In 1994, American poet Allen Ginsberg recalled that "a couple weeks ago, one of my students gave me a mixed tape of Kurt Cobain and there was a version of 'Black Girl' of great artistry. Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song. This verse probably began as a separate song that later merged into "In the Pines". [12] In 2002, it was re-released on non-American versions of the band's "best of" collection, Nirvana. Her rapist, a male soldier, is later beheaded by the train. One variant, performed in the early twentieth century by the Ellison clan (Ora Ellison, deceased) in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, tells of a young Georgia girl who flees to the pines after being raped. Thank God someone brought this up. This short, rollicking soul ballad from the late ’60s comes to us compliments of the School of Lead Belly. The reply to the question, "Where did you get that dress/ And those shoes that are so fine?" Tell me where did you sleep last night. We have an official Where Did You Sleep Last Night tab made by UG professional guitarists. "[15] The show's producer, Alex Coletti, recalled Cobain declining his suggestion to perform an encore after "Where Did You Sleep Last Night," which was the final song of the set, telling him that “I don’t think we can top the last song," at which point Coletti relented. "In the Pines", also known as "Where Did You Sleep Last Night? It is likely that Cobain drew from Lead Belly's 1944 Musicraft version for his interpretation of the song; Lanegan owned an original 78 rpm record of this version,[7] and it is the one that Cobain's version most closely resembles in terms of form, title and lyrics, including the "Shiver for me" interjection before the instrumental verse. There’s another great cover that I’d love to see included in this list, especially in reference to Nirvana’s version of it. [5][6], Like numerous other folk songs, "In the Pines" was passed on from one generation and locale to the next by word of mouth. You may use these HTML tags and attributes:
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Mark Lanegan included it on his 1990-released album, The Winding Sheet, under the “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” title. The train is described as killing a loved one, as taking one's beloved away, or as leaving an itinerant worker far from home.[7]. In the pines, in the pines. Where Did You Sleep Last Night Lyrics: My girl, my girl, don't lie to me / Tell me, where did you sleep last night? Smithsonian Folkways has released several other collections of his recordings: They also did it as part of their set on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert: https://youtu.be/qQ4PZVj66ac?t=4m19s. I’ve been searching for that version for a while. Another familiar version was recorded for Moses Asch, founder of Folkways Records, in New York City. View official tab. Cobain and Krist Novoselic both preformed with Lanegan on “The Winding Sheet” album. [3], In 1964, a version of the song by English Beat music group the Four Pennies reached the top-twenty in the United Kingdom. Like Lanegan, Cobain usually screamed the song's final verse an octave higher. Lead Belly’s version is a grisly tale that begins with conversation. Man: “My girl, my girl, don’t lie to me/Tell me where did you sleep last night.”, Girl: “In the pines, in the pines/Where the sun don’t ever shine/I would shiver the whole night through.”, Lead Belly sings on to give the listener more insight on the girl’s traumatic experience. "[7] The theme of a woman being caught doing something she should not is thus also common to many variants. The song is most associated with Nathan Abshire, the Louisiana Cajun accordion player, for whom "Pine Grove Blues" was his biggest hit. A young Jerry Garcia more than pulls his weight with his inspired, almost screaming vocals and flawless electric guitar. As music historian Norm Cohen pointed out in his 1981 book, Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong, the song came to consist of three frequent elements: a chorus about "in the pines", a verse about "the longest train" and a verse about a decapitation, but not all elements are present in all versions. Not to mention the fact the the song title is named after a location where “the sun don’t ever shine” and “we shiver when the cold wind blows.”. Inspired me to pull out the ‘ol hard copy Deadbase IX! Jan 26 2016. He'd thought the performance was a bomb because the audience was so quiet, not realizing that it … No one has known this (hence the “unknown author” on every website). MTV wanted Nirvana to do an encore after "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" I have loved this song since the first time I heard it and that was a long time ago. Or is she indeed lying and in the arms of another man? Sleigh Bells, the Brooklyn noise pop duo comprised of Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller, have released a new cover of Lead Belly’s classic folk song “Where Did You Sleep Last Night”. "In the Pines", converted into the Cajun French language and sung under the titles "Pine Grove Blues" or "Ma Negresse", became one of the landmark songs of Cajun music. The song was occasionally performed live by American rock band Nirvana in the early 1990s. For more on the history and legacy of “In the Pines,” read this article from the New York Times. Aprenda a tocar a cifra de Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Nirvana) no Cifra Club. from one version is, "From a man in the mines/Who sleeps in the pines. Nirvana [US] released it on the album MTV Unplugged in New York in 1994. Bill croons, “I asked my captain for the time of day. He said he throwed his watch away.” Despite his more festive take, Bill Monroe still manages to add a bleak element. "[13] Canadian musician Neil Young described Cobain's vocals during the final screamed verse as "unearthly, like a werewolf, unbelievable. 