Sam Hall (song)
Encyclopedia
“Sam Hall” is an old English
folk song about a bitterly unrepentant criminal condemned to death (Roud
#369). Prior to the mid 19th century it was called “Jack Hall”, after an infamous English thief, who was hanged in 1707 at Tyburn
. Jack Hall’s parents sold him as a climbing boy for one guinea
, which is why most versions of the song identify Sam or Jack Hall as a chimney sweep
.
” to “Sam Hall”. The song also appears to have been adapted to fit the region it was sung in; some versions refer to Sam Hall being hanged at Tyburn
, some at Cootehill
. Also it is unclear what, if any, uncouth language was original to the song. Various versions have Sam Hall call his executioners “muckers”, “fuckers”, “buggers”, “muggers”, or “bastards”.
To add to the confusion, the song is associated with the folk song “Captain Kidd”, aka “Robert Kidd”, as William Kidd
was executed in the same year. The songs have similar metre and style, and it is unknown which came first.
A more vulgar variant has become an enduring cultural phenomenon among United States Air Force pilots. Known as "Sammy Small", this may be the best known drinking song among American fighter pilots. Covered by Dos Gringos in 2006 on their album "2", the lyrics have remained consistent at least since the Vietnam War.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
folk song about a bitterly unrepentant criminal condemned to death (Roud
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
#369). Prior to the mid 19th century it was called “Jack Hall”, after an infamous English thief, who was hanged in 1707 at Tyburn
Tyburn, London
Tyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch in present-day London. It took its name from the Tyburn or Teo Bourne 'boundary stream', a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the...
. Jack Hall’s parents sold him as a climbing boy for one guinea
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
, which is why most versions of the song identify Sam or Jack Hall as a chimney sweep
Chimney sweep
A chimney sweep is a worker who clears ash and soot from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys may be straight or contain many changes of direction. During...
.
History
The song has only been collected from about 18 singers in the oral tradition, limited to England and the USA, and there have been only six sound recordings made. Comic Minstrel C.W. Ross adapted one version in the 1850s, and changed the name from “Jack HallJack Hall (song)
-Story:Jack Hall was a criminal who, as a young boy, was sold to a chimney sweep for a guinea. In later life he became a notorious highwayman. In 1707 he was arrested along with Stephen Bunce and Dick Low for a burglary committed at the house of Captain Guyon, near Stepney. All three were convicted...
” to “Sam Hall”. The song also appears to have been adapted to fit the region it was sung in; some versions refer to Sam Hall being hanged at Tyburn
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
, some at Cootehill
Cootehill
Cootehill, known before the Plantation of Ulster as Munnilly , is a prominent market town in County Cavan, Ireland.-History:Cootehill was established as a market town in 1725 when a charter was obtained to hold markets and fairs, and developed strong ties to the Irish linen industry...
. Also it is unclear what, if any, uncouth language was original to the song. Various versions have Sam Hall call his executioners “muckers”, “fuckers”, “buggers”, “muggers”, or “bastards”.
To add to the confusion, the song is associated with the folk song “Captain Kidd”, aka “Robert Kidd”, as William Kidd
William Kidd
William "Captain" Kidd was a Scottish sailor remembered for his trial and execution for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer...
was executed in the same year. The songs have similar metre and style, and it is unknown which came first.
A more vulgar variant has become an enduring cultural phenomenon among United States Air Force pilots. Known as "Sammy Small", this may be the best known drinking song among American fighter pilots. Covered by Dos Gringos in 2006 on their album "2", the lyrics have remained consistent at least since the Vietnam War.
Versions
- The Irish DescendantsThe Irish DescendantsThe Irish Descendants are a folk group from the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. All the members, born of Irish emitters, were workers in the Newfoundland fishing industry before forming the band in 1990 out of the remnants of two former Newfoundland bands – The Descendants...
performed this song in its traditional irish form on their album "We are the Irish Descendants" and rereleased it on their compilation album "So Far so Good: The Best of the Irish Descendants"
- Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn 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...
performed the song on Sings the Ballads of the True WestSings the Ballads of the True WestSings the Ballads of the True West is a conceptual double album and the twenty-first album released by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1965 . Covering twenty individual songs, the album, as its title suggests, contains various ballads and other songs on topics related to...
(1965) and American IV: The Man Comes AroundAmerican IV: The Man Comes AroundAmerican IV: The Man Comes Around is the fourth album in the American series by Johnny Cash, released in 2002. The majority of songs are covers which Cash performs in his own spare style, with help from producer Rick Rubin...
(2002). The 2002 version was often used by the band Flogging MollyFlogging MollyFlogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish-descendant band from Los Angeles, California, that is currently signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.-Early years:...
as an intro for their concerts.
- Carl SandburgCarl SandburgCarl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
, poet and Lincoln biographer, recorded it twice, once in 1964, as "Sam Hall" and "Gallows Song."
