Nancy Dowdle Interview with Rosalie Jackson

The John Burrison Georgia Folklore Archive recordings contains unedited versions of all interviews. Some material may contain descriptions of violence, offensive language, or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. There are instances of racist language and description, particularly in regards to African Americans. These items are presented as part of the historical record. This project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who chose to share their experiences for educational purposes. The viewpoints expressed in this project do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Atlanta History Center or any of its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers. The Atlanta History Center makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the interviews and expressly disclaims any liability therefore. If you believe you are the copyright holder of any of the content published in this collection and do not want it publicly available, please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center at 404-814-4040 or reference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Rosalie Jackson begins the interview singing folk songs Soldier, Soldier, Mother When the Sun Go Down, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, and Mama Done Told Her Child. She then tells a riddle about a dirt dobber and sings Uncle Frog Went Ta Courtin. Next, Jackson shares home remedies to cure a sore throat and croup, as well as the use of a mixture of spiderwebs and sugar to heal open wounds. She then lists a variety of teas that help cure colds. Jackson tells another riddle about an old woman and recites a couple nursery rhymes. Jackson goes on a tangent, having a conversation with her late husband, Chester. She concludes the interview by singing Sometimes I Wonder. Biographical information for Rosalie Jackson has not been determined. Soldier, Soldier, won't you marry me, my fountain gone; No cangor, I canna marry you, have no coat ta pu' on; Well, she ran up to the tailor shop, La, she found the coat was there in his shop, Now, soldier, soldier, won't you marry me, my fountain gone. No cangor, I can na marry you, have no shoes ta put OD. Well, she ran up to the tailor shop, Lord, she found the shoes was there in his shop, Now soldier, soldier won't you marry me, for my fountain gro.~. No cangor, I can't marry you, have no pants ta put on. Well, she ran up to the tailor shop, Lord, she found the pants was there in his shop, Now soldier, soldier, now hear thee, for my fountain grown. No cangor, I can na marry you, have no shirt ta put on. vlell, she ran up to the tailor shop, Lord, she found the shirt was there in his shop, Now soldier, soldier, now hear thee, for my fountain grown. No cangor I can't marry you, have no hat to put on. Well, she ran up to the tailor shop, Lord,she found the hat, lirag there jn his shop, Fon my,LflouniainlgrowI).. '(\I)!./ hn'::IJ' tlJutr, for :i1Y f -1l.:mLa.i n r:n:F,m., No cangor, I canha marry you, HUotta little wife at home. Hother When the Sun Go Down Hother when the sun go dOlm, Mother when the sun go down, 1'11 be restin' sweet and easy lvhen the sun go down. Hother when the evenin' sun, ;'i"U,"'T' Mother when the evenin' sun go down. I'll be waiting at the river, l' be waitin' at the river there When the evenin' sun go down. I'll be wailin' at the bank, oh Lor', I'll be wailin' at the bank, oh Lor', When the evenin' sun go down. I am's wad' the wat', oh La, l' m wad' the 1'1a t l" oh La, When the evenin' sun go down. He's wai' in the even&n' chil'ren, He's waitin' in the evenin' chil'ren, 'N we's waitin' fa the sun go down. Swing Low Sweet Chariot Swing low sweet charia, commin' for ta carry me home, Swing low sweet chariet, Comin' for to carry me home. I looked over Jurdon, what did I see, Gomin' fer ta carry me home, I saw three horses coming after me, Comin' for ta carry me home. Swing low sweet charia, Comin' for ta carry me home, Swing low sweet charia, Comin' for to carry me home. Well, onena dese days an' it won't be long, Comin' for to carry me home, I looked over Jurdan 'n what I see, Comin' for to carry me home. Bring Them In Bring them in, Bring them ina to the heaven right , Bring them in, Bring them ina to thecve~, Bring them in, oh Lor, Bring them in, Bring them in de fi's for Jesus, Bring them in Joseph, Bring them in for Jesu, Qh, Bring them in, oh Lordy, Bring