Acoustic Guitar: “Louis Collins” – a little Mississippi John Hurt
My first introduction to country blues was through the work of Mississippi John Hurt. Some day, I would like to visit his memorial in Avalon, Mississippi (where he was raised and learned to play guitar at age 9).
In the early 1920′s, John Hurt recorded a record with OKeh Records. The producer gave him the name “Mississippi” as a marketing gimmick. The record did not do well and OKeh went out of business. The story of his rediscovery in 1963 is amazing! At the height of the folk craze, Tom Hoskins (a folk musicologist) collected early recordings and came across Mississippi John Hurt’s record. One of the songs titled “Avalon, my home town” led Tom to search for him there. He was rediscovered and invited to the Newport Folk Festival in 1963. He had 3 great years as a performer before his death in 1966.
My past guitar teacher (Ken Perlman) relayed most of this story as well as taught me several Mississippi John Hurt tunes. “Louis Collins” is a piece I play all the time. I love the melody and bass line. The lyrics, printed below, are a little sad though!
[audio:http://eclecticguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/louiscollins.mp3]
Louis Collins
Mrs. Collins weeped, Mrs. Collins moaned,
to see her son Louis leavin’ home
The angels laid him away
The angels laid him away,
they laid him six feet under the clay
The angels laid him away
Mrs. Collins weeped, Mrs. Collins moaned,
to see her son Louis leavin’ home
The angels laid him away
Oh, Bob shot once and Louis shot too,
shot poor Collins, shot him through and through
The angels laid him away
Oh, kind friends, oh, ain’t it hard?,
to see poor Louis in a new graveyard
The angels laid him away
The angels laid him away,
they laid him six feet under the clay
The angels laid him away
Oh, when they heard that Louis was dead
all the people they dressed in red
The angels laid him away
The angels laid him away,
they laid him six feet under the clay
The angels laid him away
Mrs. Collins weeped, Mrs. Collins moaned,
to see her son Louis leavin’ home
The angels laid him away
The angels laid him away,
they laid him six feet under the clay
The angels laid him away