Lyr. Add: LOST JOHN
(Courlander version)

One day, one day,
I were walking along
And I heard a little voice
Didn't see no one.
It was old Lost John,
He said he was long gone
Like a turkey through the corn
With his long clothes on.
Had a heel in front
And a heel behind,
Well you couldn't hardly tell
Well you couldn't hardly tell
Whichaway he was goin'
Whichaway he was goin'.
One day, one day,
Well I heard him say
Be on my way
Be on my way
'Fore the break of day
By the break of day.
Got a heel in front,
Got a heel behind,
Well you can hardly tell
Well you can hardly tell
Whichaway I'm goin'.

Oughta come on the river,
Long time ago,
You could find a dead man
Right on your row.
Well the dog man killed him
Well the dog man killed him
'Cause the boy couldn't go
'Cause the boy couldn't go.
Wake up dead man,
Help me carry my row,
'Cause the row's so heavy
Can't hardly make it
To the lower turn row.
Oughta come on the river
Nineteen and ten,
Well the womenwas rolling
Just like the men.


Oughta come on the river
Long time ago,
I don't know partner,
Say, you outhta know,
You'd catch plenty trouble
Everywhere you go
Everywhere you go.
One day, one day,
Heard the captain say
If you boys work
Gonna treat you mighty well,
If you don't go to work,
Says we may give you hell.

One day, one day,
I'll be on my way
And you may not never
Ever hear me say
One day, one day,
I'll be on my way.

From Negro Prison Songs, Alan Lomax, Tradition Records; Negro Prison Camp Work Songs; "and various Library of Congress record issues."
Seems to be a compilation of several versions. From Harold Courlander, Negro Folk Music, U. S. A., pp. 101-103.

Like "Lost John" from Odum and Johnson, 1925 (posted previously in this thread), the story line is very simple, lacking the embellishments in versions published and recorded later by Lomax (and perhaps 'engineered' by him.   

We stil do not have the texts of the early recordings by Sims or Rutherford, about 1925-1926. I would guess that they either are simple in story line, like these, or a variant on the Handy Blues of 1926.