Ramsey County Jail

Last night as I lay sleeping,
I had a pleasant dream.
I thought I was in Minnesota,
Down by a quiet stream
With a charming gal beside me,
The lights would never fail
And I awoke to find myself, be God
In the Ramsey County Jail,

Then combine, ye hump and biddy,
From Tepperty town I steer.
Like every honest fellow
I like my lager beer.
Like every jolly young fellow
I take my whiskey clear.
I've a rambling rake of a father
And the son of a gamboleer,
They took me to the prison,
They locked me twenty and four.
They gave me all that I could eat
But I always wanted more.
The beds were of the finest
And sleeping never failed
For the feathers they did tickle me so
In the Ramsey County Jail.

From Folk Songs out of Wisconsin, Peters
Collected from Lester A. Coffee, Harvard, IL, 1946
RG