There are literally birds singing in the backgroud to this unbelievably emotional song. I've shed tears, I've pulled out my guitar just to try to recreate that perfectly placed bend, and I called my grandma immediately to tell her I love her while I still can.
After 60 old people get a surge of high energy. Particularly after menopause, women especially. That's why they need the right nutrients in their diet. ie calcium & magnesium through sesame seeds and methi in . And a high fibre diet. We have not been honouring our human body and its higher potential.
@@toussantlbisso thank you =] gunna watch next... hope you find a song you enjoy by "civil wars" folk ish style and "Johnny Moon" from heart the band with barricuda and crazy on you
How many of the 10s millions murdered in the womb just in USA, could of brought JOY into this sad world if they had been allowed The Right to Life which is a constitutional Right for all the innocence of the land Their heart was formed and beating by day 18, without commenting a crime they were given the death penalty, literally ripped apart...yet murderers & rapist receive shelter, medical, food, lawyers, etc, on rare occasion of death penalty - goodbyes, meal of choose, medical exam to make sure their fit to die 😤 What a wonderful world it Could be If we loved the innocence We have robbed ourselves of much talent & peace by fearing & rejecting the next generation
I've read the comments below and I'm in tears, too. I think it's because yet another part of Americana has passed into history. When I was a kid (I'm almost 70) I loved listening to old people tell their stories. The country is in such turmoil and this has a grounding effect on me. Roots. Bittersweet roots. It's very sad what we're loosing. I wish I could have met her. God bless black America.
We are all but etchings drawn in the sand disappearing with the next wave. We have only the tiniest bit of our history captured in its crudest form. All the things we take for granted, what we eat, what we wear, how we live, almost all music and all our culture, how we loved, how we strived and struggled, all will be forgotten when the unforgiving wave of time comes rolling by. Some day we will be those people in black and white pictures that are long dead and forgotten. Those people were just like us, just as alive, just as sure their reality and world would be remembered because they lived it. Only tiny fragments from the past like this song will truly take us back and make us experience how it really was all those years ago. Music is a blessing like that.
Everyone here should look up "Cotton Pickin'" by Bill Staines, my father, which he wrote as a tribute to this fine lady, and it uses the same chord structure. I played on that recording, too. Bill died last weekend. I miss you, Dad. Thank you so much for sharing your joy of music with the rest of us.
She was my guitar teacher's guitar teacher. My guitar teacher always insisted on teaching this song to all of her students because none of the people covering this song played it the same way Libba did, but my teacher learned it directly from Libba, so she made a point of passing it on to all of her students along with stories from Libba's life.
Is it strange I was #222 to like this comment and my Birthday is 11-22-77? I have a thing for numbers and I would have loved to have witnessed a performance.
We had a folk club at my college in the early 70’s and had many musicians come, one of them Libba Cotten...we felt as if folk royalty was in our midst and our scruffy selves treated her with the most awe and kindness and respect. She was sweet and fragile, and we all went out of our way to make sure she well cared for...my roommate and I lent her our room! That was my claim to fame for years! We all knew how to play Freight Train back on the day! Rest In Peace, dear Libba🎶❤️
It's true many knew to play this song back in the day. It is not that hard to make it work--the song is good even with beginners, but this version is extraordinary, Thank you Judy for the memory. I hope you are picking on today.
So perfect, so simple, so beautiful and sad at the same time have always loved her style of music This is sensational What do you admire most about her?
I admired her love of performing and sharing her own style of her own music with audiences who loved her back. She knew her music was appreciated and being shared. Her “Cotten Picken” finger style was easily taught from one person to another. She played left handed upside down guitar and was self taught. She embodied a pure joy of music making.
@@judyperilstein9752 that's so beautiful for you to say She's really good at what she does I admire her a lot, at her age she still manages to keep up So what other musicians do you find interesting?
268 now. Some people don’t understand how to look beyond & appreciate the perfect flaws & life experiences behind something like this. They’ve grown up on SFX & Autotune, it’s a shame. There’s a whole world of ‘feel’ they may never come to know.
That's true. We are now aware of many great musicians of the past that we weren't, as well as many classical selections that are available, not to mention many unsigned artists that are excellent, as well as prodigies such as Yoyo and Lisa X and strange things as well.
This blew me away! hang on, she's 92...she wrote this classic song at 12...and her playing is amazing, such nimble fingers, truly great woman, who nobody has heard of.
@@moorooster223she’s famous amongst people who are in-the-know on blues and folk, and depending on where you are in the world and/or your generation you may find yourself pretty damn alone in all this
@@OurEnemyScalion fair point yeah. I grew up in the south and my family liked her. and I spend most of my time in life on the internet. I guess if someone was from somewhere else and didn't have online communities they might not know anyone who knows of her or other famous artists.
This made me cry, although I’m not sure exactly why. Just uniquely beautiful and somehow sad at the same time. As simple as I can put it, she’s just got an honest, vulnerable, and soul moving voice.
I think by this point in her life, she wouldn't have been surprised. Her rediscovery in the late 1950s led to folk festivals and tours that allowed her to peform before tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of people, and also led to recordings that reached hundreds of thousands to that, especially if you include appearances on folk anthologies. She wasn't popular on the scale of Aretha, but this one song is right up there with those of Stephen Foster and Hank Williams in terms of reach.
I love the song and the performance. Who I feel sorry for is the 1,507,622 who haven't heard or seen it. And the 229 who did and decided to down thumb it. Guess they missed their freight train along with decent taste in music? XD
Edit: When I made that comment it didn't have anything to do with CZcams views, it was a comment on the sheer power of the media. One little old recording at her house on a sunny afternoon not meant for anyone in particular now has been seen by and inspired over a million people, Simply amazing!!
Just proves that the blues never leaves your soul. Such clean and even finger work at that age is a true talent. It would have been something to see her play when she was in her younger years.
