The only songbook entry I could find was in the Mitchell Trio Songbook, of all places. I'll transcribe the tune for the Digital Tradition.
-Joe Offer-
AIN'T NO MORE CANE ON THIS BRAZOS
1. Ain't no more cane on this Brazos, my boy
Oh, oh, oh
We done ground it all into molasses,
Oh, oh, oh
2. When I come down here, had a number for my name
Oh, oh, oh
Well, they chained us together and we started cuttin' cane
Oh, oh, oh
3. I wish you was here in nineteen and ten
Oh, oh, oh
Well, they was drivin' the women just like they was men
Oh, oh, oh
4. I wish you was here when the storm winds came
Oh, oh, oh
Left a man lyin' dead and we cut him off the chain
Oh, oh, oh
5. If I had a sentence like ninety-nine and nine
Oh, oh, oh
There ain't no dogs on this Brazos could keep me on that line
Oh, oh, oh
6. Well, Alberta why don't you let your hair hang down
Oh, oh, oh
Let it hang right down till it touches the ground
Oh, oh, oh
7. Why don't you go down old Hannah, don't you rise up no more
Oh, oh, oh
Well, they work me so hard that I can't work no more
Oh, oh, oh
8. Ain't no more cane on this Brazos, my boy
Oh, oh, oh
We done ground it all into molasses
Oh, oh, oh
From "The Mitchell Trio Songbook," 1964, adaptation and new lyrics by William C. Mitchell.
Notes from Mitchell Trio Songbook: This is a song that comes from the Brazos area of Texas, around the turn of the century (The Brazos is a river that runs through the area.) It tells of a chain gang taken out into the countryside to cut sugar cane. At the time, the prisons contracted with a great many of the plantation owners - money in return for prisoners who would harvest the cane crop. Naturally, there was no profit for the prisoners, so the chain gang was a necessity.
@prison
filename[ CANEBRA2
JRO^^
MIDI file: CANEBRA2.MID
Timebase: 192
Name: Ain't No More Cane on this Brazos
Text: By (traditional)
Key: A
TimeSig: 4/4 24 8
Start
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EndThis program is worth the effort of learning it.
To download the latest version of MIDItext and get instructions on how to use it click here
ABC format:
X:1
T:Ain't No More Cane on this Brazos
M:4/4
Q:1/4=120
K:A
cc2cBA2A|AA2AE4|A3GB3G/2F/2|E8|F2F2A2A2|EEEFCB,A,2|
D3CE3C/2B,/2|A,11/2||
Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song:
Ain't No More Cane on this Brazos
DESCRIPTION: The singer remarks, "There ain't no more cane on this Brazos, oh-oh-oh; They done ground it all down to molasses, oh-oh-oh." He describes the dreadful conditions faced by the prisoners and wishes he could escape such horrors
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934 (field recording)
KEYWORDS: prison abuse punishment death
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Scott-BoA, pp. 305-306, "No More Cane on this Brazos" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 92, "Ain't No Mo' Cane on dis Brazis" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 58-59, "Ain' No Mo' Cane on de Brazos" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, p. 144, "No More Cane on This Brazos" (1 text, 1 tune)
Courlander-NFM, pp. 132-133, (no title) (1 text, heavily modified to produce a blues feel)
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 77-75, "Should A Been on the River in 1910" (1 text, 1 tune; the first verse, about driving women and men alive, is from this song or "Go Down, Old Hannah", but the remainder is a separate piece); pp. 130-132, "No More Cane on the Brazos/Godamighty" (1 text, 1 tune, a mixture of this with another song Jackson calls "Godamighty" though it has almost no lyric elements in common with "Godalmighty Drag")
Darling-NAS, pp. 326-327, "No More Can on this Brazos" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 65, "Ain't No More Can On This Brazos" (1 text)
DT, CANEBRAZ*
Roud #10063
RECORDINGS:
Mose "Clear Rock" Platt, "Ain' No More Cane on the Brazos" (AFS 2643 B1, 1939)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Go Down, Old Hannah"
cf. "Oughta Come on the River"
cf. "Should A Been on the River in 1910" (lyrics)
NOTES: The amount of common material in this song and "Go Down, Old Hannah" makes it certain they have cross-fertilized. They may be descendants of a common ancestor. But the stanzaic forms are different, so I list them separately. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
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