Corinna & Alberta pt. 2
(back to
pt. 1)
"Alberta" was recorded by Bob Dylan in March 1970 in New York City in two pleasant versions that were released on "Self Portrait" (
lyrics):
Alberta let your hair hang low
Alberta let your hair hang low
I'll give you more gold than your apron can hold
If you'd only let your hair hang low
[...]
This is no 12-bar AAB Blues like the other "Corrina", it has a different structure (AABA). One related song is for example "I Wish I Was A Mole in The Ground", recorded in 1928 by Bascom Lamar Lunsford (a recording is available at the
Internet Archive and at
juneberry78s.com ):
I wish I was a mole in the ground
Yes I wish I was a mole in the ground
If I's a mole in the ground I'd root that mountain down
And I wish I was a mole in the ground
[...]
Oh Capie let your hair roll down
Capie let your hair roll down
Let your hair roll down and your bangs curl round
Oh Capie let your hair roll down
[quoted from: [url=http://folktunes.org/wiki/I_Wish_I_Was_A_Mole_In_The_Ground_by_Bascom_Lamar_Lunsford_on_banjo] Folktunes.org][/url]
"Baby Let Me Follow You Down", recorded by Dylan for his first LP, belongs to the same family. As is widely known this song can be traced back (via Eric von Schmidt and Geno Foreman; Dave van Ronk and The Reverend Gary Davis may have been involved, too) to Blind Boy Fullers "Mama Let Me Lay It On You" (1936, 1938). This was an adaption of Walter Coleman, "Mama Let Me Lay It On You" (1936) and that song in turn was an adaption of "Can I Do It For You" (1930) by Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe McCoy:
Wanna do somethin' to you.
Wanna do somethin' to you.
Do anything in this world I can,
I wanna do somethin' to you, hear me sayin',
I wanna do somethin' for you.
No, you can't do nothin' to me.
No, you can't do nothin' to me.
I don't care what in the world you do,
You can't do nothin' for me, hear me sayin',
You can't do nothin' for me.
[...]
"Can I Do It For You" had other offsprings, for example "Don't You Tear My Clothes" (
State Street Boys, 1935; Washboard Sam, 1936; Harlem Hamfats, 1937 etc) and "Let Your Linen Hang Low", recorded in 1937 by the Harlam Hamfats with Rosetta Howard and Joe McCoy on vocals. The lyrics of latter look like a cross between "Alberta" & "Baby Let Me Follow You Down":
Let your linen hang low
Let your linen hang low
I'd do anything in the world I know
If you let your linen hang low
[...]
-----------------------------
- mp3 of
Let Your Linen Hang Low
-
zip folder including precursors of “Baby Let Me Follow You Down”:
Blind Boy Fuller, Mama Let Me Lay It You You (1936)
State Street Boys (i.e. Big Bill et al.), Don’t You Tear My Clothes (1935)
Harlem Hamfats, Don’t You Tear My Clothes (1970)
Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe McCoy, Can I Do It For You, pt. 1 (1930)
-----------------------------
These songs share not only the AABA-structure of the lyrics but also the basic motif: "I'll do anything for you, if you do something or let me do something" that may ultimately derive from an older song called
"Papers Of Pins" (or "Keys To Heaven" or
"The Keys To Canterbury")
The very first trace of "Alberta, Let Your Hair Hang Low" is a song collected by
Mary Wheeler in Western Kentucky and published in 1944 in her book
Steamboatin' Days, Folk Songs Of The River Packet Era. There is no earlier evidence of this "Alberta" available and it is not clear how old it is and how it is related to songs like "Let Your Linen Hang Low" or "I Wish I Was A Mole in The Ground". Maybe it's an older variant or maybe Mrs. Wheeler's informant had simply put it together himself from records he had heard:
Alberta, let yo' hair hang low,
Alberta, let yo' hair hand low,
I'll give you mo' gold than yo' apron will hold,
‘Ef you'll jes let yo' hair hang low.
Alberta, what's on yo' mind,
Alberta, what's on yo' mind,
You keep me worried, you keep me bothered, all the time.
