Gandy Dancers & Linin' Track Sound Files & Videos

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post is Part II of a two part series on the African American work song "Can't You Line 'em ("Linin' Track", "Tie-Shuffling Chant"). "Can't You Line 'em is an African American work song that was composed by "Gandy Dancers" (men who worked on the railways "linin' track".)

Part II of this series features a YouTube sound file of several lining track songs as performed by former Gandy Dancers. That sound file includes video of a re-enactment of lining track as well as photographs of lining and video clips of a re-enactment of lining track.

Part II of this series also showcases one sound file & transcription of a version of that song as performed by Blues/Folk artist "Leadbelly, and three renditions of the song "Linin' Track" as performed by contemporary vocalists & musicians. My transcriptions of those songs as performed by those contemporary artists are also included in this post

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/early-versions-of-cant-you-line-em.html Early Versions Of "Can't You Line' Em" ("Linin' Track") for Part I of this series. Part I of this series features early versions of this song & provides general information about Gandy Dancers.

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FEATURED SOUND FILES & VIDEOS

Example #1: Gandy Dancers



Uploaded by folkstreamer on Jun 23, 2008

Musical traditions and recollections of eight retired African-American railroad track laborers whose occupational folk songs were once heard on railroads that crisscross the South.
-snip-
This video's visuals & narratation are a historical treasure. The video producer includes excerpts of Gandy Dancer songs as text superimposed on the screen.

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Example #2: Can't You Line 'Em - Lead Belly



Uploaded by maolchalium on Sep 12, 2008

Classic Leadbelly number. Unknown recording date.
-snip-
From what I’ve read online, this Leadbelly performance was recorded sometimes between 1940 to 1943

LYRICS: LININ' TRACK
[traditional]

Ho, boys, is you right?
I done got right
All I hate about linin' track
These ol' bars 'bout to bust my back

Chorus:
Ho, boys, cancha line 'em –track*
Ho, boys, cancha line 'em -track
Ho, boys, cancha line 'em -track
Here we go linin track

if I could I surely would
Stand on the rock where Moses stood
Ho, boys, cancha line 'em –track
Ho, boys, cancha line 'em –tracka lack
Ho, boys, cancha line 'em –tracka lack
Here we go linin track

Moses stood on the Red Sea shore
Smotin that water with a two-by-four
Ho, boys, cancha line 'em –tracka lack
Ho, boys, cancha line 'em –tracka lack
Ho, boys, cancha line 'em –tracka lack
Here we go linin track

[Transcription from the sound file by Azizi Powell, 10/22/2012]
**
This same version is also on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpGtnxQl05s "Leadbelly - Line Em'"
-snip-
* The words "track" and "trackalack" aren't clearly pronounced, which is probably why "rackalack”, “jackalack”, and other approximations of those words are found in transcriptions of Leadbelly's version of this song.

As an aside, I believe that the word "shakalaka" in the phrase "boom shakalaka" has its earliest source in the "trackalack" (and similarly sounding) phrases from the Gandy Dancer's track linin' songs. However, a more direct source for "boom shakalaka" is the phrase "Boom laka-laka-laka" riff that is found in Sly & The Family Song's 1969 hit song "I Wanna Take You Higher".
**
"Smotin that water with a two by four" = hitting that water with a board [to cause the sea to separate and yield dry land as indicated in the Bible].
**
It’s clear that Leadbelly is saying “here we go linin track”. His renditions of this song where that line is given as “See Eloise gonna linin track” are from other performances.
From http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=28408 "Who was Eloise in Leadbelly's Linin'", posted by Roger in Baltimore, Jun 05 - 01:06 PM
"Document released a CD in September of 2004 called Leadbelly Live: New York 1947 and Austin, Texas 1949. On it, he does a spoken introduction of Linin' Track that talks about Ella Louise as a woman who is calling out the lead, directing the other workers how to line the track... I, too, suspect that Lead Belly's story may be apocryphal..."
-snip-
The "Related Links" section of Part I of this series contains an additional hyperlink to a Mudcat Folk/Blues forum discussion about the meaning of the name "Eloise" in the "Linin' Track" song.
**
Here's a pertinent quote from commenter "12-stringer" on the Mudcat Blues/Folk discussion forum:
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 05:25 PM http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=19043 Lyr Add: Linin' Track
[It's] "Not remotely likely Leadbelly wrote it ['Linin Track"]from scratch," though he standardized and popularized it. I suspect at least some of his songs were picked up while he was chauffeuring John Lomax on various field trips after he got out of Angola [prison]..."

