Parchman Farm (song)

Early in his recording career in 1937, Bukka White was arrested and convicted for a shooting incident and was sentenced to Parchman Farm prison in rural Sunflower County, Mississippi. The institution was operated as a hard-time prison labor work farm, which was notorious for its harsh conditions and use of the trusty system. His recording of "Shake 'Em On Down" became a hit while he was there and as a result, White became somewhat of a celebrity at the prison. While incarcerated, he recorded two songs for John Lomax, who was conducting field recordings for the Archive of Folk Culture at the U.S. Library of Congress. (the circumstances of his early release have been questioned), he resumed his recording career with producer Lester Melrose in Chicago. ==Lyrics and style==

In March 1940, White arrived at the recording studio prepared to record with several songs. When Melrose saw that they were mostly reworkings of current popular blues numbers, he encouraged White to take a couple of days and prepare some new material. White later recalled, "I got down to it" and returned on March 7 with twelve new songs. "Parchman Farm Blues" is included on numerous Bukka White and various artists compilations. ==Mose Allison version==

In 1957, Mose Allison recorded "Parchman Farm" for his album Local Color. Although it is inspired by White's song, Allison uses a different arrangement and some new lyrics. In pondering his detention in the first verse, the singer claims "I ain't never done no man no harm"; however, by the last he admits "all I did was shoot my wife". The song is performed by a trio with Allison on vocal and piano, backed by Addison Farmer on bass and Nick Stabulas on drums. It is an uptempo song, which gains even greater momentum through modulation in the second verse. "Parchman Farm" is one of Allison's best-known songs. In 1964, he re-recorded it with some new lyrics as "New Parchman" for The Word from Mose album. Heightening the irony, the first verse includes "Sittin' over here on Parchman Farm, the place is loaded with rustic charm". "Parchman Farm" since has been recorded by a variety of artists. == References ==