[Alternately: “Aunt Sally,” “My Aunt Sally,” “Old Aunt Sally,” “Ole Aunt Sally”]

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Music adapted from Charles Dibdin’s “Peggy Perkins” (c.1745-1814) first published in England in 1790 and subsequently in America between 1795-1797; lyrics by Dan Emmett (1815-1904) (Nathan 301). According to Nathan, the song, under its present title, was first published in 1843 (175). The versions of the song surveyed for this entry place emphasis upon the character Sally either as a person of extreme beauty (Lewis & Johnson edition) or extreme peculiarity (Lewis and Co. and B. Williams editions). It appears that in the process of transmission there has been a shift from Aunt Sally as the narrator’s actual Aunt (generally coupled with an Uncle Ben character) to Aunt Sally as the target of the narrator’s amorous advances.

While the song appears to have been popular during the period in question, its current status is uncertain. The recordings identified below suggest that this song, or a variation of it, is entering, or has been admitted into the America country-folk canon. A possible variant of the song is now used as an American military cadence, which is also available as a sound recording (also listed below).

Select Recording History:

Vance Randolph. “Old Aunt Sally.” 1000 Jigs and Reels. Howe, 1954.

Pete Humphrey. “Old Aunt Sally (Is Good Enough for Anybody).” Old-Time Banjo Anthology, Vol. 2. Marimac, 1991.

U.S. Marine Corps. “My Aunt Sally.” Run to Cadence with the Recon Marines. Documentary Recordings, 2002.

Works Cited:

Nathan, Hans. Dan Emmett and the Rise of Early Negro Minstrelsy. Norman: Oklahoma UP, 1962.

Mark Turner