When I present my Texas History program in schools, I often teach them about Governor J.S. Hogg and of course make reference to his daughter, Ima. I just finished a funny song about Ima and wanted to share the words. It’s to a boogie-woogie pattern. I can’t wait to try it out on the kids. I’ll have to add it to my CD I’m working on as well.  If you don’t know anything about Governor Hogg or Ima, you should read about them. Below the lyrics is a photo of Hogg and his family.

“Ima Hogg Boogie”

VERSE 1

There’s a lot of strange names,
A man might give his kids,
But none could ever hope to match
The one my father did.

J.S. Hogg was governor,
Of the Lone Star State,
And though he did  folks much good,
He made a huge mistake.

VERSE 2

My Uncle wrote a poem
About the Civil War
The hero’s name was Ima,
A name my father did adore,

Without thinking of my future,
He did something quite insane,
J.S. Hogg the governor,
Gave me Ima’s name.

VERSE 3

On the day when I was christened,
I’m sure the parson laughed,
The way my teachers always did
When they called my name in class.

The students all would snicker
When someone asked my name,
And when I had to tell them,
My face turned red with shame.

VERSE 4

So, I’ll always be Ima Hogg
For all the years ahead
And though it made me famous,
I’d like another name instead

My imaginary sister,
I call her Ura just for fun,
So Ima Hogg, Ura Hogg too,
There’s two Hoggs instead of one.

J.S. Hogg & his family. Ima is the girl to the left.