(Dolly Parton) 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