- Clint EastwoodClint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
recites it in the movie Two Mules for Sister SaraTwo Mules for Sister SaraTwo Mules for Sister Sara is an American-Mexican western film starring Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine set during the French intervention in Mexico. The film was released in 1970 and directed by Don Siegel. It was to have been the first in a five-year exclusive association between Universal...
.
- It is referenced in Jim ThompsonJim Thompson (writer)James Myers Thompson was an American author and screenwriter, known for his pulp crime fiction....
's first novel, Now and On EarthNow and On EarthNow and On Earth is a 1942 novel by Jim Thompson, it was his first published novel.Set in San Diego during World War II, it is a semi-autobiographical description of the author's life working in an airplane manufacturing plant during the war years and the frustrations he endured there and in his...
.
- It is also referenced in Anthony PowellAnthony PowellAnthony Dymoke Powell CH, CBE was an English novelist best known for his twelve-volume work A Dance to the Music of Time, published between 1951 and 1975....
's 1932 novel VenusbergVenusberg (novel)Venusberg is the second novel by the English writer Anthony Powell. Published in 1932, it is set in an unidentified Baltic country which draws clearly on Powell's experiences in Finland and Estonia. Some see the novel as part of the Ruritanian tradition Venusberg is the second novel by the English...
- Frank ToveyFad GadgetFad Gadget is the stage name of Francis John Tovey , a British avant-garde electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both New Wave and early Industrial music....
performed the song on his album Tyranny & the Hired Hand.
- The DublinersThe DublinersThe Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
performed a version of the song
- Steeleye SpanSteeleye SpanSteeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
included the song (as "Jack Hall") on the album Tempted and TriedTempted and TriedTempted and Tried is the 13th studio album by the electric folk band Steeleye Span. The album was recorded after a three-year hiatus after the release of Back in Line. After releasing ten albums in fairly rapid succession during the 1970s, the band entered something of a creative dry spell, with...
in 1989, and also released it as a single in 1990.
- The song, performed by Terry GilkysonTerry GilkysonHamilton H. Gilkyson III , better known as Terry Gilkyson, was an American folk singer, composer, and lyricist.-Biography:...
, was the main musical theme of the 1956 film Star in the DustStar in the DustStar in the Dust is a 1956 American western film made by Universal International Pictures and starring John Agar, Mamie Van Doren, and Richard Boone....
directed by Charles HallCharles HallCharles Hall may refer to:*Charles Hall , MP for Lincoln 1727–1734*Charles Hall *Charles Hall , British economist, physician and early socialist...
, with John AgarJohn AgarJohn George Agar was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death...
, Mamie van DorenMamie Van DorenMamie Van Doren is an American actress and singer; who rose to popularity as Universal Pictures's version of 20th Century Fox's Marilyn Monroe....
and Charles BooneCharles BooneCharles Boone was a British governor of the Bombay Presidency during the period of the Honourable East India Company, serving from 1715 to 1722....
as Sam Hall in the main roles.
- Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
's 1953 novelette "Sam Hall" features a disgruntled bureaucrat who creates fake records about a rebel named Sam Hall (after the song) who fights against the totalitarian government.
- Swedish/Dutch troubadour Cornelis VreeswijkCornelis VreeswijkCornelis Vreeswijk , was a singer-songwriter, poet and actor born in IJmuiden in the Netherlands.He emigrated to Sweden with his parents in 1949 at the age of twelve. He was educated as a social worker and hoped to become a journalist, but became increasingly involved in music, performing at...
made a Swedish translation called “Mördar-Anders” on his album Visor och oförskämdheter (1965), which also included “Brev från kolonien”, a loose translation of Allan ShermanAllan ShermanAllan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, My Son, the Folk Singer , became the fastest-selling record album up to that time...
's “Hello Muddah, Hello FadduhHello Muddah, Hello Fadduh"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh " is a Grammy Award-winning novelty song by Allan Sherman, based on letters of complaint he received from his son Robert while Robert attended Camp Champlain in Westport, New York. The song is a parody that complains about the fictional "Camp Granada" and is set to the...
”.
- Swill (also of The Men They Couldn't HangThe Men They Couldn't HangThe Men They Couldn't Hang are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush , Paul Simmonds , Philip "Swill" Odgers , Jon Odgers and Shanne Bradley .- Controversy and success:Their first single, "The Green Fields...
) and the Swaggerband recorded a version of the song for their 2006 album 'Doh, Ray, ME,ME,ME,me,me' featuring Cootehill as the location for the execution.
- Josh WhiteJosh WhiteJoshua Daniel White , better known as Josh White, was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names "Pinewood Tom" and "Tippy Barton" in the 1930s....
did a version of the song
- Black 47 recorded a version of this song for their Green Suede Shoes album, released in 1996.
