"Oh, I wish I was single again" - Appalachian History

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

When I was a single girl, I went dressed very fine,
Now I am married and have a drunken man to mind.
Oh, I wish I were a single girl again.

When I was a single girl I done as I pleased;
Now I am a married girl with a drunken man to please.
Oh, I wish I were a single girl again.

He goes down to town and stays all day
Drinking and gambling and wasting time away.
Oh, I wish I were a single girl again.

And when he comes home it’s a curse and damn,
Wishing I were dead and he had another dram.
Oh, I wish I were a single girl again.

Spring to go to, and cows to milk and feed,
And the four little children a-crying after me.
Oh, I wish I were a single girl again.

Roscoe Holcomb - I Wish I Were A Single Girl Again

Watch this video on YouTube

Collected by Harvey H. Fuson
“Ballads of the Kentucky Highlands”
London, 1931, p 118

More posts on love/marriage/romance in Appalachia:

“Oh, I wish I was single again”