Vicki Wallace interview with Clayton Overby and Peggy Phillips

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. In this interview, Clayton Overby and his daughter Peggy (Mrs. James D. Phillips) play folk songs. Overby plays his fiddle and Phillips her guitar. The songs include originals written by Overby, titled Who Bit the Wart Off Grandmas Nose, If You Wanna Go BrokeGet Married, and Bullfrog in the Millpond; as well as some old classic tunes, such as Salley Gooden, Papa Bought Him a Great Big Billy Goat, and Down Yonder. Overby tells five folk tales and jokes, including one about a father and son comparing themselves to George Washington, one about a haunted house with a ghost that wants to shave its guests, and a joke about whom a man would save if caught on a sinking boat. Clayton Overby (1907-1998) was born in Forsyth County, Georgia. He moved to Flowery Branch, Georgia, married Ethel Mae Herrington (1914-1994), and had two daughters: Nellie Ruth Overby Roach Shank (1932-2015) and Eula Jean Peggy Overby Phillips (1934-2016). Overby was an amateur musician who started playing the fiddle when he was sixteen. l".r. Clayton Overby is the main subject of this collecting project. On some selections he is accompanied by lUs daughter Peggy (Mrs. James D. PlUllips) on the guitar. Hr. Overby is about fifty-siX years old and ,ms born in Forsyth County, Georgia. He Uves outside of Flowery Branch, Georgia, in Hall County. Mr. Overby taught himself to play the fiddle when he Has si:;..-teen. The.follo.ring is a transcription of the material collected from Clayton Overby. lISally Gooden" an old fiddle tune Blackberry pie, rassberry puddin' I'd give it all away for to see Sally Goodenl I'm her man and I'm not wooden I crave that gal that they call Sally Gooden! '~,le're gonna play you another little number I made up myself called "Who Bit the Hart Off Grandma's Nose. '" Now listen now folks here's the way the story goes It's all about the wart on Grandma's nose. The wart started gr01nng i,hen Grandma Has young. The wart kept growing to the end of her tongue. Chorus: Who bit the "art off Grandma's nose? Grandpa loved her from her head to her toes, But he didn't bite the ;-Jart off Grandma's nose. Grandpa got up early and went up t01'lll. A-ridin' an a horse and a-fightin' around He stayed all day, he was late a-gettin' home But the first thing he noticed was the wart was gone. Chorus Gran~a got mad, qegan to rare and snort I Said ,listen, old lady, Hhat became of your "Tart '\ She said/old man, you stayed mmy so long I may never tell you where "he wart has gone. 2 Chorus Come listen and VII tell you where the Hart it went Grandma got it 'moved for thirty-five cents She bought her a jar of EGO With the first application it started to go. Chorus Next day everything beg?41 to get all right 'Til Grandpa squeezed Grandma real tight She said, squeeze me, big tioy, 'til you crack a bone Now everybowJ's happy in Grandpa's home. 11r. Ov",rby said he learned this song from an old record about forty years ago. The record uas by Fiddlin' John Carson: "Gonna play another little tune called "Papa Bought Him A Great Big Billy Goat'" Papa bought him a great big billy goat Ha did the "ashing most everyday Hung her clothes on the line And.that old goat, he'd come. that Hay ";He.pulled dOWTI,the red flanne~~hirt And you ought to have heard those buttons crack But 1'11 get even with the son of a gun For I'll tie him across the railroad track. Well, I tied rdUn across the railroad track And the train was a-comin I at a powerful rate He held that old red shirt IUld flagged do,~ that big long freight. And I uent to the depot and I bought me a ticket And I w~lked right in 8,d I sot right dOl~ Stuck my ticket in the brim of ll\V hat And it come a puff of wind and blowed it out on the groupd. The conductor come around, said 'Give me your ticket' Well I had to pay again or get left on the track But I'll get even with the son of a gun Bought a round trip ticket and I ain't a-comin' back. . , "We're gonna pla;\, eJ10ther little number called "Overby Rag'" (no ,lOrds) "\ie're gonna play another litde number called "Ethel Hae Boogie'" (no words) 3 "This is Clayton Overby again, playing another little song I made up called, "If You Hanna Go Broke---Get Harried. III Come all you young boys And listen.to what I say For the day that I got married I ruined my life that day. I married a pretty little woman With red lips and rosy cheeks But I don't have a minutes satisfaction I have to mind her when she speaks. One day I failed to mind my lady And you ought to seen the shine she cut She knocked me back up in the fireplace And covered me all with soot. If you wanna see a man start failing Let a young woman shoot him a line :fU}<:j. lie'll run his hend down in his pocket 'Ana give her his last dime. Come listen and I HI tell you 'bout the ,mmen I'll tell you just what they'll do Eveyjtime you offer one a dollar, They'll turn up their nose and Hant two . Come listen and 1 111 tell you 'bout the women I'll tell you what's an actual fact They'll let you go around right shabby And spend all your money on their back. "Gonna play a little bit of "The Old Hen, She Cackles.'" (old tune) 'The old hen she cackles,_ "._ Everybody knows \-!hen the