129,953 views, added to favorites 2,422 times. Great article. Somber, almost scared vocal undertones, due to the gruesome content of the song, are ever-present. Recorded with his Bluegrass Boys and featuring fiddles and yodelling, they represent the "longest train" variant of the song, and omit any reference to a decapitation. Kurt Cobain frequently cited Lead Belly as a major influence of Nirvana and gave Lead Belly songwriting credits in the liner notes of the 1994 album. The all-powerful folk goddess brings nothing but a guitar and angelic voice when performing her “In The Pines.” Joan, with her generation-defining presence, keeps her “In The Pines” dark and mysterious by touching on all of the grisly details that Lead Belly originally brought to this iconic murder ballad. I first heard this song in the 70s I think. Second, he adds a verse stating that as a result of not listening to his mother, he is now enveloped in the heartbreak and anguish from losing his one and only love. try cover fake plastic tree @scruffpuppie. Love all 5 but especially.. Bill Callahan’s Smog-In the Pines. The first officially released version by Nirvana was recorded during the band's MTV Unplugged appearance, on November 18, 1993, at Sony Music Studios in New York City. was over, but Cobain refused, saying that he sucked and that the whole band sounded terrible. Where the sun don't ever shine. 3 (1998) Cover art for Lead Belly Sings for Children by Smithsonian Folkways. Lyrics in some versions about "Joe Brown's coal mine" and "the Georgia line" may refer to Joseph E. Brown, a former Governor of Georgia, who famously leased convicts to operate coal mines in the 1870s. “The deeper you dig, the more you find.”. Bojangles” (Jerry Jeff Walker), Five Good Covers: “What’s Up” (4 Non Blondes), Five Good Covers: “Hurt” (Nine Inch Nails). Some versions of the song also reference the Great Depression, with the "black girl" being a hobo on the move from the police, who witnesses the murder of her father while train-jumping. I would shiver the whole night through. However, as Eric Weisbard writes in a 1994 article in The New York Times, "...the enigmatic train is almost as frightening, suggesting an eternal passage: 'I asked my captain for the time of day/He said he throwed his watch away.'"[7]. I always loved the Nirvana version, but had no idea on the history of the song. French singer Madjo recorded a version on her self titled 2009 album. In her 1970 Ph.D. dissertation, Judith McCulloh found 160 permutations of the song. The following five covers are lesser-known renditions, but are delicious fruits of the kingdom’s labor. I'm going where the cold wind blows. Where Did You Sleep Last Night bass tab by Nirvana. Nirvana – Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Lead Belly cover) 0 Tags. Great vocal control and subtlety, it's almost as good as Leadbelly's. In a 2009 MTV article, Kurt Loder remembers discussing the song's title with Cobain, with Cobain insisting, "But the Leadbelly version is called 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night,'" and Loder preferring the "In the Pines" title used by Bill Monroe (as well as Lead Belly).[11]. Five Good Covers: In The Pines (Where Did You Sleep Last Night), "The Four Pennies – Music Biography, Credits and Discography", "The Haunting Power of 'In The Pines': The song has a rich musical and social history that predates Kurt Cobain and Nirvana", "The Four Pennies – Discover music, videos, concerts, stats, & pictures at", "Nirvana's Tense, Brilliant Unplugged in New York, 20 Years Later", "Three Feet From God: An Oral History of Nirvana 'Unplugged, "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais", "Turn Off the Fear - Carl Rutherford - Releases", "Laura Gibson - La Grande b/w In the Pines", Breakfast at Tiffany's: Music from the Motion Picture, Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle, Experiencing Nirvana: Grunge in Europe, 1989, Smells Like Bleach: A Punk Tribute to Nirvana, Nirvana – A Classic Album Under Review – In Utero, Social and economic stratification in Appalachia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=In_the_Pines&oldid=998598270, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. by Nirvana [US] was written by [Traditional] and was first recorded by "Dock" Walsh in 1926. Smog is Bill Callahan. After work I’m going to go home and play it. 20 in the UK,[4] but was not released by their label in the US.[10]. "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" Due to the popularity of Lead Belly's versions, he is often erroneously cited as the song's author, such as by Kurt Cobain, who introduced Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged rendition as being by his "favorite performer," then telling an anecdote about attempting to purchase Lead Belly's guitar. There are two prestigious schools for “In The Pines (Where Did You Sleep Last Night)” run by two legendary principals, the larger-than-life Lead Belly and the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe. Nirvana's MTV Unplugged version of the song has earned Cobain acclaim from critics and other musicians and artists. I think its the best cover of the song besides Nirvanas breath taking version of course. ", "My Girl" and "Black Girl", is a traditional American folk song originating from two songs, "In the Pines" and "The Longest Train", both of whose authorship is unknown and date back to at least the 1870s. Last edit on Feb 13, 2014. Another Monroe School attendee, Doc Watson incorporates a “high lonesome” sound in his playful 2007 version of “In The Pines.” Doc’s rendition stands out for two reasons. My girl, my girl, don't lie to me. The baritone folk-singer/spoken word poet laureate delivers a minimalistic, matter-of-fact version, consisting of an periodic whistle, simple guitar waltz, perfectly placed strings, and Callahan’s deep, chesty, controlled voice. Both recorded very different versions of the song in the 1940s and 1950s. Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Callahan starts his 2005 cover with “the longest train,” speaks of his debilitating heartbreak, and makes no mention of death by decapitation, indicating that he attended the School of Bill Monroe. 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