Man of Constant Sorrow

DESCRIPTION: "I am a man of constant sorrow, I have been troubled all my days, I'll bid farewell to old Kentucky, The place where I was born and raised." Singer describes his hard, rambling life, and bids farewell to his lover, country, and friends.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1913 (Richard Burnett's songbook)
KEYWORDS: loneliness farewell rambling train lament lyric hobo
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Sharp-EnglishFolkSongsFromSouthernAppalachians 167, "In Old Virginny" (4 texts, 4 tunes, with the "C" text being this song; "A" and "B" are "East Virginia (Dark Hollow)" and D is a collection of floaters)
Shellans-FolkSongsOfTheBlueRidgeMountains, pp. 26-27, "Constant Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune, beginning with "Man of Constant Sorrow" but with most of "Fair and Tender Ladies" grafted on at the end)
Roberts/Agey-InThePine #94, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Abrahams/Riddle-ASingerAndHerSongs, pp. 35-36, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Burton/Manning-EastTennesseeStateCollectionVol2, p. 30, "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood-NewLostCityRamblersSongbook, p. 113, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NewAmericanSongster, p. 260, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 57, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text)
DT, CONSTSOR* CONSTSR3*
Roud #499
RECORDINGS:
Emry Arthur, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (Paramount 3289, 1931; on ConstSor1); "I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow" (Vocalion 5208, 1928)
Roscoe Holcomb, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (on Holcomb-Ward1)
Frank Proffitt, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (on FProffitt01)
The Stanley Brothers, "I'm A Man of Constant Sorrow" (Columbia 20816, 1951)
Rick Ward, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (Piotr-Archive #140, recorded 04/18/2022)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Girl of Constant Sorrow" (structure, tune)
SAME TUNE:
Girl of Constant Sorrow (File: FSWB128B)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow
Farewell Song
NOTES [101 words]: The words of this song have the curious characteristic of sounding like floating verses, even though they are not. - PJS
Although Emry Arthur claims to have composed this piece, a significantly different version was found in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1957. One suspects that, when Arthur claimed authorship, he meant (as many other old-time singers meant) that he put it in shape for collection.
In later years, Richard Burnett was asked about the song. He himself could not remember, at that time, if he had composed it, or copied it, or -- perhaps most likely -- adapted it from something traditional. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.7
File: CSW113

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