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Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down Blues
Traditional Old-Time Breakdown; Piedmont Area;
ARTIST: Charlie Poole- Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" (Columbia 15038-D, 1925; on CPoole01, CPoole05)
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes; DATE: Early 1900’s; 1911 referenced for Poole's version.
OTHER NAMES & RELATED SONGS: “Last Gold Dollar;” “High Top Shoes;” “Don't Let My Deal Go Down,” “No Low Down Hanging Around;” “Lynchburg Town (Tune);” “Black Dog [Blues]” “Jamestown Exhibition”
RELATED TO: I Am Bound for the Promised Land (Melody); Will Sweethearts Know Each Other There
RECORDING INFO: Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" (Columbia 15038-D, 1925; on CPoole01, CPoole05); Riley Puckett, "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down" (Columbia 15448-D, 1929); Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys, "Don't Let the Deal Go Down" (Vocalion 05282, 1939) New Lost City Ramblers, "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down" (on NLCR01, NLCRCD1) (NLCR12); Bailey, Wheeler; and Preston Fulp. Kirkland Recordings, Tennessee Folklore Soc. TFS-106, LP (1984), cut# 15 (Never Let Your Deal Go Down); Baker, Etta. Music from the Hills of Caldwell County, Physical 12-001, LP (1975), cut# 3 (Never Let Your Deal Go Down); Boarman, Andrew F. Mountain State Music, June Appal JA 0025, LP (1978), cut# 16; Bulla Family. Bullas, Live, Family Vision Ministries, Cas (1993), cut#B.01 (Don't Let the Deal Go Down); Carawan, Guy. This Little Light of Mine, Folkways FG 3552, LP (1959), cut#A.06 (Been All Over This Country); Carson, Fiddlin' John. Fiddlers Convention in Mountain City, Tennessee, County 525, LP (1972), cut# 3; Carson, Fiddlin' John. Fiddlin' John Carson. Vol 4, Document DOCD 8017, CD (1997), cut#12; Flatt & Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys. Flatt And Scruggs. Country and Western Classics, Time-Life Records TLCW-04, LP (1982), cut#D.03; Ford, Brownie. Stories from Mountains, Swamps & Honky-Tonks, Flying Fish FF 90559, Cas (1990), cut#A.01; Jackson, John. Deep in the Bottom, Rounder 2032, LP (1983), cut# 12; Johnson, Herman. Herman Johnson - National Champion, Gillian, LP (1978), cut#A.03; Kimble Family. Eight Miles Apart, Heritage (Galax) 022, LP (1979), cut# 14; Kimble Family. Pine Knots School Rowdies, Marimac 9037, Cas (1992), cut# 10; New Lost City Ramblers. Sing Songs of the New Lost City Ramblers, Aravel AB-1005, LP, cut# 2; New Lost City Ramblers. New Lost City Ramblers, Vol. 1, Folkways FA 2396, LP (1958), cut# 2; O'Connor, Mark. National Junior Fiddle Champion, Rounder 0046, LP (1975), cut# 4; O'Daniel, W. Lee; & his Hillbilly Boys. Western Swing. Vol. 2 Historic Recordings, Old-Timey LP 116, LP (1975), cut#A.03; Old Hat Band. Concert, Voyager VRLP 307-S, LP (197?), cut# 9; Plank Road String Band. Plank Road. Vocal and Instrumental Blend, June Appal JA 0015, LP (1978), cut# 13; Poole, Charlie; and the Highlanders. Charlie Poole and the Highlanders, 1927-29, Puritan 3002, LP (196?), cut# 3; Poole, Charlie; and the North Carolina Ramblers. Old Time Songs, County 505, LP (196?), cut# 11; Rosenbaum, Art (Arthur). Art of the Mountain Banjo, Kicking Mule KM 203, LP (1975), cut#1.04b; Seeger, Mike. Old Time Country Music, Folkways FA 2325, LP, cut# 10; Seeger, Mike. Music From the True Vine, Mercury SRMI-627, LP (1972), cut# 4; Solomon, Vernon. Texas Breakdown, Davis Unlimited DU 33038, LP (1976), cut# 6; Sutphin, J. C. "Cleve". American Banjo, Folkways FA 2314, LP (1966), cut# 20; Thomasson, Benny & Jerry. Weiser Reunion, Voyager VRCS 309, Cas (1993), cut# 11; Thomasson, Benny. Country Fiddling from the Big State, County 724, LP (1970), cut# 3; Ward, Fields and Wade. Country Music - Fields and Wade Ward, Biograph RC-6002, LP, cut# 12; Watson, Doc. Doc Watson on Stage, Vanguard VSD 9/10, LP (1970), cut# 25; Wills, Bob. Fiddle, Country Music Foundation CMF-010-L, LP (1987), cut# 11.
SOURCES: Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 182-183, "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down;" Rorrer, p. 70, "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues;(Charlie Poole version)" Darling-NAS, p. 285, "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down;" Silber-FSWB, p. 144, "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down;" Alterman, Ned; and Richie Mintz. Bluegrass Bass, Oak, sof (1977), p51; New Lost City Ramblers. Old-Time String Band Songbook, Oak, Sof (1964/1976), p182;
NOTES: One of the standard “white blues” from the Piedmont region. "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down" was performed initially by Charlie Poole and Fiddlin’ John Carson. It was also adapted by black Piedmont blues artists like Etta Baker and John Jackson. There are many great fiddle versions including those by Bob Wills, Benny Thomasson and later Mark O’Conner.
According to Kinney Rorrer's excellent book, Rambling Blues -- The Life and Songs of Charlie Poole, Poole's source for "Don't Let Your Deal" was another North Carolina musician, who having learned the song from a local black guitarist in 1911, taught the words to Poole, who already knew the tune. The African-American origin can be heard in Peg Leg Howell's "Skin Game Blues" (Before the Blues, Vol. 2, Yazoo CD 2016):
You better let the deal go down,
For the skin game's [type of card game] comin' to a close ...
The earliest printed version is probably from the JOAFL in 1911 collected by Odum from African-Americans (See Version 6):
CHORUS: Baby, let the deal go down (Repeat Three Times)
VERSE: I gamble all over Kentucky,
Part of Georgia, too,
Everywhere I hang my hat,
Home, sweet home, to me.
Many branches have grown from this tree including “Black Dog,” which has been performed by my group, the Bluegrass Messengers. There are floater lyrics from many sources including "In the Pines," "Last Gold Dollar" and "Little Maggie.”
LYRICS:
Now I've been all around this whole wide world
Down to Memphis, Tennessee
Any old place I hang my hat
Looks like home to me
Now I left my little girl crying
Standing in the door
Throwed her arms around my neck
Saying "Honey, don't you go."
Now I've been all around this whole wide world
Done most everything
I've played cards with the King and the Queen
Discard the ace and the ten
Chorus: Oh it's don't let your deal go down
Don't let your deal go down
Don't let your deal go down
Before my last gold dollar is gone
Now where did you get them high top shoes?
Dress you wear so fine?
Got my shoes from a railroad man
And my dress from a driver in the mine
Who's gonna shoe your pretty white feet?
Who's gonna glove your hand?
Who's gonna kiss your lily white cheeks?
Who's gonna be your man?
Now Papa may shoe my pretty white feet
Mama can glove my hand
She can kiss my lily white cheeks
'Till you come back again
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