Make Me a Pallet on the Floor

"Make Me a Pallet on the Floor"
Written by	Traditional
Published	1911
Language	English
Form	Folk song, Blues
Original artist	Mississippi John Hurt (1928; 1966)

"Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (also recorded as "Make Me a Pallet on your Floor", "Make Me a Pallet" and "Pallet on the Floor") is a blues/jazz/folk song now considered as a standard. The song's origins are somewhat nebulous and can be traced back to the 19th century. Various versions of the lyrics were first published in 1911 in an academic journal of ethnomusicology. Some sources attribute the modern score to W. C. Handy who later modified into a song known as "Atlanta Blues".^[1]

The song's first recordings are by Mississippi John Hurt (as "Ain't No Tellin'") and Bunk Johnson.

List of cover versions

Make Me a Pallet on the Floor has been recorded or performed by a number of artists, mostly blues, jazz, folk and country American musicians. The following is an incomplete and roughly chronological list of interpretations.

• Jelly Roll Morton (1920s)
• Memphis Jug Band (1920s)
• Big Bill Broonzy (1930s)
• Willie Brown
• Sidney Bechet
• Louis Armstrong and His All Stars on the 1954 album Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy
• Ottilie Patterson
• Brownie McGhee
• Odetta and the Blues on her 1962 album Odetta and the Blues
• Bob Dylan on the Billy Faier Show (1962)
• Sandy Denny (late 1960s)
• Gus Cannon (1963)
• Jo Ann Kelly
• Doc Watson on the 1975 album Memories
• David Bromberg (1976)
• Mike Wilhelm (1976)
• Rahsaan Roland Kirk on the 1977 album Boogie-Woogie String Along for Real
• Lucinda Williams on her 1979 album Ramblin'
• Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan on the 1980 album Trouble in Mind
• Sharon, Lois & Bram on the 1980 album Singing 'n' Swinging
• Jim Post on the 1987 album Jim Post & Friends
• Mike Seeger on the 1996 album Way Down In North Carolina
• Sue Foley (2000)
• Gillian Welch on her 2003 album Soul Journey
• Entrance on the 2004 album Wandering Stranger
• Tangleweed on the 2005 album Just a Spoonful
• Irma Thomas (2006)
• Eddie Adcock
• The Wood Brothers on the 2008 album Loaded
• North Mississippi Allstars - Perform the song in their live repertoire
• Emma Beaton & Celtic Chaos on 2008 Pretty Fair Maid

References

1. ^ Robertson, David (2009). W.C. Handy: the life and times of the man who made the blues. Random House of Canada. pp. 98–99. ISBN 9780307266095. http://books.google.com/books?id=w6-U8nAoWtEC.