Re: Elizabeth Cotten - Freight Train

[Surreallism007]

Old but Gold

[nicolefrancheska18]

i miss u elizabeth cotten

[naeso]

That was beautiful

[RumbleGuts2112]

those days and stories will never happen again so they should be treasured and held close to the heart

music has no soul these days

Peace

[washboardblues]

Hey, can you turn on the embedding function for this video so people can share it?

[crtUK]

@washboardblues , Done!

[GrumpyPolecat]

Libby, you are a treasure! 'Nuff said.

[uradragon]

Thanks much for posting.

Thanks to you Ms. Cotton.

[FredFrick16]

Great Song and Great Video, Thanks for posting it for all of us to see

[jerkmcgerkin]

Giggle* Cool. :)

[randamarz]

I find it amazing that she plays a right handed guitar upside down to play it left handed,

[Hb35Jazz]

Amazing technique!

[russtacean]

beautiful.

[acoustictunes69]

What a gem ty for posting.

[tjw3999]

bless her soul

[axiomatic272]

This song has haunted me for decades. Ii sang my version of it last week at a local music festival. I love Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhees' version best, but honour to the grand old lady who gave it to us.

As Martin Carthy says 'the worst thing you can do to a folk song is not sing it'.

[Peepholecircus]

3 dislikes???? come on, really? who the hell dislikes this? shame on them.

[GreasyBastardo69]

I Wish Ms Cotten could of been my nan

[dawellfunk]

She sounds really exhausted, like after having lived a long life...

[The14weed]

She is playing that guitar upside down ... what a wonderful woman with wonderful spirit and music.... bless you Miss Elizabeth...

[nomiclas]

this is beautiful and so is she.

[AvantLink]

Who could possibly "dislike" this?

[annamarieintex]

she rocked!!!!!!! man she was amazing!

[franse12]

3 people were hit by a Freight Train after watching this

[mrjulianbala]

what a wonderful woman !

[poltergiest11]

it just makes me cry listening to this wise old beauty, in her wisdom and fruitful life...its that ol livin country voice that i just love, God bless her soul.

[elijahsw2008]

love it

[18311867]

Ms. Cotten is a true LEGEND!



[mordicus124]

this old girl could kick justin beibers arse aroud the floor god knows how many times

[LeFeff]

@mordicus124 Amen! She faced poverty, racial segregation, and endless hardships of the Jim Crow south. The most hardship Mr. Bieber has known is the lack of internet access.

[HueyRocks23]

@LeFeff Of all artists you could've mentioned...tsk tsk

[LeFeff]

@HueyRocks23 Um, If you had read closer, you would see that my comment was in reply to @mordicus124 's comment about Mr. Bieber. One would never compare a true artist like Elizabeth Cotton in any context to a prepubescent manufactured pop star.

[HueyRocks23]

@LeFeff - Mr. Bieber? Is he your landlord or something? Give him a pet name like: Beebster, Mr. Selena Gomez, or Leif Garrett v. 2010.

[jeanstylo]

This is pure talent...thank you for posting this !!!!

[Danamagic]

wow she is incredible!

I admire how she is playing 'upside down' (i guess that's the way she taught herself as she is lefthanded) and with only her thumb and index finger, beautiful

[jeanmariejuf1]

Great !!!! thanks for posting, that's a treasure !!!

[MrCbow22]

oldass.nigger.

[MultiSweetasbroable]

@MrCbow22 who cares how old she is she is still awesome im currently learning this song on guitar

[roxken1]

What a treasure: Elizabeth, and this interview. Thanks goodness for YouTube, and thanks so much for posting this!

[pontiac]

Wow. That was amazing. The woman just exudes music. So incredible, and so sad that she went almost 40 years without playing! One can only imagine the music she might have created.

[madFlam1]

i think her strings are upside down

[ohsnapisthatdemi]

@madFlam1 and i do believe she is playing left handed?

[ohsnapisthatdemi]

@madFlam1 and playing left handed?

[madFlam1]

@ohsnapisthatdemi obviously

[Nightbirdrocks]

Awesome thaks for sharing!

[wisesatyr72]

Amazing Lady

[sharsblues]

Ms Cotton is the REAL DEAL!!!!!

[doodoobutter99]

2 people have no soul.

[jacqueslandis]

finger UP !

[gheiller]

One thumb, 1 finger... Travis Picking. Turn the guitar upside down?  Cotten picking. When you hear a song like that you can't believe its played with just a thumb and 1 finger until you watch it.

