Pick a Bale of Cotton: About the Song

During the time of slavery and beyond, work on the Southern plantation was often enlivened by the singing of work songs. Singing moved the work along faster and made the physical labor and drudgery a little easier to bear. A bale of cotton weighs 500 pounds, which is more than anyone could really pick in a single day.

Lyrics

chorus:
Oh, Lawdy, pick a bale a cotton
Oh, Lawdy, pick a bale a day

verses:
You got a jump down, turn around
Pick a bale a cotton
Got a jump down, turn around
Pick a bale a day

Me an’ my partner can
Pick a bale a cotton
Me an’ my partner can
Pick a bale a day

Had a little woman could
Pick a bale a cotton
Had a little woman could
Pick a bale a day

Went to Corsicana to
Pick a bale a cotton
Went to Corsicana to
Pick a bale a day

I b’lieve to my soul I can
Pick a bale a cotton
I b’lieve to my soul I can
Pick a bale a day