"Mother's Children Have a Hard Time", also known as "Motherless Children", is a

gospel blues Gospel blues (or holy blues) is a form of blues-based gospel music that has been around since the inception of blues music. It combines evangelistic lyrics with blues instrumentation, often blues guitar accompaniment. According to musician and ...

song recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. It is a solo performance, with Johnson singing and playing an acoustic slide guitar. Johnson recorded the song during his first session for Columbia in Dallas, Texas, on December 3, 1927. The lyrics are autobiographical, since Johnson's mother died when he was young. His father remarried soon after her death, and later, the stepmother allegedly threw a caustic solution, which blinded the boy: "Motherless children have a hard time, mother's dead, Well don't have anywhere to go, Wandering 'round from door to door". Blues researcher Samuel Charters describes Johnson's slide guitar playing as having "a nuance and delicacy that extended and clarified the emotion of his singing", which is supported by his rhythmic fingerpicked bass line. Columbia issued the song on a

78 rpm record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

with the title "Mother's Children Have a Hard Time". Charters notes that this was based on a misinterpretation of Johnson's lyrics and the correct title is "Motherless Children Have a Hard Time".

References

Bibliography

* * Evans, David (2008). ''Ramblin' on My Mind: New Perspectives on the Blues''.

University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic proje ...

. * Sackheim, Eric (2003). ''The Blues Line: Blues Lyrics from Leadbelly to Muddy Waters''. Da Capo Press. Blues songs 1927 songs Blind Willie Johnson songs Columbia Records singles {{blues-song-stub