PRIMARY DOCUMENT

“Oh! Carry Me Back to Ole Virginney” (1847)

CONTEXT

Published in 1847, this anonymously written song was popular with Confederate troops during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Its title may have been taken in 1878, when James A. Bland wrote “Carry Me Back to Old Virginia,” which was named the official state song of Virginia in 1940.

 

 

FULL TEXT

Oh! Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny

Also known as “De Floating Scow”

Anonymous

Baltimore: F. D. Benteen, 1847

(The Virginia Minstrels, No. 14)

On de floating scow ob ole Virginny,

I’ve worked from day to day,

Raking among de oyster beds,

To me it was but play;

But now I’m old and feeble,

An’ my bones are getting sore,

Den carry me back to ole Virginny

To ole Virginny shore.

CHORUS:

Den carry me back to ole Virginny

To ole Virginny shore,

Oh, carry me back to ole Virginny,

To ole Virginny shore.

Oh, I wish dat I was young again,

Den I’d lead a different life,

I’d save my money and buy a farm,

And take Dinah for my wife;

But now old age, he holds me tight,

And I cannot love any more,

Oh, carry me back to ole Virginny,

To ole Virginny shore.

When I am dead and gone to roost,

Lay de old tambo by my side,

Let de possum and coon to my funeral go,

For dey are my only pride;

Den in soft repose, I’ll take my sleep,

An’ I’ll dream for ever more,

Dat you’re carrying me back to ole Virginny,

To ole Virginny shore.

RELATED CONTENT
CITE THIS ENTRY
APA Citation:
Anonymous. “Oh! Carry Me Back to Ole Virginney” (1847). (2021, March 16). In Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/oh-carry-me-back-to-ole-virginney-1847.
MLA Citation:
Anonymous. "“Oh! Carry Me Back to Ole Virginney” (1847)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (16 Mar. 2021). Web. 01 Jun. 2023
Last updated: 2021, March 16
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