Correct, Mark Ross. It was written by Luigi del Puppo and Tino Chumlovich while in jail at Nelson BC. It was collected from Luigi (along with other songs - funny that no-one asks "what other songs?") by Phil Thomas, the noted BC collector, 13 August 1970. I worked with Phil for many years, transcribing his original tapes, making a set to go in the BC Sound Archives, and editing the 2nd edition of his book, Songs of the Pacific Northwest.

Luigi said at the time that he had sold it to Terry Roberts and that Sheb Wooley had recorded it. I have not heard the Wooley version and would like a reference for it.

I was hired (with Utah and Diane Campbell) as a Host of the Folklife Festival at Expo 74 in Spokane, WA, spending the whole summer there. I had sung the song there, as had Diane, and Phil and Hilda, when they performed there, also sang it. Utah could have got it from any of us. he then added verses and changed some of the existing text, and from this thread, I presume that Priscilla did, too.

Here are the original words collected from Luigi, together with his comments: anything changed or added is from Utah and/or Priscilla/and/or Sheb Wooley and/or Terry Roberts:

ITEM 067                     LOVIN' YOU

Well I look at my brown suitcase
And I think of all the places that I been
The railroad yards the prison guards
And the dumpy little towns that I been in
The whisperin' of the people
As they watch every move that I go through
I remember all these things
But mostly I remember lovin' you

Chorus
I remember lovin' you
Out of all the girls I knew
Yes and I've had quite a few
But I remember lovin' you

Now the Indians smell so the people tell
When we're huddled in the boxcar from the rain
Flashing lights that cut the night
And the railroad bull that kicked me off the train
When the north wind blows and the winter's cold
I huddle in the corner till I'm blue
I remember all these things
But mostly I remember lovin' you

Chorus (twice)

PT: You and...
LP: Tino Chumlovich
PT: I see, and you play in a band here in Nelson, and the fellow you sold - who has the copyright to it is...
LP: Terry Roberts,..it's been sold...it's hit Nashville already,this song
PT: Is that right, eh?
LP: Sheb Wooley sang it
PT: Do they change the words at all?
LP: I heard it on TV
PT: Do they sing the same words, or do they change them at all?
LP: They have different orchestration
PT: Yeah – what's this "Indian smell" bit? This is all, piled in the boxcar - this guy you happened - does this go back to an actual situation you were in, do you remember?
LP: That's right. Well, I wasn't at this - Tino was heavy on this last verse
PT: I see. That was his thing, and he remembered being piled in a boxcar and this one guy was a little bit smelly, eh?
LP: Yeah.

Jon Bartlett