Guitar: song examples: Campfire Diploma: Cotton Fields: An Open Learning Guide

Huddie Ledbetter (better known by his pseudonym "Lead Belly") was born in 1888 and grew up in northwest Louisiana near the Arkansas border. As a teenager, he worked in the cotton fields like his parents and later his wife. In the song, he processes the first-hand experiences of a cotton picker.

The song is part of the standard repertoire of blues, country, folk, jazz and rock singers. The countless performers include Johnny Cash, Udo Jürgens, The Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Elton John, Harry Belafonte, Trini Lopez, Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, and many more. Not to forget the numerous instrumentals.

Every artist has their own version of the song, but usually after two melodically similar verses there is a chorus and after that another verse (pattern A A B A), with each line followed by the chorus "In them old cotton fields back home". A verse can also be sung twice in a row. Otherwise they are repeated several times in a loose sequence. Each verse and each chorus can contain smaller or larger melodic variations. There are also many polyphonic arrangements.

The melody presented here is largely based on a pentatonic scale. In various interpretations, however, it can be expanded to include a few passing notes or blue notes. It is advisable to listen to different versions of the song and create your own version from the wealth of possibilities.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Guitar/song examples/Campfire Diploma/Cotton Fields by Wikibooks contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. This adapted text is shared under the same licence. Contributor history.