[kothegaln]

all the beauty of finger picking guitar. Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, Roy Harper (sort of)....I want to learn all these songs and sing the blues with a bottle of whiskey to keep me company (a little contrived but a boy can dream).

[ccali327]

she's hot

[Rambl3On]

What a lady!

[icespeckledhen]

Superb, what a lady. Her legacy to all of us is Freight Train and there is no greater folk song

[SiT1986]

Wow, 86 years of age and still doing Freight Train.

[chrisMmckee]

I love this. 

[cheddarpuff]

The melodie of this song churned my guts around. In a good way.

[Bob87297]

They gone and broke the mold she was cast from.......

[boudreauxjacques]

that's one charming lady.

[guscus69er]

despite the aged physique the music still sounds so young! i love music...

[laralaralaai]

vieja chora! q talentosa mujer

[Racking40]

Just so beautiful. A real treasure!

[HunterMann]

If life is about building true wealth, not riches, then a significant part of my wealth in this life was back in 1975 at age 14 seeing Elizabeth Cotton perform live in an small coffeehouse setting(the legendary Mama Sundays concert series). Hearing her stories, her cotton pickin' guitar style and her singing Freight Train was most wonderful.

[Spiritree41]

Wow she was awesome...

[Mongo76]

Wow man .... I see and Hear My grandmother, my great aunts, my great grandmothers and every ancestral woman in my family. She sounds and talks just like them and has the same personality and sassiness about her..... She's so many people and she is also herself.

[J4jackass]

Anyone cried while watching this?

[geredwilliams]

@J4jackass sobbing

[carlitadee]

@J4jackass

Oh yes. Goodness me.

[CinQueInc]

I FEEL LIKE A BIG BABY.... LMFAO!!!

I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS VIDEO MADE ME CRY... I GUESS IT'S BECAUSE SHE LOOKS EXACTLY WHAT MY MOM WILL LOOK LIKE IF SHE MAKES IT TO ''93'' YEARS OLD...

I'VE BEEN SAYING FOR YEARS THAT I HOPE SHE MAKES IT TO A MINIMUM 92 YEARS... SHE DESERVES IT...

[butchermachine]

What a fascinating woman....

[Evaleintje]

This is gold! Respect for this woman!

[Mr1962KDSelvis]

If this doesn't touch you waaaaay down deep there's something inherently wrong with you. You might want to have yourself checked for lack of a heart. My God my God what a story. What a woman ! She reminds me of my own grandmother who was part Cherokee. Looks very similar. I will be showing this to my kids and anyone else I can think of.

[martinpleass]

@BrucePetty Thing is, if everyone who watched this appreciated it's value and pricelessness then humanity would be in a much better place. I am horrified when I read some comments on youtube but it serves as a reminder that we are in trouble.

[OLDSPARKEY123]

this woman need to begiven a medel.true american [i am frum the uk]

wake up guys honer the gal shes somthing special

[wsp47]

A picture of Elizabeth Cotten should be placed beside the word legend in every dictionary ever created

[2c4u22]

Thank you for this blessed gift. Hope EC can hear Sungha Jung up in heaven!

[chickencottage2]

wow! lovely bit of history there. I'm never going to complain about my min wage job again and I'm amazed Ms Cotten was still playing so well in her 90's.

[warminghut]

Oh wow wow wow. Wow. I don't have the words for how great this is.

[riddings]

amazing woman. Tells a great story.

[7jack7]

One finger

One thumb

And three to anchor

I guess that's all it takes

[JHarmsy]

@7jack7

And playing upside down

at 93 years old.

[Quantanthead]

What a great story. My father would often do this song with his country music friends when I was a kid. I never knew the writer or the story behind the song. Thanks for this lesson in history for me.

[nagnudd]

this is gold. deep respect for ms. cotten.

[The007BLUESMAN]

That is deff. what i mean to need.What ya see here is the the real troy why me is commn to that wat iam.Thanks Lizz.I mean it right from the bottom of my heart:

[Evaleintje]

I love Elizabeth Cotton :)

[seanjo]

then learn to spell her name right! It's Cotten, with an E ;)

[Evaleintje]

I can spell her name right. It was a stupid mistake

[Thejbirdy]

@Evaleintje

A sweet lady, bless her soul.

J

[vauxhall908]

libby's is one of the best stories in music

[wolfgang8u]

wow this is great its great to here real music

[cedricwilford]

One of the most beautiful people to ever live. I honestly can't watch this video without crying.

