"Boil Them Cabbage Down" (also "Bile 'Em Cabbage Down") is an American folk song from the antebellum South. “Bile” is a phonetic writing of the word “boil.” A hoecake is a thin, flat cake made from cornmeal, originally baked on the blade of a hoe. This tune can possibly be traced to an English country dance called "Smiling Polly", first printed in 1765. As it has been played and sung throughout the South, the song integrates African and European musical elements. Many of the verses are "floaters" that appear in various other songs such as "Cindy" or "Old Joe Clark". The short simple melody makes it an easy song to teach beginners. It is particularly easy on a dulcimer with traditional GGC tuning. It has been recorded by Pete Seeger, Peggy Seeger, the Smothers Brothers and others and was performed in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show by the Dillards with Andy Griffith on guitar. It is printed in Alan Lomax's Folk Songs of North America.