Note 1 — 143. Red Yam. [Note]
Reading edition
The narrator continued with the following which, she insisted, belongs with the song:
Tom drunk, but Tom no fool, Tom drunk, but Tom no fool, Trala-la-la-la-la-la.
This last measure may be repeated at will, or the whole three about Tom. The oftener it is sung, the sweeter the song, in Mother Roden’s opinion and in that of many others.
This singer was most uncertain; in intonation, repetitions, etc. she varied exceedingly and agreed that any way the song was repeated to her by the transcriber was correct, no matter how it was sung. The transcriber, therefore, will not vouch for these three tunes. The old woman is a cripple and can neither read nor write. H. R. ↑