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Man Of Constant Sorrow (Sharp No. 167-C, "In Old Virginny")
Traditional Song and “Blues”- Appalachian region, widely known.
ARTIST: Richard Burnett’s 1913 version; Lyrics as printed in "Songs Sung By R. D. BURNETT. The blind man. Monticello - - - Kentucky." (no date); reprinted ibid. p. 10.
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: 1913 Burnett; 1917 Sharp. Earlier through the “Drowsy Sleeper” branch (see notes).
EARLY RECORDING INFO: Emry Arthur (C 1540; 1928);
RECORDING INFO: The best-known period version of "I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow" was Emry Arthur's 1928 recording (Vo 5208) Emry Arthur, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (Paramount 3289, 1931); "I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow" (Vocalion 5208, c. 1927). The Stanley Brothers, "I'm A Man of Constant Sorrow" (Columbia 20816, 1951). Roscoe Holcomb, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (on Holcomb-Ward1) Rounder 1010, Ed Hayley - "Parkersburg Landing" (1976). Frank Proffitt, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (on FProffitt01). Baez, Joan. Very Early Joan, Vanguard VSD 79446/7, LP (1982), cut#B.01. Country Gentlemen. Yesterday and Today. Vol 2, Rebel SLP-1527, LP (1973), cut#A.03. Dylan, Bob. Bob Dylan, Columbia KCS 8579, LP (1962), cut#A.04. Haley, Ed. Parksburg Landing, Rounder 1010, LP (1976), cut# 10. Holcomb, Roscoe. Roscoe Holcomb and Wade Ward, Folkways FA 2363, LP (1962), cut#A.06. Krater Brothers. Singin' for Fun, Flight 7, LP (197?), cut#B.02. Leftwich, Brad. Say Old Man, County 2714, CD (1996), cut# 6. Seeger, Mike. Old Time Country Music, Folkways FA 2325, LP, cut# 13 (I'm a Man of Constant Sorrow). Sessions, Bob. Room at the Top, JHU, LP (197?), cut#B.01. Spradlin, Retta. Gettin' Up the Stairs: Traditional Music from the Cumbe... Vol.1, County 786, LP, cut# 14. Stanley Brothers. Stanley Brothers on the Air, Wango 115, LP (1976), cut#A.03c. When Scopes Collide, Pacific Arts PAC 102, LP (197?), cut# 5 (Man of Constant Sorrow);
OTHER NAMES: “Farewell Song;” “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow;” Same tune as “Girl of Constant Sorrow” Life of Sorrow ; Maid of Constant Sorrow;
SOURCES: Richard Burnett's songbook; Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 113, "Man of Constant Sorrow", Darling-NAS, p. 260, "Man of Constant Sorrow"; Silber-FSWB, p. 57, "Man of Constant Sorrow". Old Time Herald, Old Time Herald OTH, Ser (1987-), 6/7, p36a (I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow);
NOTES: The first published versions of “Man Of Constant Sorrow” are the “Farewell Song” from a 1913 songbook printed by Richard Burnett of Monticello, Ky. and “In Old Virginny” from Sharp’s English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians. Both “The Farewell Song” and Sharp’s “In Old Virginny” Version C are early versions of “The Man of Constant Sorrow,” which is a branch of “East Virginia Blues.”
The "Man of constant sorrow" may have had its origin as a shape note hymn. Here's some information from a post on Mudcat:
William Walker arranged the tune "Tender-Hearted Christian" in The Southern & Western Pocket Harmonist in 1845, "intended as an appendix to the Southern Harmony." The song can be found on page 78 (http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/SWPH1845/78).
He uses the lyrics:
Come all ye tender-hearted Christians,
Come join with me to weep and mourn,
To see the man of constant sorrows,
Abused, forsaken, and forlorn;
The foxes they have holes prepared,
And birds of air have pleasant nests;
But Christ, the Son of man, worse far-ed
He had nowhere to go to rest.
