Although Lead Belly most commonly played the twelve-string, he could also play the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and accordion. In some of his recordings, such as in one of his versions of the folk ballad "John Hardy", he performs on the accordion instead of the guitar. In other recordings he just sings while clapping his hands or stomping his foot.
The topics of Lead Belly's music covered a wide range of subjects, including gospel songs; blues songs about women, liquor, prison life, and racism; and folk songs about cowboys, prison, work, sailors, cattle herding, and dancing. He also wrote songs concerning the newsmakers of the day, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Jean Harlow, the Scottsboro Boys, and Howard Hughes.
In 2008, Lead Belly was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Though many of his posthumous releases list him as "Leadbelly," he himself spelled it "Lead Belly." This is also the usage on most of his original records, tombstone, as well as of the Lead Belly Foundation.
Leadbelly was born in Mooringsport, Louisiana, and spent time in and out of prison most of his life. In 1933, serving a sentence for attempted murder, musicologists John and Alan Lomax "discovered" him on a field recording tour sponsored by the Library of Congress. That summer, he was pardoned by the governor of Lousiana after recording his plea for pardon on a record, together with "Good Night Irene". Leadbelly went on to make hundreds of recordings of all sorts of different songs: country, blues, spirituals, reels, and work chants.
His songs have been covered by Mark Lanegan, The Animals, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Nirvana, Lonnie Donegan, Johnny Cash, Gene Autry, The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, British Sea Power, Ram Jam, Ry Cooder, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Half Man Half Biscuit, Tom Waits, Shocking Blue, The White Stripes, Long John Baldry.
Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Biography: Lead Belly Biography
BIO Biography: Lead Belly Biography
Lead Belly Foundation: Lead Belly Foundation.org
Lead Belly is also on Last.fm as Lead Belly
Duncan and Brady
Leadbelly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Up comes Brady in a 'lectric car
Got a mean look all 'round his eye
Gonna shoot somebody jus' to see them die
Duncan, Duncan was tending the bar
In walked Brady with a shining star
And Brady says, "Duncan you are under arrest"
And Duncan shot a hole in Brady's breast
Said it would shoot half a mile
Duncan had a .44
That what laid Mr. Brady so low
Brady fell down on the barroom floor,
"Please Mr. Duncan don' shoot me no more"
Women all cryin', ain't it a shame,
Shot King Brady, goin' shoot him again
"Brady, Brady, Brady, you know you done wrong
Walkin' in the room when the game was goin' on
Knockin' down windows, breakin' down the door
Now you lyin' dead on the grocery [barroom] floor
Women all heard that Brady was dead,
Goes back home and they dresses in red
Come a sniffin' and a sighin' down the street,
In their big mother hubbards and their stockin' feet
'Cause he been on the job too long
Leadbelly's "Duncan and Brady" tells the story of two men, Duncan and Brady, who ultimately have a violent encounter that ends in Brady's death. The song begins with a reference to the nursery rhyme, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," which seems to be an ironic contrast to the violent imagery that follows. Brady drives up to the bar in an electric car, and it's clear from his demeanor that he's up to no good. He's carrying a gun and is looking for trouble. Duncan, who is tending the bar, is confronted by Brady and is ultimately forced to defend himself. A shootout ensues with Duncan firing his .44 pistol and Brady firing his .45. In the end, Brady is fatally shot, and the women in the bar are left to mourn his passing.
The song is an example of the traditional "murder ballad," a kind of folk song that tells the tale of a violent crime. However, "Duncan and Brady" is more than just a simple story of violence. It's a meditation on the consequences of our actions and the price we pay for doing wrong. Brady is presented as a lawless, violent man who brings his own demise upon himself. Duncan, meanwhile, is portrayed as a reluctant hero. He's simply doing his job in the bar when he's confronted with danger, but he ultimately rises to the occasion and defends himself.
Line by Line Meaning
Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, little star
The night sky looks lovely and peaceful
Up comes Brady in a 'lectric car
Brady arrives in town in his fancy electric car
Got a mean look all 'round his eye
Brady looks angry and dangerous
Gonna shoot somebody jus' to see them die
Brady is willing to kill someone just for the sense of power it gives him
Duncan, Duncan was tending the bar
Duncan was working behind the bar
In walked Brady with a shining star
Brady enters with his shiny gun
And Brady says, "Duncan you are under arrest"
Brady accuses Duncan of doing something illegal
And Duncan shot a hole in Brady's breast
Duncan shot Brady in self-defense
Brady, Brady carried a .45,
Brady had a powerful gun
Said it would shoot half a mile
Brady boasted about his gun's great range
Duncan had a .44
Duncan had a slightly less powerful gun
That what laid Mr. Brady so low
Duncan's bullet was able to take down Brady despite having a weaker gun
Brady fell down on the barroom floor,
Brady collapsed onto the floor
"Please Mr. Duncan don' shoot me no more"
Brady pleaded with Duncan to stop shooting him
Women all cryin', ain't it a shame,
The women in the bar are upset by the violence
Shot King Brady, goin' shoot him again
Some people feel that Brady deserved to be shot
"Brady, Brady, Brady, you know you done wrong
Some people blame Brady for his own death
Walkin' in the room when the game was goin' on
Brady interrupted the game at the bar with his aggressive behavior
Knockin' down windows, breakin' down the door
Brady caused destruction in the bar
Now you lyin' dead on the grocery [barroom] floor
Brady's actions led to his own death
Women all heard that Brady was dead,
The women in town heard that Brady had been killed
Goes back home and they dresses in red
The women wear red as a symbol of mourning
Come a sniffin' and a sighin' down the street,
The women express their grief audibly as they walk around town
In their big mother hubbards and their stockin' feet
The women are dressed in plain clothing
'Cause he been on the job too long
Brady's violent behavior may have been due to being on the job (i.e. law enforcement) for too long
Contributed by Caden K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@palhacinho1985
Incrível performance
@actionbraxton
Leadbelly was a powerful figure. His life story is so crazy.
@debbyledbetter4434
Doesn't get any better, thanks for this!
@Auntkekebaby
This right here...SMOKIN!!! That Leadbelly is ROCKIN!!!!!
@cryinforthedyin
I learned this song from B.J. Campbell in 1968..fall it was..up North Palo Alto way..Peace Tony
@kenokiehne6676
"Gonna shoot somebody just to watch em die"
"Well I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die"
@NickleJ
Woah! This song is about Johnny Cash!
@scofieldgangster
@Guajiro as far as I understood from the internet, this song was recoreded in 1947 while Johnny Cash recorded his song in 1955. might be wrong tho, I'm not the expert.
@darrelpowers4384
The bluesmen of history were so great and original, if there wasnt slavery do you think we would still have the blues? thats messed up, because i love the blues, but slavery was wrong the world is FU#$%%$^$^%&
@keeran697
If there wasn't slavery the world as we know it wouldn't exist, for the better.