Man of Constant Sorrow

The original song was first published in 1913 and named "Farewell Song" in Dick Burnett's six-song songbook titled Songs Sung by R. D. Burnett—The Blind Man—Monticello, Kentucky. There is some uncertainty as to whether Dick Burnett was the original writer; in an interview he gave towards the end of his life, he was asked about the song and said: Whether or not Burnett was the original writer, his influence on the song can be dated to as early as 1913. The lyric from the second verse—'Oh, six long year I've been blind, friends'— references the year he was blinded in 1907. Burnett may have tailored an already existing song to fit his blindness, and some claim that he derived it from "The White Rose" and "Down in the Tennessee Valley" circa 1907. The song has some similarities to the hymn "Poor Pilgrim," also known as "I Am a Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow," which George Pullen Jackson believes to have been derived from an English folk song titled, "The Green Mossy Banks of the Lea". Emry Arthur, a friend of Burnett's, released a recording of the song in 1928 who also claimed to have written it. Another was published in The Knickerbocker in 1861 – "I AM a man of constant sorrow / I have seen trubble in my days / I'll Bid farewell to S----r county / the place Whare I Was partly Raised." An older version of the song described by Almeda Riddle dating to around 1850, contain lyrics that differ substantially after the first line. On October 13, 2009, on the Diane Rehm Show, Ralph Stanley of the Stanley Brothers, whose autobiography is titled Man of Constant Sorrow, discussed the song, its origin, and his effort to revive it: ==Variations==

Many later singers have included and changed the lyrics to the song. Most versions include lyrics depicting the singer riding a train fleeing trouble, regretting not seeing his old love, and contemplating his future death, with the promise that he will meet his friends or lover again on the beautiful or golden shore. The reference to blindness in the second verse of Burnett's lyrics, "six long year I've been blind," was changed to "six long years I've been in trouble," which was also found in later versions of the song. The change of gender is also found in Joan Baez's "Girl of Constant Sorrow" as well as in Judy Collins's title song from her album A Maid of Constant Sorrow. He omitted a verse from the Stanleys Brothers' version and significantly rearranged and rewrote other verses. Dylan also added personal elements, changing friends to mother in the verse, 'Your mother says that I'm a stranger' which makes reference to the mother of his then-girlfriend Suze Rotolo. In Dylan's version, Kentucky was also changed to Colorado. It is common to change the state of origin in this song, for example as seen in Baez and Collins versions where Kentucky is changed to California. Aside from the lyrics, the melody also differs between various versions of the song. ==Recordings and cover versions==

