Hesitation Blues

  	O.E. Stark forwarded this to Hubert Canfield from Kansas City, Kansas, on January 23, 1936, calling it "Chicago Blues."  His covering letter states: "I first heard it in 1916. while living in El Paso, among the honky-tonks of Juarez."

[ A ]

Fire on the mountain, snake in the grass.
I'm mighty rooty for a piece of ass.

Chorus:
Oh, tell me, how long must I wait?
Can I get you now, or must I hesitate?

Whiskey by the bottle, coffee by the pound,
Can't lay up a nickle for whoring around.

Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust,
If women don't get you, liquor must.

Honey for breakfast, and honey for tea,
But honey in bed is what appeals to me.

Belly to belly, and skin to skin,
Two things a-rubbin' and one goin' in.

Ridin' in the saddle, givin' her the gourd,
Diggin' in the short rows, Ah, my Lord.

A variant of the first verse and chorus runs:

Fire in the mountain, water in the pail,
I'm mighty rooty for a piece of tail.

Chorus:
Oh, tell me, how long have I got to wait?
Can I have you now, or must I hesitate?

[ B ]

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust,
If I don't get some booty, my pecker will rust.

Chorus:
Oh, Honey, How long have I gotta wait?
Do I get it now or must I hesitate?

Belly to belly and chin to chin,
Open up your legs and let your daddy in.

Money is money; I love it somehow.
Booty is booty, if it's hung on a cow.

A fist full of teats and mouth full of tongue,
Takes a long-peckered daddy to make his baby come.

Belly to belly and skin to skin,
Old maids try fuckin', but nothing goes in.

Baby, stop yo' bawlin'; Honey, hush yo' cryin'.
Daddy's got a peter measures three by nine.

Old fashioned fuckin's a thing of the past.
If ya wanna keep yer sweetie, ya gotta kiss her ass.

A bowl full of sugar, a spoonful of salt,
If I don't get my booty, it's my own damn fault.

If all the booty was across the sea,
It's a damn fine swimmer I'd surely be.

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck,
I'd dive to the bottom and never come up.

	Both "A" and "B" are from the Canfield collection, firmly dated to January-March, 1926.