Down in the Valley
A slow waltz of longing, "Down in the Valley" is one of the most recorded American folk songs. Its best-known form, "Birmingham Jail," was a hit for Darby and Tarlton in 1927.
- Also known as
- Birmingham Jail; Down in the Valley (Hang Your Head Over)
- Origin
- American South; traditional, with lyrics claimed by Jimmie Tarlton
- First recording
- 10 Nov 1927, Tom Darby and Jimmie Tarlton, Atlanta, for Columbia
- Time
- 3/4 (waltz)
History
Guitarist Jimmie Tarlton said he wrote the words in 1925 while held in jail in Birmingham, Alabama, for moonshining. He and Tom Darby recorded "Birmingham Jail" in Atlanta on 10 November 1927. It sold more than 200,000 copies, one of Columbia's best sellers of the period. Like most folk songs, the words shift from singer to singer, and the melody and "down in the valley, the valley so low" lines circulated widely.
Because Tarlton claimed the lyrics, we describe the song rather than print them.
Recordings and adaptations
- The Andrews Sisters (1944), Patti Page (1951), Bing Crosby
- Solomon Burke and Bert Berns wrote a new soul song of the same name, which Otis Redding later covered
- Kurt Weill built a 1945 folk opera, Down in the Valley, around it
- On screen in Wagon Train, Star Trek: The Next Generation and the opening of Friday the 13th (1980); it also features in Suzanne Collins's The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Chords in G (3/4)
| G | G | G | D7 | | D7 | D7 | D7 | G | | G | G | G | D7 | | D7 | D7 | D7 | G |
Count "1-2-3" and strum on 1. Two chords are all you need, so it's a classic first song.
More songs: Red River Valley · all folk songs