Eating Goober Peas Sitting by the roadside on a summer's day, Chatting with my mess-mates passing time away, Lying in the shadows underneath the trees, Goodness how delicious eating goober peas! Peas, peas, peas, peas, eating goober peas! Goodness how delicious eating goober peas! When a horse-man passes, the soldiers have a rule: To cry out their loudest, "Mister, here's your mule!" But another custom, enchanting-er than these- Is wearing out your grinders, eating goober peas! Peas, peas, peas, peas, eating goober peas! Goodness how delicious eating goober peas! Just before the battle, the General hears a row. He says "The Yanks are coming, I hear their rifles now!" He looks down the roadway and what do you think he sees? The Georgia Militia eating goober peas! Peas, peas, peas, peas, eating goober peas! Goodness how delicious eating goober peas! I think my song has lasted almost long enough. The subject's interesting, but the rhymes are mighty rough. I wish this war was over so free from rags and fleas- We'd kiss our wives and sweethearts, and gobble goober peas! Peas, peas, peas, peas, eating goober peas! Goodness how delicious eating goober peas!

During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers sometimes had nothing to eat but peanuts, or "goober peas." Most Southerners recognize
the terms "goober" and "goober pea" as other names for the peanut. Goober is related to Kongo or Kimbundu n-guba, "peanut."
The word is especially interesting as one of a small stock of African language borrowings brought over by slaves.

When the sheet music for this song was published, the "author" was listed as "A. Pindar, Esq." and the composer of the tune as "P. Nutt, Esq.", names which every Southerner immediately recognized as synonyms for peanut.

Midi: Eating Goober Peas

Comment or Share Your Own Nursery Rhymes

Print This Page!