Midnight Special (Prisoner's Song) (song)

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Album This song officially appears on the Once Upon a Long Ago #2 12" Single.

Timeline This song has been officially released in 1987

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

Lyrics

Well you wake up early in the morning
Hear the ding dong bell
You go a-walkin' to the table
See the same damn thing
Knife and fork out on the table
Piece of paper round my hand
Nothing I can do about it
I'll get in trouble with the man

Let the midnight special
Shine her light on me
Let the midnight special
Shine his ever-loving light on me

If you ever go to Houston
You better act right
You better not gamble
And you better not fight
Because the Sheriff will arrest you
And he'll carry you down
And if they go and find you guilty
Penitentiary bound.

Let the midnight special
Shine her light on me
Let the midnight special
Shine his ever-loving light on me.

Well you wake up early in the morning
Hear the ding dong bell
You go a-walkin' to the table
See the same damn thing
Knife and fork out on the table
Piece of paper in my hand
Nothing I can do about it
I'll get in trouble with the man.

Let the midnight special
Shine her light on me
Let the midnight special
Shine his ever-loving light on me.

Well if I ever go to Houston
You better act right
You better not gamble
And you better not fight
Because the Sheriff will arrest you
And they'll carry you down
And if they find you guilty
Well you'll be sugar-line bound.

Let the midnight special
Shine his light on me
Let the midnight special
Shine his ever-loving light on me.