I've watched this video a zillion times and it always moves me. Amazing artist mrs. Cotton was and a lovely lady. Those kind of artists who came from the depths of the common working people do not exist anymore.
Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten (January 5, 1893 - June 29, 1987) was an American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter. A self-taught left-handed guitarist, Cotten developed her own original style. Her approach involved using a right-handed guitar (usually in standard tuning), not re-strung for left-handed playing, essentially, holding a right-handed guitar upside down. This position required her to play the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb. Her signature alternating bass style has become known as "Cotten picking."
and what else is cool is that she was the maid for the seeger family and heard mike and peggy singing this and or listening to her record and she shocked them when she said that was her song. mike was part of friends of old time music and brought her to nyc for concert, and probably to colleges too. i saw her in 1960 or 61 or so. she was a national treasure and her spirit lives on with us. that was the first finger picking i did, reading the notes in a sing out magazine, way back when
Gotta love Wikipedia. Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten (née Nevills) (January 5, 1893 - June 29, 1987)[1] was an American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter. A self-taught left-handed guitarist, Cotten developed her own original style. She played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside down, as she was left-handed.[2] This position required her to play the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb. Her signature alternating bass style has become known as "Cotten picking".
Perfect. It's the oddest thing when you play guitar outside all the birds and critters come up to you. That's fact, even if your bad as I am, lol. It's still a wonderful joyous feeling I wish everyone got to experience. They say in heaven everyone sings, i like to believe that, gives me some hope and a light at the end of my tunnel.
She invented a style of playing that guitarists have to really work on....it’s difficult! I actually really love the frailness of her vocals here, it’s really endearing and....human. Cherish your old folks.
@@skittlesstarburst4532 He might be referring to how she taught herself to play a right-handed guitar left-handed, so essentially with the guitar turned upside down.
@@skittlesstarburst4532 it’s called Cotten picking. Alright, people have been playing alternating bass finger picking since guitars have been around, but she was a pioneer in the style.
"She didn’t invent any style… finger picking has been around for centuries.. not the first blues player to play upside down.." There's always got to be some person who feels the need to defecate on something someone else thinks, feels, writes, says or does. I wish my Mother was still alive.
Once again we're reminded about why we're playing or listening to music in the first place.....Souls communicating with one another. I feel blessed just to have heard this.
I play for my cockatoo and parakeets all the time and they love to sing along and even learn the progession of what I'm playing and the cockatoo loves to dance. It's really cool
My dad used to play this song. He was a guitarist who loved the blues and I grew up listening to Josh White, Big Bill Broonzy, Leadbelly and similar artists. I don't know if he ever heard this lady play but he would have loved her. I'm so glad I found this video, it brought back some wonderful memories. She was amazing.
I love this because with headphones you can close your eyes and it's like you're sitting there with her. An exceptional recording of a national treasure!
I believe she wrote this when she was 11 - powerful words for an 11 year old: "Please don't tell what train I'm on. They won't know what route I've gone"
the comment i read which brought me here said she was apparently five or six, i don’t know enough about her to tell you which one of you’ are right, just thought it’d be an interesting tidbit of information : )
She was three!! Just kidding. Still amazing for a preteen to figure out unless she learned from an adult but who is the question. Definitely not from a video. What a doll. 👏 🎸
I was feeling a bit silly for tearing up but not so much now. It’s an innocence so rare… worth it’s weight in gold nowadays. The life that inspired the songs like these… & I’m a musician! I should be used to this 😊✌️
Thought I was the only one that gets the teary eyes when I hear the stuff that’s real! Doesn’t matter what style when they play and sing from the soul my eyes know it’s real! The real deal straight from the soul!
I saw her do this at the Winnipeg Folk Festival about 3 years before this video was made. The whole festival kind of just stopped in their tracks and realised we were blessed to be with her. The Roches were just debuting their new album. Stan Rogers was teaching us site crew how to sing. Music was moving forward. But she was the boss of that festival.
When I was a kid I had many living relatives born in the 19th century. They told amazing stories but I was too much of a fool to realize they were amazing. By the time I was 17 I had smartened up enough to record them. I now have hours of recorded conversations of relatives long dead.
you said it... right to the heart of the real heart of music ? see ..freight train cover Albert Croak on youtube .. does not match Elizabeths? but had a go .. see kathys song cover Albert Croak on youtube ?
My Dad hopped a train in Arkansas about 1927, age 12, and headed to Washington State to find his older Brother. Found him, stayed and as they say the rest is history.
I've just heard her for the first time in my life today and it's clear that she was a treasure. I' ll now go and find videos from when she was younger and I'm sure she sounded better, but who cares? She was one of those people who earn their right to be listened to in awe after she has lost part of her voice, just because it's her.
even today her song is played by 1000's of guitarist and fiddlers am i'm one of them, Elizabeth Cotton is a treasure to America, rest in Peace Elizabeth
I cry everytime I hear this song. The song makes me so happy and nostalgic but it hurts my heart so much making me sad and frustrated to know that most people won't know about this beautiful woman and her amazing songs.
Well Wes Anderson is putting her on the map in his latest movie, Asteroid City. I would have never known about this song and her until I just watched the trailer.
So perfect, so simple, so beautiful and sad at the same time have always loved her style of music This is sensational What do you admire most about her?
Any acoustic guitarists will realize how unique and special her guitar playing was once they realize that she's actually fingerpicking the bass notes with her fingers and the melody with her thumb since she plays on an inverted right-handed guitar. (That's mind-boggling!). The common fingerpicking is thumb playing bass notes and fingers playing melody.
@@reno145 Yep, @deadstar44 its arbitrary that the bass string is on top, if anything, the bass should be on bottom. Try flipping your guitar over and playing lefty, or play a lefty guitar righty, which will be easier, there are pluses and minuses to both ways. Furthermore, fingerpicking is not as affected by some of the challenges in grip and string orientation. She's great, and its a blessing she played that way.
