Midnight Special
E439703
"Midnight Special" is a traditional American folk song popularized by blues musician Lead Belly, often associated with themes of prison life and hope for freedom.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Midnight Special canonical | 6 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
American folk music standard
ⓘ
prison song ⓘ traditional American folk song ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | The Midnight Special NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedPlace |
Southern United States prisons
ⓘ
Texas prison farms ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
American folk revival
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
American prison folklore ⓘ |
| basedOn | African American oral tradition ⓘ |
| copyrightStatus | public domain (melody and traditional lyrics) ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| culturalOrigin | African American communities in the Southern United States ⓘ |
| culturalSignificance | symbol of resilience among incarcerated people ⓘ |
| firstKnownAs | traditional song (public domain) ⓘ |
| genre |
blues
ⓘ
folk ⓘ |
| hasChorus | Yes ⓘ |
| hasMotif |
light as symbol of hope
ⓘ
train as symbol of deliverance ⓘ |
| hasTitleWord |
Midnight
ⓘ
Special ⓘ |
| includedIn |
American folk song anthologies
ⓘ
Lead Belly song repertoire ⓘ |
| influenced | later prison-themed songs ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| lyricTheme |
hope for freedom
ⓘ
incarceration ⓘ prison life ⓘ train imagery ⓘ |
| musicalForm | strophic song ⓘ |
| notablePerformer | Lead Belly NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| performanceContext |
blues performances
ⓘ
folk music concerts ⓘ work songs in prisons ⓘ |
| popularizedBy | Lead Belly NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| recordedBy |
ABBA
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Creedence Clearwater Revival NERFINISHED ⓘ Harry Belafonte NERFINISHED ⓘ Johnny Rivers NERFINISHED ⓘ Lead Belly NERFINISHED ⓘ Little Richard NERFINISHED ⓘ Lonnie Donegan NERFINISHED ⓘ Paul McCartney NERFINISHED ⓘ Pete Seeger NERFINISHED ⓘ Van Morrison NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subjectOf |
musicological studies on prison songs
ⓘ
recordings by Library of Congress field collectors ⓘ |
| tempo | moderate ⓘ |
Referenced by (6)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.