From the introduction:  "This volume is consecrated to that dramatic and highly colorful song, Frankie and Johny, which can claim an important place in our folk literature, in the sense that it does not owe its long life and popularity to the printed page. Mr. Huston's adaptation of the song for the stage is based on the many versions which he has discovered throughout the country. Twenty of these versions appear at the back of the book, with a note on the St. Louis one, which is the most authentic of them all. There are many who can sing Frankie and Johnny, but very few who know about its original or have any idea of the gay opulence of the milieu where it came into existence. Messrs. Huston and Covarrubias have ably seen to it that those who are curious to know more can now be satisfied."