Little Joe

(Album: The Carter Family Volume 2 - 1935-1941 - 2003)

What will the birds do, mother, in the spring
The little brown birds around the door
Will they fly from the trees and tap at my window
Asking why Joe wanders out no more

What will the kitten do, mother, all alone
Will it stop from its frolics for a day
Will it lie on its rug by the side of my bed
As it did before I went away

Keep Tige, dearest mother, my poor little dog
For I know that he'll mourn for me, too
Keep him when old and useless he grows
Sleeping all the long summer through

Show him my coat, mother, so he'll not forget
Little master who will then be dead
Speak to him kindly and often of Joe
And pat him on his shaggy head

What will Thomas the old gardener say
When you ask him for a flower for me
Will he give you a rose he has tended with care
The first, fairest bloom of the tree

And you, dearest mother, will miss me for a while
Though in heaven I'll larger grow
Any kind angel will tell you at the gate
When you ask for your darling, Little Joe