The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #55453 Message #862210
Posted By: Barry Finn
08-Jan-03 - 10:45 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Nine Pound Hammer
Subject: RE: Lyr. & Origin: Nine Pound Hammer Songs
A.Lomax also collected other versions of the above "I got a bull dog". He has them as "Well, I Wonder" sung by Dobie Red & group at Parchman Farm 1947, "Black Woman" sung by BB & group again at Parchman Farm 1947, "Black Gal" sung by Lightning Washington & group at the Darrington State Farm, Texas 1934. He says that this was a railroad song that made it's way into the Prisons. As a railroad song he's got it as a Tie-Tamping & a Track Lining song. In the prisons he has them as a flatweeding song. Bruce Jackson also collected 2 versions of "Black Gal" one from Joseph "Chinaman" Johnson & group at the Ellis Unit Texas 1965 & the other from JB Smith & Louis "Bacon & Porkchop" at the Ramsey Unit, Texas 1965 again as a flatweeding song. All these tunes are fairly close to the above "I Got a Bulldog".