Songwriters & Music Lovers:
Here is a Rattlesnake Hill practice version of the Folk/Bluegrass song Take This Hammer.
Take This Hammer is a traditional 1870s American prison work song made famous by
blues artists like Lead Belly. It generally means carrying the heavy burden of oppression,
and a desire to escape from brutal forced labor.
Take This Hammer was issued on a commercial 78-rpm single by Lead Belly in 1940 and
again in 1942. Lead Belly added a "haah" at the end of each line: "Every time the men say
'haah', the hammer falls. The hammer rings, and we swing, and we sing." (In saying "we",
he was undoubtedly referring to his many years as an inmate of the notorious prison farm in
Angola, Louisiana. (Of note, the legend is that Lead Belly sang his way out of jail!)
This song is heavily tied to folklore about John Henry. There is a group of songs referred) to
as "hammer songs" or "roll songs" (wheelbarrow-hauling songs) with much the same
structure..
Bluegrass recordings include Osborne Brothers, and Flatt & Scruggs recorded it in their
famous album: At Carnegie Hall.
Rattlesnake Hill Musicians (in order of pictures below):
Kevin Conroy Lead Guitar
Carolyn Kellock Bass
Heather Twigg Fiddle & Harmony
Jack Sanbower Banjo
Ed Schaeffer Rhythm Guitar & Vocal
To listen, click: http://rattlesnakehill.org/Web_Music/edsmusic.html
Ed
