Weaver's Life

DESCRIPTION: Description of hard life in a weaving mill. Follows the pattern of "Life's Railway to Heaven": "Weaver's life is like an engine/Coming 'round a mountain steep." Singer describes showing newcomers "breakouts" to discourage them from working in the mill.
AUTHOR: Probably Dorsey Dixon
EARLIEST DATE: 1938 (recording, Dixon Brothers)
KEYWORDS: factory weaving work technology
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Cohen/Seeger/Wood-NewLostCityRamblersSongbook, pp. 90-91, "Weaver's Life" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenway-AmericanFolksongsOfProtest, pp. 15-16, "(Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad)" (1 text, plus fragments of assorted parodies, of which this is the second)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 125, "Weaver's Life" (1 text)
DT, WEAVLIFE*
RECORDINGS:
Almanac Singers, "The Weaver's Song" (recorded 1941, unissued at the time; on AlmanacCD1)
Dixon Brothers, "Weaver's Life" (Montgomery Ward M-7170, 1937/Bluebird B-7802, 1938; rec. 1937)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Life's Railway to Heaven (Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad)" (tune) and references there
File: CSW090

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography