I Know You Rider Lyric Variations

This page serves as an appendix to my post on the origins of 'I Know You Rider.'  A few more '60s versions of the song have come to light, and here I've collected all the different lyrics that I could find from that decade. This makes it possible to see how often various verses were used through the records of the '60s (though it's important to remember that many more people played it than recorded it). Folk-singers were free to choose their preferred verses in this song, which led to a wide variety of lyric versions. Sometimes it's possible to see a particular tradition diverging from the rest (like the 'I Love My Baby'>'Circle Round the Sun' lineage). But keep in mind that usually it's not as simple as one performer copying another - the song was so widespread in folk circles by the early '60s, all of these people were aware of multiple versions being sung, and could pick and choose verses from various other singers, the original Lomax text, or even different blues songs.

The purpose here is just to easily compare the different versions, so I've shortened the presentation a bit. To avoid too much repetition in these blues verses, I've used "x2" instead of writing all the lines in full (though sometimes there can be minor wording differences between lines). I've also omitted repeated verses: the "I know you rider" verse usually opens & closes each performance, but I just list it once.

Compiled with the help of Alex Allan & Eric Levy.

 

We'll start with the text all later versions were based on: 

'WOMAN BLUE' (JOHN & ALAN LOMAX, 1934)

AMERICAN BALLADS & FOLK SONGS

I know you, rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss yo' li'l mama, baby, f'um rollin' in yo' arms

I's goin' down de road where I get better care  x2

I b'lieve I'll go, baby, I don' feel welcome here

An' I laid right down and tried to take my res'  x2

But my min' kep' ramblin' like the wil' geese in de Wes'

Did you ever wake up and fin' yo' rider gone?  x2

Put you on a wonder, wish you never had been bo'n

I knows my baby, he's boun' to love me some  x2

He throws his arms aroun' me like a circle 'roun' de sun

Jes' as sure as de birds fly in de sky above  x2

Life ain' worth livin', honey, ain' wid de man you love

I'm goin' to de river, set down on a log  x2

Ef I can' be yo' woman, sho gonna be yo' dog

Take me back, take me back, baby  x2

I won' do nothin' you don' lak, baby

I'll cut yo' wood, I'll make yo' fire  x2

I'll tote yo' water f'um de Fresno bar

De sun gwine shine in my back do' some day  x2

De win' gwine rise, baby, an' blow my blues away

*

BOB COLTMAN - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (c.1957)

Not recorded.

"I got the song in the mid-1950s from the Lomaxes' 1934 American Ballads and Folk Songs... Apparently I was the first to pick it up and sing it, though it had lain around unnoticed in that well-known collection for twenty years... So I resurrected and debuted the song. I followed the tune given in Lomax, roughly but not exactly, changed the song from a woman's to a man's viewpoint, dropped two verses, and was its first arranger, voice and guitar in a heavy drag downbeat, sort of an early folk-rock sound. I sang it a lot in folk circles around Philadelphia, in concerts, around Boston...and around New York State and New England circa 1957-60. I also sang it in the west, in Wyoming...and on the West Coast, especially in San Francisco and Los Angeles, late summer-early fall '59... Tossi Aaron learned the song from me in Philadelphia around 1959. She sang it on her Prestige LP. The song traveled around for years among a few East and West Coast folksingers..."

I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss your man, baby, from rollin' in your arms

I laid down last night, babe, tried to take my rest  x2

But my mind kept ramblin' like wild geese in the west

I know my woman bound to love me some  x2

'Cause she throws her arms round me like a circle round the sun

I'm goin' down to the river, set down on a log  x2

If I can't be your man, honey, sure won't be your dog

I cut your wood, baby, and I made your fire  x2

I tote' your liquor babe, from the Fresno Bar

Just as sure as the birds fly high in the sky above  x2

Life ain't worth livin' if you ain't with the one you love

I'm goin' down the road, get some better care  x2

I'm goin' back to my used-to-be rider, for I don't feel welcome here

Sun gonna shine in my back door some day  x2

Wind gonna rise up, blow my blues away

*

HARRY TUFT - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (c. 1958) 

Not recorded.

