More Lazy Farmer

Reader Contribution by Sam Moore
Published on September 2, 2014
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Illustration: From October, 1951, the Lazy Farmer reads a letter from Mirandy. 

The little Song of the Lazy Farmer verses appeared in weekly farm papers, such as The Ohio Farmer, for at least two decades from the 1930s until the 1950s. Here are three of the later ones.

In one from October, 1951, he writes:

Mirandy’s gone a-visitin’, she’s checking on her city kin; she wants to meet the new in-laws, she thinks that she can find the cause why Uncle Louie left his wife, she’ll have the best time of her life a-chuckin’ babies ‘neath the chin; and then she’s bound to start right in to tell each mamma what to do when junior starts to fret and stew. She’ll turn her personality on ev’ryone that she can see; “Why Susan!” she’ll say, “you’ve got thin!” and Uncle George will start to grin when he is told he’s handsomer than Peck and Gable ever were.

But that same personality don’t show much when she writes to me. Today’s note, for example, had just four lines, all of which sound mad. “I’ll bet,” it started out, “that you have not found time as yet to do one thing that’s on the list you’ve got, and I imagine, like as not you’re spending all your time in town a-chinnin’ with that jerk, Joe Brown!” And then she adds, “I’d better plan to come home sooner if I can.” You’d think, at least, she’d ask me how my rheumatiz’ is feelin’ now; well, I’ll write back that all’s okay, and maybe she’ll decide to stay.

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