This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

This week's freebie features a century-old goodie!

Here’s a song with roots that are long and deep, going back well over a hundred years. The first printed reference to it was in 1911, when it was reported to be a favorite of New Orleans jazzmen in t

he legendary Buddy Bolden Band.

Hundreds — maybe thousands — of renditions of it have been played over the past century, with versions in blues, folk, bluegrass and jazz.

Louis Armstrong's 1954 recording of “Atlanta Blues" tips its hat to the song because the great composer W.C. Handy borrows a bit of it for his lyrics in the chorus.

Our version comes from a 1961 Folkways recording by the late great bluesmen Rolf Cahn and Eric Von Schmidt. Here is “Make Me a Pallet On Your Floor.” Click to hear the tune.