The strange backstory to the blues classic ‘Midnight Special’
Blues music has origins that go back hundreds of years to the days of plantations and slavery in the United States. Over the years, songs that were initially constructed in the work fields and slave quarters were passed down through the generations, adapting themselves to each new era of music. This practice gives modern blues a sense of deep cultural importance and history, but it also makes it difficult to pin down the exact origins of classic tracks like ‘Midnight Special’.
The most renowned version of ‘Midnight Special’ was released in 1934 by the legendary blues artist Lead Belly. The Louisiana blues singer gave the song a timeless appeal, and his knack for creating moving blues anthems was certainly not lost on ‘Midnight Special’. Despite a common misconception, however, Lead Belly was not the originator of the classic song. Its history stretches back much farther than 1934 to its strange origins in the prisons and chain gangs of the southern United States.
Telling the tale of the ‘Midnight Special’ train and the “ever-loving light” it brings, the earliest origins of the song date back to 1905, but it is certainly possible that the track existed through word-of-mouth in the years prior. A version of the song, in a similar form to how we know it today, first appeared in a 1923 issue of the pulp magazine Adventure. From there, ‘Midnight Special’ was adapted and performed by a wide variety of artists, the first of which was Dave ‘Pistol Pete’ Cutrell, who recorded a version for Okeh Records.
The ‘Midnight Special’ train, which the track is built around, was a real train, the Southern Pacific Golden Gate Limited. Reportedly, the train got its name because it departed from Jackson, Mississippi, just after midnight in order to reach Parchman Prison. Along the way, the train would pass through farmland where inmates would often be forced to work – chain gangs were a continued source of inspiration for a variety of blues standards. However, the train brought with it a sense of hope, as it might contain visitors for the prisoners.
This sense of hope is what gives the train its “ever-loving light” in the song. The story goes that if the light of the train shone on a prisoner, then they would soon be free. As such, the song itself provided prisoners, as well as other down-on-their-luck listeners, with a sense of hope and freedom.
‘Midnight Special’ was certainly not the only blues song from the early 20th century to draw on the inspiration of America’s regressive prison system, but its blend of blues, folk, and country leanings, along with its optimistic message, has made it an enduring classic of the genre.
When Lead Belly released his version of the song in 1934, he was mistakenly listed as its original author, and it is clear to see why. After all, Lead Belly recorded the song while incarcerated at Louisiana State Penitentiary on attempted homicide charges after stabbing a man during a fight. Furthermore, the blues musician had previously been an inmate at a prison in Sugar Land, Texas, for murder. During his tenure at the prison, a train from Houston would often shine a light into his cell, so the story goes.
Although Lead Belly certainly made the song his own, he cannot be cited as the original author of ‘Midnight Special’. In the years since his defining version was released, countless other artists have left their own mark on the blues standard. Everybody from Harry Belafonte to Abba has recorded the song over the years, and although few could relate to its content in the same way as someone like Lead Belly, these cover versions only added to the rich tapestry of ‘Midnight Special’ and its strange history.
