MISERABLE MUSIC: classic all-american songs of murder, hatred, disaster, and betrayal

<H2>MISERABLE MUSIC (1916-1941)</H2> <P>An online compilation of folk songs celebrating the dark side of humanity -- murder, betrayal, death, debauchery, hatred and loneliness. (Requires RealAudio.)</P> <HR size=1> <A HREF="MISERABLE_MUSIC.ram"><B>LISTEN to all the songs</B></A> like an album, or click individual titles below. <FONT FACE="verdana, Arial, Helvetica" SIZE="1"> <hr size=1> ( Total Running Time:  52:12 ) </FONT> <FONT SIZE="-1"> <hr size=1> <FONT SIZE="-1"><A HREF="about_music.html" TARGET="main"><I>About this Collection</I></A> </FONT> <hr size=1> <P><A HREF="IAintGotNobody.ram" CLASS="section"><B>I Ain't Got Nobody</B></A> (rec. 1939)  <I>2:41</I><BR> <I>Vocal: Ellis, Hattie. Guitar: Jack "Cowboy" Ramsey.</I><BR> Woman has been abandoned by her man, and is now completely alone. Rec. 5/14/1939 at Goree State Farm near Huntsville, Walker County, TX.</P> <P><A HREF="DyingGirlsMessage.ram" CLASS="section"><B>The Dying Girl's Message</B></A> (rec. 1940)*  [<A HREF="DyingGirlsMessage.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>1:15</I><BR> <I>Sung by Rosetta Spainhard. Written by Lois Judd [?].</I><BR> Fever-ridden dying girl is ditched by her beau, so just before she croaks she sends her mother on a mission of spite.</P> <P><A HREF="Influenza.ram" CLASS="section"><B>Influenza</B></A> (rec. 1939)  [<A HREF="Influenza.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>2:19</I><BR> <I>Vocal and Guitar: Ace Johnson.</I><BR> It's the 1929 flu epidemic, everyone's dying, you're gonna die, there's no hope  and all because God is pissed. Rec. 4/15/1939 at Clemens State Farm, Brazoria, Brazoria County, TX.</P> <P><A HREF="HauntedFalls.ram" CLASS="section"><B>The Haunted Falls</B></A> (rec. 1940)*  [<A HREF="HauntedFalls.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>4:05</I><BR> <I>Sung by Mrs. Mary Sullivan.</I><BR> Dirty injuns bludgeon and drown an innocent white woman whose husband probably stole their land and killed their families. Features uncredited belch solo.</P> <P><A HREF="NiggerStoleAPunkin.ram" CLASS="section"><B>Nigger Stole a Punkin</B></A> (rec. 1941)*  [<A HREF="NiggerStoleAPunkin.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>1:52</I><BR> <I>Written and performed by Russ and Cleo Pike.</I><BR> A stupid nigger steals a pumpkin, tries to hide it when he gets busted, and has a head like a coffee pot. Gee, ain't that funny?</P> <P><A HREF="SickEmDogsOnMe.ram" CLASS="section"><B>Sick 'em Dogs On Me</B></A> (rec. 1939)  <I>2:21</I><BR> <I>Vocal and Guitar: Booker T. Washington "Bukka" White</I><BR> Helpless black man is attacked by a racist bastard's dogs. <I>And</I> he gets his money stolen. Rec. 5/23/1939 at State Penitentiary, Camp #10, Parchman, Sunflower County, Miss.</P> <P><A HREF="DontBiteTheHand.ram" CLASS="section"><B>Don't Bite the Hand That's Feeding You</B></A> (1916)¶  [<A HREF="DontBite.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>2:40</I><BR> <I>Music: Jimmie Morgan. Words: Thomas Hoier. Performed by Walter Van Brunt.</I><BR> You fucking immigrant scum don't know when you have it good. Now get back to work. But first, c'mere and kiss my ass.</P> <P><A HREF="PrettyMolly.ram" CLASS="section"><B>Pretty Molly</B></A> (rec. 1941)*  [<A HREF="PrettyMolly.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>1:04</I><BR> <I>Sung by Pauline Ramsay.</I><BR> William leads the unsuspecting Molly into a valley and stabs her in the heart for daring to get pregnant when he fucked her, the bitch.</P> <P><A HREF="TheDevilOutOfHell.ram" CLASS="section"><B>The Devil Out of Hell (The Scolding Wife)</B></A>  (rec. 1939)  <I>2:48</I><BR> <I>Performed by George Vinton Graham.</I><BR> No seriously  she really <b>is</b> the bitch from hell. An old English ballad, rec. 12/3/1939 by Sidney Robertson Cowell in San Jose, CA.</P> <P><A HREF="DopeFiend.ram" CLASS="section"><B>The Dope Fiend</B></A> (rec. 1940)*  [<A HREF="DopeFiend.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>0:49</I><BR> <I>Vocal and Guitar: Troy Cambron.</I><BR> Rich bastard shoots dope, fucks whores, and has an electric fan. So there.</P> <P><A HREF="GirlWithTheBlueVelvetBand.ram" CLASS="section"><B>The Girl With the Blue Velvet Band</B></A> (rec. 1941)*  [<A HREF="GirlWithBlueVelvetBand.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>2:21</I><BR> <I>Peformer unknown.</I><BR> San Francisco hooker plants evidence on her greenhorn john, who consequently goes to prison for 10 years and has his life completely ruined. </P> <P><A HREF="WeDontHaveNoPaydayHere.ram" CLASS="section"><B>We Don't Have No Payday Here</B></A> (rec. 1939)  <I>3:16</I><BR> <I>Vocal: unnamed group of convicts</I><BR> Latter-day slaves sing about their incredibly shitty lives on a Florida chain gang. Rec. 6/4/1939 State Penitentiary, Raiford, FL</P> <P><A HREF="LaCancionDeBebiendo.ram" CLASS="section"><B>La Canción de Bebiendo (The Song of the Drunkard)</B></A>  (rec. 1939)  <I>1:17</I><BR> <I>Vocal and Guitar: José Suarez.