[richardyingren]

@cedricwilford .. me too buster !! every time i watch this I cry .. pure gold !! I think we are seeing a most beautiful human being.

[MrSilverdust]

This is food for your soul! I can watch this video over and over again. She´s playing so beautifully.

[bopbopbobert]

A lot of us first head freight train on a peter paul & mary album. Lisbeth made this a better planet to live on.

[teaandcakeordeath]

this brought a huge smile to my face. what a wonderful lady...a true gem of americana.

[terser]

No doubt the greatest video on youtube.

[robynhriley]

@terser couldnt agree more

[allinthemind]

@terser This is something you would only find on Youtube, or if you were lucky enough in some library or watching public TV late enough. Thanks so much for the post.

[izdajalec]

she, in mine opinion knew true values of life

[bluenickels]

she says "you know about them? no, you don't know, you heard but you don't know." Amazing, she makes me feel great

[psychkoala]

She is just adorable.

I've been listening to her music for awhile (although it's been awhile), but this is a revelation.

She's got great hands for guitar, and her playing is fluid and beautiful. Great work on the banjo, too.

And her stories are wonderful.

[charlesdespres]

Beautiful music and an amazing woman!

I remember being absolutely floored when I first heard her. "Freight Train" was the first fingerpicking song I ever learned, and Stefan Grossman's videotape was an incredeible help.

[AuburnGradAuburnMom]

'Freight Train' was the first song I learned to finger pick on my guitar back in 1969.

I still play and sing it today. Elizabeth Cotten was a national treasure and 'Freight Train' is played by people all over the planet.

[wisesatyr72]

this woman is amazing..freight train going so fast..yeah!! awesome

[tyleratthegates]

hhahaha shes so funny

[xblacklighterx]

Amazing! 90 years old..... brings tears to my eyes...

[MeaningCorrupted]

just imagine all the jems we didn't discover and haven't discovered out there

[RodCornholio]

There is truth that really hits home with her music.

[lounalual]

à quoi rêvent les yeux d'ELIZABETH?

[TheBeerman43]

we are fortunate that these precious moments were captured by someone that had the foresight to preserve musical history. talented beautiful soul that is in heaven I'm sure!

[xyzllii]

What a lovely lovely woman...and such a face. What a relief to see a real woman instead of all those plastic botoxed wretches....Inspiriational...

[delita60]

That was absolutely beautiful. What an amazing lady. Beautiful guitar playing.

[jambandgeetarman]

Her voice is absolutely beautiful and charming! So what if its a little rough, she is ancient in this video. I am sooo glad this woman existed and this video was captured!

[worthingtonclint]

Great roots player. Great story. Wonderful woman. Wretched Voice.

[peterrussell1941]

A great lady, thankfully rediscovered before she died in 1987 and beautifully captured on this video at the age of 90. Freight Train is my all-time favorite song for the guitar.

[phdseuss]

wow...she wrote freight train when she was 11.

i find it amazin that she stopped playin for so many yrs that when she started again its as if she never stopped.

god bless her soul. she wont b 4gotten.

[treemonisha2006]

God bless you my elder!

[LoveSavestheDay25]

thank you for the post, this is a great little bit of footage, funny to see her playin the guitar upside down because she was left handed, the original blues makin something from nothin but a whole lotta heart

[LeylaGuler]

I LOVE this woman.....

[ironbuttermilk]

I sure wish I could play that good!

[dantze]

Beautiful song...

Such a sweet lady

[alabmawhitman]

Wow...

[RumbleGuts2112]

I have so much reverance for this true lady of blues.

She is old time proper blues player and singer and that will never happen again.

Miss Cotten is a treasure and deserves to have her name on the tree of fame.

Peace

[lkb3rd]

@RumbleGuts2112

Not that it really matters what you call it, but she was known as a folk player. The song "Freight Train" is pretty mandatory if you call yourself a folk guitar player :P

Upvoted your comment because I agree she was amazing. The interview here is very good too.

[RumbleGuts2112]

@lkb3rd I suppose in a way 'Freight Train' could be seen as pretty mandatory these days from a folk guitarists perspective. But back in the day when she first wrote it it was new and exciting. In the same way when rock music was played, or even punk, ir was also fresh and exciting, Where as nowadays it's just seen as the norm. The thing with Cottens song is that it still manages to sound as fresh today as it did back then.

Peace

[mcfrdmn]

Excellent performance

[chiuchiutrain]

Awesome fingerpicking.

