Man of Constant Sorrow

"I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow"

Excerpt of a recording of "I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow" by Soggy Bottom Boys

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The song was first published in 1913 with the title "Farewell Song" in a six-song songbook by Dick Burnett, titled Songs Sung by R. D. Burnett—The Blind Man—Monticello, Kentucky.^[2] There exists some uncertainty as to whether Dick Burnett is the original writer. In an interview he gave toward the end of his life, he was asked about the song:

Charles Wolfe: "What about this "Farewell Song" – 'I am a man of constant sorrow' – did you write it?" Richard Burnett: "No, I think I got the ballad from somebody – I dunno. It may be my song ..."^[3]

Whether or not Burnett was the original writer, his work on the song can be dated to about 1913. The lyrics from the second verse—'Oh, six long year I've been blind, friends'—would hold true with the year he was blinded, 1907. Burnett may have tailored an already existing song to fit his blindness, and some claimed that he derived it from "The White Rose" and "Down in the Tennessee Valley" circa 1907.

Emry Arthur, a friend of Burnett's, released a recording of the song in 1928, and also claimed to have written it.^[5] Arthur titled his recording "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow", the name that the song came to be more popularly known. The lyrics of Burnett and Arthur are very similar with minor variations. Although Burnett's version was recorded earlier in 1927, Columbia Records failed to release Burnett's recording;^[2] Arthur's single was thus the earliest recording of the song to be released, and the tune and lyrics of Arthur's version became the source from which most later versions were ultimately derived.^[5]

Several similar songs were found in Kentucky and Virginia in the early 20th century. English folk-song collector Cecil Sharp collected four versions of the song in 1917–1918 as "In Old Virginny", which were published in 1932 in English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians.^[2] The lyrics were different in details from Burnett's, but similar in tone. In a version from 1918 by Mrs Frances Richards, who probably learned it from her father, the first verse is nearly identical to Burnett and Arthur's lyrics, with minor changes like Virginia substituting for Kentucky.^[4][8] The song is thought to be related to several songs such as "East Virginia Blues".^[8] Norman Lee Vass of Virginia claimed his brother Mat wrote the song in the 1890s, and the Virginia versions of the song show some relationship to Vass's version, though his melody and most of his verses are unique. This variant was thought to be influenced by "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies"/"The Little Sparrow".^[4][5]

An older version described by Almeda Riddle was dated to around 1850, but with texts that differ substantially after the first line.^[5] John Garst traced elements of the song back to the hymns of the early 1800s, suggesting similarity in its tune to "Tender-Hearted Christians" and "Judgment Hymn", and similarity in its lyrics to "Christ Suffering", which included the lines "He was a man of constant sorrow / He went a mourner all his days."^[9]

On October 13, 2009, on the

Many later singers have put new and varied lyrics to the song. Most versions have 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.[4] Most variants start with similar lines in the first verse as the 1913 Burnett's version, some with variations such as gender and home state, along with some other minor changes:^[12]

I am a man of constant sorrow,
I've seen trouble all of my days;
I'll bid farewell to old Kentucky,
The place where I was born and raised.

The 1928 recording by Emry Arthur is largely consistent with Burnett's lyrics, with only minor differences.^[12] The reference to blindness in the second verse of Burnett's lyrics, "six long year I've been blind", had been changed to "six long years I've been in trouble", a change also found in other later versions that contain the verse.^[13]

In around 1936, Sarah Ogan Gunning rewrote the traditional "Man" into a more personal "Girl". Gunning remembered the melody from a 78-rpm hillbilly record (Emry Arthur, 1928) she had heard some years before in the mountains, but the lyrics she wrote were considerably different from the original after the first verse.^[12][14] The change of gender is also found in Joan Baez's "Girl of Constant Sorrow" and another variant of the song similar to Baez's, Judy Collins's title song from her album A Maid of Constant Sorrow.^[15]

In 1950, the Stanley Brothers recorded a version of the song they had learned from their father.^[13][15] The Stanley Brothers' version contains some modifications to the lyrics, with an entire verse of Burnett's version removed, the last line is also different, and 'parents' of the second verse have turned into 'friends'.^[12] The performances of the song by the Stanley Brothers and Mike Seeger contributed to the song's popularity in the urban folksong circles during the American folk music revival of the 50s and 60s.^[14]

Bob Dylan recorded his version in 1961, which is a rewrite based on versions performed by other folk singers such as Joan Baez and Mike Seeger.^[16][17] A verse from the Stanleys' version was removed, and other verses were significantly rearranged and rewritten. Dylan also added personal elements, changing 'friends' to 'mother' in the line 'Your mother says that I'm a stranger' in reference to his then-girlfriend Suze Rotolo's mother.^[18] In Dylan's version, Kentucky was changed to Colorado;^[13] this change of the state of origin is common,^[4] for example, Kentucky is changed to California in "Girl of Constant Sorrow" by Joan Baez and "Maid of Constant Sorrow" by Judy Collins.

Aside from the lyrics, significant variations also exist in the melody of the song in many of these versions.^[15]

Recordings and cover versions

Burnett recorded the song in 1927 with Columbia; this version was unreleased and the master recording destroyed.^[2] The first commercially released record was by Emry Arthur, on January 18, 1928. He sang it while playing his guitar and accompanied by banjoist Dock Boggs.^[19] The record was released by Vocalion Records (Vo 5208) and sold well,^[20] and he recorded it again in 1931.^[21] As the first released recording of the song, its melody and lyrics formed the basis for subsequent versions and variations.^[5] Although a few singers had also recorded the song, it faded to relative obscurity until The Stanley Brothers recorded their version in 1950 and helped popularize the song in the 1960s.

The use of the song in the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? led to its renewed popularity in the 21st century. The song has since been covered by many singers, from the Norwegian girl-group