Oh, where have you been,
Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where have you been
Charming Billy?

I have been to seek a wife,
She’s the joy of my life,
She’s a young thing
And cannot leave her mother.

Where does she live,
Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where does she live?
Charming Billy?

She lives up on the hill,
Forty miles from the mill.
She’s a young thing,
And cannot leave her mother.

Did she ask you to come in,
Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she ask you to come in,
Charming Billy?

Yes, she asked me to come in,
There’s a dimple in her chin.
She’s a young thing
And cannot leave her mother.

Can she bake a cherry pie,
Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she bake a cherry pie,
Charming Billy?

She can bake a cherry pie,
Quick as a cat can wink an eye,
She’s a young thing
And cannot leave her mother.

Can she sing a pretty song,
Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she sing a pretty song,
Charming Billy?

She can sing a pretty song,
But she often sings it wrong. (pause)
She’s a young thing,
And cannot leave her mother.

How old is she now,
Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How old is she now,
Charming Billy?  (pause)

Three times six and four times seven,
Twenty-eight and eleven,
She’s a young thing
And cannot leave her mother.