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Atlanta Blues/Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor
Old-Time, Blues Tune; Widely known
ARTIST: ATLANTA BLUES (Make Me One Pallet on Your Floor) By WC. Handy and Dave Elman; From: Blues: An Anthology, edited by W.C. Handy (1926; 1946; Macmillan, 1972, p. 190-192; with music)
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes; DATE: Early 1900’s; 1923 by W.C. Handy
RECORDING INFO: An early recording is Leake County Revelers in 1928 on Columbia 15264-D; Bogtrotters (Bog Trotters). Original Bogtrotters, Biograph RC 6003, LP (196?), cut# 3; Brady, Rafe. Cherokee Rose, Heritage (Galax) 032, LP (1981), cut# 13; Cannon, Gus. Walk Right In, Stax SCD-8603-2, CD (1999), cut#11; Daniels, Charlotte; and Pat Webb. Charlotte Daniels and Pat Webb, Prestige International INT 13037, LP (196?), cut#B.04; Denny, Sandy. Sandy Denny, Saga 13153, LP (1979), cut# 7; Grossman, Stefan. Country Blues Guitar, Kicking Mule KM 145, LP (1977), cut#A.02 (Pallet on Your Floor); Guthrie, Woody. Woody Guthrie Sings Folk Songs, Vol. 2, Folkways FA 2484, LP (1964), cut#B.06; Hurt, Mississippi John. Best of Mississippi John Hurt, Vanguard VMS 73103, LP (1974), cut# 9; Hurt, Mississippi John. Mississippi John Hurt, Vol. 3. Sacred and Secular, Heritage (England) HT320, LP (1988), cut# 1; Hurt, Mississippi John. Mississippi John Hurt Today, Vanguard VSD 79220, LP (1966), cut# 4; Kweskin, Jim. Relax Your Mind, Vanguard VSD-79188, LP (1965), cut#B.03; Lucinda. Lucinda. Ramblin' on My Mind, Folkways FTS 31066, LP (1979), cut# 10; Post, Jim. Jim Post & Friends, Flying Fish FF70 409, CD (1987/1993), cut# 1 (Pallet on the Floor); Rosenbaum, Art (Arthur). Five String Banjo, Kicking Mule KM 108, LP (1974), cut# 15; Rucker, Sparky (James). Cold and Lonesome on a Train, June Appal JA 0017, LP (1977), cut#B.05 (Pallet on the Floor); Rush, Tom. Tom Rush, Fantasy 24709, LP (1972), cut# 18 (Pallet on the Floor); Seeger, Mike; and Paul Brown. Way Down in North Carolina, Rounder 0383, CD (1996), cut# 8; Watson, Doc. Doc Watson's Favorites, Liberty LN-10201, LP (1983), cut#A.02; Weavers. Travelling on with the Weavers, Vanguard VSD-2022, LP (195?), cut# 8 (You Made Me a Pallet on the Floor);
RELATED TO: "Chilly Winds" (floating lyrics); “Pallet On the Floor” (Rag); “Never Drive a Stranger from Your Door” (Blues); “Ain't No Tellin';” “Lucky Me;”
OTHER NAMES: “Atlanta Blues;” “Make Me One Pallet on Your Floor;” “Make Me a Bed on Your Floor;” “Pallet on the Floor;”
SOURCES: Journal of American Folklore XXIV 278; Handy/Silverman-Blues, pp. 190-192, "Atlanta Blues (Make Me One Pallet on Your Floor)" (1 text, 1 tune, loosely based on this song); Darling-NAS, pp. 292-294, "Lovin' Babe" (1 text, composite of floating verses including this one); Blues: An Anthology, edited by W.C. Handy (1926; 1946; Macmillan, 1972, p. 190-192; with music) Library of Congress by Vance Randolph from Ozark Mountain fiddlers;
NOTES: The title was recorded for the Library of Congress by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph from Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's. The copyright for this song under the title, “Atlanta Blues” in 1923 is by W. C. Handy with lyrics by Dave Elman.
“Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor” has floating verses, possibly about life in the south (often Atlanta) and the singer's desire to return there. Held together by a chorus like, "Make me a pallet on your floor (x2), Make it soft, make it low, so my good gal won't know Make me a pallet..."
The song is referenced in the Journal of American Folklore XXIV 278 in 1911. A favorite amongst blues players, it was remembered as one of the Bolden Band's specialties. W. C. Handy used it as a strain in his 1917 recording "Sweet Child", and it was copywritten in 1923 as "Atlanta Blues".
Blues/Jazz pianist Junior Mance said in his on-stage intro about Atlanta Blues: "Now I'd to play a tune that's written by WC Handy. It's a tune that has two titles -- it's known as Atlanta Blues and the other title is, Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor. I don't understand the correlation of the two, but anyway, here it is. I'll call it, Atlanta Blues."
“Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor” appears in variety of settings. Mississippi John Hurt recorded an unusual version entitled “Ain’t No telling.” Gus Cannon recorded it on “Walk Right In” in 1963 at the age of 73. Many of the white string bands that recorded it in the 20’s and early 30’s and 40’s called it, “Make Me a Bed on Your Floor.”
Here are the lyrics to “Atlanta Blues/Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor” by W.C. Handy :
(Verse 1)
Up at Five Points talking Daddy an' me,
Just him an' me,
Just one square away from old Peach tree,
Peach tree.
Possession's nine points of the law it used to be,
It used to be,
Five and nine are Fourteen points, and yet they took
my man from me
(Verse 2)
In Atlanta, six long months to do the grind,
The Georgia grind,
Wonder if he's missing all he left behind,
Left behind.
For when I left him I said, Daddy I am through,
I'm through with you,
Now the name Atlanta makes me feel so blue,
I'm feeling blue.
(Chorus 1)
I know that I'd be satisfied,
If I could grab a train and ride,
If I make Atlanta with no place to go
Just make me one pallet on your floor.
(Chorus 2)
Give ev'rybody my regards
Comin' if I have to ride the rods,
I'll grab me an armful of train before you know
So make me one pallet on your floor
(PATTER)
Auburn avenue is where I'll go to lose
Those A-T-at AT-L-A-N-T-A Blues.
Atlanta Blues.
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