Hand Me Down My Walking Cane

"Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" is a song written by African-American James A. Bland in 1880.[1] It has acquired the status of a folk song, and is cataloged as Roud Folk Song Index No. 11,733.

Recordings

The song has been recorded many times, in a variety of styles including country, cajun, jazz, mountain, bluegrass, rock and roll, and acoustic and electric blues. Recordings by artists having Wikipedia articles include:

• Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers with Riley Puckett (1926)
• Kelly Harrell (1926), Victor 20103
• Earl Johnson (1927) (unreleased)
• Ernest V. Stoneman (1927) Edison Record 11481
• Karl Radlach and His Orchestra (directed by Bernie Cummins) (1930)
• Cléoma Breaux (1937), Decca 17059
• Jerry Lee Lewis (1956), Sun Records
• Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album 101 Gang Songs (1961)
• Vern Williams and Ray Parks (1966), The Cabale, Berkeley, CA
• Norman Blake, Whiskey Before Breakfast (1976)
• The Knitters, Poor Little Critter on the Road (1985)
• On The Skillet Lickers Vol. 1 (1926–27), Document Records[2]
• Robert Earl Keen, Gravitational Forces (2001), Lost Highway Records
• Michael Knott (2003), Spring 2003 Tour CD #2, independent
• Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers (2005)
• Junior Wells and Pistol Pete (bluesman), Chicago Blues Jam Vol. 5 (DVD) (2005)
• Charlie Byrd and the Charlie Byrd Ensemble (2008), Great Chefs. Great Music
• Jack Rose and the Black Twig Pickers (2009), Jack Rose and the Black Twig Pickers, Klang Industries
• Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
• Tex Morton
• Carson Robison

References in other songs

• The 1945 song "Look on Yonder Wall" includes the line "Look on yonder wall, hand me down my walkin' cane".
• "Please Don't Bury Me", on John Prine's 1973 album Sweet Revenge, has the line "Hand me down my walking cane / It's a sin to tell a lie", which also references the 1936 song "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie"
• The opening line of the 1976 song "The Rubberband Man" from the album "Happiness Is Being with the Spinners" is "Hand me down my walking cane / Hand me down my hat" (lyrics Linda Creed, music Thom Bell).
• The 1985 Dire Straits song "Walk of Life" includes the lyric "Here comes Johnny, gonna tell you the story / Hand me down my walkin' shoes".
• Bob Dylan sings the line "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" in his song "Ain't Talkin'" on his 2006 album Modern Times.

References

1. "Bland, James A. (1854-1911)". blackpast.org. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
2. https://www.amazon.com/Skillet-Lickers-Vol-1-1926-1927/dp/B001W4GCAK