365 Days of Song Recommendations: July 29

Parchman Farm Blues—Bukka White

As one spelunks through recordings by Booker T. Washington White—aka Bukka White—one finds some inconsistencies and complications when it comes to this song. For one thing, there are two entirely different songs that, at times, are given the same name. For another thing, there are versions of the same song that have different lyrics.

For our purposes here, the version we’re discussing comes from this album:

These recordings were made in 1963 for John Fahey’s justifiably legendary Takoma label. The song in question is here named “Parchman Farm Blues,” though as noted, there is an entirely different song with the same name in White’s catalogue. Additionally, the song herein is, in other recordings, titled “When Can I Change My Clothes,” but the lyrics are often different.

But once again, we’re talking about this recording—the one that begins with these lyrics:

so many days, they would be cold
you could see the convicts lookin’ down on their toes
wonder how long before i can change my clothes?