The Tramp
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- Written by
- Thomas Herrington
- Publication date
- 1870
- Language
- English
- Comments
-
aka "Broken Down Tramp" or"Because He Was Only a Tramp". First recording and release by Vernon Dalhart recorded this in 1926 (under his Al Craver alias). The song has origins dating back to the 1870s. In 1895 George Graham released a spoken word story called "The Story of a Tramp" that likely was the basis for this song and the other variants like Ernest Stoneman's 1930 song, "The Poor Tramp". The Carter Family recorded their version of "The Tramp" in 1937 as "Broken Down Tramp" and A.P. Carter registered it, so this song is often mistakenly thought to be their original.
[Verse 1]
I’m a man broken down without credit or cash
My clothes are all tattered and torn
Not a friend have I in this dreary world
I wish I had never been born - Licensing
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