I Never Picked Cotton
Encyclopedia
"I Never Picked Cotton" is a song made famous by country music
singer Roy Clark
. Written by Bobby George and Charles Williams, the song was released in 1970 as the title track to the album released that same year. The song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles
chart that summer.
from the perspective of a native of a poor sharecropping family in Oklahoma
.
In the first verse, the song's protagonist — the youngest son of a coal miner
who died working in the mines — bitterly recalls his family's past and upbringing. He recalls (as a young boy, too young to work on a cotton plantation) how his mother, brother, and sister all picked cotton to support the family, while his dad died in the coal mine. Seeing that this is not the type of life he wants to live, the boy resolves that when he is old enough to do so, he will leave the farm and his family.
One night, the protagonist makes good on his vow, stealing $10 and a pickup truck, and leaving the plantation, never to return. He then turns to a lifestyle of partying, "and I took it all with a gun". His criminal lifestyle ultimately leads to a fight with a local redneck
on a Saturday night in Memphis, Tennessee
; the redneck insults the protagonist's origins and is killed in return.
The protagonist, fingered as the killer, is found guilty of murder and sentenced to death
by hanging
. Just hours before he is sentenced to die, he reflects on his life and notes that "there ain't a hell of a lot, that I can look back on with pride" – except that he made good on his vow to "never pick cotton" like his family did.
for his 1996 album Unchained.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Roy Clark
Roy Clark
Roy Linwood Clark is an American country music musician and performer. He is best known for hosting Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969–1992. Clark has been an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and helping to popularize the genre...
. Written by Bobby George and Charles Williams, the song was released in 1970 as the title track to the album released that same year. The song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart that summer.
Song plot
The plot of "I Never Picked Cotton" is told in first-person, mostly in flashbackFlashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
from the perspective of a native of a poor sharecropping family in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
In the first verse, the song's protagonist — the youngest son of a coal miner
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
who died working in the mines — bitterly recalls his family's past and upbringing. He recalls (as a young boy, too young to work on a cotton plantation) how his mother, brother, and sister all picked cotton to support the family, while his dad died in the coal mine. Seeing that this is not the type of life he wants to live, the boy resolves that when he is old enough to do so, he will leave the farm and his family.
One night, the protagonist makes good on his vow, stealing $10 and a pickup truck, and leaving the plantation, never to return. He then turns to a lifestyle of partying, "and I took it all with a gun". His criminal lifestyle ultimately leads to a fight with a local redneck
Redneck
Redneck is a historically derogatory slang term used in reference to poor, uneducated white farmers, especially from the southern United States...
on a Saturday night in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
; the redneck insults the protagonist's origins and is killed in return.
The protagonist, fingered as the killer, is found guilty of murder and sentenced to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
. Just hours before he is sentenced to die, he reflects on his life and notes that "there ain't a hell of a lot, that I can look back on with pride" – except that he made good on his vow to "never pick cotton" like his family did.
Cover versions
A cover version of "I Never Picked Cotton" was recorded by Johnny CashJohnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
for his 1996 album Unchained.
Roy Clark version
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 | 22 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 2 |