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Example #3 - LYRICS: LININ' TRACK*
[traditional]

Ho, boys, is you right?
I done got right.

What I hate about linin' track
These ol' bars 'bout to bust my back
Singin

Chorus:
Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em –trackalack
Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em -track
Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em
See how Eloise go linin' track*

Woman and I'se lyin in the shade
Talkin 'bout the money that I ain't made
Sayin

Chorus

Moses stood on the Red Sea shore
Smote that water with ah two-by-four

Chorus

If I could I surely would
Stand on the rock that ah Moses stood

Chorus

????
The bosses ain't hot I pray to die [?]

Chorus

Mary Martha Luke and John
All of the disciples are dead and gone.

Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em –trackalack
Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em -track
Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em

[instrumental]
Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em –trackalack
Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em -track
Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em
See Eloise gonna linin' track*

I may be right. I may be wrong.
But you sure gonna miss me when I'm gone.

Chorus [sung multiple times with other another singer joining in.]

-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell from the video Austin Walkin' Cane - Linin' Track (Tie-Shuffling Chant). This video doesn't appear to be on YouTube anymore.

*This line might be "See how wese gonna linin' track".

??? I'm not sure about this verse's lyrics. [from 1:40 - 1:44]

Additions & corrections for this transcription -and all other transcriptions on this page - are very much appreciated.

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Example #4: Linin' Track - The Johnny Possum Band



Uploaded by johnnypossum on May 22, 2009

….The Johnny Possum Band performing 'Linin' Track'. Recorded live at the Harbour Light Theatre in Lyttelton, New Zealand….

LYRICS: LININ' TRACK
(Traditional)

Ho, boys, is you right?
[We right]
I done got right

All I hate about linin' track
These ol' bars 'bout to bust my back

Chorus:
Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em –trackalack
Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em -trackalack
Ho, boys, can’t you line 'em -trackalack
Let's see how wese gonna linin' track

Mary and the baby were settin' in the shade
Thinkin' of the money that I ain't made
Mary, Marthy, Luke and John
Well all them 'ciples now they're dead and gone

Chorus

Moses stood on the Red Sea shore
Battin' at the waves with a two-by-four
[Hey, boy]
Well if I could I surely would
Stand on the rock where Moses stood

Chorus

Down in the holler below the field
Angels are workin' on my chariot wheel
I told my Lord I was ready to go
He sent me down way below.
Chorus

Ho, boys, is you right?
[We right]
I done got right

All I hate about linin' track
These ol' bars 'bout to bust my back

[Transcription by Azizi Powell from video, 10/22/2012]
-snip-
Explanations for selected words
'ciples = disciples

battin = hitting

Down in the holler (hollar)= a geographic formation similar to a valley, or a ravine

He sent me down way below – to hell

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Example #5: The Dream Blues Team - Lining Track (2011)



Uploaded by AlruneRod2811 on Aug 14, 2011

Svante Sjöblom: mandolin - Olav Poulsen: slideguitar - Peter Nande: harp - Paul Banks: vocal & guitar - Mik Schack: washboard - Hugo Rasmussen: bass - Tim Lothar: drums - An amateur footage shot at Huset in Aalborg, Denmark - August 2011

LYRICS: LININ' TRACK
[traditional]

Hey, boys, is you right?
I done got right
All I hate about linin' track
These ol' bars 'bout to bust my back

Chorus:
Hey, boys, don’t you 'em
Hey, boys, don’t you line 'em
Hey, boys, don’t you line 'em
See Eloise go linin track


Well if I could I surely would
Stand on the rock where Moses stood
I don’t know but I’ve been told
Streets of heaven are paved with gold.
saida

Chorus
Yeah-ah!

