A Woman Is A Sometime Thing

(album: The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve - 1997)

[To Clara]
What, that chile ain't asleep yet? Give him to me.
I'll fix him for you.
[Jake takes the baby from Clara]

Lissen to yo' daddy warn you,
'Fore you start a-travelling,
Woman may born you, love you and mourn you,
But a woman is a sometime thing,
Yes, a woman is a sometime thing.

Oh, a woman is a sometime thing.

Yo' mammy is the first to name you,
Then she'll tie you to her apron string,
Then she'll shame you and she'll blame you
Till yo' woman comes to claim you,
'Cause a woman is a sometime thing,
Yes, a woman is a sometime thing.

Oh, a woman is a sometime thing.

Don't you never let a woman grieve you
Just 'cause she got yo' wedding ring.
She'll love you and deceive you,
Take yo' clothes and leave you
'Cause a woman is a sometime thing.

Yes, a woman is a sometime thing.
Yes, a woman is a sometime thing,
Yes, a woman is a sometime thing.

There now, what I tells you; he's asleep already.