Oh, once upon a time in Arkansas
An old man sat in his little cabin door
And fiddled at a tune that he liked to hear
A jolly old tune that he played by ear.

It was raining hard but the fiddler didn't care
He sawed away at the popular air
Though his rooftop leaked like a waterfall
That didn't seem to bother the old man at all.

A traveler was riding by that day
And stopped to hear him a-fiddling away
The cabin was afloat and his feet were wet
But the old man still didn't seem to fret.

So the stranger said Now the way it seems to me
You'd better mend your roof said he
But the old man said as he played away
I couldn't mend it now it's a rainy day.

The traveler replied that's all quite true
But this I think is the thing for you to do
Get busy on a day that is fair and bright
Then patch the old roof till it's good and tight.

But the old man kept on a-playing at his reel
And tapped the ground with his leathery heel
Get along said he for you give me a pain
My cabin never leaks when it doesn't rain

Copyright: KENDOR MUSIC, INC.
Writer(s): AMERICO MARINO, FELIX SLATKIN