Chorus:

Farethee well Old Joe Clark
Farethee well I say
Farethee well Old Joe Clark
I'm bound to go away

I will not go to Old Joe's house
I'll tell ya the reason why
Every floor in Old Joe's house
Is filled with chicken pie

Old Joe Clark he did take sick
And what do ya think ailed him?
He drank a churn of buttermilk
And then his stomach failed him

I will not marry an old maid
And I'll tell ya the reason why
Her neck's so long and stringy, boys
I'm afraid she'll never die

Old Joe Clark he did get drunk
And he sat down to his supper
He leaned over at the dinner table
And stuck his nose in the butter

Old Joe Clark's a fine old man
Tell you the reason why
He keeps good liquor 'round his house
Good old Rock and Rye

Old Joe Clark, the preacher's son
Preached all o'er the plain
The only text he ever knew
Was High, Low, Jack, and the game

Old Joe Clark had a mule
His name was Morgan Brown
And every tooth in that mule's head
Was sixteen inches 'round

Old Joe Clark had a yellow cat
She would neither sing nor pray
She stuck her head in the buttermilk jar
And washed her sins away