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Ain't No More Cane on the Brazos

Odetta
Language: English


Odetta

List of versions


Related Songs

Penitentiary Blues
(Sam Lightnin' Hopkins)
Cotton Fields
(Lead Belly)
North Country Blues
(Bob Dylan)


[1933]
Album “The Tin Angel/ Odetta & Larry”, con Larry Mohr (1954)
Raccolta da John e Alan Lomax dalla voce di Ernest Williams, James "Iron Head" Baker e di altri prigionieri della Central State Farm di Sugarland, Texas.
Testo trovato su American Ballads and Folk Songs, trascrizione on-line dell’intero omonimo volume dei fratelli Lomax





Ho attribuito ad Odetta questa prison song texana risalente agli anni 30 perchè, a differenza di quanto comunemente si ritiene, la canzone non fa parte del repertorio di Leadbelly. A parte la registrazione originale, l’incisione più risalente nel tempo mi pare quindi quella di Odetta, seguita poi da molti altri e in molte versioni differenti, da Bernice Reagon a Guy Carawan, da Lonnie Donegan al Chad Mitchell Trio passando per Bob Dylan & The Band, da Ian Gillan ai Son Volt, dai Black Crowes a Lyle Lovett e altri ancora.
Riporto quindi per primo il testo originale seguito dalle versioni più semplificate adottate poi da Odetta e dagli altri…

In Texas, lungo il corso del fiume Brazos, c’erano molte fattorie-prigione in cui i detenuti dall’alba al tramonto erano adibiti al lavoro nei campi e, nello specifico, al taglio della canna da zucchero. Il sistema era schiavistico e inumano, gli uomini venivano annientati dalla fatica, “from can to can't”, fino a quando non ne potevano più, sempre sotto l’ “Old Hannah”, il feroce sole del Texas…
It ain' no mo' cane on de Brazis,
Mmm…
Done groun' it all in molazzis.
Mmm…

Better git yo' overcoat ready,
Well, it's comin' up a norther.

Well, de captain standin' an' lookin' an' cryin',
Well, it's gittin' so col', my row's behin'.

Cap'n, doncha do me like you did po' Shine,
Drive dat bully till he went stone-blin'.

Cap'n, cap'n, you mus' be blin',
Keep on holl'in' an' I'm almos' flyin’

One o' dese mornin's, an' it won' be long,
You gonna call me an' I'll be gone.

Ninety-nine years so jumpin' long,
To be here rollin' an' cain' go home.

Ef I had a sentence like ninety-nine years,
All de dogs on de Brazis won' keep me here.

I b'lieve I'll go to de Brazis line,
Ef I leave you here, gonna think I's flyin'.

B'lieve I'll do like ol' Riley,
Ol’ Riley walked de Brazis.

Well, de dog-sergeant got worried an' couldn' go,
Ol’ Rattler went to howlin' 'cause de tracks too ol’

Oughta come on de river in 1904,
You could fin' a dead man on every turn row.

Oughta come on de river in 1910,
Dey was drivin' de women des like de men.

Wake up, dead man, an' help me drive my row,
Wake up, dead man, an' help me drive my row.

Some in de buildin' an' some on de farm,
Some in de graveyard, some goin' home.

I looked at my Ol’ Hannah, an' she's turnin' red,
I looked at my podner an' he's almos' dead.

Wake up, lifetime, hold up yo' head,
Well, you may get a pardon an' you may drop dead.

Well, I wonder what's de matter, somepin' mus' be wrong,
We're still here rollin', Shorty George done gone.

Go down, Ol’ Hannah, doncha rise no mo',
Ef you rise any mo' bring judgment day.