old hen cackles Every rooster wants to crow. The old hen she cackles She cackles ~mighty loud The she lays her little eggs And she 'Nalks lughty proud. "This is another little number I made up called "Bullfrog in the Millpond.'" (no words) "Donna plav a little bit of "DQ1-m Yonder. '" (song he has heard all his life--- w'as at one time a 'laltz tune.) 4 SIDE 2 of tape: Tales and jokes. "One time a little boy, every afternoon he get in from school, he'd be eating apples. HisMother said, 'Son, where'd you get them apples.' He said, 'I got them out of }Ir. JoneSi',s orchard d01m the road.' Said, 'You mustn't steal his apples, son.' Said, 'Old Satan's making you do that. Tomorrow when you come in, if you have a feelin' you ought to get out there and get them apples, you say "Get behind me Satan," and you come home and leave them alone.' So the next afternoon when the little boy got home he was eating apples again and his mother said, 'Son, where'd you get them apc.;les?' Said, 'I got 'em same place I been gettin' 'em.' 'viell didll' t you say "Get behind me, SatanII when you had the feelin' you ought to steal 'em?' He said, 'Yes rna '9m, I told him to get behind me.' His mother said, 'Well, what happened?' Said, 'He got behind m" all right and he pushed me right on out under the trees.'" "One time a little boy, he come in home every time he get his report card, he'd have a bad un, he was about to make a failure. And his father got on to him, said, 'Son, I'll have to give you a talk.' Said, 'You're doing bad with your report cards.' Said, 'You know when George Washington was your age, he was ahead of everybody in his class.' The little boy said, 'Yeah, I know Pa, and Hhen he was your age, he Nas President of the United States.'" house. Tramp, all night, it in a fine haunted to stay man, up "Say, did ya'll hear about that man going to the he come along do>m the road once, huntin' him a place was right cold and a-rainin'. He asked a man, a rich house, 'Could I st&y all night ;rlth you?' The man said, 'No, I don't take in any tramps.' He said, 'liell, "hat about this little house dmm here by the edge of the woods? Could I stay there?' He said, 'Yes, you kin stay there if you can stand it, but it's a haunted house.' He said, !j'ell, ,,hat happens? I He said, 'i,ell, I don't lmmJ. I never have stayed. ;,'hen the .lind's a-blo,lin', something says "I ,Ianna shave ye.'" He said, 'Well, anybody ever meet up thar.' He said, 'Oh, they meet up thar and ga,nble and play cards and have pllmty money and something goes sayin I "I l-Janna shave ye," 2.nd t'ley leave. ' He said, 'Well, I'm not afraid of that.' So he >,ent on d01Vl1 there and got hiJm a number tuo tub about a third full of water amd a cake of soap in it and a bought-stick broom and a mowing blade 2nd he 'lent upstairs and stirred his soap around in the water and got the tub full of suds. And that night a crowd moved in thar gumbling and playing cards and had a big table full of money, all a-bettin', wind went to blmlin', and there Has a l.imb around on the back of the house artd >Then the ld.nd ble.., loud, ",hy itI d rake the house and itI d go like it'd say, "I..,anna shave ye. If So \"1hen it Hent to rakin t the house and making that sound, this man >Tent dotm the door steps lvith his tub fuIl of suds and his broom and his m01ving blade and he had him a big false face made, made him look like a buggertoo, a.'1d he said, "I'ljI "gonna shave ye this t1Jlle! II So they 5 all jumped out the window and left the !'lOney and he dropped his tub and poured the suds out and got a tub full of mon~J. And he ain't---he's not been a tramp s('nce then. II "One time there was t,w men a-talkin' to each other, one of them said, 'What would you do if you Has out a-fishin' and a-llOatridin' uith your wife and your mother and they couldn't sw.i.rn and the boat hit a little snag and turned the boat over, which one would you save, your .vife or your mother?' He said, '\'Ihy 1'd save my mother. I could get a n81-J .rife but I couldn't get a neH mother.' The other fella said, 'Well, suppose your wife 2~d your mother-in-law was along and you hit a little snag and the boat turned over.' Said, 'tlhich one of them would you save?' Said, 'I '1Ouldn't save either one of them, I'd save that little ole snag.' Said, I'd never find another one like it.'" "One time a tr@~;1p made him up a fire out in the woods. It ''las rainin 1 and he thought he'd get good and Harm and go to sleep. 'Bout the time he got it to going, good and warm, heated all around, he seen a big black sumpin ' , looked like a cat, only it was too big. It walled its eyes at him a little and he jumped up and lit out and run about three miles, just as hard as he could run. Decided he'd make him another fire. He got him another fire started, looked around and 'bout the time he got it begilli~ing to get warm, there sat that thing again, big ole black cat lookin' thing, Said the ole bugger, said, 'We had a fine race, didn't we?' He said, 'Yes, and He're fixin' to have another right nmd I So he"lit out again." 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. Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or description please let us know by emailingreference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.