perform. An extended version of the song in which the lover performs many tasks besides baking a

cherry pie Cherry pie is a pie baked with a cherry filling. Traditionally, it is made with sour cherries rather than sweet cherries. Sour Cherry, Morello cherries are one of the most common kinds of cherry used, but other varieties such as the black cherr ...

was collected by

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music during the 20th century. He was a musician, folklorist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activ ...

and

John Avery Lomax John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess ...

; it appears in ''American Ballads and Folk Songs''. The Lomax version names the woman being courted Betsy Jane. *A version of the song by

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

was released on the 1975 album ''Rare, Vol. 1''. *Jazz pianist

Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones; July 2, 1930 – April 16, 2023) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator. For six decades, he was one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. He was a NEA Jazz Ma ...

arranged and recorded the song in 1951. The recording was later featured on his 1959 album ''

The Piano Scene of Ahmad Jamal ''The Piano Scene of Ahmad Jamal'' is an album by American jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. It contains performances from his earliest recording sessions for Okeh in 1951–52 in Chicago, and an Epic session from October 1955 in New York, NY.Hampton Hawes Hampton Barnett Hawes Jr. (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) was an American jazz pianist. He was the author of the memoir ''Raise Up Off Me'', which won the Deems-Taylor Award for music writing in 1975. Early life Hampton Hawes was born on No ...

recorded the song in 1955 on his album ''

Everybody Likes Hampton Hawes ''Everybody Likes Hampton Hawes'' (subtitled ''Vol. 3: The Trio'') is the third album by pianist Hampton Hawes recorded in 1956 and released on the Contemporary label.

''. *Led by pianist

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

, the

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

' band recorded Jamal's arrangement of "Billy Boy" for Davis' album ''

Milestones A milestone is a marker of distance along roads. Milestone may also refer to: Measurements *Milestone (project management), metaphorically, markers of reaching an identifiable stage in any task or the project *Software release life cycle state, s ...

'' (1958). It is the only track on the album that does not feature any horns playing. *

recorded another version similar to Davis' ''

'' in 1957 that was later released in 1969 for his own album, '' Red Garland Revisited!''. *An anti-war version of the song was released by Australian punk band Black Chrome on the 2018 album ''Age of Rage''. * Guitarist

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant ...

included an instrumental version of "Billy Boy" in his 1992 album '' Have a Little Faith''.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Billy Boy Jerry Lee Lewis songs American nursery rhymes American children's songs Traditional children's songs American folk songs Jazz standards

Origins and interpretations

In popular culture

Recordings

See also

Notes

References