The way she sings the line "when I am dead and in my grave..." gives me goosebumps every time. RIP Mrs Cotten, you may be gone, but your songs will live on forever.
I lived a town away from libba if you drived passed her house at the right time you could here her playing her guitar or banjo. Some of us kids would go up and say "hey libba how are ya doing ma'am" and she'd always remind us to just call her libba we all just loved gathering around her when she played her music it would always bring a tear to our eye.
Thanks for mentioning her birthday, I always look what kind of artists are born in certain months, sagitarius, gutsy women, good artists, loved it Elizabeth, hope you can hear me.
My wife and I saw her perform this in the mid 80’s at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Just as the song ended there was a brilliant flash of lightning and explosive thunder. Surely the gods were applauding this legend.
Note that she plays left handed with a right handed guitar upside down, not re-strung to accommodate a left handed person as is usually done. So she perfected a finger picking style playing bass notes with her pointer finger. Because that is so unique I doubt anybody could teach her that so she must have totally learned it on her own. Real talent, a classic beautiful song for all times even today. God bless her.
That's a large assumption to make given the large crowd of self taught blues players, never the less, truely a great feat learning that, and playing like that
She was a two fingered player..didnt stop her from playing beautiful music..female guitarists were considered inferior..even until year 2000, i was with male guitarists and they would not share their skills with me.maybe it was a guy thing or I was just in bad company.
@@polkadot240 so is John Moreland. Should check out 3:59 by John Moreland if you hear another soul. I highly suggest you do not skip this recommendation.
Got to see her play at an Unitarian church in late 70's. Listen to her version from the late 1950's to hear her younger voice. She was 11 when she wrote this!
I immediately teared up seeing this. The look of contentment on her face is priceless! For such seemingly small shoulders she has a lot of us standing on them!🙏🏾💙🙏🏾😊
Hmm... funny, as a guitarist my eyes and ears beg to differ: it's because she fumbles those bass notes the two different times. She shakes her head and smiles the first time. The second time she outright looks at her positioning and you can hear her find the right spot for that pinky the rest of the outro. Nice thought though...
Yes Devon, blues could be called American folk music, but I was just commenting originally on the pure American blues comment, because it’s more folksy than pure blues. Elizabeth cotton is regarded as a folk singer.. she has blues in her soul and it comes out in this performance I think..
Tenho esse vídeo salvo aqui em meus favoritos há muitos anos! Inclusive tenho essa música salva em um pendrive e sempre ouço no carro... Amo essa senhora. Linda canção ❤
LYRICS Freight train, freight train, run so fast Freight train, freight train, run so fast Please don't tell what train I'm on They won't know what route I'm going When I'm dead and in my grave No more good times here I crave Place the stones at my head and feet And tell them all I've gone to sleep When I die, oh bury me deep Down at the end of old Chestnut Street So I can hear old Number Nine As she comes rolling by When I die lord, oh bury me deep Down at the end of old Chestnut Street Place the stones at my head and feet And tell them all that I've gone to sleep Freight train, freight train, run so fast Freight train, freight train, run so fast Please don't tell what train I'm on They won't know what route I'm going
@Yes Sir! What do you think? I know what it means to me. She not ready to die yet...so she is trying to go faster than death.....but, when she does die....let her feel the vibrations of the 9, and then....she is gonna haunt that train run!!!!!! Bury me deep so they dont know what route im on.....to me anyway.....
Lyrics: Freight train, freight train, run so fast Freight train, freight train, run so fast Please don't tell what train I'm on They won't know what route I'm going When I'm dead and in my grave No more good times here I crave Place the stones at my head and feet And tell them all I've gone to sleep When I die, oh bury me deep Down at the end of old Chestnut Street So I can hear old Number Nine As she comes rolling by When I die, oh bury me deep Down at the end of old Chestnut Street Place the stones at my head and feet And tell them all I've gone to sleep Freight train, freight train, run so fast Freight train, freight train, run so fast Please don't tell what train I'm on They won't know what route I'm going
And Chet Atkins took her song and used it for his theme song giving her no credit. Funny how when you think you can keep some one down buy denying them the expensive instruments and lessons But then they come up with a way to shame you with raw talent. Bless you Mrs. Elizabeth
this was not a trend during those days Chet atkins has made lots of covers where the real artists are not mentioned, same goes with bands also bands used to make covers of songs and didnt mention the original artists for example- Knocking on heavens door by Guns n roses
mike paulsboe I didn't know that. What a kick in the gut to hear. My late boyfriend, a genius guitarist in his own right, worshipped Chet Atkins. I doubt he knew this about Chet Atkins, or he would've denounced him.
So perfect, so simple, so beautiful and sad at the same time have always loved her style of music This is sensational What do you admire most about her?
![Elizabeth Cotton - live [Colourised] 1965](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/q-OJsy3Z6r8/mqdefault.jpg)
![Elizabeth Cotton - live [Colourised] 1965](/img/tr.png)
This video is from 1985. She was born in 1893. Making her 92 years old at the time of recording. Absolutely incredible.
92 and she runs circles around me on guitar.
The GOAT. God Bless her no doubt.
@@Dayman667 Yeah. Now flip your, right handed, guitar over and play it left handed. 😁🤣🤣
Hope she’s doing well!
Woahh thanks for the info
She’s playing a right handed guitar upside down! Not strung for a lefty, playing chords in a totally original way. Amazing!
It might be that the video is flipped, but yes, I was wondering that too
@@thetwiceapostle6175 nope! She learned to play upside down and backwards! Back in elementary we actually learned about her :)
So did Hendrix
@@williamhoward77wh Hendrix strung his upside down. He didn’t play it strung for a right hander.
@@IvoryLoaf You share the same guitar right hand?
