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6. DARLIN’ COREY (Live)
I guess I inadvertently turned this song into a murder ballad when I wrote down some half-remembered lyrics when I wanted to sing it. I always thought there was an implied murder in this song, so one appeared as I tried to pull the lyrics out of my memory. Eventually, I looked up other sets of lyrics, and while I don’t find the murder explicitly in there, I did borrow bits and pieces to flesh out the song, which seems to me to work as a murder ballad. The banjo figures I play are loosely based on the playing of B. F. Shelton in his 1927 recording of this song.

lyrics

6. DARLIN’ COREY
Traditional – additional lyrics by Marc Nerenberg
Wake up, wake up, Darlin’ Corey. What makes you sleep so sound?
The revenue officers are coming. Gonna tear your still-house down.

The first time I seen Darlin’ Corey, she was sitting on the stump of a tree,
With a .44 hanging by her side, and a banjo on her knee.

And the first time I heared Darlin’ Corey, she was singing with a voice rough as sand.
And she was beatin’ on that banjo, frailin’ with a hammer-like hand.

Well, how I loved Darlin’ Corey. Couldn’t love her more if I tried.
And oh how my heart was broken the day Darlin’ Corey died.

Yeah, the last time I seen Darlin’ Corey, she had a dram glass in her hand.
And that .45 strapped acrosst her shoulders, that she could shoot like any man.

And the last time I heard Darlin’ Corey, it was the sound of her firin’ gun.
Six shots came back in answer. Corey never had no chance to run.

Dig a hole, dig a hole in the meadow. Dig a hole in the cold, cold ground,
Where I can lay my Darlin’, yeah, lay Darlin’ Corey down.

He, can’t you hear that banjo ringing? Can’t you hear that lonesome sound?
Can’t you hear them pretty girls a-laughing, while they dance on the cold, cold ground?

Wake up, wake up, Darlin’ Corey. What makes you sleep so sound?
Them revenue officers are long gone, but you’re still in the cold, cold ground.

credits

from DELIA'S GONE: Murder Ballads & Other Songs of Love & Death, released July 15, 2019
Traditional, arranged and adapted, with additional lyrics, by Marc Nerenberg

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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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