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Old photo of two men with guitars

Tom Darby and Jimmie Tarlton 1927

Down in the Valley


I learnt this traditional American folk song, also known as Birmingham Jail, whilst a boy growing up from my father. It has been recorded by many artists including Leadbelly, The Andrews Sisters, Jo Stafford, Burl Ives and Bing Crosby.

It was first recorded, with the lyric "Down in the levee" by the American country music duo ‘Darby and Tarlton’ on November 10, 1927, in Atlanta, Georgia, for Columbia Records and sold over 200,000 copies at the time.

Old record label

Birmingham Jail 1927 record label

The Birmingham Jail in the song is Birmingham, Alabama, City Jail. The duo’s guitarist Jimmie Tarlton claimed to have written the lyrics in 1925 while he was in Birmingham Jail for ‘moonshining’, (the illegal making of whisky).

It was the first song that I ever sang in waltz time, and growing up I sang it as a duet with my sister Ann.
My sister didn’t sing much, unlike me, but for a party piece she would sing the Scottish song ‘Donald Where’s Your Trousers’. She liked Johnny Ray and sometimes would sing his 1952 hit ‘Walking My Baby Back Home’, and whilst learning French at Mexborough Grammar School she would often sing at home the French Napoleonic folk song ‘Aupres de ma blonde’. When we bought a new washing machine recently it jogged my memory as it plays the tune of the song at the end of the washing cycle.

Down in the Valley

Down in the valley, the valley so low
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow
Hear the wind blow dear hear the wind blow
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow.

Roses love sunshine, violets love dew
Angels in heaven know I love you
Know I love you dear, know I love you
Angels in heaven know I love you.

If you don’t love me, love whom you please
Throw your arms ’round me give my heart ease
Give my heart ease love, give my heart ease
Throw your arms round me give my heart ease.

Build me a castle forty feet high
So I can see him as he rides by
As he rides by love, as he rides by
So I can see him as he rides by.

Write me a letter, send it by mail
Send it in care of Birmingham Jail
Birmingham Jail love, Birmingham Jail
Send it in care of Birmingham Jail

Down in the valley, the valley so low
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow
Hear the wind blow dear hear the wind blow

Down in the Valley - Burl Ives

Down in the Valley · Burl Ives
Ballads and Folk Songs, Volume II
℗ Shellac Revival

Released on: 2020-08-17
Provided to YouTube by Danmark Music Group

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About Mick

Mick Haywood is a traditional folk singer & folk song collector who has run and organised folk clubs and festivals for many years. He now lives in Whitby, North Yorkshire.

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