frantz1, Uploaded on Jun 12, 2011
****Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post provides some information about the African American song "Another Man Done Gone".
This post also provides information about Vera Hall and showcases a YouTube sound file of Vera Hall singing the song "Another Man Done Gone". Selected comments from that sound file's discussion thread are also included in this post .
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/09/odetta-another-man-done-gone-sound-file.html for a companion post of Odetta singing "Another Man Done Gone".
The content of this post is presented for cultural and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composer of this song, and thanks to Vera Hall for her musical legacy. Thanks also to the collectors of this song, the publisher of this example on YouTube, and all those who are quoted in this post.
Also, thanks to Black Lives Matter and all those who are working for systemic change of the United States' criminal justice system.
-snip-
Some of the content of this post was originally published on pancocojams in 2015. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/09/vera-hall-another-man-done-gone-sound.htm for that post.
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INFORMATION ABOUT VERA HALL
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Hall
"Adell Hall Ward, better known as Vera Hall (April 6, 1902 – January 29, 1964)[1] was an American folk singer, born in Livingston, Alabama.[2] Best known for her song "Trouble So Hard", she was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 2005.[3]
...John Avery Lomax, ethnomusicologist, met Hall in the 1930s and recorded her for the Library of Congress.[2] Lomax wrote that she had the loveliest voice he had ever recorded.[citation needed] The BBC played Hall's recording of "Another Man Done Gone" in 1943 as a sample of American folk music. The Library of Congress played the song the same year in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1945, Hall recorded with Byron Arnold. In 1984, the recordings were released as a collection of folk songs entitled Cornbread Crumbled in Gravy."...
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INFORMATION AND LYRICS "ANOTHER MAN DONE GONE"
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=151284 "another man done gone to the county farm", posted by Fred McCormick, 24 Jun 13 - 11:58 AM ,
"Another Man Done Gone was collected from the magnificent Vera Hall Ward of Livingstone, Alabama in 1940 by John Lomax and in 1947 by Alan Lomax. A third recording of her singing it dates from 1950 and was collected by Harold Courlander.
It appears to be a pretty rare song and the only other version of it I've been able to trace was recorded by Harold Courlander from Willie Harris, also of Livingstone, Alabama, again in 1950.*
The text of Mrs Hall's 1940 recording is as follows.
Another man done gone x3
From the County farm,
Another man done gone.
I didn't know his name x4
He had a long chain on x4
He killed another man x4
I don't know where he's gone x4
I'm gonna walk your log (?) x4.
Clearly, as far as Vera Hall's text is concerned, the song is about a prisoner breaking out of the county farm, or conceiveably dying while inside, rather than someone being sent to prison.
You can find it on Rounder CD 1500, A Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings. It also appears on the Alan Lomax produced radio programme, Blues in the Mississippi Night."
-snip-
"the county farm" = the county prison
Read comments about the meaning of "I'm gonna walk your log" and "walk your load" -an alternative transcription for that line- that are found below in the selected comments from in this sound file.
-snip-
*Here's an excerpt from a 2013 online article that cites other recordings of the song "Another Man Done Gone"
INFORMATION ABOUT VERA HALL
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Hall
"Adell Hall Ward, better known as Vera Hall (April 6, 1902 – January 29, 1964)[1] was an American folk singer, born in Livingston, Alabama.[2] Best known for her song "Trouble So Hard", she was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 2005.[3]
...John Avery Lomax, ethnomusicologist, met Hall in the 1930s and recorded her for the Library of Congress.[2] Lomax wrote that she had the loveliest voice he had ever recorded.[citation needed] The BBC played Hall's recording of "Another Man Done Gone" in 1943 as a sample of American folk music. The Library of Congress played the song the same year in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1945, Hall recorded with Byron Arnold. In 1984, the recordings were released as a collection of folk songs entitled Cornbread Crumbled in Gravy."...
