Angels laid him away – “Louis Collins” and a folk bloodbath
“Mrs. Collins weep, Mrs. Collins moan …”
Aficionados might argue the point, but it’s reasonable to claim that “Louis Collins” is one of Mississippi John Hurt’s best original songs. It is easier still to call it the best of all the murder and bad man ballads in his repertoire. One can also make a solid, broad case for it being one of the last great traditional American murder ballads, with one foot in the world of oral folkways and one in that of commercial recordings. Of course, by the same logic, you could call it one of the first modern American murder ballads. Beyond rational debate, however, is the beauty of Hurt’s singing and playing. Honestly, I’ve never met anyone who feels otherwise after they really sit down and listen! For me, his glory is as grand as that of the Earth and sky.
Today’s post focuses on the song in relation to that latter, subjective reality: but you can’t take my word regarding such things. Judge for yourself.
YouTube version – from Avalon Blues (original recordings made in Annapolis, Maryland, April 2-4, 1963)
Lyrics – “Louis Collins” by Mississippi John Hurt
John Hurt, from rural Mississippi, had been a forgotten blues player for more than twenty years before two of his early recordings found their way onto Harry Smith’s seminal Anthology of American Folk Music in 1952. He’d been forgotten for over thirty before musicologist Tom Hoskins bothered to see if he was still alive. But thanks to Hurt’s rediscovery in 1963, and even though his new-found fame was short-lived, we have several different recordings of him performing “Louis Collins” such as the one linked above from his classic 1966 studio album Today.
Of course, his original 1928 recording for OKeh Records (December 21, New York City, OKeh #8724) exhibits the strong voice of a man in his prime and, though perhaps lacking some of the finer grace of his later recordings, it cannot be ignored.
Finally, I offer you one last piece of evidence. Pete Seeger invited John Hurt to appear on his local New York City television show Rainbow Quest, and Hurt did so with Hedy West and Paul Cadwell in 1966 near the end of the show’s two year run. You can view the entire episode on YouTube, though it does not include a performance of “Louis Collins.” The short clip below will give you, I’m sure, a deeper sense of that truly gentle and talented man named John Hurt. He was known to hit the strings like John Henry drove the spikes.
So, now you hear it. But whence comes this lovely tale of murder, and why do we call it classic and keep playing it today? If you bear with me, you’ll likely find some barely satisfactory answers along with some quite satisfactory music, including a surprise track in the Coda!