[instrumental]

Hey, boys, don’t you 'em
Hey, boys, don’t you line 'em
Hey, boys, don’t you line 'em
See Eloise go linin track

Hey, boys, don’t you 'em
Hey, boys, don’t you line 'em
Hey, boys, don’t you line 'em
See Eloise go linin track

And if I could I surely would
Stand on the rock where Moses stood
Yeah, I don’t know but I’ve been told
Streets of heaven are paved with gold

Said ah
[chorus] 2x
-snip-
[Transcription by Azizi Powell from the video, 10/22/2012]

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to all who composed this song, thanks to the early performers of this song, and thanks to those performers of this song that are featured in this post. My thanks also to John & Allan Lomax for collecting & recording this song. Thanks to all those whose comments I reposted and thanks to the producers and publishers of these featured sound clips and videos.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Early Versions Of "Can't You Line' Em" ("Linin' Track")

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post is Part I of a two part series on the African American work song "Can't You Line' em ("Linin' Track", "Tie-Shuffling Chant"). This post showcases three early text versions of "Can't You Line 'em".

For background purposes, this post also provides information & comments about the traditional way that this song was performed.

This post is not meant to be a comprehensive presentation of all early versions of this song.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/gandy-dancers-linin-track-sound-files.html for Part II of this series.

Part II of this series features a YouTube sound file of several lining track songs as performed by former Gandy Dancers. That sound file includes video of a re-enactment of lining track as well as photographs of lining and video clips of a re-enactment of lining track.

Part II of this series also showcases one sound file & transcription of a version of that song as performed by Blues/Folk artist "Leadbelly, and three renditions of the song "Linin' Track" as performed by contemporary vocalists & musicians. My transcriptions of those songs as performed by those contemporary artists are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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INFORMATION ABOUT GANDY DANCERS
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandy_dancer
"Gandy dancer is a slang term used for early railroad workers who laid and maintained railroad tracks in the years before the work was done by machines.

...most sources refer to gandy dancers as the men who did the difficult physical work of track maintenance under the direction of an overseer.

There are various theories about the derivation of the term, but most refer to the "dancing" movements of the workers using a specially manufactured 5-foot (1.52 m) "lining" bar (which may have come to be called a "gandy") as a lever to keep the tracks in alignment...

Though all gandy dancers sang railroad songs, it may be that black gandy dancers, with a long tradition of using song to coordinate work, were unique in their use of task-related work chants.

Rhythm was necessary both to synchronize the manual labor, and to maintain the morale of workers..."
**
It should be noted that all Gandy Dancers weren't African American, and all Gandy Dancers-African American or otherwise-weren't prison inmates.

Here's a contemporary article which provides information about Gandy Dancers:
From http://www.vre.org/service/newsletter/2007/may31.pdf [volume 3, issue 11] May 31, 2007 program the Manassas Railway Festival, Virginia Railway Express Update
"This year, a special performance by the Birmingham Lining Bar Gang will also be offered, featuring a group of re-enactors who demonstrate the way railroad tracks were aligned and maintained before the advent of mechanized devices in the 1950s and ’60s. In demonstrating track-lining, one group member serves as a “caller”, offering a two-line rhyme in a loud, clear voice that serves to synchronize the movement of other members so that each heaves with his iron lining bar at the same moment. These calls, which “helped the hard work go easy” according to a retired worker and former caller, served an indispensable function by uniting men’s efforts and easing their minds."

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FEATURED LYRICS OF CAN'T YOU LINE' EM (or other known titles of that song)
(These versions are posted in chronological order with the earliest examples posted first)

VERSION #1 [excerpt]
(John 'Black Sampson' Gibson in 1933 and other African American male inmates)

Leader: Ho, boys, is you right?
Gang: I done got right!
Leader: If I could I sholy would, [sholy = surely]
Stand on de rock where Moses stood.

