The song that shaped me: Cane on the Brazos
Steve Turner
The song that shaped me: Cane on the Brazos
Book for Trad Night: Steve Turner
"When I first became interested in folk music, and learnt to play the guitar (inspired by Bob Dylan) in the late ‘60s, I often went to the MSG (Manchester Sports Guild) Folk Club, in my home city of Manchester. The MSG was one of the biggest and best known clubs in the north of England, and had guests every Saturday and Sunday night, and a Singers’ Night every Monday. They used to book many well-known names from the folk scene of the time, to whom I listened intently. One of these was the blues singer, the late, great Mary Asquith, who was also from Manchester and died far too young in 2009. The first song I ever heard her sing was the traditional American song “Cane on the Brazos” which blew me away. I think her version came from the singing of the great Lonie Donegan, who had “folk processed” it himself somewhat away from the usual American version. Mary’s version of this song about the cruel treatment by the guards of prisoners in the jail on the banks of the River Brazos in Central Texas hit home to me. I thought about singing it for many years but always thought Mary’s version to be definitive.
As time went by I eventually plucked up the courage to get on the long waiting list to do a couple of songs at one of the MSG’s Singers’ Nights., for which you had to wait about three weeks till you got your chance. When my turn eventually came, I was told by the MC, who went by the name of Dronny, and ruled with a rod of iron and didn’t suffer fools lightly, to get on stage and do my two songs quickly and get off, as there were about another twenty singers lined up. So being about seventeen at the time, I decided I’d really show them what I could do, and started off with a Tom Paxton song, and then….”Desolation Row” the Dylan song which lasts about eleven minutes. As I was walking off the stage, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and it was Dronny, who whispered in my ear, “If you f***ing do that again, you’re barred!” Needless to say, I never did it again and learnt my lesson!
But having decided that if I couldn’t play the guitar as well as Martin Carthy or Nic Jones, I would learn to play the concertina, which had been left by my grandfather and lived in the shed. I eventually developed my own way of accompanying songs, I thought back to Mary’s version of “Cane on the Brazos” and found that against the odds, and my expectations, it did work to an extent on the concertina. And there it resides, on my ninth album, “Curious Times” (2023) and is in my current repertoire. But I still reckon that Lonnie and Mary had the definitive versions!"
John Lomax collected lyrics to ‘Ain't No More Cane on the Brazos’ from Prisoners in Texas working on the state prison farms in the 1930s. His son, Alan Lomax recorded his own version of the song in 1958. Here are those ‘original’ lyrics, alongside those now sung by Steve Turner as ‘Cane on the Brazos’. How will this song change in the next 90 years?
Reported by Alan Lomax 1966
It ain' no mo' cane on de Brazis,
Done groun' it all in molazzis.
Better git yo' overcoat ready,
Well, it's comin' up a norther.
Well, de captain standin' an' lookin' an' cryin',
Well, it's gittin' so col', my row's behin'.
Cap'n, doncha do me like you did po' Shine,
Drive dat bully till he went stone-blin'.
Cap'n, cap'n, you mus' be blin',
Keep on holl'in' an' I'm almos' flyin'.
One o' dese mornin's, an' it won' be long,
You gonna call me an' I'll be gone.
Ninety-nine years so jumpin' long,
To be here rollin' an' cain' go home.
Ef I had a sentence like ninety-nine years,
All de dogs on de Brazis won' keep me here.
I b'lieve I'll go to de Brazis line,
Ef I leave you here, gonna think I's flyin'.
B'lieve I'll do like ol' Riley,
Ol' Riley walked de Brazis.
Well, de dog-sergeant got worried an' couldn' go,
Ol' Rattler went to howlin' 'cause de tracks too ol'.
Oughta come on de river in 1904,
You could fin' a dead man on every turn row.
Oughta come on de river in 1910,
Dey was drivin' de women des like de men.
Wake up, dead man, an' help me drive my row,
Wake up, dead man, an' help me drive my row.
Some in de buildin' an' some on de farm,
Some in de graveyard, some goin' home.
I looked at my Ol' Hannah, an' she's turnin' red,
I looked at my podner an' he's almos' dead.
Wake up, lifetime, hold up yo' head,
Well, you may get a pardon an' you may drop dead.
Well, I wonder what's de matter, somepin' mus' be wrong,
We're still here rollin', Shorty George done gone.
Go down, Ol' Hannah, doncha rise no mo',
Ef you rise any mo' bring judgment day.
Steve Turner’s version - 2023
Ain’t no more cane on the Brazos
Oh, oh, oh
They ground it all up for molasses
Oh, oh, oh
You’d have been on the Brazos in 1904
Oh, oh, oh
You’d have seen many dead men on every row
Oh, oh, oh
You’d have been on the Brazos in 1910
Oh, oh, oh
They drive the women just like they drove the men
Oh, oh, oh
Go down old Hannah, don’t you rise no more
Oh, oh, oh
Don’t you rise again till the judgement days for sure
Oh, oh, oh
Captain don’t you do me like you’ve done old Shine
Oh, oh, oh
You drive that poor boy till he’s gone stone-blind
Oh, oh, oh
Ain’t no more cane on the Brazos
Oh, oh, oh
They ground it all up for molasses
Oh, oh, oh
Come on, rise up you people and lift up your head
Oh, oh, oh
You will find your freedom but you’ll still end up dead
Oh, oh, oh
Ain’t no more cane on the Brazos
Oh, oh, oh
They ground it all up for molasses
Oh, oh, oh
Book for Trad Night: Steve Turner