them in a for Jesus. Mama Done Told Her Child Mama done told her chifd, Riddle Miss Nancy, :p:m going to ask you a question, I'm going to ask you a question. Can you do what I ask you to do? What goes upstairs, hippy tippy upstairs, hippy tippy downstairs, hippy tippy bout ya? Can you tell now what that is? Can you tell me what's dat? No. Yes you do, What goes hippy tip upstairs, hippy tip downstairs, no matter who tip bout ya? Now you can tell me what dat is, can't you? You know hit ain't nothin' but a dirt dobber, Nancy, that's what that is, a dirt dobber, made a nest up in the wall, you tickle me, now I told you hippy tippy upstairs, Miss Nancy. Uncle Frog Went Ta Courtin' Uncle frog went ta courtin' and he could ride, urn hum, um hum. Uncle frog went ta courtin' and he could ride, urn hum, urn hum. He danced all round Miss Marthi's lap sayin' now Miss Marthi won't ya marry me, urn hum, um hum. No, Mr. frog, your eyes too big, urn hum, urn hum. No, Mr. frog, your eyes too big, um hum, um hum. No, Mr. frog your eyes too big, I shouldn't marry a frog like that, urn hum, urn hum. Well, he danced all round Miss Marthi's lap, urn hum, um hum. He danced all round Miss Marthi's lap, urn hum, urn hum, Saying now Miss Marthi won't marry me Now I don know what I', go' to do um hum, um hum. No Mr. frog your neck too long urn hum, urn hum. No Mr. frog your leg too long and I don' want no skinny leg urn hum, urn hum. What about your big, big eyes Miss Marthi, Miss Marthi, What's matter matter wid your big eyes Miss Marthi, You know why I don't want you, cause your leg too poor 'n skinny um hum, urn hum, um hum, um hum hum, Ha~ Ha~ Go way Mr. Pony~ gonna do bout it? I rupt you in de nose, you misrupt your nose. Well, I sure kin do it brodder, cause I reddy for ya cause I may not be much but I rub your nose till it git grass on it come on here I making a mark, I dare you ta come cross this mark, you come cross this mark I jest mar your head good 01' hoppa grass, you 01' toad frog, you 01' bull headed, you 01' possum headed, you 01' goa~ headed, 01 possum foot. Sometime I Wonder Sometime I wonder an I wonder for me an my way so hard. Lord, I wonder dat man done be late in the evenin' every night, dat man of mine he got a heart like a rocking of to see , Lord if I had a v~ain I will quiet a way, I show that man of mine he making mistake. Lord, that man, that man of mine made me so so evil and I don't know what to do that man gotta heart like a rock and I see cause I had one a pistol I shoot a bout it boy, I bang my head, I twist it round, I shake my mis as much as I please cause that man I died like a heartin the sea. I had a twist and a wabble an a do the round I went into the mess an I fought like that. Don't you wous't I got 'em an you're not gonna get it couse I man I got gotta heart like a big blue sea. Gome an get 'em if you want 'em, I shake you up, you ratcoon. By this time Rosalie was dancing. I gonna shoot my forty-for' jest as much as I please, La, if you don't like I'm gonna do the boogie woogie, now I'm doing the boogie woogie, yes I am, don't you know I'm doin' the boogie woogie, and I you'll not gonna stop, jest let me tell you what I'm gonna do, dO, I'm gonna get my sugar 'n walk a way "id him like I know that even'in sun go down, way in the evenin', I get the vleary blues. I put on my shoes, jest do the boogie woogie, jest do the boogie woogie, yes my la, jest do the boogie woogie, yes my lao Walk all around, here I go now do the boogie woogie Dancing What you doin' man, don't you come in I'm mean, I'M doing the boogie woogie, oh, yes, I am bam, bam, bam, bam. Two ducks an a dis a fussin' , A PDF transcript exists for this recording. Please contact an archivist for access. Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions. As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information, which places us inaposition to choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, andbias isreflected in our descriptions, whichmay not convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materialsaccurately.Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment.We often re-use language used by the former owners and creators, which provides context but also includes bias and prejudices of the time it was created.Additionally,our work to use reparative languagewhereLibrary of Congress subject termsareinaccurate and obsolete isongoing. 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