The Prisoner's Song
First release by Vernon Dalhart (October 3, 1924)
- Written by
- Guy Massey
- Copyright date
- 1924
- Language
- English
- ISWC
-
T-010.439.873-3 ISWC
T-909.764.955-3 ISWC
- Comments
- In 1924, Vernon Dalhart copyrighted the song in the name of his cousin, Guy Massey, with the stipulation that Dalhart would receive a 95% royalty and Massey would receive 5%. The song and accompanying sheet music were massive sellers and the authorship was hotly contested. Others have claimed full and partial credit, including Nat Shilkret who claims to have composed the final music used in the song as well as Massey's brother, Robert, who supposedly learned it while in prison and passed it on to Guy. It also has much in common with a poem by J. Augustine Wade called "Meet Me by Moonlight Alone" that was set to music and published in Philadelphia in 1912. In the end, the song is considered to be an older Southern folk song, with some of the lyrics possibly based on a contemporary English song. There are a number of other folk songs that share the melody.
- Published by
-
SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN AND CO INC
GEMA
- Licensing
-
Request a synchronization license
This composition was licensed with the help of SecondHandSongs on August 29, 2019 for a biopic about the prison system in the USA. A sync license was granted for festival use in the USA.