Chorus: Ho, boys, cancha line ‘em? [cancha = can you]
Ho, boys, cancha line ‘em?
Ho, boys, cancha line ‘em?
See Eloise go linin’ track.
-snip-
From http://books.google.com/books?id=Dn0cSe2ecuoC&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=TIE+SHUFFLING+CHANT&source=bl&ots=i5m7PpHmxD&sig=2LYElct7ZCnDW6qhDIQ5sckANV0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=A_9-UOu0EYTo9ASWm4DQBg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=TIE%20SHUFFLING%20CHANT&f=false American Ballads and Folk Songs(Dover Books on Music)
John A. Lomax (Author), Alan Lomax (Author)
Publication Date: October 21, 1994 | Series: Dover Books on Music , pps 14, 15 [Other verses from John "Black Sampson" Gibson's rendition and other renditions are found on those pages.
**
snip-
Comments about the lines "Is you right?"/ Done got right
One interpretation of the line "Is you right?" is the religious meaning of "Are you right [with the Lord]?" or "Are you living right?" (according to the church's religious beliefs & tenets. In those interpretations, the word "right" means righteous". "I done got right" means "I've gotten right" (I'm living the right way now although in the past I wasn't.) That interpretation is based on this Biblical scripture:

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God."
-Acts 8:21

The Christian hymn "Is Your Heart Right With God" was composed in 1899 by Elisha Albright Hoffman Pennsylvania (a native of Pennsylvania, USA). Beginning in 1921 that song has been included in various Christian hymnals.

Notice that the "Linin' Track" song includes religious verses mixed with secular verses. It's very likely that the "...your heart is not right with God" Biblical verse was known to the African American men who composed the "Linin Track" song.

As an aside, I recall singing "Is Your Heart Right With God" in my New Jersey African American Baptist church from the 1950s on. And judging from its mention on the Internet, it appears that this song is still sung today in American Christian churches and in Christian churches elsewhere.

In contrast, I didn't become familiar with the song "Linin' Track" until this year as a result of surfing YouTube (somewhat randomly clicking on videos and sound files of African American prison songs on YouTube).

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Comment about the name "Eloise" in the "Linin' Track" song
I belong to the school of thought that believes that the line "See Eloise go linin track" was a mishearing of the line "See how wese go linin' track". ["See how wese go linin' track"= See how we are lining [railroad] track."]

One alternative theory which originated with a spoken introduction by Blues & Folk artist Leadbelly in one or several (but not all) of his performances of "Linin' Track" was that a female named "Ella Louise" was the one who first led laborers who sung this song. Given that there weren't any female gandy dancers, I very much doubt Leadbelly's story about why the female name "Eloise" is found in that song.

Additional comments about the name "Eloise" in the "Linin' Track" song are found in the entry for Leadbelly in Part II of this series. Also, hyperlinks to Mudcat discussion forum "threads" (series of comments) on the meaning of "Eloise" in this song are found below in the "Related Links" section.

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VERSION #2
("sung by Allen Prothero, (a railroad man) State Penn. Nashville. Tenn 1933")

Hey, boys joint ahead
I'm gonna tell something now
Oh, all I want, my navy beans
A big fat woman & a wheeler team

Hi,hi.won't you line em
Hi, hi won't you line em
Ho, ho won't you line em
See Eloise go lining track
-snip-
Collected by John & Allan Lomax and included in their book Railroad Songs & Ballads reposted from http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=28408 "Lyr Req: Who was Eloise in Leadbelly's Linin'" by Barry Finn, Date: 13 Apr 03 - 03:01 PM
**
Notice that there's no phrase such as "trackalack" at the end of this version's chorus lines. Nor is there any such phrase in Version #1. I wonder if that phrase wasn't sung or if the Lomaxes didn't think it was important enough to include. The "trackalack" (or similar sounding phrase" is also often omitted from online lyrics that I've read for this song. That’s unfortunate because that phrase is a crucial part of the song as it was actually performed by Gandy Dancers, railroad workers who lined track, most of whom were African Americans.

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VERSION #3
(Sung by Henry Hankins at Tuscumbia Alabama, 1939)

I. God told Noah about the rainbow sign,
No more water but a fire next time.
Hey boys, can't you line,
hey boys, just a hair,
Hey boys, can't you line,
hey boys, just a hair.
All right, we're mavin' on up the joint ahead.

2. Capt'n keep a-holletin' 'bout the joint ahead,
Ain't said notbin' about the hog and bread.
Hey boys, can't you linc, hey boys, just a hair,
Ho boys, line them over, hey boys, just a hair.

Better move it on down to the center head.

3. Capt'n keep a-hollerin' about the joint ahead,
Ain't said nothin' 'bout the bowl and bread.
Hey boys, can't you line, hey boys, just a hair,
Ho boys, line them over, hey boys, just a hair.
0l’ soul, let's move ahead children.
All right, is you right? Yes we're right.