She was 12 when she wrote this song & here she is 80 years later, Amazing Lady
Most great art is created by the young, and if they're lucky they can continue to recreate it as is done here.
Sweet bajebus, really!?
@@mrjon75 this is great art?\
And she wrote it too?! Ah.. this is so lovely 🥰
Imagine she stole it off someone even earlier than her.... Great song tbf - shes a legend
There are literally birds singing in the backgroud to this unbelievably emotional song.
I've shed tears, I've pulled out my guitar just to try to recreate that perfectly placed bend, and I called my grandma immediately to tell her I love her while I still can.
its a nice bend when mastered for sure
The finger dexterity at that age is incredible. She is an inspiration.
After 60 old people get a surge of high energy. Particularly after menopause, women especially. That's why they need the right nutrients in their diet.
ie calcium & magnesium through sesame seeds and methi in . And a high fibre diet.
We have not been honouring our human body and its higher potential.
@@skylark1848: Not to mention playing it upside-down.
She plays every day . Keeps her fingers loose
@@lewiefrazier1041: Every day? She died in 1987.
i just said to myself, i hooe i can still hold my guitar at her age, let alone play it…i agree she is an inspiration..
Makes me wonder how many geniuses we'll never know about...
Are you familiar with Sunny War ? She does this style picking ! And she's not 30 I don't think.
♥♥♥
@@toussantlbisso thank you =] gunna watch next... hope you find a song you enjoy by "civil wars" folk ish style and "Johnny Moon" from heart the band with barricuda and crazy on you
How many of the 10s millions murdered in the womb just in USA, could of brought JOY into this sad world if they had been allowed The Right to Life which is a constitutional Right for all the innocence of the land
Their heart was formed and beating by day 18, without commenting a crime they were given the death penalty, literally ripped apart...yet murderers & rapist receive shelter, medical, food, lawyers, etc, on rare occasion of death penalty - goodbyes, meal of choose, medical exam to make sure their fit to die 😤
What a wonderful world it Could be If we loved the innocence
We have robbed ourselves of much talent & peace by fearing & rejecting the next generation
Thousands, at least.
I've read the comments below and I'm in tears, too. I think it's because yet another part of Americana has passed into history. When I was a kid (I'm almost 70) I loved listening to old people tell their stories. The country is in such turmoil and this has a grounding effect on me. Roots. Bittersweet roots. It's very sad what we're loosing. I wish I could have met her. God bless black America.
We are all but etchings drawn in the sand disappearing with the next wave. We have only the tiniest bit of our history captured in its crudest form. All the things we take for granted, what we eat, what we wear, how we live, almost all music and all our culture, how we loved, how we strived and struggled, all will be forgotten when the unforgiving wave of time comes rolling by. Some day we will be those people in black and white pictures that are long dead and forgotten. Those people were just like us, just as alive, just as sure their reality and world would be remembered because they lived it.
Only tiny fragments from the past like this song will truly take us back and make us experience how it really was all those years ago.
Music is a blessing like that.
@@ManicMindTrick Interesting viewpoint; kinda' parallels Hendrix's Castles Made Of Sand doesn't it?
well said. thank you😊
Everyone here should look up "Cotton Pickin'" by Bill Staines, my father, which he wrote as a tribute to this fine lady, and it uses the same chord structure. I played on that recording, too. Bill died last weekend. I miss you, Dad. Thank you so much for sharing your joy of music with the rest of us.
Your dad had a great voice and style. RIP
God Bless you and your family
God bless you and your pop 🙏
Thank you for sharing. This nostalgic memory made my heart smile a bit with the thought of sadness of lost knowledge, talent and tradition.
Cool, just went and listened. Great song... and he also plays left strung right.
She was my guitar teacher's guitar teacher. My guitar teacher always insisted on teaching this song to all of her students because none of the people covering this song played it the same way Libba did, but my teacher learned it directly from Libba, so she made a point of passing it on to all of her students along with stories from Libba's life.
And that's how a legend lives on.
Post a tutorial
Yes! I agree with @LookCrazyRideFreight post a tutorial please
Please post the tab or a tutorial, thanks
Why don't you post it then?
She sang this for me in 1977. The smile this puts on my face makes me feel young again.
Intercat lucky duck❤️
Wow...that's amazing
Sure she did
@ Bryan Cruz - you bet she did! I saw her sing AND play this at the Extempore' Coffee house late 70s so, she was still touring.
Is it strange I was #222 to like this comment and my Birthday is 11-22-77? I have a thing for numbers and I would have loved to have witnessed a performance.
Congratulations to Elizabeth being acknowledged by and inducted into the Rock Hall!
We had a folk club at my college in the early 70’s and had many musicians come, one of them Libba
Cotten...we felt as if folk royalty was in our midst and our scruffy selves treated her with the most
awe and kindness and respect. She was sweet and fragile, and we all went out of our way to make sure she
well cared for...my roommate and I lent her our room! That was my claim to fame for years! We all knew how to play
Freight Train back on the day! Rest In Peace, dear Libba🎶❤️
It's true many knew to play this song back in the day. It is not that hard to make it work--the song is good even with beginners, but this version is extraordinary, Thank you Judy for the memory. I hope you are picking on today.
So perfect, so simple, so beautiful and sad at the same time have always loved her style of music
This is sensational
What do you admire most about her?
I admired her love of performing and sharing her own style of her own music with audiences who loved her back. She knew her music was appreciated and being shared. Her “Cotten Picken” finger style was easily taught from one person to another. She played left handed upside down guitar and was self taught.
She embodied a pure joy of music making.
@@judyperilstein9752 that's so beautiful for you to say
She's really good at what she does
I admire her a lot, at her age she still manages to keep up
So what other musicians do you find interesting?
@@marcosbryant865 you sound like a fucking AI chatbot on a car dealerships website.
184 people jealous of a frail little old lady with a heart of gold.