- Sam Hall is also adapted to one of the main characters in the Norwegian comic series Malkiel.
- Nick OliveriNick OliveriNick Steven Oliveri is an American musician from Palm Desert, California. He plays bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and is a vocalist...
And The Mondo Generator performed the song and included it as a hidden track on the 2006 Album "Dead Planet: SonicSlowMotionTrails".
- Tex RitterTex RitterWoodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting...
did a version of the song on his Blood on the Saddle album.
- Richard Thompson performs it live as an encore on his 1000 Years of Popular Music1000 Years of Popular Music1000 Years of Popular Music is a live album by Richard Thompson.The album was originally conceived after Thompson was ignored by Playboy magazine; initially meant simply as a list to be printed by the magazine, it was subsequently published into CD format. The songs comprising the tracklist cover a...
collection.
- Oscar BrandOscar BrandOscar Brand is a folk singer, songwriter, and author. In his career, spanning over 60 years, he has composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Canadian and American patriotic songs...
performs the song on Bawdy Songs and Backroom Ballads (vol.1, 1955). In concert, e.g. Le Hibou Coffee HouseLe Hibou Coffee HouseLe Hibou Coffee House was an internationally known coffee house established in Ottawa, Canada, operating from 1960 to 1975.- History :Denis Faulkner, an Ottawa francophone, was the founding owner manager from 1960 to 1968. It was during this period that Le Hibou became established as a now famous...
, Ottawa, 1966, Brand used the following lyric: "... My name is Samuel Hall, and I hate you one and all, You're a bunch of fuckers all, Goddamn your eyes, Son of a bitch, Shit." If a young person came into the club, Brand would edit this for comic effect to "... Gall darn his eyes, Son of a Gun, Shucks."
- The Pilgrims recorded a version of this song on their album Here To Stay
- Poor Angus, a Canadian Celtic and folk band, performed a version of Sam Hall on their self-titled album.
- Rocky Creek, a Dayton Ohio Celtic Bluegrass Band performs a version on "Our Celtic Beginnings"
- The Dregs, a band at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, perform a version on their CD "Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?"
- Lynn Riggs included it in his 1931 play "Green Grow the Lilacs", the play that would later be adapted with new songs as the Rogers and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma"
- The Canadian Celtic Punk band The MahonesThe Mahones-Biography:The Mahones are an Irish-born, Canadian Celtic punk band, influenced by the Celtic Rock revival of the late 1980's, pioneered by such bands as the Pogues and the Waterboys....
performed a version of the song on their album T.A.F.K.A.H.I.M. released in 1997
- The French singer Alain BashungAlain BashungAlain Bashung was a French singer, songwriter and actor.- Youth :Alain Bashung was the son of a Breton factory worker and French Kabyle father, whom he never knew. His mother remarried, and at the age of one, Bashung was sent to Strasbourg to live with his new stepfather's parents...
record a French drum and bass version of this song in his "Fantaisie Militaire" album released in 1997. The song is called "Samuel Hall" and is written by Olivier Cadiot and Rodolphe Burger
- Sam Hall is referred in the radio adaptation of the Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Remarkable Performance of Mr. Merridew where the Mr. Merridew is a music hall actor who, in the persona of Samuel Hall, confesses a murder and his defiance against the public.
- In Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
and Gordon R. DicksonGordon R. DicksonGordon Rupert Dickson was an American science fiction author.- Biography :Dickson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1923. After the death of his father, he moved with his mother to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1937...
's Hoka storiesHoka! Hoka! Hoka!Hoka! Hoka! Hoka! is a collection of science fiction stories by Poul Anderson and Gordon Dickson. It was first published by Baen Books in 1998 and reprints the authors' earlier collection, Earthman's Burden, expanding with two additional stories from Hoka!. The story "Don Jones" originally...
, the Hokas sing this song as they are being hanged. [Note: this is comical, as the Hokas' necks are stronger than those of humans, so they just hang each other for fun. It's a strange world.]
- The self-professed "steamcrunk" band Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys performed a version of this song on their album Steamship Killers released in 2010.
- A version of the song is featured in the BBC Radio production, "The Remarkable Performance of Mr Frederick Merridew", a Bert Coules original short story from the third series of "The Further Adventures of Sherlock HolmesThe Further Adventures of Sherlock HolmesThis article is about the BBC Radio 4 series transmitted from 2002 to 2010. There is also a U.S. produced series, which began in 1998, that transmits under the same title....
" from 2008.
- Ed KuepperEd KuepperEd Kuepper is an Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded the seminal punk band The Saints, the experimental post-punk group Laughing Clowns and later the grunge-like The Aints...
covered this song on his album The Exotic Mail Order Moods of Ed Kuepper
- Sang by Butck Cassidy, main character in Blackthorn (Bolivian western movie released in 2011).