Yonder Comes the High Sheriff

DESCRIPTION: "Yonder comes the high sheriff ridin' after me, Ridin' after me, yes, ridin' after me. Yonder comes... O it's captain, I don't want to go." "Been down to Frankfort servin' out my time...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg-TheAmericanSongbag; recording, Ollis Martin)
KEYWORDS: prison police
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Sandburg-TheAmericanSongbag, p. 213, "Yonder Comes the High Sheriff" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Roud #21065
RECORDINGS:
Ollis Martin, "Police and High Sheriff Come Ridin' Down" (Gennett 6306, 1928; rec. 1927; on StuffDreams1)
Poplin Family, "Goin' Back to Sumter" (on Poplin01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Gotta Travel On" (tune, words, structure)
NOTES [53 words]: "Gotta Travel On" became enormously popular in the 1950s-1960s folk revival, to the point where it was a parodied cliche; the song was always credited to Paul Clayton. This song, though, is clearly its source. Ollis Martin's recording seems to have been made only a few weeks before Sandburg's book was published. - PJS
Last updated in version 5.0
File: San213

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