1.5.14 I Once Saw Elizabeth Cotten Perform. I Was 22, and She Must Have Been Pushing 80

I once saw Elizabeth Cotten perform, Brattleboro, Vermont one dark winter's evening. 

I was 22 and she must have been pushing 80. 

She wore a shawl and played at our local rabid music venue 

to a small crowd, 

warmed by her rich thick shawl, 

taking time to look up into the faces 

of the young ones surrounding her,

 starstuck, as she played and sang,

 and then I'm guessing, 

went to bed wishing it wasn't necessary 

for her to keep playing gigs. 

She looked tired and achey, 

and then sat 

and penetrated the room with her voice.

She was employed in Pete Seeger's household, took up guitar on her own, and being left handed, simply turned it upside down to play.

      Eventually she wrote many a song, the most famous being

"Freight Train", which I played on my 12 string and sang to my kids as they fell asleep. She also wrote "Going Down The Road Feeling Bad", which was then played by many another. What a gifted woman.

Going down the road feeling bad

honey babe Lord

Going down the road feeling bad

honey babe Lord

Going down the road feeling bad

I don't want to be treated this way

Girl I love done turned her back on me

honey babe Lord

Girl I love done turned her back on me

honey babe Lord

Girl I love done turned her back on me

I don't want to be treated this way

Thought I heard a whistle blow

honey babe Lord

Thought I heard a whistle blow

Thought I heard a whistle blow

Lord it blowed like it ain't gonna blow no more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwdFhWNL0_M