I guess i am 185 now
268 now. Some people don’t understand how to look beyond & appreciate the perfect flaws & life experiences behind something like this. They’ve grown up on SFX & Autotune, it’s a shame. There’s a whole world of ‘feel’ they may never come to know.
People also dislike for other reasons such as to discourage CZcams from recommending things like this anymore
I’ll bet most of them voted for that orange turd in the white house.
@@tenfour10-400 - Nah, they voted for the Benghazi bimbo with the scumbag husband. 😜
this is why youtube is
great
imagine try to find a vid by elisabeth 30 years ago
mario7frankielee genius
That's true. We are now aware of many great musicians of the past that we weren't, as well as many classical selections that are available, not to mention many unsigned artists that are excellent, as well as prodigies such as Yoyo and Lisa X and strange things as well.
You have to write to the TV station and wait 10 years.
True, mario, but CZcams is censoring so much lately that we're going to be right back to square one.
Used to be great !
This blew me away! hang on, she's 92...she wrote this classic song at 12...and her playing is amazing, such nimble fingers, truly great woman, who nobody has heard of.
This lady is world famous revered and loved as a great talent ❤.......who you have never heard of you mean 😊.....
true but many people have heard of her she's one of the most famous blues musicians of all time
@@moorooster223she’s famous amongst people who are in-the-know on blues and folk, and depending on where you are in the world and/or your generation you may find yourself pretty damn alone in all this
@@OurEnemyScalion fair point yeah. I grew up in the south and my family liked her. and I spend most of my time in life on the internet. I guess if someone was from somewhere else and didn't have online communities they might not know anyone who knows of her or other famous artists.
This made me cry, although I’m not sure exactly why. Just uniquely beautiful and somehow sad at the same time. As simple as I can put it, she’s just got an honest, vulnerable, and soul moving voice.
Sounds like you knew exactly why after all.
Same! I have tears in my eyes and rolling down my cheeks. This is so beautiful.
Same here!! I just came to see if anyone felt the same way
I thought it sounded pretty shitty
@@eclark9965 exactly. that’s why I cried bro
I wonder if when she agreed to record this, if she ever thought over a million people would eventually get to listen and watch her play
Judging by the lyrics of the song and her age at the time, I highly doubt she cared about some stupid views on youtube.
I think by this point in her life, she wouldn't have been surprised. Her rediscovery in the late 1950s led to folk festivals and tours that allowed her to peform before tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of people, and also led to recordings that reached hundreds of thousands to that, especially if you include appearances on folk anthologies. She wasn't popular on the scale of Aretha, but this one song is right up there with those of Stephen Foster and Hank Williams in terms of reach.
Wzrd I think she’d be ecstatic
I love the song and the performance.
Who I feel sorry for is the 1,507,622 who haven't heard or seen it.
And the 229 who did and decided to down thumb it.
Guess they missed their freight train along with decent taste in music? XD
Edit: When I made that comment it didn't have anything to do with CZcams views, it was a comment on the sheer power of the media. One little old recording at her house on a sunny afternoon not meant for anyone in particular now has been seen by and inspired over a million people, Simply amazing!!
i always get goosebumps when she does that bend. R.I.P
Just proves that the blues never leaves your soul. Such clean and even finger work at that age is a true talent. It would have been something to see her play when she was in her younger years.
I believe there is videos of libba cotton playing back in her younger days on CZcams.
I've watched this video a zillion times and it always moves me. Amazing artist mrs. Cotton was and a lovely lady. Those kind of artists who came from the depths of the common working people do not exist anymore.
so old but fingers still work like a teenager
Titty Titty Poo Tang ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Shes so HOT 🔥
@@randallluke lmao
@@randallluke don't call the old lady hot gross
Stupid comment
She probably suffers from arthritis.
Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten (January 5, 1893 - June 29, 1987) was an American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter.
A self-taught left-handed guitarist, Cotten developed her own original style. Her approach involved using a right-handed guitar (usually in standard tuning), not re-strung for left-handed playing, essentially, holding a right-handed guitar upside down. This position required her to play the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb. Her signature alternating bass style has become known as "Cotten picking."
and what else is cool is that she was the maid for the seeger family and heard mike and peggy singing this and or listening to her record and she shocked them when she said that was her song. mike was part of friends of old time music and brought her to nyc for concert, and probably to colleges too. i saw her in 1960 or 61 or so. she was a national treasure and her spirit lives on with us. that was the first finger picking i did, reading the notes in a sing out magazine, way back when
Tannen Holt He contributed more with his comment than you did with yours, you genius.
that was my first fingerpicking song I learned too...I was about 10, my Mom was a guitar teacher.....
Gotta love Wikipedia.
Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten (née Nevills) (January 5, 1893 - June 29, 1987)[1] was an American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter.
A self-taught left-handed guitarist, Cotten developed her own original style. She played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside down, as she was left-handed.[2] This position required her to play the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb. Her signature alternating bass style has become known as "Cotten picking".
_Cotton picking_ OML
Frail, broken beauty, more precious than fine gold, American treasure to be treasured, if you don’t know, words won’t help!
Perfect. It's the oddest thing when you play guitar outside all the birds and critters come up to you. That's fact, even if your bad as I am, lol. It's still a wonderful joyous feeling I wish everyone got to experience. They say in heaven everyone sings, i like to believe that, gives me some hope and a light at the end of my tunnel.
🫂
There isn't a bouquet of roses large enough to lay at her feet!!!
That is easily most beautiful comment in a while thank you
Yes in deed!!! God bless your soul Mama💕🙋🏽♀️💕
Oh man you kinky
Beautiful comment!
Patricia that was quite the right comment to read after viewing
this lady play …. wonderful .
She invented a style of playing that guitarists have to really work on....it’s difficult! I actually really love the frailness of her vocals here, it’s really endearing and....human. Cherish your old folks.
She didn’t invent any style… finger picking has been around for centuries.. not the first blues player to play upside down..
@@skittlesstarburst4532 He might be referring to how she taught herself to play a right-handed guitar left-handed, so essentially with the guitar turned upside down.
@@skittlesstarburst4532 it’s called Cotten picking. Alright, people have been playing alternating bass finger picking since guitars have been around, but she was a pioneer in the style.
She and Mississippi John Hurt were probably pioneers.
"She didn’t invent any style… finger picking has been around for centuries.. not the first blues player to play upside down.." There's always got to be some person who feels the need to defecate on something someone else thinks, feels, writes, says or does. I wish my Mother was still alive.
DAMMIT y’all.... you don’t know how much I needed to find a piece of Real America again. Thanks for the Tears of Joy. Rest in Power, Great American 🙏🏼
One of my all time favorite tunes! No one makes real music anymore. :,( God bless this woman.
Once again we're reminded about why we're playing or listening to music in the first place.....Souls communicating with one another. I feel blessed just to have heard this.
+Arinjoy Sarkar WELL said ^_^
+Arinjoy Sarkar Right on! Well said.
Yeah... it's rare but some performers have this ability to merge with their performance making it etheral somehow
What an artist...how she plays upside down...unbelievable🤘👌👍🇨🇭
Amen
Just when I think this couldn't get better, I hear the birds who are compelled to sing along with her. Perfect.
Oh yes, she is so full of peace...
May peace be with you too
Manon B aaah you heard them too
What a beautiful comment
Human beings can be incredible beings, and I feel that when I read comments like these..
I play for my cockatoo and parakeets all the time and they love to sing along and even learn the progession of what I'm playing and the cockatoo loves to dance. It's really cool
My dad used to play this song. He was a guitarist who loved the blues and I grew up listening to Josh White, Big Bill Broonzy, Leadbelly and similar artists. I don't know if he ever heard this lady play but he would have loved her. I'm so glad I found this video, it brought back some wonderful memories. She was amazing.
I think that her guitar is not restrung for left hand and she is playing the chords upside down and that is so cool. I'm so in love with her voice.
She sure made it work! ❤
That string bend (you know the one) makes the song for me! Amazing
That and the sweet chord in that one spot, and I loved the little smile on her face when she aced it one more time.
Same dude
That bend is everything for me about this song
Aha 😊 fellow enthusiast 👌
ms381 fuck yeah
Yep! :-)
CZcams...
We definately need a "Love" button for times like this.
❤️
EXACTLY
Terry Allen: Unfortunately, the haters will want one of their own... best to stay right down the middle.
I love this because with headphones you can close your eyes and it's like you're sitting there with her. An exceptional recording of a national treasure!
The smile and slow headshake right after the slight flub on the bass note at 2:24. Love it
wrister like wanker? She is 92
I believe she wrote this when she was 11 - powerful words for an 11 year old: "Please don't tell what train I'm on. They won't know what route I've gone"
the comment i read which brought me here said she was apparently five or six, i don’t know enough about her to tell you which one of you’ are right, just thought it’d be an interesting tidbit of information : )
@@poofingers3054 I've only read that she thinks she wrote it in her teens, so some time between 1906 and 1912
Totally got that vibe. Just had this vision of her younger self when listening to this.
she got her first guitar at twelve according to cotton herself she wrote it when she was 13-14 but she didn't remember the exact age
She was three!! Just kidding. Still amazing for a preteen to figure out unless she learned from an adult but who is the question. Definitely not from a video. What a doll. 👏 🎸
So difficult for tears to not well up when listening to this incredible woman
I can't help it, it's the pure innocence of the song, her singing and soft strumming of the guitar. Beautiful
i'm crying my eyes out as i type this. those lyrics and the guitar play strummed emotions like no other songs had ever done
I was feeling a bit silly for tearing up but not so much now. It’s an innocence so rare… worth it’s weight in gold nowadays. The life that inspired the songs like these… & I’m a musician! I should be used to this 😊✌️
Me too, this made me weep, maybe the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard.
Thought I was the only one that gets the teary eyes when I hear the stuff that’s real! Doesn’t matter what style when they play and sing from the soul my eyes know it’s real! The real deal straight from the soul!
What a queen. Beautiful song. And doing this at 92 years old is just phenomenal. Shall take the beauty and hope she expressses into my day ❤
I saw her do this at the Winnipeg Folk Festival about 3 years before this video was made. The whole festival kind of just stopped in their tracks and realised we were blessed to be with her. The Roches were just debuting their new album. Stan Rogers was teaching us site crew how to sing. Music was moving forward. But she was the boss of that festival.
When I was a kid I had many living relatives born in the 19th century. They told amazing stories but I was too much of a fool to realize they were amazing. By the time I was 17 I had smartened up enough to record them. I now have hours of recorded conversations of relatives long dead.
you should release it on youtube
you should consider archiving them at archive.org or something...
release them on CZcams and archive.org!
I would be interested in hearing them.
priceless
Music made by a human being with soul.
you said it... right to the heart of the real heart of music ? see ..freight train cover Albert Croak on youtube .. does not match Elizabeths? but had a go .. see kathys song cover Albert Croak on youtube ?
@Average Joe you're listening to the wrong music............
In short supply these days
My Dad hopped a train in Arkansas about 1927, age 12, and headed to Washington State to find his older Brother. Found him, stayed and as they say the rest is history.
This song is as beautiful as my Grandma
Playing a great song she wrote when she was just 12 and still killing it at god knows how old, this is the greatest thing on youtube...
Is it possible to hear this and not immediately become overwhelmed with emotion?
An unequivocal "No".
Brings a tear or two to my eyes.
@@VijayaSun1 Me too...
I discovered her, and this song, about 6 months ago and it does my soul SO much good, I could cry just for happiness and joy!
