“Troubled In My Mind”
Description
"I'm troubled (x3) in my mind; If (trouble doesn't kill me, I'll live a long long time.") Remainder is mostly floating verses: "My cheeks were as red as the red blooming rose." "I'll build me a cabin on the mountain so high." "I'm sad and I'm lonely."
Notes
Other than the tune, and perhaps the first verse, the Lomax text seems to be composed entirely of floating verses from songs such as "The Wagoner's Lad (On Top of Old Smokey)" and "The Cuckoo." But it has so many floating lyrics that it can hardly be associated with any particular song. (Plus Paul Stamler tells me it's quite similar to Rufus Crisp's version.) And the Brown texts, of impeccable ancestry, is also composed mostly of floating material. - RBW
Cross references
- cf. "I'm Sad and I'm Lonely" (floating verses)
- cf. "Going Across the Sea" (floating verses)
- cf. "I Wish That Girl Was Mine" (theme, floating lyrics)
Recordings
- Blue Sky Boys, "I'm Troubled, I'm Troubled" (Bluebird B-6538, 1936)
- Rufus Crisp, "Trouble on my Mind" (on Crisp01)
- Doc Watson & Arnold Watson, "I'm Troubled, I'm Troubled" (on Watson01)
References
- Lomax-FSNA 102, "I'm Troubled" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Greenway-AFP, pp. 98-99, "I'm Troubled In Mind"
- BrownIII 290, "Troubled in Mind" (2 texts); also 250, "The Wagoner's Lad" (3 texts plus 3 fragments; the texts "A"-"C" are "The Wagoner's Lad," and "D" has an associated verse, but "E" and "F" are fragments of a love song, perhaps "Farewell, Charming Nancy" or "Omie Wise," both of which have similar lyrics; "D" also shares this single verse, and "E" adds a "Troubled in Mind" chorus); also 443, "I Had a Banjo Made of Gold," a fragment of this song or something related)
- Roud #12091
- BI, LoF102