See also Dicho's addition of a version of 'You Shall Be Free' in this thread: CLICK.

Meade, 'Country Music Sources', includes 'Mourner, You Shall Be Free' as the first song in his section titled 'Songs of Black Origin'. Recordings by white artists include: Land Norris, under the title 'You ought to be arrested and put in jail', in 1924; Uncle Dave Macon, 'Shout Mourner, You Shall Be Free', in 1926; Carolina Tar Heels, 'When the Good Lord Sets You Free', in 1927; Jules Allen, 'Po'Mourner, in 1928; Bill and Belle Reed, 'You shall be free', in 1929; and Bill Boyd & His Cowboy Ramblers, 'You Shall Be Free, Monah', in 1936. As song 1(a)in this section, under the title 'Oh Monah!', with earliest reference 'Ted Weems-Humphrey Washburn 1931, he gives two recordings: by the Maple City Four in 1933; and by Sons of the West in 1939. Has any one here heard either of these?

I have posted the lyrics to Uncle Dave Macon's version in the Uncle Dave lyrics thread: CLICK.

I posted the lyrics to Jules Allen's 'Po'Mourner' in the thread linked to by Susan above [21 Jan 02 - 11:21 PM].

Bill Boyd's version is distinguished mainly by some wonderful (and wild) piano and fiddle breaks by Smokey Wood and J.R. Chatwell respectively. Here are the lyrics:

YOU SHALL BE FREE, MOURNER

Me and my gal walkin' down the street (Oh Monah)
She was nice and she was neat (Oh Monah)
She stooped over to tie her shoe (Oh Monah)
The wind blue up Fifth Avenue (Oh Monah)

(Ah Monah, you shall be free, hallelujah
Ah Monah, you shall be free, praise the Lord
When the good Lord sets you free)

Oh I'm down in the hen house on my knees (Oh Monah)
Thought I heard old Bruno sneeze (Oh Monah)
Only a rooseter saying his prayers (Oh Monah)
Tryin' to make love to the hens upstairs (Oh Monah)

(Ah Monah, you shall be free, hallelujah
Ah Monah, you shall be free, praise the Lord
When the good Lord sets you free)

I went to see my girl last night (Oh Monah)
It was dark and I had no light (Oh Monah)
Her bulldog met me at thegate (Oh Monah)
He jumped on me with all of his weight (Oh Monah)

(Ah Monah, you shall be free, hallelujah
Ah Monah, you shall be free, praise the Lord
When the good Lord sets you free)

As I was going down the road (Oh Monah)
With a hungry team and a heavy load (Oh Monah)
I cracked my whip and the lead horse sprung (Oh Monah)
The back horse broke the wagon tongue (Oh Monah)

(Ah Monah, you shall be free, hallelujah
Ah Monah, you shall be free, praise the Lord
When the good Lord sets you free)

Source: transcription of Bill Boyd and His Cowboy Ramblers 'You shall be free, Monah', recorded in San Antonio, Texas, on 27 October 1936 and issued as Bluebird B6694 in February 1937.

There is also a beaut 1934 recording by the Sons of the Pioneers, under the title 'Oh Mona', that does not appear in either the Meade or Russell discographies because it was a radio transcription. The band included the great Karl Farr on fiddle. It went like this:

OH MONA

As I was goin' down the road (oh Mona)
Tired team and a heavy load (oh Mona)
Cracked my whip and the leaders sprung (oh Mona)
The horse run away with the wagon tongue (oh Mona)
(You shall be free oh lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy,
When the good Lord sets you free)

I came to the river and I couldn't get across (oh Mona)
Jumped on a darky and I thought he was a horse (oh Mona)
The horse wouldn't go and I sold it for a hoe (oh Mona)
The hoe wouldn't dig and I sold it for a pig (oh Mona)
(You shall be free oh lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy,
When the good Lord sets you free)

The pig wouldn't squeal and I sold it for a wheel (oh Mona)
The wheel wouldn't run and I sold it for a gun (oh Mona)
The gun wouldn't shoot and I sold it for a boot (oh Mona)
The boot wouldn't wear and I sold it for a bear (oh Mona)
(You shall be free oh lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy,
When the good Lord sets you free)

Behind the barn down on my knees (oh Mona)
I thought I heard a chicken sneeze (oh Mona)
He sneezed so hard with the whooping cough (oh Mona)
He sneezed his head and tail right off (oh Mona)
(You shall be free oh lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy,
When the good Lord sets you free)

--Stewie.