Make Me a Pallet on the Floor
| "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Published | 1911 |
| Form | Folk song, Blues |
| Writer | Traditional |
| Language | English |
"Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (also recorded as "Make Me a Pallet on your Floor", "Make Me a Pallet" and "Pallet on the Floor") is a blues/jazz/folk song now considered as a standard. The song's origins are somewhat nebulous and can be traced back to the 19th century. Various versions of the lyrics were first published in 1911 in an academic journal of ethnomusicology. Some sources attribute the modern score to W. C. Handy who later modified into a song known as "Atlanta Blues".[1]
An early recording of the song was made by Mississippi John Hurt (as "Ain't No Tellin'").
List of cover versions
Make Me a Pallet on the Floor has been recorded or performed by a number of artists, mostly blues, jazz, folk and country American musicians. The following is an incomplete and roughly chronological list of interpretations.
- Mississippi John Hurt (1928)[2]
- Memphis Jug Band (1920s)
- Big Bill Broonzy (1930s)
- Jelly Roll Morton (1930s)
- Willie Brown
- Bunk Johnson
- Sidney Bechet
- Louis Armstrong and His All Stars on the 1954 album Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy
- Ottilie Patterson
- Brownie McGhee
- Kid Ory on the 1956 album Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band 1956
- The Weavers on Traveling On With the Weavers in 1958 (Vanguard VRS-9043)
- The Journeymen on their debut album (about 1960)
- Odetta and the Blues on her 1962 album Odetta and the Blues
- Bob Dylan on the Billy Faier Show (1962)
- Gus Cannon (1963)
- Sandy Denny on the 1967 album Sandy and Johnny
- Jo Ann Kelly
- Tom Rush on his 1963 album "Blues Songs and Ballads"
- Doc Watson on the 1975 album Memories
- David Bromberg (1976)
- Mike Wilhelm (1976)
- Rahsaan Roland Kirk on the 1977 album Boogie-Woogie String Along for Real
- Sam Chatmon (1978)
- Lucinda Williams on her 1979 album Ramblin'
- Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan on the 1980 album Trouble in Mind
- Sharon, Lois & Bram on the 1980 album Singing 'n' Swinging
- Jim Post on the 1987 album Jim Post & Friends
- Mike Seeger on the 1996 album Way Down In North Carolina
- Ursula George on the 1999 album Blue Basics
- Sue Foley (2000)
- Gillian Welch on her 2003 album Soul Journey
- Entrance on the 2004 album Wandering Stranger
- Tangleweed on the 2005 album Just a Spoonful
- Irma Thomas (2006)
- Eddie Adcock
- The Wood Brothers on the 2008 album Loaded
- North Mississippi Allstars - Perform the song in their live repertoire
- Emma Beaton & Celtic Chaos on 2008 Pretty Fair Maid
- Josh Ritter on the 2012 album "Bringing in the Darlings"
- Josh Garrels on the 2013 DVD and soundtrack to "The Sea in Between"
- Midland Uprising on 2010's "We Ain't No Bullet Train" and 2015's "Awake for Days"
- The Stray Birds on 2014's "Best Medicine"
References
- ↑ Robertson, David (2009). W.C. Handy: the life and times of the man who made the blues. Random House of Canada. pp. 98–99. ISBN 978-0-307-26609-5.
- ↑ Dixon, Robert M.W.; Goodrich, John M.W.; Rye, Howard W. (1997). Blues & Gospel Records 1890–1943 (4th ed.). Clarendon Press. p. 419. ISBN 0-19-816239-1.