Uploaded by abanks47 on Jun 20, 2009
-snip-
Here's a comment that was published in 2019 on this YouTube sound file's discussion thread by Elia Vincenzi
"Just to clarify, "Long John" is the title of the song. Lightning is the nickname with which the lead singer was called. He sang with a group of Afro-American convicts at Darrington State Prison Farm, Sandy Point, Texas, 1934. It was recorded by John and Alan Lomax."
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents a YouTube sound file & transcript for the song "Long John" ("Lost John") that were collected by White American folklorists John and Alan Lomax.
This post also presents the lyrics for two other examples of the song "Long John" ("Lost John") that were collected by John and Alan Lomax from Black American prisoners. Those folklorists and other folklorist collected different versions of "Long John" ("Lost John").
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/01/two-examples-of-long-john-that-arent.html for a pancocojams post about some earlier and later versions of "Lost John" ("Long John") that aren't work songs.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Lightning and other singers at Darrington State Prison Farm. Thanks to John and Alan Lomax for collecting this work song and thanks to all others whose versions of "Long John" ("Lost John") have been recorded and/or collected in text form. Thanks also to Stevie from Mudcat Discussion Forum, an online folk music forum. Thanks also to all others who are quoted in this post.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/long-john-lost-john-sound-files-lyrics.html for the 2012 pancocojams post entitled "Long John (Lost John) - Sound Files & Lyrics". That post focuses on two prison work song versions of "Long John" ("Lost John") that were collected by John & Alan Lomax.)
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SOME INFORMATION AND LYRICS ABOUT THE SONG "LONG JOHN" ("LOST JOHN')
Subject: RE: Lyr. and Origin: Long John/Lost John
From: Stewie
Date: 14 Dec 02 - 01:27 AM
"The following is from Paul Oliver:
In 1920, W.C. Handy published 'Long Gone' with words by the black song writer Chris Smith, based on a Kentucky folk song, known variously as 'Lost John', 'Long John' or 'Long John Dean'. The sheet music claimed that it was 'Another Casey Jones' or 'Steamboat Bill'. Everyone was singing its seven verses but 'eventually you will sing "Long Gone" with a hundred verses' - an acknowledgment of the reworking of songs in oral tradition. Abbe Niles stated that the song was based 'on an actual event' in which a black trusty in the jail at Bowling Green, Kentucky, was to be the victim of a test on the efficiency of a pack of new bloodhounds. John Dean fixed 'a steep trap in a barrel on its side, over which he jumped as he started; the lead hound followed the scent into the barrel and the trap; the rest stopped to investigate', by which time Long John was well away. The story probably came from Handy who had embroidered a version he had given to Dorothy Scarborough which she retold in a paper to the Texas Folk-Lore Society. In this, Long John was escaping from 'a Joe Turner' (presumably the legendary 'long-chain man' who escorted convicts to prison) and made use of a barrel to decoy the dogs. The incident did not appear in either the song as rewritten by Handy, or in the versions collected or recorded.[Paul Oliver 'Songsters & Saints' Cambridge Uni Press 1999 p68]
The sheet music is reproduced in Scarborough 'On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs' pp 266-268.
The Niles reference is in Abby Niles 'Notes to the Collection' in Handy 'A Treasury of the Blues' p 251
--Stewie.
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Dorothy Scarborough's collection On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs was originally published 1925.
LYRICS #1
From: greg stephens
Date: 14 Dec 02 - 09:26 AM
"Here s a version from Lighning and a group of convicts, Darrington State Prison Farm, sandy Point Texas. Recorded by John and Alan Lomx,1934.
1 It's a long John
He's a long gone
Like a turkey through the corn
Through the long corn
2: Well my John said
in the ten chap ten
If a man die
He will live again
Well they crucified Jesus
And they nailed him to the cross
Sister Mary cried
My child is lost
Ch; Well Long John
He's long gone
He's long gone
Mister John John
Oh Big-Eye John
O John John
It's a long John
3: Says-uh Come on gal
And-uh shut that door
Says The dog's is coming
And Ive got to go
Ch: Its a long John
He's long gone
Its a long John
He's a long gone
4 WEll-a two three minutes
Let me catch my wind
In-a two three minutes
I'm gone again
Ch He's long John
He's long gone
He's long gone
He's long gone
5: Well my John said
Just before he did
Well I'm going home
See Mary Lid
Ch: He's John John
Old John John
With his long clothes on
Just-a skippin through the corn
6: Well my John said
On the fourth day
Well to tell my rider
That I'm on my way
Ch: Hes long gone
He's long gone
He's long gone
Its a long John
7: Gonna call this summer
Aint gon' call no more
If I call next summer
Be in Baltimore"
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"Dog" in verse #3 probably refers to bloodhounds used to track escaping prisoners.
"Long clothes on" may refer to him wearing long pants instead of shorter pants.
"My rider" in verse #6 probably means "my woman" (i.e. my sexual partner)
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COMMENT #2 [This is the transcript for the YouTube sound file that is given above.]
Subject: Lyr Add: LONG GONE (from John & Alan Lomax)
From: Stewie
Date: 14 Dec 02 - 09:40 PM
"The Lomaxes also collected a chopping work song from Lightnin' in a Texas prison farm that differs substantially from the one posted above by Greg. The lines in square brackets are by the chorus:
LONG GONE
Leader:
Wid his di'mond blade
[Wid his di'mond blade]
Got it in his han'
[Got it in his han']
Gonna hew out de live oaks
[Gonna hew out de live oaks]
Dat are in dis lan'
[Dat are in dis lan']
Refrain:
He's long gone [He's long gone]
He's Long John [He's long John]
He's gone, gone [He's gone, gone]
Like a turkey throught the corn [Like a turkey through the
corn]
Wid his long clo'es on [Wid his long clo'es on]
He's gone, gone
[He's gone, gone]
He's gone John [He's gone John]
He's long gone [He's long gone]
Stanzas:
Ef I had a-listened
What Rosie said
I'd a-been sleepin'
In a-Rosie's bed
But-a I wouldn' listen
Got to runnin' aroun'
An' de firs' thing I knew
I was jailhouse bound
Well, I got in de jail
Wid my mouf poked out
Now I'm in the pen
An I cain' get out
Well-a John made
A pair of shoes
Funnies' shoes
Dat ever was seen
Had a heel in front
An' a heel behind
Well, you couldn tell where
Dat boy was a-gwine
Well-a, come on, honey
Let me shet dat do'
Well de dogs is a-comin'
An' I got to go
Well-a, hear dat sergeant
Just a-huffin' and a-blowin'
Well, I b'lieve I hear
Ol' Rattler moanin'
Well, I crossed that Brazos
In de mornin' dew
Well, I leave you, sergeant
An de' captain too
Well-a, good mornin', Mary
How do you do?
Well I crossed dat river
Jus' to see you
All dis summer
Won' call no mo'
Ef I call nex' summer
Den I'm gone some mo'
He's long gone
He's Long John
He's gone, gone
Like a turkey through de corn
Wid his long clo'es on
He's gone, gone
He's gone John
He's long gone
Source: John A. Lomax & Alan Lomax 'American Ballads and Folk Songs' MacMillan 1934 pp 75-79.
--Stewie.
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