Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms

DESCRIPTION: Chorus: "Roll in my sweet baby's arms (2x)/Lay around the shack till the mail train comes back/Roll in my sweet baby's arms." Floating verses, e.g. "Ain't gonna work on the railroad/Ain't gonna work on the farm"; "Where was you last Friday night...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1931 (recording, Buster Carter & Preston Young)
KEYWORDS: humorous nonballad floatingverses separation
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Cohen/Seeger/Wood-NewLostCityRamblersSongbook, p. 178, "I'll Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms" (1 text, 1 tune)
Killion/Waller-ATreasuryOfGeorgiaFolklore, pp. 230-231, "Ain't Gonna Work on de Railroad" (1 short text, possibly this although it might be from one of the Lulu songs)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 159, "Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms" (1 text)
DT, ROLLBABY*
Roud #17473
RECORDINGS:
Buster Carter & Preston Young, "I'll Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms" (Columbia 15690-D, 1931)
Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, "Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms" (Mercury 6372, c. 1951)
Monroe Brothers, "Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms" (Bluebird B-6773, 1937)
New Lost City Ramblers, "I'll Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms" (on NLCR03)
Guy Wolff, "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms" (Fragment (string breaks): Piotr-Archive #440, recorded 01/08/2023); (Piotr-Archive #445, recorded 01/08/2023)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Late Last Night When Willie Came Home" (words)
cf. "My God, How the Money Rolls In" (words)
cf. "Free Little Bird" (approximate tune)
NOTES [25 words]: Paul Stamler lists this as a humorous song. I thought I should add that the versions I've heard have been done "straight," often with a blues feel. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.7
File: CSW178

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