The Prisoner's Song

"The Prisoner's Song"
Song by Vernon Dalhart
B-side"Wreck of the Old 97"
ReleasedNovember 1924
RecordedAugust 13, 1924[1]
StudioVictor Studios, New York City
LabelVictor 19427
Songwriter(s)Guy Massey

"The Prisoner's Song" is a song copyrighted by Vernon Dalhart in 1924 in the name of Dalhart's cousin Guy Massey, who had sung it while staying at Dalhart's home and had in turn heard it from his brother Robert Massey, who may have heard it while serving time in prison.[2][3]

"The Prisoner's Song" was one of the best-selling songs of the 1920s, particularly in the recording by Vernon Dalhart. The Vernon Dalhart version was recorded at Victor Records in August 1924 and marketed in the hillbilly music genre. One of the most popular records of the early 20th century, maybe. Although contemporary data show that Victor pressed slightly over 1.3 million copies during the record's peak years of popularity,[4] anecdotal accounts sourced from a 1940s promotional flyer report sales as high as 7 million.[5] The song's publisher at the time, Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., reportedly sold over one million copies of the song's sheet music.[6]

The lyrics are posted on the wall in the sheriff's office in the film Steamboat Bill, Jr., and the first verse is (silently) sung by Buster Keaton.

It was later performed by, among others, Hank Snow, Bill Monroe, and Brenda Lee. The first verse was sung by Liberace at the end of an episode of the 1960s television show Batman in which Liberace played the double role of twin criminal brothers, both of whom ended the episode behind bars.

The song was mentioned in the book MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors (1968) by Richard Hooker. It was parodied by the two main characters simulating being in jail outside the commander's tent.

The song was included in Lyle Kessler's play Orphans and the film adaptation of the same name which the character of Harold drunkenly mumbles. The verse sung was altered to "if I had the wings of an angel, over these prison walls I would fly, Straight to the arms of my mutter, and then I'd be willing to die".

The song was an influence on Albert E. Brumley's popular hymn, "I'll Fly Away" (1929).

The song has since become something of a staple on the Irish and Scottish folk music scene and has been recorded by the Scottish folk trio The McCalmans on their live album "Listen to the Heat".[7]

  1. ^ "Victor 19427 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced) - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  2. ^ Palmer, Jack, Vernon Dalhart: First Star of Country Music, Mainspring Press, Denver Colorado, 2005. ISBN 0-9772735-0-4
  3. ^ "The Prisoner's Song (Guy Massey)". www.bobdylanroots.com. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  4. ^ Fagan, Ted; Moran, William R. (1983). The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings, Pre-Matrix Series. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. lxii. ISBN 0-313-23003-X.
  5. ^ Brooks, Tim (November 26, 1989). "Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music. By Joel Whitburn". ARSC Journal. 21 (1). Association for Recorded Sound Collections. ISSN 0004-5438. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  6. ^ Gardner, Edward Foote (2000). Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century, Volume 1—Chart Detail and Encyclopedia (1900-1949). St. Paul, Minn.: Paragon House. p. 359. ISBN 1-55778-789-1.
  7. ^ The McCalmans, The Prisoner Song, retrieved February 27, 2024