Worked all the summer, and all the fall,
Just trying to find my little all in all.
But now she's gone, I don't worry,
I'm sitting on top of the world.
Bo Carter (Armenter Chatmon) was said to have played on the steps of this storefront (plantation office?) in Nitta Yuma. He is supposedly buried in a nearby cemetery, but we could not find it . . . not that it really mattered, because I don't think he has a headstone. For better or worse, Bo Carter is now mostly remembered for his double-entendre songs.
Was in the spring, one summer day,
Just when she left me, she's gone to stay.
But now she's gone, I don't worry,
I'm sitting on top of the world.
Was in the spring, one summer day,
Just when she left me, she's gone to stay.
But now she's gone, I don't worry,
I'm sitting on top of the world.
The historical marker for Sam Chatmon is located in the "Blue Front" area of Hollandale, which was once "famed for blues, liquor, and gambling."
Don't you come here runnin', holdin' up your hand,
Can't get me a woman, quick as you get a man.
But now she's gone, I don't worry,
I'm sitting on top of the world.
Apparently Bonnie Raitt and John Fogerty contributed to this memorial headstone for Sam Chatmon.
It have been days, I didn't know your name,
Why should I worry and pray in vain.
But now she's gone, I don't worry,
I'm sitting on top of the world.
Why should I worry and pray in vain.
But now she's gone, I don't worry,
I'm sitting on top of the world.
In his later years, during the 1960's and 70's, Chatmon was "re-discovered" and was able to record again and play the festivals. Take a gander at this short interview with Chatmon . . . pretty cool stuff.
Went to the station, down in the yard,
Gonna get me a freight train, work done got hard.
But now she's gone, I don't worry,
I'm sitting on top of the world.
"Sitting On Top Of The
The lonesome days, they have gone by,
Why should you beg me and say goodbye.
But now she's gone, I don't worry,
I'm sitting on top of the world.
Why should you beg me and say goodbye.
But now she's gone, I don't worry,
I'm sitting on top of the world.
5 comments:
Mr. Fogerty strikes again! Didn't he also help pay for the Diddley Bow guys headstone also. Big ups to him. Also, perhaps I fell off the veg wagon on the trip because 'Pig Meat is What I Crave' to quote Mr Carter.
Yes, Mr. Fogerty did help pay for Lonnie Pitchford's gravestone. AND he paid for Charley Patton's gravestone! AND Bonnie Raitt helped with Tommy Johnson's gravestone. AND both of them helped with the gravestones for Memphis Minnie and James "Son" Thomas. So, Fogerty and Raitt deserve big huzzahs for thier efforts.
Also, I imagine Ms. Gorr is glad you didn't take any other Bo Carter songs to heart.
Call me an ignoramus, but this is the first I've heard that Charlie Patton was Bo Carter and Sam Chatmon's brother. There's a book in there somewhere. I'd love to have heard their dad play.
Oh, well I've heard talk . . .
From a website on Mississippi musicians:
Sam played with Charley Patton, whom he sometimes called his half brother. Others have stated that the two were cousins, but Anna Patton, Charley's mother, and surviving Patton relatives have disputed this relationship. It is known that Charley Patton's father was a "man of God" who believed music to be evil, so Charley often slipped out of his own house to play with the Chatmon family.
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