Burnett recorded the song in 1927 with Columbia Records; this version was unreleased and the master recording was destroyed. Arthur sang it while playing his guitar accompanied by banjoist Dock Boggs. Due to the success of the record, the singer recorded it again in 1931. As the first released recording of the song, its melody and lyrics formed the basis for subsequent versions and variations. Stanley Brothers Versions On November 3, 1950, the Stanley Brothers recorded their version of the song with Columbia Records at the Castle Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. The Stanleys learned the song from their father Lee Stanley who had turned the song into a hymn which was sung a cappella in the Primitive Baptist tradition. The arrangement of the song in the recording, however, was their own and the song was performed in a faster tempo. Because neither Burnett nor Arthur copyrighted the song, Carter Stanley was able to copyright the song as his own work in 1951. This version (King 45-5269) was released together with "How Mountain Girls Can Love" as a single in October 1959. In July 1959, the Stanley Brothers performed the song at the Newport Folk Festival, gaining the attention of other folk singers. It led to a number of recordings of the song in the 1960s, most notably by Joan Baez (1960), Bob Dylan (1961), Judy Collins (1961), and Peter, Paul and Mary (1962). Bob Dylan Versions In November 1961 Bob Dylan recorded the song titled "Man of Constant Sorrow" and it was included as a track on his 1962 eponymous debut album. Dylan's version is a rewrite of the versions sung by Joan Baez, New Lost City Ramblers (Mike Seeger's band), among others in the early 1960s. He also performed the song during his first national US television appearance in the spring of 1963. Dylan's version of the song was used by other singers and bands of the 1960s and 70s, such as Rod Stewart and Ginger Baker's Air Force. Dylan performed a different version of the song with adapted lyrics of the Stanley Brothers' lyrics during his 1988 Never Ending Tour. Ginger Baker's Air Force Version The song was recorded in 1970 by Ginger Baker's Air Force and sung by Air Force guitarist and vocalist (and former Moody Blues, future Wings member) Denny Laine. The single was studio recorded, but a live version, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, was included in their eponymous 1970 debut album. The band used a melody similar to Dylan's, and preserved most of Dylan's lyrics other than substituting Birmingham for Colorado. The arrangement differed significantly, with the use of violin, electric guitar, and saxophones, although it stayed mainly in the major scales of A, D and E. It was the band's only chart single. Charts Soggy Bottom Boys Version A notable cover, titled "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow," was recorded by the fictional folk/bluegrass group The Soggy Bottom Boys in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?. The initial plan was for the song to be sung by the film's lead actor, George Clooney. However, it was found that his recording was not up to the required standard. Burnett later said that he had only two or three weeks to work with Clooney, which was not enough time to prepare Clooney for the recording of a credible hit country record. It peaked at No. 35 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Personnel • Banjo – Ron Block • Bass – Barry Bales • Dobro – Jerry Douglas • Fiddle – Stuart Duncan • Guitar – Chris Sharp • Harmony vocals – Harley Allen, Pat Enright • Lead vocals, guitar – Dan Tyminski • Mandolin – Mike Compton • Arranged by – Carter Stanley Source Charts Other versions of the song • 1920s – American Delta blues artist Delta Blind Billy in his song "Hidden Man Blues" had the line 'Man of sorrow all my days / Left the home where I been raised.' • 1937 – Alan Lomax recorded Sarah Ogan Gunning's performance of her version, "I Am a Girl of Constant Sorrow", for the Library of Congress's Archive of American Folk Song. Her version was also covered by other singers such as Peggy Seeger (her melody however is more similar to Arthur's version), Tossi Aaron, and Barbara Dane. She recorded the song again at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, and also released a recording in her album, Girl of Constant Sorrow, in 1965. • 1960 – A version of the song, "Girl of Constant Sorrow", was recorded by Joan Baez in the summer of 1960. Baez has also recorded "Man of Constant Sorrow" with no change in gender. • 1961 – Judy Collins's 1961 debut album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, took its name from a variant of the song which was included on the album. • 1961 – Roscoe Holcomb recorded a version. Mike Seeger recorded three versions of the song. • 1966 – It was recorded by Waylon Jennings on his 1966 major-label debut Folk-Country. • 1969 – Rod Stewart covered the song in his debut solo album. It was based on Dylan's version but with his own arrangement. • Cambodian singer Pan Ron recorded a Khmer version where local instruments such as the three-stringed tro replaced the violins of Stanley Brothers' recording to created distinctive Cambodian version. • 1972 – An a cappella version appears on The Dillards' 1972 LP Roots and Branches. This version had only two verses and replaced Kentucky with Missouri. • 1972 – Tia Blake recorded a version on her 1972 album Folk Songs and Ballads. She was only nineteen years old at the time of recording. • 1993 – "Man of Constant Sorrow" was one of many songs recorded by Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, and Tony Rice one weekend in February 1993. Jerry's taped copy of the session was later stolen by his pizza delivery man, eventually became an underground classic, and finally edited and released in 2000 as The Pizza Tapes. • 2003 - Skeewiff "Man of Constant Sorrow" was ranked 96 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2003, released on Volume 11 disk 1 track 20. • 2012 - Charm City Devils released "Man Of Constant Sorrow" which charted on various Billboard rock charts - No. 25 on Mainstream Rock Songs No. 22 on Active Rock, and No. 48 on Hot Rock Songs. • 2015 – Dwight Yoakam covered the song in his album Second Hand Heart. Yoakam's rendition has been described as having a 'rockabilly' sound. • 2015 – Blitzen Trapper covered the song exclusively for the black comedy–crime drama television series Fargo, which played over the credits of the "Rhinoceros" episode of the second season. • Sawyer Fredericks covered the song during his blind audition in Season 8 of The Voice in 2015. • 2018 – Home Free, covered the song in a country / a capella style. It was released also on their album Timeless. • 2021 - In the Channel 4 sitcom We Are Lady Parts, the main character, Amina, sings a variation of the song with the lyrics changed to fit her situation. ==Parodies==

In 2002, Cledus T. Judd recorded a parody titled "Man of Constant Borrow" with Diamond Rio on his album Cledus Envy. ==References==