Work Song

Honestly im not sure about the ones above. This is truly a 'work song'. Listening to the beat of it, you can close your eyes and imagine the humming of these enslaved workers, throwing sacks or digging along with the beat. That bit i believe can be seen. The meaning however is a little more hazy, but to put it simply my interpretation is this: This story is coming from a man working (as mentioned before), and he is telling his 'boys' his story, along with encouraging them. "Boys working on empty Is that the kind of way to face the burning heat? I just think about my baby" As these men are doing hard work, hes saying 'i just think of his baby',

He then proceeds to say how significant she is to him. "There's nothing sweeter than my baby I'd never want once from the cherry tree 'Cause my baby's sweet as can be She give me toothaches just from kissing me"

The chorus comes into more significance closer to the end of the song which ill explain later.

continuing on with this work story he says "Boys, when my baby found me I was three days on a drunken sin I woke with the walls around me Nothin' in her room but an empty crib And I was burning up a fever I didn't care much how long I lived But I swear I thought I dreamed her She never asked me once about the wrong I did"

He honestly showing what his life was like before, drunken. but he woke up in an unfamiliar room, a room that only had a crib in it. the man had a fever but obviously didnt care much for his life. in his drunken daze he 'swear' he dreamt her. i believe he would be remembering her when he smashed drunk, but not clearly. This girl never asked him about the wrongs in his life however even though she took him in and looked after him.

this is where the chorus shows his love and devotion to her. when his time comes around he dosent care where it is (cold hard earth) because its not with her. even though his body has died hes saying he'll crawl back to her, where he belongs.

"My baby never fret none About what my hands and my body done If the lord don't forgive me I'd still have my baby and my babe would have me"

this is going back to the point where this woman dosent care about his past wrongs, (what his hands and body has done) , and if the lord dosent forgive his wrongs he dosent care because he'd still have his baby.

"But I was kissing on my baby And she put her love down soft and sweet"

i think this may be referring to sex, or something intimate between them.

"In the lonely plight I was free Heaven and hell were words to me"

i honestly am unsure of this bit. maybe saying that through his lonely life, in this moment of intimacy between these two people he is finally free. Then because of the life he has lived he has known hell. but in meeting and falling in love with her, he now knows heaven.

Then the chorus still carries the same meaning as before.

Anyways thats my lonnnnng and word interpretation, if youve read up to here then thank you, this is a beautiful song and i had to express what i believed the meaning was.