Midnight Special (Prisoner's Song)

Song facts

From Wikipedia:

“Midnight Special” is a traditional folk song thought to have originated among prisoners in the American South. The title comes from the refrain, which refers to the passenger train Midnight Special and its “ever-loving light” (sometimes “ever-living light“):

Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me,
Let the Midnight Special shine her ever-loving light on me.

The song is historically performed in the country-blues style from the viewpoint of the prisoner and has been covered by many artists. […]

Paul McCartney has performed it numerous times (with The Beatles and solo). It was the closing song on his 1988 album Choba B CCCP and was performed on his 1991 appearance on MTV Unplugged, but was not included on the accompanying album. […]

From the “Choba B CCCP” liner notes:

Midnight Special is public domain and anyone personally rearranging the song has the legal right to claim a composer credit. The legendary blues artist, Leadbelly first claimed it sometime between 1918 and 1925 when serving time for murder in Harlem – an all-black Texas prison.

The prison, which no longer exists, was located near Sugarland just outside of Houston and the words in the song, “Let the Midnight Special shine its ever-lovin’ light on me,” refers to the prison myth that if the light of that train from Houston shone on an inmate he would be freed.

Paul’s easy-action version retain elements of its original blues roots by way of his nimble acoustic guitar pickin’.

Last updated on June 22, 2019

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