Harry “Mac” McClintock, The Bum Song / Hallelujah! I’m A Bum; Victor 78

 

I’ve told you about how I discovered this song, and how then it turned up in the backstock on the bottom of a pile of old 78s that Justin was sorting out.  I brought it home yesterday and I’ve played it about 20 times already on my Magnavox cabinet player.

Recorded in 1926, this song has to be considered one of the masterpieces in the history of American folk music.  As Gerard said, the most humble and unusual song he has ever heard.  There’s something magic about this - it’s the only song I’ve heard that sings praises for having nothing.  And it romanticizes being a bum or a hobo - something that I’ve always secretly wished I could be (maybe for just a month or so). 

You can listen here.  I don’t have my 78 player hooked up to my recording program.