CD's to date:
Songs of the West

Four Cords 

     As with several other songs on this CD, all I know about "Nobody's Darlin' But Mine" is that I learned it in 1946, having learned it when it was played several times on a country music disk jockey program, allowing me to write down systematically a few words of the song every time I heard it. I read in the early 1970s that the song was written by Jimmie Davis, the same person who wrote "You Are My Sunshine," which was an important song in my decision to get involved with traditional music. The book from which I obtained that information was "Country Music, U.S.A., A Fifty Year History," by Bill C. Malone, published by The American Folklore Society, 1968. I heard many renditions of the song, but have no idea today from whose rendition I learned the song.
---------------------------------------------------------

Come sit by my side, little darling,
Come place your cool hand on my brow,
And promise me that you will never
Be nobody's darling but mine.

Be nobody's darlin' but mine, love,
Be honest, be faithful, be kind,
And promise me that you will never
Be nobody's darlin' but mine.

You're as sweet as the flowers in the springtime,
You're as pure as the dew on the rose,
I'd rather be somebody's darlin'
Than a poor boy that nobody knows.

My mother is dead and in heaven,
My daddy has gone down below,
Sister has gone to meet mother,
And where I'll go nobody knows.

Goodbye, goodbye, little darlin'
I'm leaving this cold world behind,
Promise me that you will never
Be nobody's darlin' but mine.

Be nobody's darlin' but mine, love,
Be honest, be faithful, be kind,
And promise me that you will never
Be nobody's darlin' but mine.