4. Gone to town, gain' to hurry back,
See Corinna when she ball the jack.
Hey boys, can't you line, hey boys, just a hair.

5. All right, Capt'n keep a-hollerin' about the joint ahead.
All right, children will you move?
Move on down 0l' soul,
Is you right children? Yes we're right.

6. Gain' to town, gonna hurry back,
See Corinna when she ball the jack.
Hey boys, can't you line, ho boys, just a hair

http://www.loc.gov/folklife/LP/AFS_L61_opt.pdf
[These lyrics and the comments that follow are reposted as they are found in that pdf]
Song -A-4
Sung by Henry Hankins at Tuscumbia Alabama, 1939 recorded by Hebert Halpert

"Fortunately, Negro construction railroad songs are well known through recordings and print collections. The building of any roadbed section involved myriad skills: timber failing, brushing, blasting, grading, tie and steel unloading, track laying and lining, spike driving, tie tamping. Each detailed function called for a characteristic rhythm that drew to itself hundreds of floating lyrics. Henry Hankins' "Lining Track," which mentions the Biblical Noah as well as a worldly Corinna, is but one example of hundreds of Library of Congress field recordings for this gente. Excellent analogs by Henry Truvillion are found on LC recordings L8 and L52. A reoent article by Ambrose Manning leads to earlier readings. I cite but two commercial 78 rpm discs to note material which preceded field recordings.
Texas Alexander, "Section Gang Blues," Okeh 8498.
T.C.1. Section Crew, "Track Linin'," Paramount 12478.
Ambrose Manning, "Railroad Work Songs," Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, 32:41-47 (June 1966).
-snip-
"just a hair" might mean "just a little bit" and/or it might have been a phrase that served the same purpose as the "trackalack", "rackalack", or other such phrases at the end of lines in the chorus of other versions of this song.
**
Ol’ = old
**
ball that jack = the name of an African American originated Blues dance

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RELATED LINKS
The words to a 1927 recording of "Track Linin'" by an African American choral group are found on page 646 of the book Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong (2d ed.) by By Norm Cohen. http://books.google.com/books?id=AY7St4-8x10C&pg=PR45&lpg=PR45&dq=Black+Sampson+linin+track+song&source=bl&ots=Od-Ksz0oB7&sig=TnVrrA8urkXT69hV-s7gYzu9Ngg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mGiFUJ2cIKXp0gH7h4GoCg&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Black%20Sampson%20linin%20track%20song&f=false

**
Additional lyrics for "Can't You Line 'em" ("Linin' Track") are found in http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=6591 "Eloise?" That same post includes other theories about the meaning of the female name "Eloise" in that song.

Other Mudcat threads that provide lyrics and comments about the name "Eloise" in that song are http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=28408
"Who was Eloise in Leadbelly's Linin' Track?" and "http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=19043#192986 Lyr Add: Linin' Track

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to all who composed this song, and thanks to the early performers of this song - those featured here and others. My thanks also to John & Allan Lomax for collecting & recording this song. And thanks to all those whose comments & transcriptions I reposted.

Finally, thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

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Sam Cooke, Otis Redding - Chain Gang (Lyrics, Sound Files, & Comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases a rendition of the song "Chain Gang" by Sam Cooke and a rendition of that same song by Otis Redding. Lyrics to those versions are also included in this post.

This post also includes information about chain gangs.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

WHAT ARE CHAIN GANGS?
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_gang
"A chain gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work, such as mining or timber collecting, as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include building roads, digging ditches or chipping stone. This system existed primarily in the southern parts of the United States, and by 1955 had been phased out nationwide, with Georgia the last state to abandon the practice.[1] Chain gangs were reintroduced by a few states during the "get tough on crime" 1990s, with Alabama being the first state to revive them in 1995. The experiment ended after about one year in all states except Arizona,[2] where in Maricopa County inmates can still volunteer for a chain gang to earn credit toward a high school diploma or avoid disciplinary lockdowns for rule infractions.[3]

FEATURED SONG EXAMPLES

Example #1: Sam Cooke "Chain Gang"



jijbentlilik,Uploaded on Apr 9, 2008

Video ripped from www.chaingangpictures.com so visit their website and give them the credits
-snip-

LYRICS: CHAIN GANG
(Sam Cooke and Charles Cooke)

I hear somethin' sayin'


(Hooh! aah!) (hooh! aah!)
(Hooh! aah!) (hooh! aah!)