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INFORMATION AND LYRICS "ANOTHER MAN DONE GONE"
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=151284 "another man done gone to the county farm", posted by Fred McCormick, 24 Jun 13 - 11:58 AM ,
"Another Man Done Gone was collected from the magnificent Vera Hall Ward of Livingstone, Alabama in 1940 by John Lomax and in 1947 by Alan Lomax. A third recording of her singing it dates from 1950 and was collected by Harold Courlander.
It appears to be a pretty rare song and the only other version of it I've been able to trace was recorded by Harold Courlander from Willie Harris, also of Livingstone, Alabama, again in 1950.*
The text of Mrs Hall's 1940 recording is as follows.
Another man done gone x3
From the County farm,
Another man done gone.
I didn't know his name x4
He had a long chain on x4
He killed another man x4
I don't know where he's gone x4
I'm gonna walk your log (?) x4.
Clearly, as far as Vera Hall's text is concerned, the song is about a prisoner breaking out of the county farm, or conceiveably dying while inside, rather than someone being sent to prison.
You can find it on Rounder CD 1500, A Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings. It also appears on the Alan Lomax produced radio programme, Blues in the Mississippi Night."
-snip-
"the county farm" = the county prison
Read comments about the meaning of "I'm gonna walk your log" and "walk your load" -an alternative transcription for that line- that are found below in the selected comments from in this sound file.
-snip-
*Here's an excerpt from a 2013 online article that cites other recordings of the song "Another Man Done Gone"
"Another Man Done Gone" - a powerful tale of woe on a chain gang" by John Kessler, APR 19, 2013
"Repression of African Americans didn’t stop at the end of the Civil War, and prisons and chain gangs were full of black people arrested for minor violations. This song, “Another Man Done Gone”, tells of the death of a man on one of those chain gangs.
"Repression of African Americans didn’t stop at the end of the Civil War, and prisons and chain gangs were full of black people arrested for minor violations. This song, “Another Man Done Gone”, tells of the death of a man on one of those chain gangs.
Folklorist Alan Lomax recorded Vera Hall singing “Another Man Done Gone” in 1940, and praised her as having the "loveliest untrained voice [he] had ever recorded."
She sang spirituals and folk songs as well as blues, and is one of the prominent singers from the Depression-era South. Her songs have been performed by Johnny Cash and John Mayall, and her song “Trouble So Hard” was integral to techno-artist Moby’s 1999 multi-platinum single “Natural Blues”.
Her unaccompanied vocal recording of “Another Man Done Gone” is haunting and unforgettable.
New Orleans soul singer Irma Thomas recreated “Another Man Done Gone” on her 2006 cd After The Rain, adding verses related to the destruction in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina.
Harmonica ace Sugar Blue recorded the song in 2006 with just voice voice, harp and drums as a fast paced, acoustic boogie. In live shows, he stretches out a bit more"...
-snip-
Some commenters in that article's discussion thread also noted that Odetta also recorded this song.
A commenter in that article and in the discussion thread for this YouTube song file shared that "Blind Willie Johnson's wife Angeline sings this on an LP with some Blind Willie songs one side, her being interviewed on the other."...
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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS SHOWCASE SONG FILE'S DISCUSSION THREADhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=749523cHwyc
(with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. Joseph Cowie, 2013
Some commenters in that article's discussion thread also noted that Odetta also recorded this song.
A commenter in that article and in the discussion thread for this YouTube song file shared that "Blind Willie Johnson's wife Angeline sings this on an LP with some Blind Willie songs one side, her being interviewed on the other."...
****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS SHOWCASE SONG FILE'S DISCUSSION THREADhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=749523cHwyc
(with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. Joseph Cowie, 2013
"This actually brought tears to my eyes, with it's beauty.
Such a time capsule of that era"
**
2. jacksawhavocm, 2014
2. jacksawhavocm, 2014
"I understand all the lyrics but the last verse. "im gonna work your log" ? "im gonna walk your law" ???"
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REPLY3. MerlePsyA, 2014
"I'm gonna walk your log -- It means crossing a river, near the waterfall, walking over a fallen log that spans the river. Other versions say, "I'm gonna walk your log down by the waterfall". walking the log is the escape route."
