Patients, the doctors and nursemaids here at the asylum know you are well-versed in Johnny Cash’s classic Sun Records penitentiary ballad, “Folsom Prison Blues,” but today we wanted to usher in Slim Harpo’s hip shakin’ treatment of the classic cut.Recorded in 1969, a year prior to The Man in Black’s revival at Folsom Prison, Slim’s version handles Cash’s take on the big house with flawless command. You don’t get the infectious boom-chick-a-boom from the Cash treatment, but this Bob Wilson-produced reworking delivers a dose of rousing stovepipe soul; a rave-up, complete with the Bayou state bluesman’s sly nasal drawl, creeping slide assault and horny squalls of Slim’s trademark swamp groove. Sadly, this Excello single was pulled from Harpo’s final recording session – he died of a massive heart attack less than a year later.
“Folsom Prison Blues”
Written by: John R. Cash
I hear the train a comin'
rollin' 'round the bend,
ain't seen the sunshine,
Since, I don't know when,
I'm stuck in Folsom Prison,
And time keeps draggin' on,
And the train keeps a-rollin',
On down to San Antone.
When I was a baby,
My Mama told me, "Son,
Always be a good boy,
Don't ever play with guns,"
But I shot a man in Reno,
Just to watch him die,
When I hear that train comin’,
I hang my head and cry.
I bet there's rich folks eatin',
In that fancy dining car,
They're probably drinkin' whiskey,
And smokin' big cigars,
But I know I had it comin',
I know I can't be free,
But those people keep a-movin',
And that's what tortures me.
Well, if they freed me from this prison,
If that railroad train was mine,
I'd move out over a little,
Farther down the line,
Far from Folsom Prison,
That's where I want to stay,
And I'd let that lonesome whistle,
Blow my Blues away.
Take Up Thy Rock 'N Roll Stethoscope and Walk,
Enjoy this single cc of Slim
MP3: Slim Harpo – “Folsom Prison Blues”
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