[meleeECI]

Wow, I could sit and listen to her tell stories for hours. Freight train is an amazing song, I love how Doc Watson does it too.

[diskheadcage]

She is absolutely beautiful

[cw12054]

Very Very Nice, Thanks

[monkeysnail]

her guitar playing is amazing...

[geeyouknit345]

omg if im not mistaken she was 100 years old her

[alabmawhitman]

about 93...

[diptanshu]

miss cotton you rock!

[kdlkg]

amazing woman

[montezumasrevenge]

What kind of axe is she using?

[shellouise]

She is a wonder.  I wish I could have known her.

[valentuss]

GENUINE LEGEND !!!

[nyamoyuki]

She's lovely - brilliant and modest; a real artist. Thanks for that - I have the tabs for this in an old songbook by Happy Traum (I think!) but I had no idea Elizabeth played the guitar 'back to front' like that. wow!

[Kevin2oo]

she picks the same way as me,jjust thumb and index:)

[guitwizzz]

Man what a Blessing. Strung right handed, and just thumb and index finger....made my day.

[starrchild99]

I wish my nan rocked as much as Elizabeth Cotten!

[moonrosehuntress]

We all love Elizabeth Cotten and miss her dearly. Rest In Peace Ms. Cotten. Play for us and calm us from the heavens

[newriko2]

picks with thumb and one finger like Merle Travis did. she is precious.

[LedDaveZeppelin]

Absolutely Beautiful.

[king5ley]

Beautiful, what a stunning lady. I admire he songs and talants. Ms Cotton playing a guitar invertently is so relaxing to watch. Thank you for the post.

[rikkidelreeko]

what dignity, grace and presence this fine lady has - she needs to be crowned Queen !

[girlswithguitars859]

what a world we live in? How it would be so grand to get back to the simplicity of it all. Wonderful song and I have so much admiration for Ms Cotten.

[Homeslicebread]

Absolutely astounding! 90 years old and still rife with meaning. Elizabeth is remarkable every time. Expressive and unrestrained by the oppressive ways of her time and the others that mandated such a sad state of affairs, yet her, resilient, and seeking solace in the diversions of her inner thoughts. A guitar virtuoso, an epic, a spirit of the highest ascensions.

[guitarheromaniac34]

The most incredible thing is that she learned to play guitar INVERTED!!! Most left handed guitarists(e.g. Jimi Hendrix) took right handed guitars and strung them upside down so they could be played properly from the left handed perspective. This amazing woman simply flipped it over and learned the instrument inverted. The only other inverted guitarist that I am aware of is Albert King. He used a Gibson Flying V inverted. God bless your talent Elizabeth Cotton!

[geeyouknit345]

otis rush did to check him out hes good

[richardyingren]

The way she sings and plays 'Freight Train' is incredible. Has me in tears. This is a very important clip.

[j3ohnny]

what a strong sweet lady!!!bless her heart!

[evanselcer]

i think everybody should be more like elizabeth cotten

[dedefellini]

Absolutely American

[alfonsochianese]

Thank you crtUK

[matthewcross]

great post!!!  thanks for this. great sounds out of that guitar. she's a good player!

[nightscape124]

wow...she is so Amazing..i used to play this song when i was learning meself to play the guitar....wot a legend.......

[arjhendrix]

shes UNIQUE coz NOBODY CAN COPY HER.

gl2 dem ignorant.

cant get enuff of this video.

hence the yipping.

[arjhendrix]

75 cents a MOONTH! whatcha mama. too cool too pure.

[arjhendrix]

bigger than MJH???? 40 yr break.

[stinkingdog101]

Great stuff

[gent30x]

Fantastic - Thanks for the posting -

She even bend the bass note - rich and detailed played and at the age of 90 - Simple just fantastic post and interview.

[Fozzymaple]

her voice sounds awful, even for Libba Cotten, but not bad for ninety something, and her playing while perhaps not as far uptempo as in her younger days, was still amazing, and who doesn't love this song.

[jun7per]

Shes in her 90s what do you expect.

Why be so petty and remark on how awful her voice is when she is a genius to have written this song and to have taught herself how to play guitar and banjo.

[Shayu]

well, not to stump both you down i think her voice is beautiful at any age she'd sing with so much heart.

[clsmhjg]

your soul is powerful and your love is strong i love this

[clsmhjg]

wawo i love this elizabeth you go girl!

[rustycuyler]

Beautiful in every way.

[LoveOfMules13]

the band two gallants has a fragment of/homage to this song as a bridge in their song "age of assassins"