chris elliott wrote:
I can't speak with great authority on the subject, but the tag line "Just one thing I done wrong/Stayed in Miss. just a day too long" appears in chain-gang songs--in fact, quite common I think. If you haven't yet, check out the series on Rounder Records "The Alan Lomax Collection," in particular the CD "Prison Songs, Volume 2: Don'tcha Hear Poor Mother Calling"--on it you'll find Parchman Farm chain-gang prisoners swinging their axes and singing a version of "O Rosie" which uses this exact line. Stunning and haunting music.
Dag Braathen wrote, quoting I presume from liner notes of a CD:
"Prison Songs: Murderous Home" and "Prison Songs: Don'tcha Hear Poor Mother Calling?" (Rounder CD 1714 and 1715)
In 1947 and 1948, folklorist Alan Lomax visited Parchment Farm, the plantation-like prison complex used to incarcerated and work black prisoners in Mississippi. The voices of the inmates, recorded only by their nicknames (Dobie Red, 22, Bama, Jimpson, etc.), live again in this two volume repackaging from Rounder Records. The two CDs, sold separately, contain over 104 minutes of songs and interviews. The liner notes are full of information, including the context of every track (guards were always nearby, listening, it would appear) and complete transcriptions of the words.
This is raw, unadulterated, powerful music. With the exception of the harmonica on three tracks, these are a cappella recordings. Some of the songs are classic folk tunes (Stackerlee, John Henry) and blues recorded in the prison. Most are work songs, where a gang sings together. These are strongly rhythmic tunes, as a good song leader paces the work. The beat is punctuated by the thuds of axes in wood or hoes in the fields.
Not all of the tracks are songs. Several interviews, tall tales, jokes, and even a jailhouse sermon also appear in the disk. But the heart of the recordings consists of the work songs, their lyrics reflecting the harshness of the prison labor.
Ain't but one thing I done wrong,
Ain't but one thing I done wrong,
Ain't but one thing I done wrong,
Stayed in Mississippi just a day too long.
A day too long, Lordy, day too long,
In Mississippi, a day too long.
Jeff Yelton (the writer of the above, I think)