Merle Travis' "Nine Pound Hammer" and Charlie Bowman's "Roll on Buddy" are not the same song, as some people above seem to assume. The tunes are quite different, and the texts have very little in common. Compare the lyrics below to the Travis lyrics above:

ROLL ON BUDDY

As sung by Charlie Bowman and His Brothers, Columbia 15357, April 1929

I'm going to the east, Caro,
I'm going to the east, Caro,
I'm going to the east, I'm going to the west,
I'm a-going to the land I love best.

CHO:
Roll on, buddy, roll on,
Roll on, buddy, roll on,
You wouldn't roll so slow if you knew what I know,
Roll on, buddy, roll on.

You'd better quit your rowdy ways (2)
You'll get killed some day, you'll be laid in your grave,
You'd better quit your rowdy ways.

My home's down in Tennessee (2)
In Tennessee is where I always want to be,
Way down in sunny Tennessee.

I've got a good woman just the same (2)
Woman just the same, [Carrie?] Bowman is her name,
I've got a good woman just the same.

It's likely that Charlie Bowman did compose at least the final two verses. The first two, however, are variants of traditional stanzas.

There were other "Roll On Buddy"-type songs. They stem from mule skinning and teamster driving for the most part, and produced a number of early traditional songs in both the white and African American traditions. The first commercial "Roll On Buddy" song was "Baby Your Time Ain't Long" wby Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters (1927). The Carolina Tar Heels recorded "Roll On Boys" (1928), then came Bowman's recording, and the Monroe Brothers recorded their "Roll On Buddy" in 1937. (Buell Kazee's "Roll On John," though similar in theme, is not related.)

Finally, Nine Pound Hammer is a very old theme, going well back into the 19th century, when hammer songs were common as steel drivers laid rail. Songs called "Nine Pound Hammer" were first commercially recorded by Frank Blevins and His Tar Heel Rattlers (1928), G.B. Grayson & Henry Whitter (1928), Clarence Greene (1931) and Ernest and Eddie Stoneman (1934) before being cast into modern form by, once more, the Monroe Brothers (1936). This group of songs were fairly similar, though not identical.

So Travis' "Nine Pound Hammer" song had many precursors, and was within a traditional song cluster. However, "It's a long way to Harlan / Hazard" and other lines are pure Merle, and his recording of the song with the trademark guitar lick was original enough in style and substance to earn a copyright and a songwriter credit.

To repeat: Charlie Bowman's "Roll On, Buddy, Roll On" is distinct from the other Roll On songs, with a distinct melody, and can be credited as largely his composition. It has no substantial relation to "Nine Pound Hammer."

Bob