Cisco Houston Web Site

The Songs He Sang

Old Reilly: Lyrics

As performed by Cisco Houston

Words & Music by Huddie Ledbetter; Collected and adapted by John A. and Alan Lomax; Copyright 1951, Folkways Music Publishers

Appears on:
Old Reilly walked the water
Well Old Reilly walked the water
On them, long, hot summer days

Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here
Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here
Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here
Get 'em Rattler
Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here

Old Reilly, he's a long gone
Old Reilly, he's a long gone
On them, long, hot summer days

Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here
Get 'em boy
Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here
Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here
Get 'em Rattler
Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here

Well, Old Reilly left here walking
Old Reilly left here walking
On them, long, hot summer days

Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here
Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here
Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here
Get 'em boy
Here Rattler, here Rattler, here Rattler, here

Well, Old Reilly he's a long gone
Old Reilly, he's a long gone
On them, long, hot summer days

Old Reilly gone like a turkey through the corn
Here Rattler, here
Old Reilly gone like a turkey through the corn
Here Rattler, here
Old Reilly gone like a turkey through the corn
Here Rattler, here
Get 'em boy
Old Reilly gone like a turkey through the corn
Here Rattler, here

Well Old Reilly walked the water
Old Reilly walked the water
On them, long, hot summer days

Old Reilly gone with his long clothes on
Here Rattler, here
Old Reilly gone with his long clothes on
Here Rattler, here
Old Reilly gone like a turkey through the corn
Here Rattler, here
Old Reilly gone like a turkey through the corn
Here Rattler, here

Get 'em boy!

Of note:

This mysterious song is helped by Cisco's explanation Here. "There are songs with symbolic language, as in Old Reilly who walked the water with his long clothes on. (Here, perhaps, you should be let in on the meaning of this: his "long clothes" refer to his chain gang prison garb. When an inmate tried to make a break for his freedom, he would run up the river bed through the shallow water, to lose his scent to the blood hounds who were in pursuit. This was called "walking the water." This discussion has some interesting variants.

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