Girl of Constant Sorrow

DESCRIPTION: Singer tells of leaving her mother (now dead) and her home in Kentucky so that her children could be fed. She then describes the coal miners' poor food, homes and clothing; she is sure "if there's a heaven/That the miners will be there"
AUTHOR: Words: Sara Ogan Gunning / tune "Man of Constant Sorrow" (Emry Arthur?)
EARLIEST DATE: before 1950 (recording by author)
KEYWORDS: separation mining hardtimes poverty family worker derivative
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greenway-AmericanFolksongsOfProtest, pp. 1168-169, "I Am a Girl of Constant Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 128, "Girl of Constant Sorrow" (1 text)
DT, CONSTSR2*
Roud #499
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Man of Constant Sorrow" (structure, tune)
NOTES [25 words]: Although the source lists a copyright date of 1965, I'm certain [this] was recorded on a Library of Congress field recording in the 1930s or 1940s. - PJS
File: FSWB128B

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