Country Blues

DESCRIPTION: Floating verses; singer is in jail, possibly dying, lamenting his fate and hard living.
AUTHOR: Unknown, possibly Homer Crawford; add'l verses by Dock Boggs
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (recording, Dock Boggs)
KEYWORDS: captivity crime prison death floatingverses
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Dunson/Raim/Asch-AnthologyOfAmericanFolkMusic, p. 90, "Country Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #428
RECORDINGS:
Dock Boggs, "Country Blues" (Brunswick 131A, 1927; on AAFM3, RoughWays1) (on Boggs1, BoggsCD1, ClassOT)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Country Blues" (on NLCR05) (on NLCR16)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Darling Corey" (words, tune)
cf. "Moonshiner" (words)
cf. "Sweet Heaven" (words)
cf. "Sweet Heaven (II)" (floating lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Give Me Corn Bread When I'm Hungry
Hustling Gamblers
NOTES [94 words]: This is ALMOST a nonballad, but not quite; there is a hint of narrative. And while most of the verses show up elsewhere, this song as a gestalt comes squarely from its performer, Dock Boggs. -PJS
Some people consider this a version of "Darling Corey," the tune is very close and they share a lot of lyrics. But I tentatively agree with Paul: There are several unrelated verses on the front, and *they* make this a separate song.
Roud lumps the piece with "I Wonder Where's the Gambler" [Laws H22]. It may perhaps have been inspired by fragments of that song. - RBW
Last updated in version 3.5
File: ADR90

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