And six other verses, all of which can be found in the image linked above. The original words come from Stith Mead's 1807 A General Selection, which is sadly not available online. I was able to track down a copy on an institutional library server, and I'll post the full lyrics below.
The tune is also included in the newly-published Shenandoah Harmony on page 270. Here's a recording of it, track 13 on the following page: (http://www.shenandoahharmony.com/2013/keystone-2013-recordings/). As you can hear, the tune is very different from the secular versions, and as you'll read, the 1807 text goes in a completely different direction as well. All the same,
Lyrics from Mead's A General Selection, 1806-7. p. 85,
HYMN LIV. Christ Suffering.
Come all you tender hearted Christians
O come and help me for to mourn
To fee the fon of God a bleeding,
And his precious body torn:
To fee him in the garden lying,
And his body bowed down;
To see the bloody sweat a running,
In drops a falling to the ground.
He was a man of constant sorrow,
He went a mourner all his days,
And with grief, was well acquainted,
He never went in sinful ways.
The foxes they have holes provided,
And the fowls of th' air have nests,
But the son of God had no where,
For to lay his head to rest.
Richard Burnett was born in 1883, married in 1905, and blinded in 1907. The second stanza of "Farewell Song" mentions the singer has been blind six years, which would date it at 1913. In later years, Richard Burnett was asked about the song. He himself could not remember, at that time, if he had composed it, or copied it, or -- perhaps most likely -- adapted it from something traditional. Charles Wolf: What about this "Farewell Song" -- "I am a man of constant sorrow" -- did you write it?' Richard Burnett: No, I think I got the ballet [sic] from somebody -- I dunno. It may be my song...” Man of Constant Sorrow -- Richard Burnett's Story,", Old Time Music, No. 10 (Autumn 1973), p. 8. Lyrics as printed in "Songs Sung By R. D. BURNETT. The blind man. Monticello - - - Kentucky." (no date); reprinted ibid. p. 10.
Although Emry Arthur who first recorded “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow” (C 1540 in 1928) also claims to have composed this piece, a significantly different version was found in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1957. A companion song, “Girl of Constant Sorrow” is also sung to the “Man of Constant Sorrow” tune.
I categorize the various branches of the related songs under “In Old Virginny” from Sharp’s No. 167- English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians. These are separate branches:
1) “Man of Constant Sorrow/Girl of Constant Sorrow” or “East Virginia Blues”
2) “East Virginia” including the “Dark Holler” Versions
2a) “Dark Hollow”- Browning
3) “East Virginia” including “Greenback Dollar” versions (Carter Family).
3a) Hoyt Axton’s “Greenback Dollar”
4) “Darling, Think of What You’ve Done” versions including Tammy LaRue’s.
5) “Awake! Awake! ( Sharp No. 57 see: Version 4)” “ The Drowsy Sleeper”.
This is the “Oh Molly Dear (Go Ask Your Mother)-(Mike Seegar)”
“Silver Dagger;” and “Katie Dear” branch.
The English version is entitled, “Arise! Arise!”
With the “O Brother Where Art Thou?” phenomena “The Man of Constant Sorrow” has become a crossover pop hit. Here are the lyrics:
I am a man of constant sorrow,
I've seen trouble all of my days;
I'll bid farewell to old Kentucky,
The place where I was born and raised.
Oh, six long year I've been blind, friends.
My pleasures here on earth are done,
In this world I have to ramble,
For I have no parents to help me now.
So fare you well my own true lover,
I fear I never see you again,
For I'm bound to ride the Northern Railroad,
Perhaps I'll die upon the train.
Oh, you may bury me in some deep valley,
For many year [sic] there I may lay.
Oh, when you're dreaming while you're slumbering
While I am sleeping in the clay.
Oh, fare you well to my native country,
The place where I have loved so well,
For I have all kinds of trouble,
In this vain world no tongue can tell.
Dear friends, although I may be a stranger,
My face you may never see no more;
But there's a promise that is given,
Where we can meet on that beautiful shore.
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