"(Don't This Road Look) Rough and Rocky" is sort of an amalgation of lyrics and music from older songs like "Don't Forget Me, Little Darling", "Little Bunch of Roses" and "Last Gold Dollar".
Melodically there's also a resemblance with "Lonesome Valley" SEE: https://jopiepopie.blogspot.com/search/label/Lonesome%20Valley%20%20%281926%29
Via titles like "Who's Gonna Kiss Your Lips, Dear Darling" (1929), "Can't You Hear That Night Bird Crying" (1936) and "(Don't This Road Look) Rough And Rocky" (1945) the song evolved into the definitive version by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs (1954)
In his book, Ozark Folksongs, Vance Randolph found some ten additional songs that share pieces of "Don't This Road Look Rough and Rocky."
The version here below seems to be the first recorded version to contain the "(Don't This Road Look) Rough and Rocky" verse.
(o) Carolina Tar Heels (1929) (as "Who's Gonna Kiss Your Lips, Dear Darling")
Recorded April 3, 1929 in Camden New Jersey.
Released on Victor 40100
Listen here:
(c) Blue Sky Boys (1936) (as "Can't You Hear That Night Bird Crying")
Blue Sky Boys (Earl Bollick [vcl/gt], Bill Bolick [vcl/mandolin])
Recorded October 13, 1936 in Charlotte, NC
Released on Bluebird B-6854
The "Who's Gonna Kiss Your Lips, Dear Darling" verse was copied from the Carolina Tar Heels version (SEE ABOVE)
Listen here:
Or to a fragment here:
(c) T. Texas Tyler (1945) (as "Rough And Rocky")
T. Texas Tyler And His Oklahoma Melody Boys
(T.Texas Tyler [vcl], Porky Freeman [lead gt], Carl Mosher [steel], Alvin Simmons [bass])
Recorded September 24, 1945 in Hollywood, CA
Released on 4 Star 1022
"Rough And Rocky" has the exact same melody and two similar stanzas as the above mentioned "Can't You Hear That Night Bird Crying" and the lyrics are also contained in "Who's Gonna Kiss Your Lips, Dear Darling" by the Carolina Tar Heels (SEE ABOVE)
Listen here:
(c) Flatt & Scruggs (1954) (as "Don't This Road Look Rough And Rocky")
Recorded May 19, 1954 in Nashville TN
Released on Columbia 21334
Listen here:
(c) Gene Clark (1972) (as "Rough And Rocky")
Released in 1972 on his album Roadmaster.
Listen here:
(c) Charlie Justice (1974) (as "Rough and Rocky")
Released in 1974 on Paula Records #344
Listen here:
(c) Emmylou Harris (1979) (as "Rough And Rocky")
Released in 1979 on her album Blue Kentucky Girl.
Apparently Emmylou's version was influenced by Charlie Justice's version here above.
Listen here:
Pete Seeger mixed up the lyrics of "Lonesome Valley" and "Rough And Rocky" for his 1975 version.
(c) Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie (1975) (as "Lonesome Valley")
Recorded live in the Music Hall, in Boston
Listen here:
Seeger already sang that mixed-up version with Joan Baez around 1962:
This version was released on the album "Very Early Joan"
Listen here:
But already in 1944 Woody Guthrie had recorded a variation of "Lonesome Valley" which included the "Rough And Rocky" verse.
Listen here:
But as we saw earlier on in this post Carolina Tar Heels were the first to use the "ROUGH AND ROCKY" verse in 1929 in "Who's Gonna Kiss Your Lips, Dear Darling")
But maybe they were all influenced by Grayson & Whitter's "A Dark Road Is a Hard Road to Travel".
(o) G.B. Grayson & Henry Whitter (1928) (as "A Dark Road Is a Hard Road to Travel")
Recorded on July 31, 1928 in New York
Released on Victor V-40063
Listen here:
Like I said on top of this page "(Don't This Road Look) Rough and Rocky" is sort of an amalgation of lyrics and music from older songs like "Don't Forget Me, Little Darling", "Little Bunch of Roses" and "Last Gold Dollar".
(c) Clarence Greene (1928) ("Little Bunch Of Roses")
Listen here:
(c) Ephraim Woodie And The Henpecked Husbands (1929) ("Last Gold Dollar")
Recorded October 24, 1929 in Johnson City, Tennessee
Listen here:
(c) Carter Family (1935) ("Don't Forget Me Little Darling")
Recorded May 7, 1935 in New York City, N.Y.
Released on (Conqueror 8636) (78 RPM)
Listen here:
Oldest version of "Don't Forget Me, Little Darling" was recorded in May 1927 by David Miller
SEE NEXT LINK: Don't Forget Me, Little Darling : Dave Miller : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
