Motherless Children

DESCRIPTION: "Nobody treat you like mother will when mother is dead." (Various surrogate parents are suggested, but the children "have no place to go." "Motherless children have a hard time when mother is gone.")
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Recording, Blind Willie Johnson); reportedly composed 1904 (so McNeil, editor, _Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music_)
KEYWORDS: orphan mother nonballad family
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Botkin-TreasuryOfSouthernFolklore, p. 761, "Motherless Children Sees a Hard Time" (1 text, 1 tune -- a lyric piece, but with enough common lyrics to apparently belong here)
Courlander-NegroFolkMusic, pp. 143-144, "(Motherless Children)" (1 text); pp. 269-270, "Motherless Children" (1 tune, partial text)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 58, "Motherless Children" (1 text)
DT, MOTHRLSS*
ADDITIONAL: Harold Courlander, _A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore_, Crown Publishers, 1976, pp. 527-529, "Motherless Children" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #16113
RECORDINGS:
Bessemer Melody Singers, "Motherless Children" (Victor V-38606, 1930; Bluebird B-5041 [as Bessemer Melody Boys], 1933)
The Blind Pilgrim, "Motherless Children" (Anchor 380, n.d.)
Carter Family, "Motherless Children" (Victor 23641, 1932; Bluebird B-5924, 1935; Montgomery Ward M-5010, 1936; rec. 1929)
Roscoe Holcomb, "Motherless Children" (on Holcomb2, HolcombCD1)
Joe, John & Janey Hunter & Mable Hillery, "Motherless Child" (on JohnsIsland1)
Blind Willie Johnson, "Mother's Children Have a Hard Time" (Columbia 14343-D, 1928; Vocalion 03021, 1935; rec. 1927; on BWJ02)
Blind Gussie Nesbitt, "Motherless Children" (Decca 7131, 1935)
Joshua White, "Motherless Children" (Banner 32859/Melotone 12786, 1933) (Musicraft 250 [as Josh White Trio], c. 1944)
Ella Mae Wilson, Lillie B. Williams, and Richard Williams, "Motherless Children" (on USFlorida01)
NOTES [42 words]: Probably best-known from the Carter Family recording. According to W. K. McNeil, editor, Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music, Routledge, 2005, p. 68, A. P. Carter learned it from Lesley Riddle, who sometimes joined him on his song-hunting trips. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.5
File: BSoF761

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