The Riddle Song

Arranged by Sam Cooke

Recorded December 21, 1963

Produced by Hugo Peretta and Luigi Creatore

Orchestra Conducted by Joe Hooven

MP3 at Amazon.com

Albums   

• Ain't That Good News (original)
• Keep Movin' On

Information

• It's a traditional Appalachian ballad
• According to string section leader Sid Sharp Sam Cooke started to cry at the line 'I gave my love a baby with no crying'. He had just lost a child a few months before recording this song when it drowned in a pool.
• He performed this live on tv on the Jerry Lewis Show on December 7, 1963

Lyrics

I gave my love a cherry that had no stone
I gave my love a chicken that had no bone
I gave my love a ring that had no end
I gave my love a baby with no crying

How can there be a cherry that has no stone
How can there be a chicken that has no bone
How can there be a ring that has no end
How can there be a baby with no crying

A cherry when it's blooming ain't got no stone
A chicken when it's pipping ain't got no bone
A ring when it's woven ain't got no end
A baby when it's sleeping, there's no crying