"Going Down The Road Feeling Bad" (also known as the "Lonesome Road Blues") is a traditional American

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

, "a white blues of universal appeal and uncertain origin". The song is catalogued in the

Roud Folk Song Index 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. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...

as No.4958.

Recording history

The song was recorded by many artists through the years. The first known recording is from 1923 by

Henry Whitter William Henry Whitter (April 6, 1892 – November 17, 1941) was an early old-time recording artist in the United States. He first performed as a solo singer, guitarist and harmonica player, and later in partnership with the fiddler G. B. Grays ...

, an Appalachian singer, as "Lonesome Road Blues". The earliest versions of the lyrics are from the perspective of an inmate in prison with the refrain, "I'm down in that jail on my knees" and a reference to eating "corn bread and beans." The song has been recorded by many artists such as

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's " The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis ...

Elizabeth Cotten Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten ( Nevills; January 5, 1893 – June 29, 1987) was an influential American folk and blues musician. She was a self-taught left-handed guitarist who played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside do ...

, and the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

, with Grateful Dead performing it 294 times live in concert. The song is featured in '' To Bonnie from Delaney'', "

Mountain Jam "Mountain Jam" is an improvised instrumental jam by The Allman Brothers Band, based on Donovan's 1967 hit song " There Is a Mountain". The first known recording of a performance was done on May 4, 1969, at Macon Central Park. "Mountain Jam" w ...

", Born and Raised World Tour, ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...

'', and ''

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''. Others who recorded it include Cliff Carlisle (also as "Down in the Jail on My Knees"),

(also as "Blowin' Down This Road" or "I Ain't Gonna Be Treated This Way"),

Bill Monroe William Smith 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 takes its n ...

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...

, Roy Hall,

and the

Delaney and Bonnie Delaney & Bonnie was an American duo of singer-songwriters Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett. In 1969 and 1970, they fronted a rock/soul ensemble, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, whose members at different times included Duane Allman, Gregg Al ...

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American blues rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The group has been noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson and ...

and Dillard Chandler.

Lyrics and chords

Lyrics

There are many versions of the song's words. The following are the lyrics sung by Bill Monroe. They are nearly the same as in the 1933's version of Cliff Carlisle with string bass and harmonica. 1. I'm going down this road feeling bad
I'm going down this road feeling bad
I'm going down this road feeling bad, lord, lord
And I ain't a-gonna be treated this a-way
2. I'm down in the jailhouse on my knees
Down in the jailhouse on my knees
Down in the jailhouse on my knees, lord, lord
And I ain't a-gonna be treated this a-way
3. They feed me on corn bread and beans
They feed me on corn bread and beans
They feed me on corn bread and beans, lord, lord
And I ain't a-gonna be treated this a-way
4. Got two dollar shoes on my feet
Got two dollar shoes on my feet
Two dollar shoes they hurt my feet, lord, lord
And I ain't a-gonna be treated this a-way
5. It takes a ten dollar shoe to fit my foot
It takes a ten dollar shoe to fit my foot
It takes a ten dollar shoe to fit my foot, Great God
And I ain't a-gonna be treated this a-way
6. I'm going where the weather fits my clothes
I'm going where the weather fits my clothes
I'm going where the weather fits my clothes, lord lord
And I ain't a-gonna be treated this a-way
The following are the lyrics as performed by The Grateful Dead: Goin' down the road feelin' bad.
Goin' down the road feelin' bad.
Goin' down the road feelin' bad.
I don't want to be treated this away. Goin' where the climate suits my clothes.
Goin' where the climate suits my clothes.
Goin' where the climate suits my clothes.
I don't want to be treated this away. Goin' down the road feelin' bad.
Goin' down the road feelin' bad.
Goin' down the road feelin' bad.
I don't want to be treated this away. Goin' where the water tastes like wine.
Goin' where the water tastes like wine.
Goin' where the water tastes like wine.
I don't want to be treated this away. Goin' down the road feelin' bad.
Goin' down the road feelin' bad.
Goin' down the road feelin' bad.
I don't want to be treated this away. Goin' where the chilly winds don't blow.
Goin' where the chilly winds don't blow.
Goin' where those chilly winds don't blow.
I don't want to be treated this away.

Notable covers and mentions

One line of this song is quoted verbatim in the song "

Everybody's Talkin' "Everybody's Talkin (Echoes)" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Fred Neil in 1966 and released two years later. A version of the song performed by the American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson became a hit in 1969, ...

", written by

Fred Neil Fred Neil (born Frederick Ralph Morlock Jr.; March 16, 1936 – July 7, 2001) was an American folk singer-songwriter active in the 1960s and early 1970s. He is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularl ...

and popularized by

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...

Going where the weather suits my clothes

Skeeter Davis version

American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

artist,

, notably covered the track under the title "Goin' Down the Road (Feelin' Bad)". At the time of its recording, Davis had reached her commercial peak recording

country pop Country pop (also known as urban cowboy or even urban country) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends g ...

crossover singles, most significantly with 1963's " The End of the World". Davis took a more traditional approach to recording for her 1966 album ''My Heart's in the Country'', which included "Goin' Down the Road (Feelin' Bad)". The track was cut at the RCA Victor Studios located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in June 1966. The session was produced by

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

. Davis herself was credited on the single's release for arranging the song's recording. "Goin' Down the Road (Feelin' Bad)" was released as a single by RCA Victor in September 1966. The song peaked at number 36 on the American ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart in late 1966. It was her first top 40 entry on the chart as a solo artist since mid 1965. The song was included on Davis's 1966 studio album called ''My Heart's in the Country''. ;Track listing (7" vinyl single) * "Goin' Down the Road (Feelin' Bad)" – 2:02 * "I Can't Stand the Sight of You" – 2:23 ;Chart performance

Usage in Media

Cliff Carlisle's cover of the song is featured in the 2017 video game '' Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy'' as the first song to play when the player loses significant amounts of progress. During the credits that play upon completion of the game, a cover of the song is also sung by the titular developer of the game,

Bennett Foddy Bennett Foddy is an Australian video game designer based in New York. Raised in Australia and trained as a moral philosopher on topics of drug addiction, Foddy was a bassist in the electronic music group Cut Copy and a hobbyist game designer wh ...

References

External links

* https://www.lyrics.land/goin'-where-the-weather-suits-my-clothes-lyrics

Sources

* Waltz, Robert B; David G. Engle.
Going Down This Road Feeling Bad
. ''The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World''. Hosted b
California State University, Fresno, Folklore
, 2007. *
Bluegrass Lyrics
for the song's words

for the guitar chords {{Skeeter Davis 1964 singles Bluegrass songs Appalachian folk songs Songs about roads Songs about prison Public domain music RCA Victor singles Skeeter Davis songs Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins