an old, old song made famous by Leadbelly, who recorded it with john and alan lomax whilst at Lousiana State Pen in 1934.
recorded live in my flat on a hand-held edirol recorder.
The footage is an old french short titles 'la candide cousette', director unknown, circa 1960
The only other rendition I have heard of this was the closure to Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic 1974. This version benefits greatly from the elegant, melancholy simplicity of the composition, and from not having a drunk and stoned Leon Russell contributing improvisations ... In spite of the burlesque-ish subject matter, the accompanying video suits the mood well, with a curiously wistful tone and the hazy picture quality having a dreamlike ambience, in keeping with the lyrics.
CommanderKrail 11 months ago