"Hush-a-bye m'baby, slumber time is comin' soon

rest your head upon my breast while Mammy hums a tune

the sandman is callin' where shadows are fallin'

while the soft breezes sigh as in days long gone by!"

Way down in Missouri, where I heard this melody

when I was a little boy upon my Mammy's knee

the old-folks were hummin' and the banjos were strummin'

so sweet and low!

Strum, strum, strum, strum strum!

Seems I hear those banjos playin' once again

Hmmm, hum, hmmm!

That same old plaintive phrase!

Way down in Missouri, where I heard this melody

when I was a little boy upon my Mammy's knee

the old-folks were hummin' and the banjos were strummin'

so sweet and low!

Music by Frederick Knight Logan

and lyrics by James Royce Shannon 1916