Well I remember when I was just little
Mama used to cook on an old black kettle
On an old wood stove she'd had since she was wed
Well the oven door was sprung a little bit
So we propped it up with a forked stick
But that didn't matter cause Mama kept us fed
My mama and daddy must have loved each other
Cause I had eleven sisters and brothers
And the girls worked just as hard as the boys did
There was corn to hoe then we'd go hoe it
We might have been poor but we didn't know it
We'd heard that word but we didn't know what it meant

Oh we used to have such a good life
And the days that I knew then are the happiest I've known
And oh didn't we have such a good time
It's sad to think the old black kettle's gone

Well there was nothing that pleased us any better
Than when we got an occasional letter
From kin folks livin' up north in some big town
We'd think of all the games we'd play
And we just couldn't hardly wait
When our city cousins said they'ze a comin' down
Now Mama's done away with the old black kettle
She used to cook in when I was just little
And the door ain't sprung on her electric range
That little farm and home we had
It ain't there no more and that's too bad
Folks are doin' away with the simple things

And oh we used to have such a good life
And the days that I knew then are the happiest I've known
And oh didn't we have such a good time
It's sad to think the old black kettle's gone

Now, I just mean to say the simple things are gone
The old black kettle's gone