Anybody have a tune they'd like to transcribe for us? The tune on the "Walter Smith and Friends" recording is exactly the same as "Red River Valley," but others use a tune that's slightly different.
-Joe Offer-
joe@mudcat.org

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Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry. I have Randolph, so I can transcribe the tune if we don't get a volunteer.

Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight?

DESCRIPTION: The tramp asks to be allowed to spend the night in the barn, adding that he had no tobacco or matches. He explains how he used to live a settled life, but then a stranger came to town and made off with his wife and son.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (recordings, Charlie Poole, George Reneau)
KEYWORDS: abandonment rambling poverty hobo request
FOUND IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Randolph 841, "Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight?" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 502-504, "Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight?" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 841A)
BrownIII 356, "May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight, Mister?" (2 texts)
Rorrer, p. 70, "Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight Mister" (1 text)
Roud #768
RECORDINGS:
Gene Autry, "May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister?" (Conqueror 7765, 1931)
Boone County Entertainers, "May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight, Mister" (Supertone 9182, 1928)
Jeff Calhoun [pseud. for Vernon Dalhart], "May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight, Mister?" (Grey Gull 4118, 1927)
Harry "Mac" McClintock, "Can I Sleep In Your Barn?" (Victor V-40264, 1930)
Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight Mister" (Columbia 15038-D, 1925; on CPoole02) (Broadway 8146, c. 1931)
Red Fox Chasers, "May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister?" (Supertone 9182, 1928)
Joe Reeves, "May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight, Mister?" (Conqueror 7254, 1929)
George Reneau, "May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight, Mister?" (Vocalion 15149, 1925)
James Roberts, "May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister?" (Romeo 5074, n.d.)
Ernest V. Stoneman, "May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister?" (Okeh 45059, 1926); (Challenge 312, c. 1927)
Kid Williams & Bill Morgan [pseuds. for Walter Smith & Lewis McDaniel], "May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister?" (Perfect 160, 1931)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Tramp's Story" (plot)
cf. "The Lehigh Valley" (plot)
cf. "The Deserted Husband" (theme)
SAME TUNE:
Let Me Sleep in Your Tent Tonight, Beal (Greenway-AFP, pp.137-138)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Honest Tramp
Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight, Mister?
Notes: Carson J. Robison credits this to E. V. Body, but "Body" gets credit for too many things for the attribution to amount to much. - RBW
File: R841

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