“Death of Samuel Adams”
Description
"In the state of old Kentucky... A horrible crime was committed And later brought to light." "A man was cruelly murdered, Samuel Adams was his name." The buried body washes up in a flood, and Joe Schuster and gang sentenced to life imprisonment
Notes
Neither this song nor Thomas's notes are very clear as to what actually happened here. Reading a great deal into a small amount between the lines, I suspect that Samuel Adams, left without work in the Depression, arrived perhaps at Ashland during the labor troubles. He took a job as a guard and was killed as a result.
This is item dF62 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
Cross references
- cf. "The Rowan County Crew (Trouble, or Tragedy)" [Laws E20] (lyrics)
References
- Thomas-Makin', pp. 242-243, "Death of Samuel Adams" (1 text)
- Roud #4131
- BI, ThBa242