album cover
Sundown
42
Singer/Songwriter
Sundown was released on January 1, 1976 by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings/Folkways Records as a part of the album Broadside Ballads, Vol. 9: Sundown
album cover
Release DateJanuary 1, 1976
LabelSmithsonian Folkways Recordings/Folkways Records
LanguageEnglish
Melodicness
Acousticness
Valence
Danceability
Energy
BPM176

Credits

COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Sis Cunningham
Sis Cunningham
Songwriter

Lyrics

Down in the cotton row, pickin' in the sun
Wishin' to the Lord that the day was done
Sack gettin' heavy, sun gettin' hot
I'm a-wishin' for a little of what the boss has got
A dipper of water fresh from the well
A patch of shade to sit for a spell
Down in the cotton row, bendin' low
I think I'm a-goin' where cotton don't grow
Get away from here, get away, get away
Hurry, hurry through the long, long days
And fightin' the gnats from out of my face
The boss he says when the crop's all in
He don't owe us nothin' but we owes him
When we pays him off at forty percent
Our share of the cotton done came and went
We's a-livin' in slavery but thinkin' free
Gonna find a better place to be
Get away from here, get away, get away
Down in the cotton row, snappin' bolls
Nothin' to show but shoes full of holes
Bollies gettin' thin, every day there's less
I can't even earn me a cotton dress
See them little kids movin' down that row
Mean old chilly wind is a-startin' to blow
Rags is a-flappin' like an old scarecrow
Winter is a-comin' and we just gotta go
Get away from here, get away, get away
Travelin' north, snow is a-blowin'
Travelin' south, more cotton growin'
Travelin' east, the same old thing
Pickin' in the fall and a-choppin' in the spring
Travelin' west, ain't nothin' worse
All them Okies got there first
Season is slack and the work's all done
They told us all get on back home
Get away from here, get away, get away
Back in the cotton land and livin' in a tent
Our car broke down and money's spent
The preacher says pray for your lives
The union man says organize
Well, the very first meetin' that we did call
Them bullets came through the church house wall
Planters don't allow no union here
Machine gun speakin' it mighty clear
Get away from here, get away, get away
They shot my brother, they jailed my man
And run my family off the land
But there's one thing sure, we ain't alone
So we keep on hangin' on
No more croppin', just workin' by the day
The kids don't eat when their daddy's away
So here I am with a goddam hoe
Thinkin' I'm a-goin' where cotton don't grow
Get away from here, get away, get away
This old cotton row looks seven miles long
Seven verses to this song
Well, I pick up my hoe and I start to chop
And I know this ain't the boss's crop
Belongs to the people that works this ground
And we don't need no boss around
If we can use a hoe, we can use a gun
Now boss, it's time for you to run
Get away from here, get away, get away
Written by: Sis Cunningham
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