Little Sadie
Encyclopedia
"Little Sadie" is a 20th Century American
folk
ballad
in D Dorian mode
. It is also known variously as "Bad Lee Brown", "Cocaine Blues
", "Transfusion Blues", "East St. Louis Blues", "Late One Night", "Penitentiary Blues" and other titles. It tells the story of a man who is apprehended after shooting his wife/girlfriend. He is then sentenced by a judge.
, is noted in the 1948 book Ozark Folksongs, Vol. II.
"Bad Lee Brown"
Last night I was a-makin' my rounds,
Met my old woman an' I blowed her down,
I went on home to go to bed,
Put my old cannon right under my head.
Jury says murder in the first degree,
I says oh Lord, have mercy on me!
Old Judge White picks up his pen,
Says you'll never kill no woman ag'in.
of Thomasville, North Carolina
apprehending the murderer in Jericho, South Carolina (in Charleston County
, near Hollywood, South Carolina
). Other versions transpose Juarez, Mexico
for Jericho.
), Little Sadie may have been a prostitute:
I woke next morning 'bout half past nine,
The buggies and the hacks all (swarmed?) in line,
The gents and the gamblers all standing around,
They're gonna take Sadie to the burying ground.
This verse does not appear in Ashley's 1963 recording with Doc Watson
.
The most common version in country
and rock
is attributed to T. J. 'Red' Arnall's 1947 Western Swing
recording with W. A. Nichol's Western Aces. This version was covered by Johnny Cash
, The Grateful Dead, Crooked Still
, Doc Watson, and George Thorogood
, among others. The 1970 Bob Dylan
versions are taken from either of Clarence Ashley's recordings.
Some researchers have suggested that "Little Sadie" may have been an influence on the 1960s song "Hey Joe
".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
in D Dorian mode
Dorian mode
Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different musical modes or diatonic scales, the Greek, the medieval, and the modern.- Greek Dorian mode :...
. It is also known variously as "Bad Lee Brown", "Cocaine Blues
Cocaine Blues
"Cocaine Blues" is a Western Swing song written by T. J. "Red" Arnall, a reworking of the traditional song "Little Sadie". This song was originally recorded by W. A. Nichol's Western Aces on the S & G label, probably in 1947, and by Roy Hogsed and the Rainbow Riders May 25, 1947, at Universal...
", "Transfusion Blues", "East St. Louis Blues", "Late One Night", "Penitentiary Blues" and other titles. It tells the story of a man who is apprehended after shooting his wife/girlfriend. He is then sentenced by a judge.
Earliest transcription
The earliest written record of the song dates from 1922. This lyric fragment, transcribed in Joplin, MissouriJoplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
, is noted in the 1948 book Ozark Folksongs, Vol. II.
"Bad Lee Brown"
Last night I was a-makin' my rounds,
Met my old woman an' I blowed her down,
I went on home to go to bed,
Put my old cannon right under my head.
Jury says murder in the first degree,
I says oh Lord, have mercy on me!
Old Judge White picks up his pen,
Says you'll never kill no woman ag'in.
Carolina to Mexico
Some versions refer to the SheriffSheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Thomasville, North Carolina
Thomasville, North Carolina
Thomasville is a city in Davidson County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,354 at the 2010 census. The city is notable for its furniture industry as are its neighbors of High Point and Lexington. This Piedmont Triad community was established in 1852 and hosts the state's...
apprehending the murderer in Jericho, South Carolina (in Charleston County
Charleston County, South Carolina
Charleston County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. According to a 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, its population was 330,368. Its county seat is Charleston. It is the third-most populous county in the state . Charleston County was created in 1901 by an act of the South...
, near Hollywood, South Carolina
Hollywood, South Carolina
Hollywood is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,946 at the 2000 census. As defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and used by the U.S...
). Other versions transpose Juarez, Mexico
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
for Jericho.
Clarence Ashley's recording
In the first sound recording (the 1930 recording by Clarence AshleyClarence Ashley
"Tom" Clarence Ashley was an American clawhammer banjo player, guitarist and singer. He began performing at medicine shows in the Southern Appalachian region as early as 1911, and gained initial fame during the late 1920s as both a solo recording artist and as a member of various string bands...
), Little Sadie may have been a prostitute:
I woke next morning 'bout half past nine,
The buggies and the hacks all (swarmed?) in line,
The gents and the gamblers all standing around,
They're gonna take Sadie to the burying ground.
This verse does not appear in Ashley's 1963 recording with Doc Watson
Doc Watson
Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson is an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. He has won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded...
.
The most common version in country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
is attributed to T. J. 'Red' Arnall's 1947 Western Swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
recording with W. A. Nichol's Western Aces. This version was covered by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, The Grateful Dead, Crooked Still
Crooked Still
Crooked Still is an alternative bluegrass band consisting of vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, banjo player Dr. Gregory Liszt, bassist Corey DiMario, cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas...
, Doc Watson, and George Thorogood
George Thorogood
George Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...
