
Lyrics
(Folk song)
1. Oh don’t you remember Sweet Betsy from Pike,
Who crossed the wide prairie with her husband Ike?
With two yoke of oxen and one spotted hog,
A tall shanghai rooster and an old yeller dog.
2. They soon reached the desert where Betsy gave out,
And down in the sand she lay rollin’ about.
While Ike in great terror looked on in surprise,
Sayin’, “Betsy, get up, you’ll get sand in your eyes!”
3. The rooster ran off and their oxen all died.
That mornin’ the last piece of bacon was fried.
Poor Ike got discouraged and Betsy got mad,
Their pig they had eaten and their dog looked so sad.
4. One mornin’ they climbed a very tall peak,
And gazing below Ike ventured to speak,
“Though we’ve nothin’ to show but the clothes we’ve got on,
Sweet Betsy, we’ve made it out to Oregon!”
5. They got a place down in the Columbia Gorge,
And had thirteen children that they all named George.
Now Betsy did the farmin’ and huntin’ while Ike
Chased the thirteen sweet babies of Betsy from Pike.
See also
- Country: Western states (U.S.) / American West
- Subject: dogs
- Harmony: I IV V chords
- Melody: tonic triad
- Meter: 3
- Scale: major
- Source: American Ballads and Folk Songs, John A. Lomax & Alan Lomax, Macmillan Co, 1934
YouTube
- PDF of song with chords
- MIDI file
- Listen to the melody


1 thought on “Sweet Betsy from Pike”
I love this song