Contributed by Bartleby - 2010/11/8 - 16:40




Language: English

Versione di Odetta da “The Tin Angel”, 1954
AIN'T NO MORE CANE ON THE BRAZOS

It ain't no more cane on the Brazos,
Ohhh…
ts all been ground down to molasses.
Ohhh…

Go down old Hannah, don't you rise up no more
Ohhh…
Don't you rise up til Judgment Day's for sure
Ohhh…

If I had a sentence like ninety-nine years
Ohhh…
All the dogs on the Brazos won' keep me here.
Ohhh…

You shoulda been on the river in 1910
Ohhh…
They were driving the women just like they drove the men.
Ohhh…

It ain't no more cane on the Brazos,
Ohhh…
ts all been ground down to molasses.
Ohhh…

Contributed by Bartleby - 2010/11/8 - 16:41




Language: English

Versione del Chad Mitchell Trio, dall’album “Singin' Our Minds” del 1963
AIN'T NO MORE CANE ON THIS BRAZOS

Ain't no more cane on this Brazos, my boy
Oh, oh, oh
We done ground it all into molasses,
Oh, oh, oh

When I come down here, had a number for my name
Oh, oh, oh
Well, they chained us together and we started cuttin' cane
Oh, oh, oh

I wish you was here in nineteen and ten
Oh, oh, oh
Well, they was drivin' the women just like they was men
Oh, oh, oh

I wish you was here when the storm winds came
Oh, oh, oh
Left a man lyin' dead and we cut him off the chain
Oh, oh, oh

If I had a sentence like ninety-nine and nine
Oh, oh, oh
There ain't no dogs on this Brazos could keep me on that line
Oh, oh, oh

Well, Alberta why don't you let your hair hang down
Oh, oh, oh
Let it hang right down till it touches the ground
Oh, oh, oh

Why don't you go down old Hannah, don't you rise up no more
Oh, oh, oh
Well, they work me so hard that I can't work no more
Oh, oh, oh

Ain't no more cane on this Brazos, my boy
Oh, oh, oh
We done ground it all into molasses
Oh, oh, oh

Contributed by Bartleby - 2010/11/8 - 16:42




Language: English

Versione di Bob Dylan & The Band, dall’album “The Basement Tapes” del 1975.
AIN'T NO MORE CANE

Ain't no more cane on the Brazos
Oh, oh, oh, oh...
Its all been ground down to molasses
Oh, oh- oh, oh- oh...

You shoulda been on the river in 1910
They were driving the women just like they drove the men.

Go down Old Hannah, don'cha rise no more
Don't you rise up til Judgment Day's for sure

Ain't no more cane on the Brazos
Its all been ground down to molasses

Captain, don't you do me like you done poor old Shine
Well ya drove that bully til he went stone blind

Wake up on a lifetime, hold up your own head
Well you may get a pardon and then you might drop dead

Ain't no more cane on the Brazos
Its all been ground down to molasses.

Contributed by Bartleby - 2010/11/8 - 16:43




Language: Italian

Traduzione italiana della versione di Dylan & The Band, da Maggie’s Farm, ad opera di Michele Murino.
Mi sembra però che sia sbagliato il riferimento ai “Gaslight Tapes” e la traduzione di “cane” come “giunchi”… “Cane” è certamente la canna da zucchero, diversamente non si spieghrebbe il successivo “molasses”, il frutto della prima spremitura della canna…
NON C’E’ PIÙ CANNA

Non c’è più canna sul Brazos
Oh, oh, oh, oh...
Il terreno è diventato tutto melassa
Oh, oh- oh, oh-oh...

Avreste dovuto essere sul fiume nel 1910
Facevano lavorare le donne proprio come gli uomini

Tramonta Vecchia Hannah, non sorgere più
Non sorgere più fino al Giorno del Giudizio

Non c’è più canna sul Brazos
Il terreno è diventato tutto melassa

Capitano, non fare con me come hai fatto con il povero vecchio Shine
Hai fatto lavorare quel prigioniero finchè è diventato completamente cieco

Ti svegli che ti hanno dato l'ergastolo, tieni su la testa
Potresti ricevere il perdono e poi cadere a terra morto

Non c’è più canna sul Brazos
Il terreno è diventato tutto melassa

Contributed by Bartleby - 2010/11/8 - 16:44




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