, among others. The 1970 Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
versions are taken from either of Clarence Ashley's recordings.
Some researchers have suggested that "Little Sadie" may have been an influence on the 1960s song "Hey Joe
Hey Joe
"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written. "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico...
".
Sources
- Roud Folk Song IndexRoud Folk Song IndexThe Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
780 - Laws Ballad IndexGeorge Malcolm LawsGeorge Malcolm Laws Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a scholar of traditional UK and US folk song.His name is normally rendered as "G Malcolm Laws jnr". He is best known for "American Balladry from British Broadsides", published in 1957 by the American Folklore Society. He graduated from the...
I8 - The Traditional Ballad Index LI08
- Lyle Lofgren "Remembering The Old Songs: Little Sadie" Inside Bluegrass, January 2002
- Paul Castle Little Sadie
- Miller Jr., E. John; & Michael Cromie Folk Guitar, Quadrangle, (1968), p109
- Sing Out! Reprints, Sing Out, (196?), 9, p35
- Bailey, Hobart. Rosenbaum, Art Old-Time Mountain Banjo, Oak, (1968), p56
Selected list of recorded versions
- 1930 Little Sadie - Clarence AshleyClarence Ashley"Tom" Clarence Ashley was an American clawhammer banjo player, guitarist and singer. He began performing at medicine shows in the Southern Appalachian region as early as 1911, and gained initial fame during the late 1920s as both a solo recording artist and as a member of various string bands...
(Columbia 15522-D) - 1939 Bad Man Ballad - Willie Rayford, recorded at Cummins State Farm, near Varner, Arkansas by John and Ruby Lomax
- 1947 Cocaine Blues - W. A. Nichol's Western Aces, vocal by "Red" Arnall [S & G Records SG 011]
- 1947 Cocaine Blues - Billy HughesBilly Hughes (musician)Everette Ishmael "Billy" Hughes was a Western Swing musician and songwriter. Born in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, he left for California during the Okie exodus of the 1930s. Billy Hughes and His Buccaroos performed during the 1940s and early 50s. He also owned an independent recording company, Fargo Records...
- 1948 Cocaine Blues - Roy Hogshed, US Country #15. Music/lyrics attributed to T. J. 'Red' Arnall
- 1940s Chain Gang Blues - Riley PuckettRiley PuckettGeorge Riley Puckett was an American country music pioneer mostly known for being a member of Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers.-Biography:...
- 1940s Bad Lee Brown - Woody GuthrieWoody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
and Cisco HoustonCisco HoustonGilbert Vandine 'Cisco' Houston was an American folk singer and songwriter who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of recording together.... - 1959 Badman Ballad - Cisco HoustonCisco HoustonGilbert Vandine 'Cisco' Houston was an American folk singer and songwriter who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of recording together....
The Cisco Special! album - 1960 Transfusion Blues - Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
Now, There Was A Song album - 1960 Bad Man's Blunder - The Kingston TrioThe Kingston TrioThe Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
String Along album - 1960 Whiskey Blues - Slim DustySlim DustyDavid Gordon "Slim Dusty " Kirkpatrick AO, MBE was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and producer, with a career spanning nearly eight decades. He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson that represented the Australian Bush...
Songs for Rolling Stones album - 1963 Little Sadie - Clarence AshleyClarence Ashley"Tom" Clarence Ashley was an American clawhammer banjo player, guitarist and singer. He began performing at medicine shows in the Southern Appalachian region as early as 1911, and gained initial fame during the late 1920s as both a solo recording artist and as a member of various string bands...
Old-Time Music at Clarence Ashley's, Part 2 (Folkways FA 2359) - 1968 Cocaine Blues - Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
At Folsom PrisonAt Folsom PrisonAt Folsom Prison is a live album by Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in May 1968. Since his 1955 song "Folsom Prison Blues", Cash had been interested in performing at a prison. His idea was put on hold until 1967, when personnel changes at Columbia Records put Bob Johnston in charge of...
album - 1970 In Search of Little Sadie - Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
Self PortraitSelf Portrait (Bob Dylan album)Self Portrait is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's tenth studio album, released by Columbia Records in June 1970.Self Portrait was Dylan's second double album, and features mostly cover versions of well-known pop and folk songs. Also included are a handful of instrumentals and original compositions...
album - 1970 Little Sadie - Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
Self PortraitSelf Portrait (Bob Dylan album)Self Portrait is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's tenth studio album, released by Columbia Records in June 1970.Self Portrait was Dylan's second double album, and features mostly cover versions of well-known pop and folk songs. Also included are a handful of instrumentals and original compositions...
album - 1970 Little Sadie - Doc WatsonDoc WatsonArthel Lane "Doc" Watson is an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. He has won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded...
Doc Watson on Stage (Vanguard VSD 9/10) - 1970 Little Sadie - TreesTrees (folk band)Trees was an English folk rock band that existed between 1969 and 1972. Although the group met with little commercial success in their time, the reputation of the band has grown over the years. Like other folk contemporaries, Trees' music was influenced by Fairport Convention, but with a heavier...
