“The Midnight Special”

Description

"Let the Midnight Special shine its light on me; Let the Midnight Special shine its ever-loving light on me." The prisoner describes how he was arrested, the difficult conditions in prison, and a visit from his girlfriend

Notes

I seem to recall a legend that, should the light of the Midnight Special shine on a convict, he would soon be freed. I can'r remember where I heard this, though.

Carl Sandburg, on the other hand, believes that the song refers to suicide: That the convict would rather be dead under the wheels of the train than spend another twenty years in prison.

Cohen quotes Mack McCormick to the effect that several versions show localization to an unsuccessful 1923 jailbreak, but offers evidence that the song, or at least pieces of it, are much older. The version he prints, "Pistol Pete's Midnight Special" by Dave Cutrell, has several verses not heard in the common Leadbelly version. - RBW

Cross references

• cf. "Jumpin' Judy"
• cf. "Mississippi Jail House Groan" (floating lyrics)

Recordings

• Jesse Bradley, "Midnight Special" (AFS 218 A1, 1934)
• Dillard Chandler, "Gastony Song" (on Chandler01)
• Dave Cutrell (known as "Pistol Pete") with McGinty's Oklahoma Cowboy Band, "Pistol Pete's Midnight Special" (OKeh 45057, 1926); McGinty's Oklahoma Cowboy Band (now led by Otto Gray), "The Midnight Special" (Vocalion 5337; c. 1929)
• Folkmasters, "The Midnight Special" (on Fmst01)
• Frank Jordan & Group, "Midnight Special" (AFS 619 A1, 1936)
• Leadbelly & the Golden Gate Quartet, "The Midnight Special" (Victor 27266, 1941; rec. 1940)
• Pete Seeger, "The Midnight Special" (on PeteSeeger18) (on PeteSeeger26) (on PeteSeeger43)
• Pete Seeger & Big Bill Broonzy, "The Midnight Special" (on BroonzySeeger1) (on BroonzySeeger2)
• [Wilmer] Watts & [Frank] Wilson, "Walk Right In Belmont" (Paramount 3019, 1927; on TimesAint04)
• Ernest Williams, "Midnight Special" (AFS CYL-11-5, 1933)

References

1. Cohen-LSRail, pp. 478-484, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
2. Randolph 292, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
3. Sandburg, pp. 26-27, "The Midnight Special"; 217, "Midnight Special" (2 texts, 1 tune)
4. Lomax-FSUSA 91, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
5. Lomax-ABFS, pp. 71-75, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
6. Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 908-909, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
7. Arnett, p. 142-143, "Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
8. PSeeger-AFB, p. 55, "Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
9. Silber-FSWB, p. 71, "Midnight Special" (1 text)
10. DT, MDNTSPCL
11. Roud #6364
12. BI, R292