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REPLY4. jacksawhavoc, 2014
"Wow that's great thank you for sharing your knowledge :)"
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REPLY3. MerlePsyA, 2014
"I'm gonna walk your log -- It means crossing a river, near the waterfall, walking over a fallen log that spans the river. Other versions say, "I'm gonna walk your log down by the waterfall". walking the log is the escape route."
**
REPLY4. jacksawhavoc, 2014
"Wow that's great thank you for sharing your knowledge :)"
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5. Ahhh800, 2015
"what does walk your log mean in this context ?"
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REPLY
"what does walk your log mean in this context ?"
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REPLY
6. Enoch524, 2015
"@Ahhh800 Not sure if she says log or load but I'm pretty sure its a tribute to the man in "chains" who died as in saying she is going to "walk his load" as in work for him or continue his work/acknowledge his existence or "walk his log" meaning continuing his legacy/work/burden in a sense.
"@Ahhh800 Not sure if she says log or load but I'm pretty sure its a tribute to the man in "chains" who died as in saying she is going to "walk his load" as in work for him or continue his work/acknowledge his existence or "walk his log" meaning continuing his legacy/work/burden in a sense.
Before singing "walk your log/load" she says
"I don't know where he's gone" so it could also mean that since he is
gone she is going to have "work/walk his load/log" as in pick up his
slack making her carry his burden.
A very powerful and haunting song in my opinion."
**
REPLY
7. Carl Fredriksson, 2016
"+1doom777 I think your right. and I'm pretty sure it's load, beautiful acapella"
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REPLY
7. Carl Fredriksson, 2016
"+1doom777 I think your right. and I'm pretty sure it's load, beautiful acapella"
REPLY
8. Sam Spade, 2017
"She says, "I'm gonna walk your load". I think it means that she will take up the dead man's burden."
**
"She says, "I'm gonna walk your load". I think it means that she will take up the dead man's burden."
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9. Carl Fredriksson, 2017
"
10.
"The first recording of this song is of Vera Hall, collected by Alan Lomax. She sings "He killed another man". Later versions have a different edge, a different meaning -- "They killed another man"."
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11. Paul N., 2016
"BEAUTIFUL Voice I can feel her pain!"
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12. Monotone, 2017
"Does anyone else think this has a striking similarity to 'Baby Please Don't Go'? Same melody, reoccurring lyrics about county farms, long chains on etc. I believe these songs have the same origin, Hall must have heard somebody sing a version of this that inspired her to sing it, however I haven't found anywhere that connects the two songs sadly." -snip- Here's information about the Blues song "Baby Please Don't Go" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby,_Please_Don%27t_Go " "Baby, Please Don't Go" is a traditional blues song that was popularized by Delta blues musician Big Joe Williams in 1935. Many cover versions followed, and the song has been described by French music historian Gérard Herzhaft[1] as "one of the most played, arranged, and rearranged pieces in blues history"."...
**11. Paul N., 2016
"BEAUTIFUL Voice I can feel her pain!"
**
12. Monotone, 2017
"Does anyone else think this has a striking similarity to 'Baby Please Don't Go'? Same melody, reoccurring lyrics about county farms, long chains on etc. I believe these songs have the same origin, Hall must have heard somebody sing a version of this that inspired her to sing it, however I haven't found anywhere that connects the two songs sadly." -snip- Here's information about the Blues song "Baby Please Don't Go" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby,_Please_Don%27t_Go " "Baby, Please Don't Go" is a traditional blues song that was popularized by Delta blues musician Big Joe Williams in 1935. Many cover versions followed, and the song has been described by French music historian Gérard Herzhaft[1] as "one of the most played, arranged, and rearranged pieces in blues history"."...
13. Jude Foote, 2019
"True true blues not doctored in any way this is real stuff sung from the heart with real feeling and painxxxx" ** 14. Kamaar Taliaferro, 2019 "Anybody know... Had this melody been adopted by blues guitar players? Usually in songs titled something like "baby don't go" or some such," **** Thanks for visiting pancocojams. Visitor comments are welcome.
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