Poor Boy Blues

"Poor Boy Blues" or "Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home" is a traditional blues song of unknown origin. As with most traditional blues songs, there is great variation in the melody and lyrical content as performed by different artists. However, there is often a core verse containing some variation of the line "I'm a poor boy a long way from home." The song is often associated with a slide guitar accompaniment.

The song is often cited as one of the oldest in the blues genre^[1][2] Bo Weavil Jackson (as "Sam Butler") recorded the song in Chicago in 1926 for Vocalion Records.^[3]

Versions

Many artists have recorded versions, including:

• Barbecue Bob - "Poor Boy a Long Ways from Home" (Columbia 1927)
• R. L. Burnside - "Poor Boy"
• The Black Keys - "The Moan"
• Chewin' Trees - "Poor Boy Blues"
• Furry Lewis
• Mississippi John Hurt - "Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home" ("Last Sessions", 1966)
• Gus Cannon - "Poor Boy Long Ways From Home" (Paramount 12571, 1927)
• Peg Leg Sam - "Poor Boy" ("Early In The Morning", 1975)
• Ramblin' Thomas - "Poor Boy Blues" (Paramount 12722A, 1928)
• Howlin' Wolf - "Poor Boy"
• John Dudley - "Po' Boy Blues"
• Booker "Bukka" White - "Po' Boy" (field recording by John Lomax, 1939)
• Rochelle French - "Po' Boy, Long Ways From Home" (field recording by Alan Lomax and Zora Neale Hurston, 1935)
• Bo Weavil Jackson - "Poor Boy" - (Paramount 1926)
• John Fahey - Takoma, 1959
• Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee - "Po' Boy"
• Jeff Beck - "Poor Boy"
• Poison - "Poor Boy Blues"
• HowellDevine - "Poor Boy," Delta Grooves (2012)
• Jeff Buckley - "Poor Boy Long Way From Home"
• Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler on their album Neck and Neck (1990)

Footnotes

References

• Evans, D. Big Road Blues : Tradition and Creativity in the Folk Blues, Da Capo, 1987. ISBN 0-306-80300-3
• Palmer, R. Deep Blues : A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta, Penguin, 1982. ISBN 0-14-006223-8