Alberta, what's on yo' mind?
Alberta, don't you treat me unkind,
Alberta, don't you treat me unkind,
'Cause I'm worried, 'cause I'm bothered, all the time.
Alberta, don't you treat me unkind.
[quoted from the website [url=http://mywebpages.comcast.net/yragb/cas/bk-al1-1.html]Cowboy Angel Blues ][/url]
Roger McGuinn on his
Folk Den site claims that "this is a song sung by the stevedores who worked on the Ohio River. There were two types of river songs. The first was the fast 'Jump Down Turn Around' type. The other kind was slow and bluesey. That could be because when it came time to load and unload these boats, it was a pretty busy session. There was lots of time in between to sing songs like this one." He gives no source but I presume this statement is ultimately derived from Mary Wheeler's book.
The song in this book was adapted by the influential and excellent Folk singer
Bob Gibson who recorded it in 1957 for his LP
Carnegie Concert (now available on the compilation
Joy Joy! The Young And Wonderful Bob Gibson (1996)). I haven’t been able to check out if he used the melody from Ms. Wheeler’s book or if he made up a new one. This version was also printed in
Jerry Silverman's important
Folk Blues songbook (1958) and in
Sing Out Vol. 8 No. 3 (1959). In the following years it became something of a Folk Revival staple and it was recorded by different artists, for example:
Chad Mitchell Trio ,
At The Bitter End , 1962 (backed by Jim McGuinn, Bill E. Lee and Fred Hellerman)
Odetta,
Sings Folk Songs (1963, as "Roberta"
. In 2001 on
Lookin' For A Home she recorded it again, but this time it was conflated with Lead Belly's "Alberta"
Pernell Roberts,
Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies, 1963 (with some additional lyrics, recording available on
bonanzaworld.net )
Blues Project,
Live At The Café Au Go Go, 1966
Doc Watson,
Southbound, 1966 (another adaption with additional lyrics)
--------------------------------
An mp3 of Roger McGuinn singing “Alberta” using Gibson’s melody is available on his
Folk Den site
--------------------------------
Bob Dylan may have known any of this versions but his source and inspiration when recording it for Self Portrait was obviously
Sing Out. A lot of songs recorded in 1969/70 can be found in the pages of this magazine and later reprints. It’s in fact possible to create a concordance between
Self Portrait and
Sing Out. These collections obviously helped him to find something to record during these series of sessions either by inspiring him to return to older songs he already knew or by offering songs he didn't know. For "Alberta" he created a new melody, maybe because he didn't like Gibson's or maybe because he couldn't read musical notation. His version sounds somehow closer to his own "Corinna" and to "Follow You Down" than to Bob Gibson's "Alberta", but I wouldn’t say it’s “dull” (Gray, p. 3).
Credits & additional sources
Many thanks to Stew with whom I discussed these songs about a year ago when he put together his “Roots Of Self Portrait” compilation & who found some of the info used here
Oliver Trager, Keys To The Rain. The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, New York 2004
Michael Gray, Michael Gray, The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, London & New York 2006
Clinton Heylin, Dylan. Behind Closed Doors. The Recording Sessions [1960 - 1994], London 1996
Olof Björner, Still On The Road: 1970
Robert M.W.Dixon/John Godrich/Howard Rye, Blues & Gospel Records 1890-1943. Fourth Edition, Oxford 1997
The Traditional Ballad Index:
Alberta,
I Wish I Was A Mole in The Ground,
Keys Of Canterbury
Sing Out website (includes an index of songs published in this magazine)
James Prescott,
Folk Song Index
Jane Keefer,
Folk Music - An Index To Recorded Sources
Christer Svensson, Stealin', Stealin, Pretty Mama Don't You Tell On Me', Endless Road fanzine No. 4 , 1983 (he was to my knowledge the first one who noticed the role of Sing Out as an important source for Self Portrait)
BobDylanRoots.com:
Eric Von Schmidt (about "Baby Let Me Follow You Down"
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