Huddie Ledbetter

Huddie Ledbetter was a helluva man
Huddie got his music from the
Heart of the land in his voice you could
Hear John Henry's hammering
While his hands would "buck and
Wing" upon the big 12-string
Sometimes a lion, sometimes a lamb
Huddie Ledbetter was a helluva man

He's a long time gone but his songs live on
He's a long time gone but his songs live on
Down in Louisiana, 1888
There was a black baby born
Into a white man's state
He saw the cane and cotton
Stretch for miles around
He heard his mama's voice a-singing
When the sun went down
Into a world where having dark
Skin was a crime huddie was born - and
Started serving his time

Teenage Huddie went to Shreveport town
There he got in trouble, was jailhouse bound

The odds were slim that he
Would get out alive
But somehow Huddle and his music survived
He escaped just once, was put back again
He was called Leadbelly by the
Rest of the men

A collector, name a' Lomax
Brought a record machine
Huddle sang 'em sweet and high
He sang 'em low and mean:
For years to come, they would tell the tale
Of how Huddie Ledbetter sang
His way out-a jail
Sayin', "If I had you governor
Like-a you got me
I'd awake up in the morning
And I'd set you free"

He got his farewell ticket back in '49
He caught the Midnight Special on
The Rock Island Line but I bet you when he
Wakened from his earthly dream
He was wakened by a kiss
From a gal named Irene
Now millions of people the whole world around
Are taking Huddie's hammer up
And swinging it down
Huddie Ledbetter was a helluva man
Huddie got his music from the
Heart of the land in his voice you could
Hear John Henry's hammering
While his hands would "buck and
Wing" upon the big 12-string
Sometimes a lion, sometimes a lamb
Huddie Ledbetter was a helluva man