Helen Granger Boss - Special Collections - University of Baltimore

BOSS; 056 1:2:15
He came here with my mother's step-brother, Edward, the one time. He brought him
there to play the piano and he used to sing. He sang this one song called "I Can't Change
It". I don't remember all of the verses but "I Can't Change It", "I can't change it" was at
the end. This fellow had gotten married and at the end it said,
"It was a great surprise to me.
I had half a woman and half a tree,
but I can't change it, I can't change it.
"But maybe someday I'll try.
I'll chop her up for firewood
in the sweet by-and-by."
And he used to sing that song, and for me it was real funny, of course I was only a little
bit of a kid then.
Kupchyk: Was this inside of the bar that he would play this?
Boss: He would go in there, but this night he came to our house. I guess my uncle said
to him, "sing 'I Can't Change It' " and, no doubt, that's how I got it, because I could
hear it and then know it. As a child it just run right through my mind like water.
Kupchyk: And you still remember it.
Boss: Lord, yes. In kindergarten where I used to go over across that big lot from 2048
South Charles Street -- this was the end of2048 South Charles Street and this as all that
big lot in front of me -- I'd go over there and cross Light Street and this little Mission sat
right over there. I didn't go into the Mission because I was Catholic. I did go to the
Mission but I used to go to the 9 o'clock Mass at St. Mary's ofcourse, I had to; if you
stayed home you got your head cut off. Anyhow, in the afternoon they had 2 o'clock
service in this little wooden church, this is on Sunday. I used to go there because kids
in the neighborhood would say, "Miss Haddie says to bring you too because you sing ­
you come over to the Sunday School", and I did. I went there on