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Ain't No More Cane On This Brazos (Live)

from Times Ain't Nuthin' Like They Used To Be by Marc Nerenberg

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AIN’T NO MORE CANE ON THIS BRAZOS (LIVE) (Public Domain)
This song was collected by John Lomax in the Texas Central State Prison Farm early in the 20th century, from prisoners who worked in the sugar cane plantations on the banks of the Brazos River. He has suggested that the song has its "real roots in Africa", which became, initially, a slave work song. It later became a prison work song, when the emancipated slaves were replaced by African American prisoners, leased out to plantations for cheap labour, in a situation hardly distinguishable from slavery. This use of mainly black convicts for cheap labour continued well into the 20th century under the State Prison Farm system. In my rendering of the song, recorded in Montreal’s Yellow Door Coffeehouse (with audience participation), I use most of the stanzas originally collected by Lomax, with slight reworking of some lyrics here and there, and changes to the order of presentation.

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from Times Ain't Nuthin' Like They Used To Be, released January 15, 2021

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Marc Nerenberg Montreal, Québec

Marc Nerenberg is a veteran Montreal folksinger who plays old time banjo styles and blues harmonica. He has a narrative- centric repertoire, recounting stories in song and wrapping stories around songs. You may “be drawn in by a combination of Marc’s mastery of traditional banjo styles, his idiosyncratic singing, and [his] richly detailed ballads.” (Mike Regenstreif – Folk Roots/Folk Branches 2019) ... more

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