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Almeda Riddle, vocal - I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow

from Survey of Traditional Music, Vol. 3: Songs of Melancholy and Sorrow by Field Recorders' Collective

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For an in-depth discussion of this track, see the album notes: tinyurl[dot]com/V3NATnotes.

lyrics

I am a man of constant sorrow,
And many troubles I've gone through,
But the thing that bows my heart in sorrow
I will shortly tell to you.

I have some friends who have proved faithful
But one to me's been most unkind.
I'll bow my head like an humble Christian
And leave my troubles all behind.

I will bow my head like an humble Christian
To California I'll go on.
When I am traveling through the mountains
I'll cast a wishful look behind.

Yes, when I'm traveling over the Rockies
I'll cast a longing look behind.
I will pray for the friends who have been faithful
And forgive the one who's been unkind.

So fare you well my loving comrade
The days I’ve spent with you've been good.
I'll think of you oft by the campfires
While I am traveling my lonely road.

When I am traveling down the mountain,
I'll think of you whom I've left behind,
For though some friends have proved unfaithful,
To me you ever have been kind.

(repeat verse 3)

credits

from Survey of Traditional Music, Vol. 3: Songs of Melancholy and Sorrow, released August 7, 2023
Recorded by Mark Wilson, Bill Nowlin, Ken Irwin and Marion Leighton, Fayville, MA, 5/72.

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Field Recorders' Collective

The Field Recorders’ Collective is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and distribution of noncommercial recordings of traditional American music, material that is unavailable to the general public.

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