i sho wanna go back home
but i hope some day
I don t mean no harm, but i sho wanna go back home
down on parchman farm
down on parchman farm
we got to work in the mornin
I don t mean no harm, down on parchman farm
Just at dawn of day, just at dawn of day
Down on parchman farm, i will overcome
Just at the settin of the sun, you will hear my lonesome song Parchman, judge give me life this mornin
Judge give me life this mornin, just at dawn of day
You better stay off old parchman farm, i don t mean no harm, listen you men
You will hear my lonesome song, all you have done gone
But i left my wife in mourn, we got to work in the mornin, judge give me life this mornin
listen you men
Goodbye wife, i sho wanna go back home, goodbye wife
I sho wanna go back home, you better stay off old parchman farm
Down on parchman farm, i m down on parchman farm
down on parchman farm
Just at the settin of the sun, i m down on parchman farm
Goodbye wife, but i left my wife in mourn, we got to work in the mornin
All you have done gone, goodbye wife
all you have done gone
Judge give me life this mornin, goodbye wife
You better stay off old parchman farm, down on parchman farm
He makes you feel those men's soul and pain they went through in that place! Parchman farm or the Farm had to be hell on Earth and I stake my life that the penalty never fit the crime, if there was a crime at all! When the slaves were freed they quickly came up with another way to own those poor men and that was throw them behind bars for little to nothing! Great song though!!!
Found this track on a Blues Anthology Called "Diggin' Deeper" - a 10 CD set which I reckon was pretty good value - This track stood out to me above all the others. I could not understand his strong accent until I found the lyrics on line. Something very personal about it...very real. Reading the posts there seems some doubt about whether or not Bukka did serve time at Parchman Farm. He did. In 1937 he was sentenced to Parchman Farm for 2 years after he shot a man during an ambush by a gang on a dark road...he seems to have stood his ground and shot in self defense. His musical talents saved him from working in the fields at Parchman and he was allowed to form a Prison Band that at one time performed for the Governor of Mississippi. I would have liked to have heard that performance.
Parchman is a nother name for the Mississippi State Prison. It is call that because it is located at Parchman, M.S. Another name for it is THE FARM. The song is talking about live on Parchman. I worked as a correctional officer on the Farm for a short time.
For those interested in the history behind this song--the history of Parchman Farm--there is an excellent book by David M Oshinsky, "Worse Than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the ordeal of Jim Crow Justice. It tell the uncomfortable history of this farm and its role in the re-enslavement of blacks post-Civil War. Our boys Booker and Son House served time at Parchman. It has quite a history.
There's a movie called "Life" with Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and Bernie Mac that's all about life in Parchman's Farm and begins with Bukka White. Mississippi State Penitentuary.
