Cannonball Blues

Song composer(s)

Traditional

Grateful Dead Recordings

Not recorded by the Dead

Dead Related Recordings

No Dead related recordings entered

Other Recordings

Cannonball
Carter Family (1924)
World Tour with Folk Songs : Addiss and Crofut (1962)
Country Songs and Tunes with Autoharp : Kilby Snow (1969)
Act One : Seldom Scene (1972)
Roy Berkeley With Tim Woodbridge : Roy Berkeley (1977)
Sorry But I Can't Take You - Women's Railroad Blues : Various Artists (Nora Lee King) (1980)
Best Of Vol. 1 : Seldom Scene (1987)
Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson at Folk City : Jean Ritchie & Doc Watson (1990)
When Roses Bloom In Dixieland - Their Complete Recordings, Vol 3 : The Carter Family (1995)
Step By Step - Lesley Riddle Meets The Carter Family - Blues Country & Sacred Songs : Lesley Riddle (19??)
The Railroad in Folk Song : Various Artists (Delmore Brothers) (19??)
Neiman-Marcus First Edition : Various Artists (Delmore Brothers) (19??)
The Legendary Carter Family : Carter Family (19??)

Cannonball Blues
Bill Clifton & the Dixie Mountain Boys (1961)
Live At Vanderbilt University : Flatt & Scruggs (1964)
Shepherd Of The Highway : Mitch Greenhill (1966)
Good Though : Utah Phillips (1968)
In His Prime (1927-1928) : Furry Lewis (1988)
Carter Family Album : Bill Clifton (1990)
White Country Blues, 1928-36 A Lighter Shade Of Blue, Vol. 1 : Various Artists (Frank Hutchison) (1993)
Great American Train Songs : Various Artists (Grandpa Jones) (1993)
Yonder : Peter Rowan (1996)
Classic Bluegrass : Larry Sparks & the Lonesome Ramblers (199?)

Solid Gone
Tom Rush : Tom Rush : Tom Rush (196?)
Down South : Doc & Merle Watson (1984)
Mountain Blues : Various Artists (Frank Hutchison) (19??)
The Original Carter Family From 1936 - Radio Transcripts : The Carter Family (19??)

Performance History

Played by the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers in San Carlos on June 11th 1962

Played by Garcia and Nelson at the College of San Mateo in San Mateo on November 10th 1962.

Not performed by the Grateful Dead. Occurs only on pre-Dead tapes featuring future members of the dead.

Notes

Sometimes called The Cannonball. Sometimes called Solid Gone from the repetition of this phrase in the chorus. Possibly also called Hobo Blues.

Recorded by the Carter Family on May 30th 1924. They had heard the song performed by an itinerant singer/guitarist Lesley Riddle.

Full lyrics of the version performed by the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers;

Wash (all?) my shirt and my dirty overall,
I'm riding on the train that they call the Cannonball,
Honey, babe, I'm leaving you.

See that train, it's coming down the track,
Taking me away but it ain't bringing me back,
Now I'm gone, I'm solid gone.

Goin' up north I'm goin' to go next fall,
My luck don't change I won't be back at all,
(And now babe?) I'm leaving you.

My baby left me she even took my shoes,
Ain't got nothing but them dirty no good blues,
Now she's gone, she's solid gone.

See that train coming down the track,
It's taking me but it ain't a'bringing me back,
Now I'm gone, solid gone.