Foreclosure Blues

“Foreclosure Blues”, written and sung by Tom Naples.

Thousands of farmers lost their land when they had no market for their crops and thus could not pay their mortgages. The plight of the farmer is reflected in the following quote from a debt-ridden farmer: “If they come to take my farm, I’m going to fight. I’d rather be killed outright than die by starvation. But before I die, I’m going to set fire to my crops, I’m going to burn my house, I’m going to p’izen my cattle.” (TFC, Vol.4, p. 55.)

“Foreclosure Blues”, written and sung by Tom Naples is found in Naples’ website: “Whose Names are Unknown: Music from the Depression”

Naples says “These were songs that came from ordinary people who were in the very midst of the struggle. These were the unemployed who stood on breadlines, the Okie migrants who lost all they owned to dust and foreclosures, the urban dwellers who saw their life’s savings disappear with bank closings, miners and millworkers who were squeezed even harder by unscrupulous operators, and the people who managed to hang on in reduced circumstances but were witness to desperation all around them.”

Fonte :
The Plight of the Farmer - 20th Century History Song Book
Posted By Mike Palumbo

La traccia audio è reperibile sul sito :
Music from the Depression

Nota dell'Autore.
"Here I will deviate a bit from the program of songs on this site by including an original tune written and played by me. I am including it because it was truly inspired from the pages of the great novelist Sanora Babb*. Her magnificent novel, “Whose Names Are Unknown” tells heartbreaking and realistic stories of migration and loss through the Dust Bowl years. This song and “Prairie Farewell” are dedicated to her. You might say that the songs are hers and I just made them rhyme".
© Tom Naples
Foreclosure Blues

* Sanora Louise Babb (1907–2005) was an American novelist, poet, and literary editor known for her realistic portrayal of life during the Great Depression Era.
[Wikipedia]