As a boy on the Wabash in 1901
Morris could fish better than he could run
Clubbed feet wouldn't stop him from having his fun
Fishing on the Wabash with the bootlegger's son

Abandoning the river where once they had played
They followed the footsteps that their daddies laid
Practicing law he was known for his trade
And the bootlegger boy for the brandy he made

Chorus:

Not beer, not ale, not rum, not wine
From grain, nor grape, nor berry
Could render such elixir fine
As brandy from the cherry!

A father himself now with a son soon to die
Who laid in his bed with a fever so high
The doctor held no hope save one thing to try
A bottle of brandy that money can't buy

For bootlegging was outlawed in the year '22
But a friend is forever and forever true
Bootleggers were jailed save one whom he knew
By the District Attorney of Tippecanoe

The bootlegger's son now with no time to tarry
To help an old friend he was off in a hurry
To his doorstep he'd run, in his satchel he'd carry
A bottle of brandy he made from the cherry

All through the night the fever raged on
But the boy took the brandy 'til the brandy was gone
The little lad fought until he had won
For when he awoke it broke with the dawn

If ever an illness is ailing you some
Brandy from cherries is equalled by none
Let's have a toast, and not stop at one
To a bottle of brandy and a bootlegger's son!

©1996 Victoria Parks