Old Black Kettle

Well, I remember when I was just little
 Mama used to cook on an old black kettle
 On an old wood stove, she'd had since she was wed
 Well, the oven door was sprung a little bit
 So we propped it up with a forked stick
 But that didn't matter 'cause mama kept us fed
 My mama and daddy must have loved each other
 'Cause I had 11 sisters and brothers
 And the girls worked just as hard as the boys did
 There was corn to hoe then we'd go hoe it
 We might have been poor but we didn't know it
 We'd heard that word but we didn't know what it meant
 Oh, we used to have such a good life
 And the days that I knew then are the happiest I've known
 And oh, didn't we have such a good time
 It's sad to think the old black kettle's gone
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 Well, there was nothing that pleased us any better
 Than when we got an occasional letter
 From kin folks livin' up north in some big town
 We'd think of all the games we'd play
 And we just couldn't hardly wait
 When our city cousins said they'ze a-comin' down
 Now mama's done away with the old black kettle
 She used to cook in when I was just little
 And the door ain't sprung on her electric range
 That little farm and home we had
 It ain't there no more and that's too bad
 Folks are doin' away with the simple things
 Oh, we used to have such a good life
 And the days that I knew then are the happiest I've known
 Oh, didn't we have such a good time
 It's sad to think the old black kettle's gone
 Now, I just mean to say the simple things are gone
 The old black kettle's gone