2006

Hallelujah, I’m a Bum!

Composed by George Crumb
Text by

Voices From a Forgotten World: American Songbook V Song Collection

"Hallelujah, I'm a Bum!" is the fourth song of George Crumb's Voices From a Forgotten World: American Songbook V. The audio recording provided features Thomas Hampson, baritone, and members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The recording is from a live performance at Alice Tully Hall (New York City) on April 29, 2011 and has been used with permission.

Text

Hallelujah, I’m a Bum!
Traditional Folk Song

Oh, why don’t I work,
Like other men do?
How the hell can I work
When the skies are so blue?

Hallelujah, I’m a bum!
Hallelujah, bum again!
Hallelujah, give us a handout
And revive us again!

Oh, springtime has come
And I’m just out of jail,
Without any money,
Without any bail.

Hallelujah, I’m a bum!
Hallelujah, bum again!
Hallelujah, give us a handout
And I’ll buy a nip of gin!

I knock’d on a door
To beg a scrap of bread,
Then a lady came out and says
The baker is dead.

Hallelujah, I’m a bum!
Hallelujah, bum again!
Hallelujah, give us a handout
And revive us again!

I don’t give a damn
What good people think,
So long as I got plenty
Of hooch to drink.

Hallelujah, I’m a bum!
Hallelujah, bum again!
Hallelujah, give us a handout
And I’ll buy a nip of gin!

Hallelujah, I’m a bum!
Hallelujah, bum again!
Hallelujah, give us a handout
And revive us again!

Audio

“Hallelujah, I’m a Bum!” (from “Voices From a Forgotten World: American Songbook V”)
Thomas Hampson & members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center2:33

George Crumb

Composer

Traditional

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2011

Date

Alice Tully Hall

Location

Sheet Music

Voices From a Forgotten World

George Crumb
1. "Bringing in the Sheaves" (after G. Minor)
2. "Somebody Got Lost in a Storm"
3. "House of the Rising Sun"
4. "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum!"
5. "I Wonder as I Wander" (after John Jacob Niles)
6. "Song of the Thunder" (Navajo)
7. "'Tis the Gift to be Simple"
8. "Beautiful Dreamer" (after Stephen Foster)
9. "Firefly Song" (Ojibwa)
10. "The Demon Lover: A Ghostly Ballad"
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