Midnight Special

"Midnight Special" Roud Folk Song Index 6364 Carl Sandburg-1927
Written by	Traditional
Language	English
Form	Country blues
Original artist	Traditional
Recorded by	(Historically) Dave Cutrell–1926 Sam Collins–1929 Lead Belly–1934 (see also Other versions)

"Midnight Special" is a traditional folk song that probably originated among prisoners in the American South. The title refers to the light of a train that shines through the prison window and represents a light of salvation that can deliver the prisoner from his prison walls.  The song is played in the country-blues style. Verses vary and intermix with other prison songs, such as "Jumpin Judy," "Ain't That Berta," "Oh Berta," and "Yon Comes de Sargent."  Many of the components of these songs became standard in the blues repertoire and appear in other types of blues songs.

Three early recordings are examples of how traditional folk songs evolve:  Dave "Pistol Pete" Cutrell, added humorous verses to his 1926 recording that referred to a "cowboy band." He was a member of the McGinty's Oklahoma Cow Boy Band. Sam Collins added a woman (Nora) to his version in 1927, and Huddie William "Lead Belly" Ledbetter recorded added verses pertaining to a 1927 Houston jailbreak to his version in 1934.

John and Alan Lomax have collected various versions of "Midnight Special," one about a train from Houston, Texas, that passed the Sugarland Prison, and the other about the Illinois Central that passed the Mississippi State Penitentiary.  Other versions place the prison in North Carolina. However, most early versions have no particular location.

Other artists that covered "Midnight Special include:

• Burl Ives
• Johnny Rivers
• Big Joe Turner
• Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Mungo Jerry
• Van Morrison
• Odetta
• Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
• Little Richard
• Buckwheat Zydeco
• Pete Seeger
• The Kingston Trio
• The Spencer Davis Group
• Lonnie Donegan
• Eric Clapton
• Harry Belafonte
• Paul McCartney.