Down in the Valley ( folk song ) - wikipedia Down in the Valley ( folk song ) `` Birmingham Jail '' redirects here. For the open letter written by Martin Luther King, Jr., see Letter from Birmingham Jail. `` Down in the Valley '', also known as `` Birmingham Jail '', is a traditional country - blues American folk song. It has been recorded by many artists, and is included in the Songs of Expanding America recordings in the Burl Ives six - album set Historical America in Song. The verses mentioning `` Birmingham Jail '' refer to the Birmingham City Jail which was known in the mid-1920s. According to one biographer of Lead Belly he performed it for Texas Governor Pat Neff at the Sugarland Penitentiary in 1924. Guitarist Jimmie Tarlton claimed to have written the lyrics in 1925 while he was jailed in Birmingham for moonshining. It was first recorded by Tarlton and his partner Tom Darby on November 10, 1927 in Atlanta, Georgia for Columbia Records. It is a ballad played in the 3 / 4 time signature. Lyrics vary, as with most folk songs. For example, sometimes the line `` Hang your head over, hear the wind blow '' is replaced by `` Late in the evening, hear the train blow ''. In 1927, Darby and Tarlton sang `` down in the levee '' in place of `` down in the valley '' ; the version sung by Lead Belly in 1934 substitutes `` Shreveport jail '' for `` Birmingham jail ''. Contents 1 Selected recordings 2 In other media 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External links Selected recordings Darby and Tarleton ( 1927, Columbia 15212D ) -- sold over 200,000 copies, one of Columbia 's best - sellers at the time Cisco Houston included his version of the songs in two of his albums. Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album 101 Gang Songs ( 1961 ) Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, on the 1996 album Shady Grove In other media This song is the basis of the 1945 Kurt Weill and Arnold Sundgaard opera Down in the Valley. It was performed by Anne Baxter in the Wagon Train episode, The Kitty Angel Story ( 1959 ). It was performed on The Alvin Show and The Andy Griffith Show in 1962. The author / songwriter David M. Pierce used selected lyrics from the song as titles for a series of detective novels written between 1989 and 1996 : Down in the Valley, Hear the Wind Blow, Dear, Roses Love Sunshine, Angels in Heaven, Write Me a Letter and As She Rides By. The first four verses are featured in Catherine Marshall 's novel, Christy, before the prologue. It is sung in the movie Stir Crazy by the character Grossberger portrayed by Erland Van Lidth. Jim and Anna sing the song in Tille Olsen 's novel _Yonnondio_ as they arrive in the Dakotas. The 3 / 4 time and melancholy of the song contrast with the hope they are feeling as they arrive there. The song is performed by Ronnie Cox ( Ozark Bule ) and David Carradine ( Woody Guthrie ) in the Academy Award winning film ( Best Cinematography / Best Music - Score ) `` Bound For Glory '' ( biography of Woody Guthrie ) in the scene that takes place in a migrant fruit pickers camp. http://www.halashby.co.uk/page18.html References Jump up ^ Ken Tate ; Janice Tate ( 2004 ). Favorite Songs of the Good Old Days. DRG Wholesale. p. 29. ISBN 978 - 1 - 59217 - 034 - 0. Jump up ^ Henry M. Belden ; Arthur P. Hudson, eds. ( 1952 ). Folk Songs from North Carolina. The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore. 3. Duke University Press. Jump up ^ `` The Shreveport Jail / Leadbelly ''. Traditional Music and Spoken Word Catalog. Library of Congress. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 06. Jump up ^ Charles K. Wolfe ( 2002 ). Classic Country : Legends of Country Music. Routledge. p. 90. ISBN 978 - 1 - 135 - 95734 - 6. Whitburn, Joel ( 2008 ). Joel Whitburn Presents Across the Charts : The 1960s. Record Research. p. 60. ISBN 978 - 0 - 89820 - 175 - 8. Further reading Kittredge, G.L. ( July -- September 1917 ). `` Ballads and Songs ''. The Journal of American Folk - Lore. XXX ( 117 ) : 283 -- 369. JSTOR 534379. External links `` Traditional Ballad Index of Folk Songs '' at California State University, Fresno `` Down in the Valley '', Darby and Tarlton 1929 recording at the Internet Archive Down in the valley, the sheet music The Andrews Sisters LaVerne Andrews Maxene Andrews Patty Andrews Singles `` Bei Mir Bist Du Schön '' `` Nice Work If You Can Get It '' `` Shortenin ' Bread '' `` Oh ! Ma - Ma ! '' `` Beer Barrel Polka ( Roll Out the Barrel ) '' `` Ciribiribin ( They 're So In Love ) '' `` Say Si Si ( Para Vigo Me Voy ) '' `` The Woodpecker Song '' `` Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar '' `` Scrub Me, Mama, With a Boogie Beat '' `` Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy '' `` I Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi ( I Like You Very Much ) '' `` ( I 'll Be With You ) In Apple Blossom Time '' `` Sonny Boy '' `` Do n't Sit Under the Apple Tree '' `` Mister Five By Five '' `` Pistol Packin ' Mama '' `` Jingle Bells '' `` Shoo - Shoo Baby '' `` Down In the Valley '' `` Straighten Up and Fly Right '' `` Tico Tico '' `` Is You Is Or Is You Ai n't My Baby '' `` A Hot Time In the Town of Berlin '' `` Do n't Fence Me In '' `` Rum and Coca - Cola '' `` Accentuate the Positive '' `` The Three Caballeros '' `` Along the Navajo Trail '' `` Get Your Kicks On Route 66 '' `` I Do n't Know Why '' `` House of Blue Lights '' `` Rumors Are Flying '' `` Winter Wonderland '' `` There 's No Business Like Show Business '' `` Near You '' `` Civilization ( Bongo, Bongo, Bongo ) '' `` Santa Claus Is Comin ' to Town '' `` Sabre Dance '' `` Underneath the Arches '' `` You Call Everybody Darling '' `` Do n't Rob Another Man 's Castle '' `` I Can Dream, Ca n't I ? '' `` Charley, My Boy '' `` Have I Told You Lately That I Love You '' `` The Wedding Samba '' `` I Wanna Be Loved '' `` A Bushel and a Peck '' `` Mele Kalikimaka '' `` Sparrow in the Tree Top '' Book : The Andrews Sisters Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Down_in_the_Valley_(folk_song)&oldid=843157617 '' Categories : The Andrews Sisters songs American folk songs Children 's songs Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 27 May 2018, at 08 : 13. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote the song down in the valley
Answer: Jimmie Tarlton