I've just heard her for the first time in my life today and it's clear that she was a treasure. I' ll now go and find videos from when she was younger and I'm sure she sounded better, but who cares? She was one of those people who earn their right to be listened to in awe after she has lost part of her voice, just because it's her.
3 million views 120 years after she wrote it. Amazing.
Her voice is not as strong as it once was, of course, but has taken on a new kind of beauty and honesty that only comes with time.
The birds chirping in the background 🥰
They are in tune with her notes
♡love it♡ with all my soul
Good catch. They are singing background
even today her song is played by 1000's of guitarist and fiddlers am i'm one of them, Elizabeth Cotton is a treasure to America, rest in Peace Elizabeth
I cry everytime I hear this song. The song makes me so happy and nostalgic but it hurts my heart so much making me sad and frustrated to know that most people won't know about this beautiful woman and her amazing songs.
Well Wes Anderson is putting her on the map in his latest movie, Asteroid City. I would have never known about this song and her until I just watched the trailer.
So poignant to think of her writing this song in her early teens. Beautiful!
So perfect, so simple, so beautiful and sad at the same time have always loved her style of music
This is sensational
What do you admire most about her?
Any acoustic guitarists will realize how unique and special her guitar playing was once they realize that she's actually fingerpicking the bass notes with her fingers and the melody with her thumb since she plays on an inverted right-handed guitar. (That's mind-boggling!).
The common fingerpicking is thumb playing bass notes and fingers playing melody.
Its like Jimmy Hendrix and Tommy Emmanuel merged behind a guitar, but she was born decades before either.
Wow thank you for pointing that out, I was already amazed by this and now I'm just blown away. That's incredible.
yessss I know !!!!!!
It is only mind boggling if we reference back to our traditional playing. If we learned to play guitar that way, it would be second nature.
@@reno145 Yep, @deadstar44 its arbitrary that the bass string is on top, if anything, the bass should be on bottom. Try flipping your guitar over and playing lefty, or play a lefty guitar righty, which will be easier, there are pluses and minuses to both ways. Furthermore, fingerpicking is not as affected by some of the challenges in grip and string orientation. She's great, and its a blessing she played that way.
The way she sings the line "when I am dead and in my grave..." gives me goosebumps every time. RIP Mrs Cotten, you may be gone, but your songs will live on forever.
Born in 1893....Libba would be 128 years old in 2021....She passed in 1987 ...God bless this woman's soul for all eternity.....
I'd be 500 if i was born in 1523 👌🏻
In awe - she wrote this! My heart - so fine. This is critical to our humanity. So perfect. Who knew.
I'm glad you love it so. As do I. Come see her statue in Carrboro I will meet u there.
I lived a town away from libba if you drived passed her house at the right time you could here her playing her guitar or banjo. Some of us kids would go up and say "hey libba how are ya doing ma'am" and she'd always remind us to just call her libba we all just loved gathering around her when she played her music it would always bring a tear to our eye.
I feel so glad i scrolled to find this in 2019...a perfect time to remember her on her birthday January 5
Me too!
Leeann Dsouza WOW. I KNEW HER LATE A FEW DAYS AGO....DIOS!
Ditto.
Thanks for mentioning her birthday, I always look what kind of artists are born in certain months, sagitarius, gutsy women, good artists, loved it Elizabeth, hope you can hear me.
You just can't teach the soul she puts in that guitar.
Ludicrously beautiful
i am grateful technology allows us to be here together.
My wife and I saw her perform this in the mid 80’s at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Just as the song ended there was a brilliant flash of lightning and explosive thunder. Surely the gods were applauding this legend.
Note that she plays left handed with a right handed guitar upside down, not re-strung to accommodate a left handed person as is usually done. So she perfected a finger picking style playing bass notes with her pointer finger. Because that is so unique I doubt anybody could teach her that so she must have totally learned it on her own. Real talent, a classic beautiful song for all times even today. God bless her.
Just like Jimi Hendrix
That's a large assumption to make given the large crowd of self taught blues players, never the less, truely a great feat learning that, and playing like that
Mick Soiseth love your comment
Hendrix restrung his. The guitar was upside down but the strings weren't.
Eric Carrington NO, not like jimi hendrix
I feel like I just met family I didn’t know I had. ♥️
Can't help but remember my own mother when I see Mrs. Cotton!
How the hell did 300 people even downvote this? More heart in her chest and talent in her fingertips than most musicians today combined
She was a two fingered player..didnt stop her from playing beautiful music..female guitarists were considered inferior..even until year 2000, i was with male guitarists and they would not share their skills with me.maybe it was a guy thing or I was just in bad company.
@@Soundthebells77 you are the reason people downvoted this beautiful art
@@polkadot240 so is John Moreland. Should check out 3:59 by John Moreland if you hear another soul. I highly suggest you do not skip this recommendation.
@@binodgrg070 uhhhh. That makes zero sense. If anything it would be the opposite.
@@louieo.blevinsmusic4197 linking everything to race is the reason to the issue
Got to see her play at an Unitarian church in late 70's. Listen to her version from the late 1950's to hear her younger voice. She was 11 when she wrote this!
Thank you for the info. Very enjoyable video.
I'm shocked. What a genius this lady is. What a beautiful song.
This song, this video... It's beautiful.
Great song - great performance at 92 years of age.
Good Lord I love the bends she throws in on this version
They're perfect
This version is the only version.. she wrote it.
I immediately teared up seeing this. The look of contentment on her face is priceless! For such seemingly small shoulders she has a lot of us standing on them!🙏🏾💙🙏🏾😊
I sincerely believe she can hear old number 9 come rolling by and she is resting in eternal peace. What an incredibly talented soul.
I feel like a rescue dog that is finally found a loving home
The blues , I could not get through this miserable world with out the blues , my sweet blues.
I watch this video not just because I like the song, but cus she looks just like my grandma. Miss her.
There's a moment in the last solo where she seems to realize "Hey, I can still do this!" Inspirational.
