JORDAN AM A HARD ROAD TO TRAVEL

I'm a-gonna sing you a brand new song
It is all the truth for certain
We can't live high if we get by
And get on the other side of Jordan

Chorus:
Oh pull off your overcoat and roll up your sleeves
Jordan am a hard road to travel
Pull off your overcoat and roll up your sleeves
Jordan am a hard road to travel I believe

The public schools and the highways
Are raisin' quite an alarm
Get a country man educated just a little
And he ain't a-gonna work on the farm

Chorus

I don't know but I 'blieve I'm right
The auto's ruined the country
Let's go back to the horse and buggy
And try to save some money

Chorus

I know a man that's an evangelist
The tabernacle's always full
People will come from miles around
Just to hear him shoot the bull

Chorus

You may talk about your evangelistss
You may talk about Mr Ford too
With Henry really shakin' more hell out of folks
Than all of the evangelists do

Chorus

It rained forty nights but it rained forty days
Gonna rain on the Allegheny Mountains
Gonna rain forty horses and dominecker mules
Gonna take us on the other side of Jordan

Chorus

Source: transcription of reissue on Uncle Dave Macon 'Go Long Mule' County CO-CD-3505. Original recording made on 9 May 1927.

This song originated with a ministrel tune by Daniel Decatur Emmett in the second half of the 19th century. Emmett's song can be found in the DT database: Emmett's Song. Sheet music for Emmett's song may be found at the American Memory site: American Memory. Information on Emmett may be found Here and also Here.

The song became a vehicle for various parodies almost immediately. One of these may be found in the DT database: Richmond is a hard road to travel. In respect of this parody, I found on the net a short explanation by John R. Thompson:

Many Civil War songs were parodies­­songs that set new, topical words to a familiar tune. In 1863 John R. Thompson, a famous southern editor, drafted the following song, based on the minstrel tune Jordan is a Hard Road to Travel, lampooning the Union army's many failures in Virginia in the first two years of the war. [The song refers] to Pope's defeat at Second Bull Run and Burnside's horrendous losses at Fredericksburg. The proclamation referred to was not Lincoln's famous emancipation edict, but Pope's arrogant announcement that his troops were to always advance and never retreat; the boastful Union commander soon found himself frantically racing back to Washington after Lee crushed him at Manassas

Uncle Dave's parody reflects his love of writing songs that comment on current problems of his day and, once again, he takes the opportunity to have a go at the automobile. The Traditional Ballad Index refers to Uncle Dave's recording and gives to 2 citations under the title 'The Other Side of Jordan': Ballad index entry. The text in Silbur is taken directly from the Cohen/Seeger/Wood songbook ['Old-Time String Band Songbook' Oak Publications – former title was 'New Lost City Ramblers Songbook'].

My transcription differs in minor respects from the C/S/W songbook. Perhaps they were working from a different recording of Uncle Dave's, but their last stanza does not accord with what Uncle Dave is singing in his 1927 recording. Norman Blake [Rounder CD 11505] follows Uncle Dave more closely. C/S/W give 'Allegheny Mountains' in the last stanza and I have gone with that even though I can't hear it – it sounds more like 'Alligator' or 'Alligaty' to me. Like many old-time singers, Uncle Dave can be hard to decipher and mondegreens are almost inevitable. I saw a posting from Tom Paley in the banjo news list that the chorus of this song has been misheard as:

Take off your overcoat, roll up your sleeves
Yearnin' in your heart for trouble
Take off your overcoat, roll up your sleeves
Yearnin' in your heart for trouble I believe


In a posting to the forum a Mudcatter gave a possible explanation for 'dominecker' (dominicker) – that, in respect of chooks, it refers to being like a Domincan in colour (reference to the priests' black and white habit) and Uncle Dave may have transferred this to similarly coloured mules.

C/S/W also refer to a version by Tex Logan who learned it as a boy in Texas and taught it to Red Belcher. They refer also to a version by the great Riley Puckett from Georgia. They note that Riley used some verses that are close to those in 'The Old Minstrel Song Book'. They give no details of this book in the headnote or in the bibliography. Can someone provide the details of the editor, publisher etc of this? I have had a search on the net, but have come up with zilch. My attempted transcription of Riley's version follows. There is one line that I was unable to decipher [Riley is not as bad as Uncle Dave, but he has his moments] – it is probably a stock minstrel verse. With its obvious relationship to the 'coon song' tradition, this version would be totally offensive today. Riley has the 'I believe' in the second line of the chorus and his last stanza harks back to Emmett's original:

THE OTHER SIDE OF JORDAN

If I was the president of the United States
Well I'd make my laws recorded
The niggers I'd sell, let the British all go
I'd put 'em on the other side of Jordan

Chorus:
Haul off your overcoat, roll up your sleeve
Jordan am a hard road to travel I believe
Haul off your overcoat, roll up your sleeve
Jordan am a hard road to travel
[Whistles melody above guitar]

If you want to do well go down to the hotel
Get your washing and your board on the credit
If they ask you when you'll pay just tell 'em right away
They may get (it) on the other side of Jordan

Chorus and whistling

Two little niggers went out to play
All the people thought they's a-fightin'
When they hollered to the big nigger get out of the way
'Cos little niggers going to (?)

Chorus and whistling

Daddy caught a turkey in the woods the other day
Well he put him in the oven for to cook him
He jerked back his head and he knocked off the lid
Well he gobbled on the other side of Jordan

Chorus and whistling

David and Goliath had a fight the other day
Found one thing certain
He hit Goliath on the head with a bar of soft soap
And it sounded on the other side of Jordan

Chorus and whistling

Source: Riley Puckett 'Waiting for the Evening Mail' County LP 411.