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
Take This Hammer
Leadbelly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take this hammer, carry it to the captain
Take this hammer, carry it to the captain
Tell him I'm gone
Tell him I'm gone
If he asks you was I runnin'
If he asks you was I runnin'
Tell him I was flyin'
Tell him I was flyin'
If he asks you was I laughin'
If he asks you was I laughin'
If he asks you was I laughin'
Tell him I was cryin'
Tell him I was cryin'
They want to feed me cornbread and molasses
They want to feed me cornbread and molasses
They want to feed me cornbread and molasses
But I got my pride
Well, I got my pride
Leadbelly's song "Take This Hammer" is a powerful song with rich historical context. It tells the story of a man who is being taken captive, and he gives instructions to his fellow enslaved people on what to say to the captain about his whereabouts. The repeated line "take this hammer, carry it to the captain" indicates that the singer does not believe in passive resistance, and is willing to take matters into his own hands. The hammer is a symbol of resistance and rebellion, and he instructs his fellow enslaved people to give it to the captain as a message that they will fight back against their oppressors.
The song goes on to explain that if the captain asks about his whereabouts, his fellow enslaved should lie and say that he was flying, not running. This is a reference to the idea of flying African Americans who would try to escape enslavement by running away towards freedom. The singer is trying to convey the idea that he is not a passive victim, but someone who is actively resisting his oppression.
Line by Line Meaning
Take this hammer, carry it to the captain
Hand this tool over and pass it along to the highest officer of the ship
Tell him I'm gone
Inform him that I'm no longer present or have left
If he asks you was I runnin'
Inquire if he wants to know whether I was moving quickly on foot
Tell him I was flyin'
Reply that I was traveling with great speed and distance, possibly without the aid of wings
If he asks you was I laughin'
Question whether he wants to know if I was making happy sounds with my mouth
Tell him I was cryin'
Respond that I was shedding tears, possibly due to sadness or pain
They want to feed me cornbread and molasses
They desire to provide me with simple, low-cost food made from corn flour and a sugary byproduct of refining sugarcane
But I got my pride
However, I possess an elevated sense of self-respect and dignity
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: J BAIRD, TRADITIONAL, PD TRADITIONAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
wesh
We're no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do I
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it
And if you ask me how I'm feeling
Don't tell me you're too blind to see
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give, never gonna give
(Give you up)
We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
MVX
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
[Post-Chorus]
Ooh (Give you up)
Ooh-ooh (Give you up)
Ooh-ooh
Never gonna give, never gonna give (Give you up)
Ooh-ooh
Never gonna give, never gonna give (Give you up)
[Bridge]
We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching, but you're too shy to say it
Inside, we both know what's been going on
We know the game, and we're gonna play it
[Pre-Chorus]
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand
[Chorus]
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Gus Gere
Take this hammer, carry it to the captain
Take this hammer, carry it to the captain
Take this hammer, carry it to the captain
Tell him I'm gone
Tell him I'm gone
If he asks you was I runnin'
If he asks you was I runnin'
If he asks you was I runnin'
Tell him I was flyin'
Tell him I was flyin'
If he asks you was I laughin'
If he asks you was I laughin'
If he asks you was I laughin'
Tell him I was cryin'
Tell him I was cryin'
They wanna feed me cornbread and molasses
They wanna feed me cornbread and molasses
They wanna feed me cornbread and molasses
But I got my pride
Well, I got my pride
Sandra Kral
Greatest blues man that ever lived..
Scott Wallace
Indeed. I grew up with Leadbelly, and he's still the best.
Jirapat Thaenphromrat
Scott Wallace How old are you?
Scott Wallace
Jirapat Thaenphromrat
66. My parents had lots of 78's of his.
Jirapat Thaenphromrat
Scott Wallace Wow. I wish my parent's owned some of his records, Vinyl's are really expensive. I found leadbelly thank's to Nirvana XD
Jirapat Thaenphromrat
***** Don't forget good ol' Robert Johnson
Spirit Wolf
One of the greatest blues artists to ever live. He wrote this song during true hard times.
morevultures
He didn’t write this song.
Spirit Wolf
@morevultures yes he did
Spirit Wolf
@morevultures it’s about hard time on the rail line back before he started a singing career