(Well, don't you know)
That's the sound of the men working on the chain ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang


All day long they're singin'
(Hooh! aah!) (hooh! aah!)
(Hooh! aah!) (hooh! aah!)


(Well, don't you know)
That's the sound of the men working on the chain ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang


All day long they work so hard
Till the sun is goin' down
Working on the highways and byways
And wearing, wearing a frown
You hear them moanin' their lives away
Then you hear somebody sa-ay


That's the sound of the men working on the chain ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang


Can't ya hear them singin'
Mm, I'm goin' home one of these days
I'm goin' home see my woman
Whom I love so dear
But meanwhile I got to work right he-ere


(Well, don't you know)
That's the sound of the men working on the chain ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang


All day long they're singin', mm
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my work is so hard
Give me water, I'm thirsty
My work is so hard

http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/sam_cooke/chain_gang.html

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Otis Redding - Chain Gang



Tribalsanne1984, Uploaded on Mar 29, 2010
-snip-
LYRICS: CHAIN GANG
(Sam Cooke, as sung by Otis Redding)

That's the sound of the men
They are working on the chain gang, huh
That's the sound of the men
They're working on the chain gang
That's the sound of the men
When they're working on the chain gang

All day long you hear them, ooh!
I'm going home, just one of these ole days
Man, i'm going home to see my woman
For my love's so dear
But meanwhile I gotta work right here now, huh

And that's the sound of the men
They're just working on the chain gang
That's the sound of the men
They're working on the highways and the biways
That's the sound of the men
Working on the highway and biway
All day long they're going, ooh

Man, i'm going home to see that woman
who I love so dear
I gotta see the woman
Who I love so well
But than meanwhile I gotta work right here now, huh

Now that's the sound of us mens
When we're working on the chain gang
Oh, it's alright now, well out there

That's the sound of the men
When they're working on the chain gang, ha
That's the sound of the men
When they're working on the chain gang
All day long you hear them, ooh
Man, i'm going home one of these ole days
Man i'm going home
I got to see the woman
Whom I love so dear
But meanwhile I've gotta sit right here now, ha

Now that's the sounds of the mens
Working on the chain gang

Working, we're working
Ah, we're working man
Got to be working
Oh, every day we work a little bit stronger
Every night, man, a few bit longer
Got to be working, man
The time is going up
We got to be working, man

-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell from the sound file. Additions & corrections are welcome.

RELATED LINK
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/gandy-dancers-linin-track-sound-files.html Gandy Dancers & Linin' Track Sound Files & Videos

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
This post acknowledges all the men who worked on the chain gang. You are not forgotten.

Thanks to the musical legacy of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Thanks also to the uploaders of this featured video and this featured song file.

Thanks for visiting pancocoojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

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Po' Lazarus (Comments, Lyrics, & Videos)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides comments, lyrics, and two videos of the African American prison work song "Po' [Poor] Lazarus". Another term for "prison work songs" are "chain gang songs", although all prison work songs aren't sung by prisoners working on chain gangs.

The content of this post is provided for folkloric, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Carter_and_the_Prisoners
"James Carter (December 18, 1925 – November 26, 2003) was an American amateur singer and several times an inmate of the Mississippi prison system. He was paid $20,000, and credited, for a four-decade-old lead-vocalist performance used in the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?.

In 1959, Carter was serving time at Camp B of the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, Mississippi. In a southern field excursion, Carter and the other prisoners in his chain gang were spending the day chopping wood. Folk music historian Alan Lomax encountered them, and Carter and the others agreed to be recorded, as soloist and chorus respectively on an old spiritual, "Po' Lazarus", chopping the logs in time to the music. The recording and a photograph of the prisoners became part of Lomax's seminal music archive.

