“The Wrong Road”

Description

Singer takes the "wrong road"; he gets drunk with a man, they quarrel; the singer shoots him. He warns hearers; he is "hanging from a scaffold/Between the earth and sky." He is going home, telling us "You might forget the singer/But don't forget the song"

Long description

Singer takes the "wrong road" in Alabama; he gets drunk with a man, they quarrel, and the singer shoots him. He warns listeners not to drink or keep bad company, for now he is "hanging from a scaffold/Between the earth and sky." He is going home to glory, having repented, but tells us "You might forget the singer/But don't forget the song"

Recordings

• Hall Brothers [Ron & Jay Hugh], "The Wrong Road" (Bluebird 7728, 1938; on RoughWays2)