On the ShoreOn the ShoreOn the Shore is the second album by British folk rock band Trees. It was released in 1970 on CBS Records later released on CD by the BGO label.Sleeve design by Hipgnosis...
album - 1972 Little Sadie - John RenbournJohn RenbournJohn Renbourn is an English guitarist and songwriter. He is possibly best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo career before, during and after that band's existence .While most commonly labelled a...
Faro Annie (Reprise MS2082) - 1972 Ode to Bad Bill - Peg Leg Sam (spoken word version)
- 1978 Cocaine Blues - George ThorogoodGeorge ThorogoodGeorge Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...
& The Destroyers - 1979 Little Sadie - Tony RiceTony RiceTony Rice is an American acoustic guitarist and bluegrass musician. He is considered one of the most influential acoustic guitar players in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz.Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from traditional bluegrass to jazz-influenced New...
Unit, Manzanita album - 1993 Little Sadie - Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
and David GrismanDavid GrismanDavid Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
, The Pizza TapesThe Pizza TapesThe Pizza Tapes is an acoustic album by the American musicians Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and Tony Rice. The album was made over a series of two evenings in 1993 featuring completely unrehearsed songs recorded in Grisman's own recording studio.-History:... - 1996 Little Sadie - Freight Hoppers Where'd You Come From, Where'd You Go? album
- 1999 Little Sadie - Mark LaneganMark LaneganMark Lanegan is an American rock musician and songwriter. Lanegan began his music career in the 1980s, forming the grunge group Screaming Trees with Gary Lee Conner, Van Conner and Mark Pickerel. During his time in the band Lanegan would start a low-key solo career...
I'll Take Care of You album - 1999 Cocaine Blues - Hank Williams IIIHank Williams IIIShelton Hank Williams, known as Hank 3 , is a neotraditional country and punk metal singer, drummer, bassist, and guitarist. In addition to his honky tonk recordings, Williams' style alternates among country, punk and metal...
- 2001 Little Sadie - Old Crow Medicine ShowOld Crow Medicine ShowOld Crow Medicine Show is an old-time string band based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their music has been called bluegrass, Americana, and alt-country, in addition to old-time. Along with original songs, the band performs many pre-World War II blues and folk songs...
- The Troubles Up and Down the Road EP - 2002 Little Sadie - The SadiesThe SadiesThe Sadies are a Canadian indie rock and alternative country band from Toronto, Ontario.-Background:The band consists of Dallas Good , Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky...
- on the Bloodshot Records Sampler - Making Singles, Drinking Doubles - 2003 Cocaine Blues - Eddie Spaghetti The Sauce
- 2004 Little Sadie - The RadiatorsThe Radiators (US)The Radiators, also known as The New Orleans Radiators, are a rock band from New Orleans, Louisiana, who have combined the traditional musical styles of their native city with more mainstream rock and R&B influences to form a bouncy, funky variety of swamp-rock they call fish-head music...
- Earth vs. The Radiators: the First 25Earth vs. The Radiators: the First 25 (film)Earth vs. The Radiators: the First 25 is a 2004 concert film by the New Orleans rock band, The Radiators. Released in honor of the band's twenty-fifth anniversary, the film contains the complete performance from their January 31, 2004 concert at Tipitina's nightclub in New Orleans, and features...
Live DVD - 2006 Little Sadie - The Rosinators
- 2006 Little Sadie - Crooked StillCrooked StillCrooked Still is an alternative bluegrass band consisting of vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, banjo player Dr. Gregory Liszt, bassist Corey DiMario, cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas...
Shaken by A Low SoundShaken by a Low SoundShaken by a Low Sound is the second album of progressive bluegrass group Crooked Still. With repertoire mostly consisting of traditional stuff the group sounds very original with combination of Aoife O´Donovan´s emotive vocals and the unusual banjo-cello-double bass lineup.-Track list:# "Can't You...
album - 2006 Little Sadie - Greg GraffinGreg GraffinGregory Walter Graffin, Ph.D. is an American punk rock musician, college professor, and author. He is most recognized as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the noted Los Angeles band Bad Religion, which he co-founded in 1979 and is the band's only constant member, even though it now features two...
Cold As The ClayCold as the ClayCold as the Clay is the second solo album by Bad Religion's vocalist Greg Graffin released on July 10, 2006 in Europe, and the following day in the USA. It was released on the label ANTI- . It follows on from Graffin's 1997 release of American Lesion.Graffin has described the album as "honor[ing]...
album - 2007 Little Sadie - Groanbox Boys Fences Come Down album
- 2008 Little Sadie - Big Hungry Joe Hillbilly Hayride album
- 2009 Little Sadie - Jack Rose, The Black Twig Pickers Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers album
- 2011 Little Sadie/White-Wheeled Limousine/Just One More - Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers "Bride of the Noisemakers" album