Motherless Children
This article is about the blues song. For the Negro spiritual, see Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.
This article is about the blues song. For another blues song, see Motherless Child Blues.
| "Motherless Children" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Blind Willie Johnson | ||||
| B-side | "If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down" | |||
| Format | 10" 78prm single | |||
| Recorded | December 3, 1927 in Dallas, TX | |||
| Genre | Gospel blues | |||
| Label | Columbia 14343-D [1] | |||
| Blind Willie Johnson singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Motherless Children" is a blues standard first recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1927,[2] and later popularised (inter alia) by such names as Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Steve Miller, Eric Clapton, Rosanne Cash and Lucinda Williams.[3]
The song[4] has an autobiographical theme, as Johnson's mother died when he was young. His father remarried soon after her death, and later the stepmother allegedly blinded the boy with lye after the father found her in flagrante delicto.
Bibliography
- Evans, David. Ramblin' on My Mind: New Perspectives on the Blues. University of Illinois Press, 2008. ISBN 0-252-07448-3
- Sackheim, Eric. The Blues Line: Blues Lyrics from Leadbelly to Muddy Waters. Da Capo Press, 2003. ISBN 1-56025-567-6
References
- ↑ "Blind Willie Johnson discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
- ↑ Blind Willie Johnson-Mother's Children Have A Hard Time (December 3, 1927), Internet Archive
- ↑ "Motherless Children". Starkrealities.com. Retrieved 2016-07-25.
- ↑ "Motherless Children Lyrics - Blind Willie Johnson". Lyricsfreak.com. Retrieved 2016-07-25.
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