</I><BR> "I feel a flame inside me, and I know I need a drink of mescal." Rec. 4/26/1939 at the home of J.K. Wells, Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas </P> <P><A HREF="BuffaloBuffalo.ram" CLASS="section"><B>Buffalo, Buffalo</B></A> (rec. 1938, dates to 1901) <I>0:52</I><BR> <I>Vocal: Warde Ford.</I><BR> President McKinley gets shot. He dies after the doctor uses a metal rod to jab around in the wound in search of the bullet. Recorded 12/26/1938 in Central Valley, CA.</P> <P><A HREF="TheBritishKing.ram" CLASS="section"><B>The British King</B></A> (rec. 1939)  [<A HREF="BastardKing.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>1:30</I><BR> <I>Vocal: John B. Jones.</I> <BR> The flea-ridden and syphylitic king causes trouble by fucking royal Spanish ladies. Rec. 4/9/1939 at the home of Mrs. Kate W. Jones, Houston, Harris County, Texas.</P> <P><A HREF="SantaBarbaraEarthquake.ram" CLASS="section"><B>Santa Barbara Earthquake</B></A> (rec. 1940; dates to 1920s)*  [<A HREF="SantaBarbaraEarthquake.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>1:50</I><BR> <I>Vocal: Mrs. Vester Whitworth. Guitar: Zelmer Ward.</I><BR> Feckless God abandons hapless residents and lays them waste to make a point. Wouldn't a telegram have sufficed? </P> <P> <A HREF="TheOldWoman.ram" CLASS="section"><B>The Old Woman</B></A> (rec. 1939)  [<A HREF="OldWoman.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>2:07</I><BR> <I>Vocal: E.A. Briggs</I><BR> Philandering wife's evil plot to blind then murder her husband backfires. Oops. Rec. 5/5/1939 in Bandera County, TX. </P> <P><A HREF="SaveALittleDramForMe.ram" CLASS="section"><B>Save a Little Dram for Me</B></A> (1922)¶  <I>3:28</I><BR> <I>Performed by Duke Rogers. Written by Will Skidmore.</I><BR> Parson Johnson endeavors to blackmail his flock for bootleg hooch so he can get good and snockered.</P> <P><A HREF="OldCrumpy.ram" CLASS="section"><B>Old Crumpy</B></A> (rec. 1939)  <I>1:22</I><BR> <I>Performed by George Vinton Graham.</I><BR> Don't steal fruit from dead people or they'll crawl from the grave and kick your ass. Rec. 12/3/1939 by Sidney Robertson Cowell in San Jose, CA.</P> <P><A HREF="WacoGirl.ram" CLASS="section"><B>The Waco Girl</B></A> (rec. 1940)*  [<A HREF="WacoGirl.html" TARGET="main">view lyrics</A>]  <I>3:33</I><BR> <I>Sung by Fred Ross.</I><BR> A hick beats his girlfriend bloody and throws her in the river to drown. Her sister rats him out to the cops. (A variation of "Knoxville Girl".)</P> <P><A HREF="PoBoy.ram" CLASS="section"><B>Po' Boy</B></A> (rec. 1939)  <I>2:50</I><BR> <I>Vocal and Guitar: Booker T. Washington ("Barrel House"/"Bukka") White</I><BR> Starvin', lonely, momma cries at the sight of me, and nothing but a rock for a pillow. Rec. 5/23/1939 Parchman Farm (State Penitentiary), MS.</P> <P><A HREF="OhDeath.ram" CLASS="section"><B>Oh Death</B></A> (rel. 1964)§  <I>2:30</I><BR> <I>Vocal and Banjo: Dock Boggs</I><BR> Old man pleads to Death for one more year of life. Sucker. </P> <P><A HREF="MyTimeAintLong.ram" CLASS="section"><B>My Time Ain't Long (Motherless Child)</B></A> (rec. 1939)  <I>3:34</I><BR> <I>Sung by Annabelle Sanford, Lois Brown, Clifford Reed, Johnny Mae Medlock.</I><BR> The only thing worse than living this life is knowing I'll be glad to die. Rec. 6/4/1939 State Penitentiary, Raiford, FL.</P> <P> <HR size=1><BR>  From <A HREF="http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/lohtml/lohome.html" TARGET="_blank"><B>Southern Mosaic:</B> The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip</A>. Recorded in the field on acetate masters March  June, 1939. </P> <P>* From <A HREF="http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tshome.html" TARGET="_blank"><B>Voices of the Dust Bowl:</B> The Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection, 1940-1941</A>, documenting the everyday life of residents of Farm Security Administration migrant work camps in central California during 1940 and 1941.</P> <P> From <A HREF="http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afccchtml/cowhome.html" TARGET="_blank"><B>California Gold:</B> Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties</A>, consisting of WPA recordings made by Sidney Robertson Cowell ca. 1938-1940.</P> <P>¶ From <A HREF="http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edhome.html" TARGET="_blank"><B>Inventing Entertainment:</B> the Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies</A>. Recorded at the Edison studios in East Orange, NJ. </P> <P>§ From the companion web site for <A HREF="http://web2.si.edu/folkways/harry/dock.htm" TARGET="_blank"><I>Dock Boggs, Legendary Singer and Banjo Player</I></A> (Folkways Records, 1964).</P> </FONT> <P>Compiled by Spencer Sundell. Compilation, design and original text copyright 1999, 2001 by Subliminal Media. All rights reserved.</P>