“The Boll Weevil”

Description

The boll weevil, which is just "a-lookin' for a home," inevitably comes in conflict with the cotton farmer. The farmer tries many techniques to drive the weevil out; the weevil, far from being inconvenienced, is often represented as thanking the farmer

Notes

Sandburg reports collections of Boll Weevil verses dating back to 1897, but it is not clear in context whether these are actually part of this song. - RBW, PJS

And indeed, the origins of the song are obscure, or at least messy. The Bernard, Hare & Arkansas Trio recordings credit the authorship to McCurdy & Palmer, as does a regional guide to the town of Fakes Chapel [state unknown] which claims that McCurdy wrote the "'well-known' folk song" there in 1923. The recordings, of course, make this date impossible, but he seems to have had a hand in the creation of some well-known verses. Fiddlin' John Carson copyrighted his version in 1924, and it certainly contains some of the classic lines. - PJS

Historical references

• c. 1898 - Boll Weevil arrives in the southern U.S. from Mexico

Cross references

• cf. "Poor Man Blues" (floating lyrics)
• cf. "Frankie and Albert" [Laws I3] (tune)

Recordings

• Pink Anderson, "Bo Weevil" (on PinkAnd1)
• Arkansas Trio, "Boll Weevil Blues" (Edison 51373-R, 1924)
• Al Bernard, "Boll Weevil Blues" (Brunswick 2092, 1921)
• Fiddlin' John Carson, "Dixie Boll Weevil" (OKeh 40095-B, 1924)
• Jaybird Coleman, "Boll Weevil" (Black Patti 8055, 1927; on StuffDreams1)
• [Vernon] Dalhart, [Ed] Smalle & [Harry] Reser, "Boll Weevil Blues" (OKeh 40156, 1924)
• Fats Domino, "Bo Weevil" (Imperial 5375, 1956)
• Vera Hall, "Boll Weevil" (AFS 1323 A1, 1937)
• Ernest Hare, "Boll Weevil Blues" (Vocalion 14151, 1921)
• Lead Belly, "The Boll Weevil" (Musicraft 226, rec. 1939)
• W. A. Lindsay & Alvin Condor, "Boll Weevil" (OKeh 45346, 1929; rec. 1928)
• The Masked Marvel (pseud. for Charley Patton), "Mississippi Boweavil Blues" (Paramount 15805B. 1929; on AAFM1, BefBlues2)
• Charlie Oaks, "Boll Weevil" (Vocalion 5113, c. 1927)
• Ma Rainey w. Lovie Austin & her Blues Serenaders, "Bo-Weavil Blues" (Paramount 12080, 1924)
• Tex Ritter, "Boll Weevil" (Capitol 40084, 1948)
• Carl Sandburg, "The Boll Weevil" (Victor 20135, 1926)
• Pete Seeger, "Boll Weevil" (on PeteSeeger05) (on PeteSeeger43); "Ballad of the Boll Weevil" (on PeteSeeger31)
• Bessie Smith, "Boweavil Blues" (Columbia 14018-D, 1924)
• Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett, "Boll Weevil Blues" (Columbia 15016-D, c. 1924)

References

1. Laws I17, "The Boll Weevil"
2. BrownIII 214, "Boll Weevil Blues" (2 texts)
3. Hudson 72, pp. 199-200, "Mister Boll Weevil" (1 text)
4. Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 66, (no title) (1 excerpt, probably of this song); pp. 77-79, "Mr. Boll Weevil" (plus other versions with no title) (2 texts plus 3 excerpts, 1 tune)
5. Friedman, p. 319, "The Ballet of the Boll Weevil" (2 texts+1 fragment, 1 tune)
6. Sandburg, pp. 8-10, "Boll Weevil Song"; 252-253, "De Ballet of de Boll Weevil" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
7. Scott-BoA, pp. 316-318, "The Ballad of the Boll Weevil" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
8. Lomax-FSUSA 69, "The Boll Weevil" (1 text, 1 tune)
9. Lomax-ABFS, pp. 112-117, "De Ballit of de Boll Weevil" (1 text, 1 tune, composite)
10. Lomax-FSNA 285, "The Boll Weevil Holler" (1 text, 1 tune)
11. Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 916-918, "Boll Weevil Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
12. Arnett, pp. 140-141, "Boll Weevil" (1 text, 1 tune)
13. Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 751, "Boll Weevil" (1 text, 1 tune)
14. Darling-NAS, pp. 244-246, "Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues"; "The Boll Weevil" (2 texts)
15. Silber-FSWB, p. 118, "Ballad Of The Boll Weevil" (1 text)
16. DT, BOLLWEEV* BLLWEEV2* (BOLWEV2)
17. ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 163, (no title) (1 fragment)
18. Roud #3124
19. BI, LI17