Midnight Special

Album: Best Of Leadbelly (1936)
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  • Well, you wake up in the mornin'
    You hear the work bell ring,
    And they march you to the table
    To see the same old thing.
    Ain't no food upon the table
    Ain't no pork up in the pan.
    But you better not complain, boy,
    You get in trouble with the man.

    Chorus:
    Let the midnight special
    Shine a light on me.
    Let the midnight special
    Shine a light on me.
    Let the midnight special
    Shine a light on me.
    Let the midnight special
    Shine a ever-lovin' light on me.

    Yonder come Miss Rosie
    (How in the world did you know?)
    By the way she wears her apron
    And the clothes she wore.
    Umbrella on her shoulder
    Piece of paper in her hand;
    She come to see the gov'nor
    She wants to free her man.

    Chorus

    If you're ever in Houston
    Well, you better do the right
    You better not gamble, there,
    You better not fight, at all
    Or the sheriff will grab ya
    And the boys will bring you down.
    The next thing you know, boy,
    Oh! You're prison bound.

    Chorus x 2 Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 7

  • John Peyton from Austin, TxHey Blues Fans! I love Songfacts and hate to say, but the above Lead Belly lyrics are way off. My great grandfather was Captain George Peyton of Houston PD Homicide, way back when. Lead Belly wrote: ...If you ever go to Houston / Boy, you better walk right / And you better not squabble / And you better not fight / Bass & Brock will arrest you / Peyton & Boone will take you down / You can bet your bottom dollar / That you're Sugarland bound / Let the Midnight Special… It's clear as day if you listen to Lead Belly's version. Of course the lyrics have been changed by many artists who have done a great justice (no pun) recording The Midnight Special. Ironically my oldest brother, also a Peyton was also a temporary resident in a Sugarland prison. Cheers all.
  • Ruth Modica from Dartford, Kent, EnglandThis story is fascinating and intriguing as I heard about it from watching an episode of Ghost Adventures starring Zak Bagans to whom I am an avid fan of, and pursued with my interest in it. I at first heard from somewhere that 'The Midnight Special' was a gun and I can guarantee I wasn't the only one, then Zak Bagans told his viewers different, so it looks like Zak was right as some tv presenter's can get there information wrong as I have discovered. So well done Zak and Thank you..
  • Susan from Atlanta, GeorgiaInteresting story, Matt from Dallas. I agree -- I love the CCR version. I also understand the kick of hearing the song in the prison it was written about; I get the same kick when I hear "I Was Born A Ramblin' Man" when I'm rollin' down Highway 41.

    James Best played Jim Lindsey in a couple of episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show"; in his second appearance, he and Andy sang this song, with Andy substituting "Deputy Fife will arrest you" in place of "and the sheriff he'll grab you".

    The TV show of the same name was on from 1972 to 1981, not just the late 1970s.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 27th 1960, Paul Evans performed "Midnight Special"* on the ABC-TV program the "Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show'...
    At the time the song was at #19 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; three weeks later on March 21st it would peaked at #16 {for 1 week} and it stayed on the chart for 13 weeks...
    He had a total of four Top 100 records with two of them making the Top 10; his other three charted records were "Seven Little Girls Sitting In the Back Seat" {#9 in 1959}, "Happy-Go-Lucky-Me" {#10 in 1960}, and "The Brigade of Broken Hearts" [#81 in 1960}...
    He composed Bobby Vinton's 1962 #1 hit "Roses Are Red (My Love)" and the Kalin Twins' 1958 #5 song "When"...
    Paul Evans will celebrated his 78th birthday in one week on March 5th {2016}...
    * On Paul Evan's Guaranteed Record label release, the song was spelled "Midnite Special".
  • Matt from DallasIt's a funny, odd, sad and hilarious for me to hear this song. Its really a old Blues song by what was described to me as traveling misfits, hobos and blues musicians about the Sugar Land Texas TDC prison in the late 1920's. Nobody was ever sure about who wrote it. There's a semi Hollywood quasi true story about a Sugar Land prison escape from the 70's. Has Goldie Hawn in it, so naturally I loved it. Otherwise Sugar Land is an unknown prison in South Texas.

    I was locked up in Sugar Land in the 80's. Pretty quite easy going Texas Farm for convicts. Most of you will never understand the difference between convicts and inmates, just be assured, the difference is black and white and race gots nothing to do with it. We did our time quietly in Sugar Land.

    Captain McKnight (I can still spell his name after all these years) used to listen to an old blues station out of the Central Unit, about as close as you could get a signal from Sugar Land. Lead Belly was his cousin and they played this song a lot. I was a kitchen clerk (convict) and he would get so excited when the song played it would piss the Major off. We'd dance around the kitchen to it. It sounded way different than CCR's version, and I liked CCR's version better. But still, you're locked up and someone is singing about the prison you're standing in. Like I said, it's a funny, odd, sad and hilarious to hear while standing in the kitchen at 3AM cooking breakfast.

    There was a train that went by at 1 AM and if you happened to be in Cell block C in Cell 1,2,3, 4 or 5 and the light shined on you, pack you stuff, you're girl saw the governor. But, the engineer didn't always have his light on. Don't ask me why? Maybe it was for varmints on the track. I can only guess. But when he did, you were going home sure as the sun rises.

    And that's the Midnight Special from Texas State Prison Sugar Land Texas.
  • Pearl from Chino Valley, AzI heard,that if the light from the train shone on a prisoner, they were about to be set free. in the song, it says, 'let the midnight special shine the light on me'. if you read the lyrics with this in mind, it makes sence.
  • Joe from Perth, Australiai always thought that this song meant the train was death coming to take you away from all this dreary day to day work and pointlessness
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