Behind These Walls

Many recordings have been made (by the Lomaxes and others) of the work songs sung by African American prisoners on Southern Prison Farms, but very little attention has been paid to the music made by prisoners, both White and Black, in our Northern penal institutions. Seeking to correct this imbalance, Bruce Jackson, a leading folklore scholar, visited the Indiana State Penitentiary in Michigan City, where he met Hank Ferguson, a fine songmaker in the "country" style, who was nearing the end of his sentence. Folk-Legacy's Lee Haggerty, along with Henry Felt, paid a visit to Hank at his Tennessee home after his release and this recording is the result. Listen to "I'm Not Living, I'm Just Lasting While I'm Here" and you will learn something of how a prisoner feels.

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