I walked all night long with my .44 in my hand
I walked all night long with my .44 in my hand,
I was lookin' for my baby, found her with another man.

I wore my .44 so long it made my shoulder sore
I wore my .44 so long it made my shoulder sore
And I'm gonna tell everybody I ain't gonna wear my .44 no more.

Baby said she heard that 44 whistle blow
Baby said she heard that 44 whistle blow
And it blowed just like it ain't gonna blow no more.

I got a little old shanty, Lord, Number 44
I got a little old shanty, Lord, Number 44,
I wake up every morning, wolves sitting in my door.

James Wiggins, "44 Blues," Paramount 12860, recorded 12 October 1929, accompanied on piano by Blind Leroy Garnett.

It's a cover of Roosevelt Sykes' song of the same title; I know the piano work and the first verse are essentially identical but I don't have a copy of Sykes' record on hand and don't know whether the subsequent verses are also lifted from his popular hit.

Pinetop and Lindberg recorded "4-11-44" on Victor in 1932. I've never heard this, but one of the old blues recordings in my collection uses the line, "I've got my number, 4-11-44," I believe in a prison context.

Skip James:

You talk about your .44-40, it'll do very well
You talk about your .44-40, it'll do very well,
But my .22-20, it's a burnin' hell.

***

I, I can't take my rest
I, I, I, I can't take my rest
Had my .44 layin' up and down my breast.

"22-20 Blues," Paramount 13021, recorded February 1931, accompanied by his own piano. Story is that the A&R man at Para asked James for "Something like the .44 Blues, only a smaller caliber," and the song was improvised in the studio. The lyrics aren't at all consistent as to what size gun the singer is endorsing!

I suspect one reason for the popularity of the .44 is that it was really easy to rhyme. ("Lula gal, oh Lula gal, open up your door/Before I have to open it with my old .44," in one version of the hillbilly song "I've Been All Around This World.")