Old Joe Clark

I have a "go-to" song that I use in therapy sessions when I need to get behaviors under control - my behaviors and those of my students. I learned a version of this folk song at my internship at the Center for Neurodevelopmental Studies, Inc. in Phoenix. Arizona, and have used it many, many, MANY times over the years. I use it for its repetitive nature, its opportunity for some social interaction, and for its familiarity to me. I can sing and play this song on autopilot - a skill that allows me to think more about how I need to adapt the song to manage behaviors rather than the music I am presenting.

Now, my version of the song is simple.

Old Joe Clark, he built a house, sixteen stories high, And every story in that house was filled with chicken pie.

Rock and a rock, Old Joe Clark, Rock and a rock, I say. Rock and a rock, Old Joe Clark, we ain't got time to stay.

Being of a curious nature this morning, I decided to see if there was more information about the song out there.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say:

Old Joe Clark is a folk song, a mountain ballad that was "sung during World War I and later by soldiers from eastern Kentucky."^[1] An early version was printed in 1918, as sung in Virginia at that time.^[1] Joe Clark was born in 1839,^[1][2] a mountaineer who was murdered in 1885.^[1] There are about 90 stanzas in various versions of the song.^[1] The tune is in mixolydian mode.^[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Joe_Clark

Here is what a song lyric source has as verses and the chorus (I was glad to see that there weren't 90 stanzas!).

Old Joe Clark's a fine old man, Tell you the reason why, He keeps good likker 'round his house, Good old Rock and Rye.
Chorus

Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark,  Fare ye well, I say, Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark, I'm a going away

Old Joe Clark, the preacher's son, Preached all over the pain, The only text he ever knew Was High, low, Jack and the game

Old Joe Clark had a mule, His name was Morgan Brown, And every tooth in that mule's head Was sixteen inches around

Old Joe Clark had a yellow cat, She would neither sing or pray, She stuck her head in the buttermilk jar, And washed her sins away

Old Joe Clark had a house, Fifteen stories high, And every story in that house
Was filled with chicken pie

I went down to Old Joe's house, He invited me to supper, I stumped my toe on the table leg, And stuck my nose in the butter

Now I wouldn't marry a widder, Tell you the reason why, She'd have so many children, They'd make those biscuits fly

Sixteen horses in my team, The leaders they are blind, And every time the sun goes down There's a pretty girl on my mind

Eighteen miles of mountain road, And fifteen miles of sand, If ever travel this road again I'll be a married man

http://www.bluegrassnet.com/lyrics/o/old-joe-clark

Do you know? I think I will still use my version of the song, but it is interesting to see what else is out there to sing with others. 

Happy singing!