Two Versions Of "Jumping Judy" (prison work songs)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases two versions of the African American prison work song "Jumping Judy". Information about and lyrics for those songs are also included in this post.

This post is published for folkloric, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
Read the highlighted sentences below to find out what African American prison workers meant by the phrase "jumpin' judy".

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composers & singers of these songs. Thanks also to the collectors and publishers of this song, and to all those who are quoted in this post.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE "JUMPING JUDY" SONGS
From http://www.earlyamericancrime.com/songs/jumpin-judy
"Crime and Prison Songs: “Jumpin’ Judy”
In 1933, John and Alan Lomax visited prison farms in the South in the hope of recording African-American songs that dated back to the time of slavery. Their visits were based on the theory that the best places to find songs of slavery preserved in their purest form were in prison camps, with their close resemblance to the conditions of antebellum plantations and their isolation from general society. What they found instead were original songs with themes that directly addressed contemporary prison life.
Here are the lyrics for two versions of the prison song “Jumpin’ Judy.” Both versions have different themes despite their shared name....

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Version #1: JUMPIN JUDY
From http://www.earlyamericancrime.com/songs/jumpin-judy
"Prison Songs: Historical Recordings From Parchman Farm 1947-48.
This version of the song was recorded by Alan Lomax on Parchman Farm in Mississippi in 1947-48 and is sung by Tangle Eye, Fuzzy Red, Hard Hair, and others. The names of these lead singers are nicknames that were given to the singers when they first entered the prison farm.

Parchman Farm - 1911
Here, Jumpin’ Judy has a baby and abandons the prisoner by leaving on the Illinois Central railroad for Kankakee. Rosie then enters the picture. She is a common figure in prison songs and generally lends comfort to the prisoners. In this case, she arrives with a pardon."...

Negro Work Songs & Calls - Jumpin' judy.wmv



IP Susimies Uploaded on Jan 23, 2011

Between years 1933-1959 Alan Lomax recorded black inmates singing on chain gang. There is a theory about these songs and calls that they were sung by the first slaves while they were working and in the prisons these songs continued living after slavery (Black man in a prison at the time was much the same as a slave) From these songs blues is believed to be formed and this is probably the reason why blues was called "devil's music" like rock-n-roll later was.
-snip-
LYRICS: JUMPIN JUDY (Version #1)

O well, it’s jumpin’, jumpin’ Judy,
O well, it’s jumpin’, jumpin’ Judy,
O well, it’s jumpin’, jumpin’ Judy,
Boy, she was a mighty fine gal.

O well, she brought that jumpin’,
O well, she brought that jumpin’,
O well, she brought that jumpin’,
Baby, to this whole wide world.

O well, she brought it in the mornin’,
O well, she brought it in the mornin’,
O well, she brought it in the mornin’,
Baby, just a little ‘fore day.

You catch the Illinois Central,
You catch the Illinois Central,
You catch the Illinois Central,
Baby, go to Kankakee.

O Well, and yonder come old Rosie,
O Well, and yonder come old Rosie,
O Well, and yonder come old Rosie,
Baby, how in the world you know?

O well, I knowed her by her apron,
O well, I knowed her by her apron,
O well, I knowed her by her apron,
Baby, red’s the dress that she wore.

O well, she wore a Mother Hubbard,
O well, she wore a Mother Hubbard,
O well, she wore a Mother Hubbard,
Baby, like a morning gown.

O well, I heard her tell the sergeant,
O well, I heard her tell the sergeant,
O well, I heard her tell the sergeant,
“Sir, I’ve come for my man.

“Poor boy, he’s been here a-rollin’,
Poor boy, he’s been here a-rollin’,
Poor boy, he’s been here a-rollin’,
Baby, for the state so long.

“O well, I know he’s done got sorry,
O well, I know he’s done got sorry,
O well, I know he’s done got sorry,
Buddy, that he ever done wrong.”
-snip-
These lyrics were found at http://www.earlyamericancrime.com/songs/jumpin-judy

The original book sources for these lyrics are given on that page.

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Version #2: JUMPIN JUDY
From http://www.earlyamericancrime.com/songs/jumpin-judy
From American Ballads and Folk Songs .
This version of “Jumpin’ Judy” was recorded by the Lomaxes in the early 1930’s in Chattanooga, TN and was sung by Allen Prothro. The Lomaxes found similar versions of the song in both Tennessee and Mississippi. Judy or Julie was a common name used in song throughout Southern prisons, and “Jumpin’” refers to how the prisoners respond to an angry prison guard. The song is about the prisoner being continually pushed in his work and ends with his escape.
-snip-
Italics given by me to highlight these sentences.
-snip-
Jumpin Judy



RosieKeepinthepromis, Uploaded on Oct 19, 2010

This is from the album Field Recordings, Vol. 2: North Carolina And South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas. The singer is Allen Prothro...
-snip-
Note: These lyrics aren't an exact replication of the above sound file in that some verses are sung in different order than those lyrics. I also hear the words "You can treat me and abuse me"...Transcription additions and corrections are welcome.

LYRICS: JUMPIN JUDY (Version #2)

Jumpin’ Judy, jumpin’ Judy, hanh!
Jumpin’ Judy, jumpin’ Judy, hanh!
Jumpin’ Judy, jumpin’ Judy, hanh!
All over dis worl’, hanh, all over dis worl’, hanh!

Well you kick an’ stomp an’ beat me,
Well you kick an’ stomp an’ beat me,
Well you kick an’ stomp an’ beat me,
Da’s all I know, da’s all I know.

Yonder come my cap’n,
Yonder come my cap’n,
Yonder come my cap’n,
Who has been gone so long, who has been gone so long.

Gonna tell him how you treat me,
Gonna tell him how you treat me,
Gonna tell him how you treat me,
So you better git gone, so you better git gone.

He got a 44,
He got a 44,
He got a 44,
In-a his right han’, in-a his right han’.

Gonna take dis ol’ hammer,
Gonna take dis ol’ hammer,
Give it back to jumpin’ Judy,
An’ tell her I’m gone, suh, an’ tell her I’m gone.

Ef she asks you was I runnin’,
Ef she asks you was I runnin’,
Ef she asks you was I runnin’,
You can tell I’s flyin’, you can tell I’s flyin’.

Tell ‘er I crossed de St. John’s River,
Tell ‘er I crossed de St. John’s River,
Tell ‘er I crossed de St. John’s River,
Wid my head hung down, wid my head hung down.

-snip-
These lyrics were found at http://www.earlyamericancrime.com/songs/jumpin-judy

The original book sources for these lyrics are given on that page.

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ADDENDUM
Here's an example of Version #1 of "Jumpin Judy" from my favorite female folk singer, Odetta:

Odetta - Jumpin' Judy



Nostalgicjukebox Published on Aug 23, 2013

From the album Odetta - "Livin' With The Blues"

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