Decades later, the recording was purchased for use in the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, which went on to win a Grammy for Album of the Year. During this, the producers, working in the hope that Carter was still alive, successfully tracked him down. Despite never seeing the film and not even remembering the song he had sung over 40 years previously, Carter was pleased with the album's success, and was present at the benefit concert held in Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, which featured repeat performances by the performers of other numbers on the soundtrack (although Carter himself did not perform).

As the other prisoners have not been identified (and likely never will be), the official credit for the artist on the soundtrack is for "James Carter & the Prisoners"."
-snip-
Editor's Note:
I disagree with the description of this song as a "spiritual". "Spirituals" are religious songs. Despite containing the exclamation "Lawd" ("Lord") and the New Testament Biblical male name "Lazarus", "Po' Lazarus" is a secular (non-religious) song, part of the "prison work songs" genre.

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LYRICS : PO LAZARUS
[unknown composer/s]

Well, the high sheriff
He told his deputy
Want you go out and bring me Lazarus
Well, the high sheriff
Told his deputy
I want you go out and bring me Lazarus
Bring him dead or alive,
Lawd, Lawd
Bring him dead or alive
Well the deputy he told the high sheriff
I ain't gonna mess with Lazarus
Well the deputy he told the high sheriff
Says I ain't gonna mess with Lazarus
Well he's a dangerous man
Lawd, Lawd
He's a dangerous man
Well then the high sheriff, he found Lazarus
He was hidin' in the chill of a mountain
Well the high sheriff, found Lazarus
He was hidin' in the chill of the mountain
With his head hung down
Lawd, Lawd
With his head hung down
Well then the high sheriff, he told Lazarus
He says Lazarus I come to arrest you
Well the high sheriff, told Lazarus
Says Lazarus I come to arrest you
And bring ya dead or alive
Lawd, Lawd
Bring you dead or alive
Well then Lazarus, he told the high sheriff
Says I never been arrested
Well Lazarus, told the high sheriff
Says I never been arrested
By no one man
Lawd, Lawd
By no one man
And then the high sheriff, he shot Lazarus
Well, he shot him mighty big number
Well the high sheriff, shot Lazarus
Well he shot him with a mighty big number
With a forty five
Lawd, Lawd
With a forty five
Well then they take old Lazarus
Yes they laid him on the commissary gallery
Well they taken poor Lazarus
And the laid him on the commissary gallery
He said my wounded side
Lawd, Lawd
My wounded side

From http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/obrotherwhereartthou/polazarus.htm


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FEATURED VIDEOS

Video #1: po' Lazarus [Sung by "James Carter & the Prisoners" & featured in the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?]



Uploaded by L1A1 on Apr 13, 2011

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Video #2: The Fairfilled Four - Po Lazarus
[The Fairfield Four]



Uploaded by ppmcsk on Dec 18, 2009

From "Down From The Moutnain" concert
-snip-
In my opinion, the percussive foot stomps, handclaps, and thigh patting substitute for the sound of picks and enhance this acapella song performance.

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R42464, a commenter on this video's viewer comment thread explains that the group's name is The Fairfield Four because there were four members when the group started in 1921.

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From http://singers.com/group/Fairfield-Four/
"The a cappella style of the Fairfield Four was drawn from the Birmingham, Alabama quartet tradition exemplified by recording groups such as the Bessemer Sunset Four, the Birmingham Jubilee Singers, and the Famous Blue Jay Singers with lead vocalist, Silas Steele. The tradition is characterized by a percussive bass voice anchoring middle harmonies sung often on repeated rhythmic syllables ("boom a lanka lanka lanka") and a tenor voice out front carrying the lead...

Today, the Fairfield Four are best known from their appearance on the soundtrack and on screen in the Coen Brothers 2000 film, O Brother Where Art Thou. They are multiple Grammy winners with albums including Standing in the Safety Zone (1992) and I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray (1997) on Warner Brothers, Wreckin' the House (1998) on Dead Reckoning, The Fairfield Four and Friends Live from Mountain Stage (2000) on Blue Plate, and by their bass singer Isaac Freeman with the Bluebloods, Beautiful Stars (2003) on Lost Highway"...

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & THANKS
Thanks to the unknown composer/s of "Po Lazarus". Thanks also to the singers and collectors of this song and the uploaders of this video.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

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