Nelly Bly ! Nelly Bly! Bring the broom along,
We'll sweep the kitchen clean, my dear,
And have a little song.
Poke the wood, my lady love,
And make the fire burn,
And while I take the banjo down,
Just give the mush a turn.

Heigh, Nelly!
Ho, Nelly!
Listen, love, to me,
I'll sing for you and play for you
A dulcet melody.

Nelly Bly has a voice like a turtle dove,
I hear it in the meadow and I hear it in the grove.
Nelly Bly has a heart warm as a cup of tea,
And bigger than the sweet potatoes down in Tennessee.

Nelly Bly shuts her eye when she goes to sleep.
When she wakens up again her eyeballs start to peep.
The way she walks, she lifts her foot,
and then she bumps it down,
And when it lights, there's music there
in that part of the town.

Nelly Bly! Nelly Bly! Never, never sigh;
Never bring the tear drop to the corner of your eye.
For the pie is made of pumpkins
and the mush is made of corn,
And there's corn and pumpkins plenty, love,
a-lyin' in the barn.