"Darlin' Cory" (also "Darling Corey" or "Darling Cora") (

Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...

5723) is a well-known American folk song about love, loss, and

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

. It is similar in theme to "Little Maggie" and "The Gambling Man" but is not considered the same as those songs.

Early printed versions

The earliest published version of "Darlin' Corey" occurs as verses within the song "The Gambling Man", collected from oral tradition by folklorist

Cecil Sharp Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English-born collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was the pre-eminent activist in the development of t ...

, as sung by Mrs. Clercy Deeton, at Mine Fork, Burnsville, N.C., on Sept. 19, 1918. The text (without tune) was also published as "Little Cora" in Harvey H. Fuson's ''Ballads of the Kentucky Highlands'' (London, 1931). A version from the singing of Aunt Molly Jackson appears in the book ''Our Singing Country'' (1941) by John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax. It is also included in ''Folk Song, U.S.A.'' by John A. and Alan Lomax, Charles Seeger and Ruth Crawford Seeger (Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1947), pp. 310–311.

Early recordings

The first known commercial audio recording was made by Clarence Gill as "Little Corey" on January 6, 1927, but was rejected by the record company and never released. A few months later, folk singer Buell Kazee recorded it as "Darling Cora" on April 20, 1927 (Brunswick 154). Later the same year, on July 29, 1927, at the famous Bristol Sessions an influential version was recorded by

B. F. Shelton Benjamin Frank Shelton (January 1, 1902 – February 28, 1963) was an American singer and banjoist who recorded a number of songs for Victor Records at the Bristol sessions in Bristol, Tennessee on July 29, 1927. Shelton traveled from Corbin, K ...

as "Darlin' Cora" (Victor 35838). Other early recordings are "Little Lulie" by Dick Justice (1929) and "Darling Corey", released as a single by the Monroe Brothers in 1936. In 1941, The Monroe Brothers' version was included in a landmark 5-disc compilation, ''Smoky Mountain Ballads'', produced and annotated by noted folklorist

John A. Lomax John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess ...

(

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

). Whereas the earlier, "hillybilly" records had been marketed regionally, "Smoky Mountain Ballads" was intended for broad, urban audiences. It comprised reissues of ten comparatively recent commercially issued hillbilly recordings from the 1930s, including, in addition to the performance of "Darlin' Cory" by the Monroe Brothers, songs by

the Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

Uncle Dave Macon David Harrison Macon (October 7, 1870 – March 22, 1952), known professionally as Uncle Dave Macon, was an American old-time banjo player, singer, songwriter, and comedian. Known as "The Dixie Dewdrop", Macon was known for his chin whiskers, ...

, Mainer's Mountaineers, and other Southeastern performers. ''Smoky Mountain Ballads'' became a staple in the repertoires of 1940s and early '50s folk music revival singers such as Pete Seeger, who was meticulous in crediting his sources and urged that people copy them and not him. That same year on May 28, 1941,

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

also recorded "Darlin' Cory" it in his debut album ''

Okeh Presents the Wayfaring Stranger ''Okeh Presents the Wayfaring Stranger'' (Okeh K-3) is a 1941 album by Burl Ives consisting of four 10-inch records (78 rpm, 6315-6318). This set marked Ives' debut as a recording artist. He accompanies himself on the guitar as he sings 12 folk so ...

'' (issued August 1941 with liner notes by

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...

Lyrics

Other recordings

Numerous artists have recorded versions of "Darlin' Cory", including: *

Flatt and Scruggs Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948. Flatt and Scru ...

(as "Dig A Hole In The Meadow"). on ''Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall'', 1962 *

Mike Seeger Mike Seeger (August 15, 1933August 7, 2009) was an American folk musician and folklorist. He was a distinctive singer and an accomplished musician who played autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, mouth harp, mandolin, dobro, jaw harp, ...

Roscoe Holcomb Roscoe Holcomb, (born Roscoe Halcomb September 5, 1912 – died February 1, 1981) was an American singer, banjo player, and guitarist from Daisy, Kentucky. A prominent figure in Appalachian folk music, Holcomb was the inspiration for the term " ...

John Hartford John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001) was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive kno ...

(as "Dig a Hole"), on

Steam Powered Aereo-Takes ''Steam Powered Aereo-Takes'' is a collection of outtakes, demos and jam-sessions from John Hartford's groundbreaking 1971 album ''Aereo-Plain'', released in 2002. The music is a blend of traditional bluegrass musicianship, and the hippie spirit o ...

, 1971 *

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

The Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs fro ...

Crooked Still Crooked Still is an American band consisting of vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, banjo player Gregory Liszt, bassist Corey DiMario, cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas. They are known for their high energy, technical skill, unusual i ...

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

(as "Darlin' Cora," attributed to Fred Brooks, a pseudonym used by

Fred Hellerman Fred Hellerman (May 13, 1927 – September 1, 2016) was an American folk singer, guitarist, producer, and songwriter. Hellerman was an original member of the seminal American folk group The Weavers, together with Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, and Ronn ...

), * Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs (as "Cora") *

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the "King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotl ...

Buddy Greene Buddy Greene (born October 30, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, guitar player and harmonica player. Most of his recordings consist of gospel music with a distinctly Southern gospel flavor. Much of his music is influenced by country music ...

Eileen Ivers Eileen Ivers (born July 13, 1965) is an American fiddler. Ivers was born in New York City of Irish-born parents, grew up in the Bronx and attended St. Barnabas High School. She spent summers in Ireland and took up the fiddle at the age of ni ...

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

Old Crow Medicine Show Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that has been recording since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013. Their ninth album, '' Remedy'', released in 2014, won the Gr ...

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and ...

, on ''At Large'', 1959 *

Tao Rodríguez-Seeger Tao Rodríguez-Seeger (born 1972) is an American contemporary folk musician. A founder of The Mammals, he is the grandson of folk musician Pete Seeger. He plays banjo, guitar, harmonica and sings in English and Spanish. Biography Rodríguez-Seege ...

(grandson of

) *

Bill Clifton Bill Clifton (born William August Marburg; April 5, 1931) is an American bluegrass musician and singer who is credited with having organized one of the first bluegrass festivals in the United States in 1961.Wolff, Duane 2000, p. 209. Earl ...

Rio en Medio Rio en Medio (Spanish for ''river in between'') is the pseudonym of singer and baritone ukulelist Danielle Stech-Homsy. Background Stech-Homsy was born in New Mexico and later moved to Brooklyn. She began to perform and record original composit ...

The Seldom Scene The Seldom Scene is an American bluegrass band that formed in 1971 in Bethesda, Maryland. The band's original line-up comprised John Starling on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Auldridge on Dobro and baritone vocals, Ben Eldridge on banjo, Tom Gra ...

* Chris Jones *

Chuck Ragan Charles Allen Ragan (born October 30, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is the guitarist and vocalist of the band Hot Water Music. Ragan has also released a variety of solo material, including a series of 7-inches on ...

and

Austin Lucas Austin Lucas is an American indie artist best known for his own blend of folk punk. Early years Lucas grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, but moved to the Czech Republic in 2003. In 2008, he relocated back to the United States. He is the son of Bo ...

, on '' Bristle Ridge'', 2008 *

Red Molly Red Molly is a folk trio consisting of Laurie MacAllister (vocals, bass), Abbie Gardner (vocals, guitar, Dobro, lap steel guitar), and Molly Venter (vocals, guitar). They perform original works composed by each of the group members as well as ot ...

* Daniel Donato Cosmic Country,https://danieldonato.bandcamp.com/track/darlin-cory-2 * Dan Levenson *

Bryn Haworth Bryn Haworth (born 29 July 1948) is a British Christian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pioneer of Jesus music in mainstream rock. Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, UK, he has released some twenty-two albums and several singles since the 1970s a ...

, on '' Sunny Side of the Street'', 1975 *

Maddox Brothers and Rose The Maddox Brothers and Rose were an American country music group active from the 1930s to 1950s, consisting of four brothers, Fred, Cal, Cliff, and Don Maddox, along with their sister Rose; Cliff died in 1949 and was replaced by brother Henry. Orig ...

(as "Dig a Hole") *

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

, as " Lay My Lily Down", on his 2016 '' Blue Mountain'' *

Maxida Märak Ida Amanda "Maxida" Märak (born 17 September 1988) is a Swedish-Sámi joik singer, hip hop musician, actress and activist. Märak is a human rights activist with a special interest in the rights of the Sámi people. She has taken part in protests ...

, (as "Darling Corey" with Downhill Bluegrass Band) on ''Mountain Songs and Other Stories'', 2014 *

Amythyst Kiah Amythyst Kiah (born 11 December 1986) is an American singer-songwriter. Kiah is a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Chattanooga, Tennessee and currently lives in Johnson City, Tennessee, Johnson City. She plays Acoustic guitar, guitar and banjo. ...

(In her 2013 album "Dig") * Joe Brown, as "Darling Corrie" *

Blood Oranges The Blood Oranges were an American alternative country band that formed in the late 1980s. The founding members were Jim Ryan (acoustic and electric mandolin, guitar, and vocals), Bob Kendall (bass guitar) then replaced by Liz Wood (later Liz ...

, as "Dig a Hole"

Notes

References

External links

Traditional Ballad Index at California State University, FresnoThe Deadlists Project

— contains mp3 of Shelton's 1927 version

— version of the song by banjoist

Lily May Ledford Lily May Ledford (March 17, 1917 – July 14, 1985) was an American clawhammer banjo and fiddle player. After gaining regional radio fame in the late 1930s as head of the Coon Creek Girls, one of the first all-female string bands to appear ...

, recorded live on the

Renfro Valley Barn Dance ''Renfro Valley Barn Dance'' was an American country music stage and radio show originally carried by WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday nights. It debuted on October 9, 1937 from the Cincinnati Music Hall and moved to the Memorial Auditorium i ...

in 1951 {{authority control Burl Ives songs American folk songs Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown 1918 songs