Uncle Josh's Punkin Centre Stories

The Unveiling of the Organ

      IT wuz down in Punkin Centre,
          I believe in eighty-nine,
      We had some doin's at the meetin' house,
          That we thought wuz purty fine;

      It wuz a great occasion,
          The choir, led by Sister Morgan,
      Had called us thar to witness
          The unveilin' of the organ.

      In order fer to git it
          We'd bin savin' here and there,
      Lookin' forward to the time
          When we'd have music fer to spare,
      And as the time it had arrived,
          And the organ had cum, too,
      We had all of us assembled thar
          To hear what the thing could do.

      Wall, it wuz a gorgeous instrument,
          In a handsome walnut case,
      And thar wuz expectation
          Pictured out on every face;
      Then when Deacon Witherspoon
          Had led us all in prayer,
      The congregation all stood up
          And Old Hundred rent the air.

      Jist then the doin's took a turn,
          Though I'm ashamed to say it,
      We found that old Jim Lawson
          Wuz the only one could play it;
      But Jim, the poor old feller,
          Had one besettin' sin,
      A fondness fer hard cider
          Which he'd bin indulgin' in.

      But he sot down at that organ,
          Planked his feet upon the pedals,
      And he showed us he could play it
          Though he hadn't any medals;
      He dwelt upon the treble
          And he flirted with the base,
      He almost made that organ
          Jump right out of its case.

      Wall, the cider got in old Jim's head
          And in his fingers, too,
      So he played some dancin' music
          And old Yankee Doodle Doo;
      He shocked old Deacon Witherspoon
          And scared poor Sister Morgan,
      And jist busted up the meetin'
          At the unveilin' of the organ.