MAKE ME A PALLET ON THE FLOOR

“Mississippi” John Smith Hurt was an influential blues singer and guitarist. Raised in

Avalon, Mississippi, he learned to play guitar at age 9. He spent much of his youth

playing old time music for friends and dances, earning a living as a farm hand into the

1920s. After auditioning “Monday Morning Blues” at his home, he took part in two

recording sessions, in Memphis and New York City . The “Mississippi” tag was added by

OKeh as a sales gimmick. After the commercial failure of the resulting disc and OKeh

records going out of business during the depression, Hurt returned to Avalon and

obscurity, working as a sharecropper and playing local parties and dances.

A stellar performance at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival saw his star rise amongst the

new “folk revival” audience, and before his death in 1966 he played extensively in

colleges, concert halls, coffee houses and even the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, as

well as recording three further albums for Vanguard Records. John Hurt’s influence spans

several music genres including blues, country, bluegrass, folk and contemporary rock and

roll. A soft-spoken man, his nature was reflected in the work, which remained a mellow

mix of country, blues and old time music to the end.

Make me down a pallet on your floor

Make me down a pallet soft and low

When I’m broken I got no where to go

Been hangin’ around with a good time friends of mine

Hangin’ around with a good time friends of mine

Oh, they treat me very nice and kind

When I’ve got a dollar and a dime

We’re in blues everywhere I see

We’re in blues, honey, everywhere I see

No one ever had the blues like me

Way I’m sleepin’, my back and shoulders tired

Come tomorrow, I’ll be satisfied

If I can catch that fast train and ride

So, make me down a pallet on your floor

Make me down a pallet on your floor

Make me down a pallet soft and low

Babe, I’m broken, I got no where to go

Banjo Mountain