Hehe, I saw that smile too. :D I thought it seemed like the joy of playing and making music.
Hmm... funny, as a guitarist my eyes and ears beg to differ: it's because she fumbles those bass notes the two different times. She shakes her head and smiles the first time. The second time she outright looks at her positioning and you can hear her find the right spot for that pinky the rest of the outro. Nice thought though...
I really feel sorry for the people who disliked this ,had me in tears,more soul in her fingure tips than most people can claim in a life time
Yin yang
I feel sorry for the people who must comment on the people who disliked a video 😁
so true!
So glad I found this. She's a national treasure & classic American artist. 😎❤☮🌎
This is Magnificent Iconic footage, 92 years old and still being able to play😲 I'm in bloody awe.
Birds chirping in background makes this even better, if that's possible
( :
PURE AMERICAN BLUES!!!
Don’t get any better!!!
GOD HAS ALL OF GREATEST BLUES PLAYERS!!! RIP!!!
´tis not blues, its folk, folkes!
and god is a concept invented by people scared of dying and taken over by other people to use that fear to control them, SO NO NEED TO YELL :)
It is folk with a bluesy feel. But hey, who cares when it’s so well played and sung with such heart.. music is the best, as Zappa said...
@@boogieboxmusic4331 blues is essentially American folk music isn't it
Yes Devon, blues could be called American folk music, but I was just commenting originally on the pure American blues comment, because it’s more folksy than pure blues. Elizabeth cotton is regarded as a folk singer.. she has blues in her soul and it comes out in this performance I think..
So perfectly beautiful. My soul aches and soars simultaneously. What a woman!
Imagine if they had recording devices when she was young, and they recorded her voice when it was at its peak. 😊
She was a national treasure.
She plays left handed and upside down...quite the feat❣️
I believe it's now called Cotten picking. Imagine such an honor... To have a picking style named for you!
Could she have been the Jimi Hendrix of her day? LOL
she probably taught Jimi Hendrix how to play behind his head.!! Not a lot of lefties in the spotlight.
She played her brothers guitar initially when he wasn't around . He was left handed
the former, no..the latter, she had to
This, along with doc Watsons cuckoo bird is what got me into fill music. 20+ years later and tears and chills every time
Tenho esse vídeo salvo aqui em meus favoritos há muitos anos! Inclusive tenho essa música salva em um pendrive e sempre ouço no carro... Amo essa senhora. Linda canção ❤
She's breaking my heart with this song. Seriously raw beauty.
Her voice might be frail but her fingers are as nimble and fresh as a spring morning.
Her voice is charming
God bless her sweet old soul. A huge thank you to her for this beautiful song and that terrific guitar picking.
Two fingers and a truckload of honesty makes this come alive.
LYRICS
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Please don't tell what train I'm on
They won't know what route I'm going
When I'm dead and in my grave
No more good times here I crave
Place the stones at my head and feet
And tell them all I've gone to sleep
When I die, oh bury me deep
Down at the end of old Chestnut Street
So I can hear old Number Nine
As she comes rolling by
When I die lord, oh bury me deep
Down at the end of old Chestnut Street
Place the stones at my head and feet
And tell them all that I've gone to sleep
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Please don't tell what train I'm on
They won't know what route I'm going
@Yes Sir! What do you think? I know what it means to me. She not ready to die yet...so she is trying to go faster than death.....but, when she does die....let her feel the vibrations of the 9, and then....she is gonna haunt that train run!!!!!! Bury me deep so they dont know what route im on.....to me anyway.....
@Yes Sir! i think its her embracing death and being content with the life given to her
Lyrics:
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Please don't tell
what train I'm on
They won't know
what route I'm going
When I'm dead and in my grave
No more good times here I crave
Place the stones at my head and feet
And tell them all I've gone to sleep
When I die, oh bury me deep
Down at the end of old Chestnut Street
So I can hear old Number Nine
As she comes rolling by
When I die, oh bury me deep
Down at the end of old Chestnut Street
Place the stones at my head and feet
And tell them all I've gone to sleep
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Please don't tell what train I'm on
They won't know what route I'm going
When I die, Lord, bury me deep
no more good times, air i crave.
@@kluks1 I think it is 'ere
@@brendalg4 that would make a lot more sense
Thank you for putting the words to it in
Lovely and I appreciated this back in my college days
RIP julz I love you my brother thank you for showing me this amazing song. Freight train freight train run so fast.
Folks this is what it's about..Thank you great lady...
And Chet Atkins took her song and used it for his theme song giving her no credit. Funny how when you think you can keep some one down buy denying them the expensive instruments and lessons But then they come up with a way to shame you with raw talent. Bless you Mrs. Elizabeth
Do you have the video? (Im not questioning you but I want to see the comparison). Thanks
@@garrettgarcia4860 just look up Chet Atkins. freight train. He has used it for years
* someone down by
this was not a trend during those days Chet atkins has made lots of covers where the real artists are not mentioned, same goes with bands also bands used to make covers of songs and didnt mention the original artists for example- Knocking on heavens door by Guns n roses
mike paulsboe I didn't know that. What a kick in the gut to hear. My late boyfriend, a genius guitarist in his own right, worshipped Chet Atkins. I doubt he knew this about Chet Atkins, or he would've denounced him.
I've loved that song since I was a little girl. Many years ago!
So perfect, so simple, so beautiful and sad at the same time have always loved her style of music
This is sensational
What do you admire most about her?
That is fabulous! And frankly, astonishing to be able produce such a lovely rendition of her song at 92! God bless her.
Her voice might be weak but she plays it beautifully
No shit.... what a complete d bag. She’s 2 weeks from death playing her bad ass off and some u tube d bag has that to say.
completely agree
@Buster Friendly uhh no shit Sherlock. That's what he means by 'weak'.
Your not listening bro
@@trinnauri2563 im trying not to