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Late Last Night When Willie Came Home

Composer: Traditional

Recordings

no info Uncle Dave Macon w/ Sam McGee, 1926 (Vocalion 5095)
info Old-Time Tunes of the South, The Stoneman Family (Sutphin, Foreacre, and Dickens), 1957
info New Lost City Ramblers, Vol. 2, New Lost City Ramblers, 1959
no info Old-Time Music at Clarence Ashley's, Part 2, Doc Watson, 1963
no info Country Music & Bluegrass at Newport: 1963, Various Artists (Doc Watson / Clint Howard / Fred Price), 1968
info Milk 'Em in the Evening Blues, The McGee Brothers and Arthur Smith, 1968
info The Legendary J. E. Mainer. Vol. 7, J. E. Mainer, 1969
no info Morning Bugle, John Hartford, 1972
no info Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band w/ Doc Watson, 1972
no info Limited Edition Presents the Limited Edition, Limited Edition, 1975
info Tony Rice, Tony Rice, 1976
info Go 'Long Mule (LP), Uncle Dave Macon, 1976?
info Going Up the Mountain, Jody Stecher, 1977
no info Years in the Making, Hotmud Family, 1978
no info Stanley Brothers, Vol. 1: 1983 Collectors Edition, The Stanley Brothers, 1983
no info Essential Doc Watson, Doc Watson, 1986
no info Old Timey Concert, Various Artists (Doc Watson / Clint Howard / Fred Price), 1987
info Stanley Series, Vol. 2 #4, Stanley Brothers, 1987
no info Late Last Night, Skip Gorman and Rick Starkey , 1991
no info Old Tom Moore and More, Tom Paley, 1991
no info Country Music Hall of Fame Series, Uncle Dave Macon, 1992
no info Bluegrass at Newport, Various Artists (Doc Watson / Clint Howard / Fred Price), 1993
info Original Folkways Recordings of Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley, 1960-1962, Clarence Ashley and Doc Watson , 1994
info Folk Song America, Vol. 4, Various Artists (Doc Watson w/ Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), 1994
info The Vanguard Years, Doc Watson, 1995
no info Nashville at Newport, Various Artists (Sam McGee / Arthur Smith / Kirk McGee), 1995
no info Live! at Last, Dry Branch Fire Squad, 1996
info One Night In A Month Of Sundays, The Riverbluff Clan, 1996
no info Legends of Country Music: The Best of Austin City, Various Artists (Doc Watson), 1997
no info Southern Banjo Sounds, Mike Seeger, 1998
no info Hills of Roan County, The Stanley Brothers, 1998
no info After Dark, City Beat, 1998
no info My Rough and Rowdy Ways, Vol. 2, Various Artists (Uncle no info Dave Macon / Sam McGee), 1998
no info The Dickel Brothers, Vol. 1, The Dickel Brothers, 1999
info Going Up the Mountain: The Classic First Recordings, Jody Stecher, 1999
no info Carry Me Back, Bashful Brothers Oswald, 1999
no info Wake the Vaulted Echoes, Peter Bellamy, 2000
no info Best Of, The Baylor Brothers, 2002
no info Tennessee Mountain Home: 23 Bluegrass Gems, Various Artists (John Hartford), 2002
info Classic Old-Time Music From Smithsonian Folkways, Various Artists (Sam & Kirk McGee), 2003
info DocFest: A Tribute to Doc Watson and His Musical Partners Merle Watson and Jack Lawrence, Various Artists, 2003
no info Trilogy, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, 2003
info Classic Sides 1924-1938, Uncle Dave Macon, 2004
info Live In Japan 5/76, The Bluegrass Quintet, 2009
info The Gasoline Brothers, David Grisman & Tony Rice, 2021

Notes

Played by Jerry Garcia, Marshall Leicester and Robert Hunter at the Carlos Bookstall in San Carlos in July 1961. On the tape this song is usually listed as No One To Stand By Me but the correct title of the song is Late Last Night.

Some variations of title occur on other recordings; Late Last Night (When Willie Came Home), Late Last Night When My Willie Came Home, Late Last Night, Way Down Town and Way Downtown. Not to be confused though with another song with the title Late Last Night.

The lyrics used by Garcia/Leicester/Hunter are as follows;

Late last night when Willie come home
I heard a mighty rapping on the door
Slipping and sliding with new shoes on
It's Willie don't you rap no more

(Chorus)
And it's oh me, it's oh my
What's going to become of me
[It's] down town, just fooling around
No one to stand by me

I [love] you dear girl till the sea runs dry
[Rock salt is all by the sea]
I love you dear girl till the day I die
[inaudible line]

Chorus...

Last time I saw my mama [?]
She was a-doing swell
Cease your rowdy ways my son
Save your soul from hell

Chorus...

If I had listened to what mama had said
I'd have been at home today
I didn't listen to what mama said
I throwed my young life away

Chorus...



Oct 2003