"I learned it from Bob Coltman from a tape made at a party at my home outside Philadelphia in the summer of 1958. Bob and I were classmates at Dartmouth and met through the folksong club there. I sang it around Philadelphia, taught it to Tossi Aaron, and when journeying to New York I met Karen Dalton [and] taught it to her. Then I taught it to John Phillips at the time when the Journeymen were forming... In Colorado I taught it to Judy Roderick, who adapted it and combined it with another blues song with similar lyrics."

I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss your man, baby, from rollin' in your arms

I laid down last night, babe, tried to take my rest  x2

But my mind kept ramblin' like wild geese in the west

Loving you baby is just as easy as rolling off a log  x2

If I can't be your man, I'm sure gonna be your dog

I'll cut your wood, baby, I'll tend your fire  x2

I tote your water, babe, from the Fresno Bar

I'm going down to the river, set in my rocking chair  x2

If the blues don't get me, gonna rock all away from here

The sun's gonna shine in my back door some day  x2

The wind's gonna rise up, blow all my blues away

*

JOAN BAEZ - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1960) 

Unreleased.

I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss your pretty mama from rollin' in your arms

I love you rider and I know you must love me some  x2

You put your arms around me like a circle 'round the sun

I lay down last night and I tried to take my rest  x2

My heart was ramblin' like wild geese in the west

I'm goin' to the river, I'm gonna sit down on the log  x2

If I can't be your honey, well I'll sure gonna be your dog

Sun's gonna shine in my back yard someday  x2

The west wind's gonna rise up and blow my blues away

*

TOSSI AARON - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1961) 

TOSSI SINGS FOLK SONGS AND BALLADS

Well I know you rider, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss your ever-loving mama from rolling in your arms

Well I'm going down the road where I can get more decent care  x2

Going back to my used-to-be rider 'cause I don't feel welcome here

Just as sure as the birds fly, fly in in the sky above  x2

Life ain't worth living when you ain't with the one you love

But the sun's gonna shine in my back yard someday  x2

And the wind's gonna rise up, and blow my blues away

*

ESTHER HALPERN - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1962) 

ESTHER HALPERN SINGS FROM THE GILDED CAGE

 

Esther Halpern & Tossi Aaron were both founder members of the Philadelphia Folksong Society, but Esther's version of the song was different from Tossi's. Alex Allan writes: "The lyrics aren't copied from Tossi Aaron - in fact they seem to take bits of previous versions. So presumably she learnt it from someone else or put it together from different versions she heard. She opened the Gilded Cage, a coffee house/music venue, in 1956 and started the Philadelphia Folksong Society in 1957, so lots of people may have played it there. The brief note on the CD ascribes it to Alan Lomax, and all the verses she sings are in the Lomax version, but with some variations."

I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone x2

You're gonna miss your ever-loving' mama from rolling in your arms

I'm going to the river, gonna sit down on a log x2

If I can't be your woman, at least I can be your dog

I'll cut your wood and baby I'll make your fire x2

And I will tote your whiskey clear from the Fresno Bar

The sun's gonna shine in my back yard some day x2

And the wind's gonna rise and blow my blues away

*

DAVID GUDE - 'I LOVE MY BABY' (1962) 

NEW FOLKS

 

Eric Levy writes: "It's strikingly similar to Joan Baez's rendition. The liner notes to NEW FOLKS explain that Gude and Baez were friends and even collaborators at the time, so it's a safe bet he learned the song from her even though hers wasn't released at the time."

I love my baby, and she's bound to love me some  x2 

She throws her arms around me like a circle round the sun

I lay down last night, trying to take my rest  x2 

But my heart was meandering like wild geese in the west

I know that sun's gonna rise in my back yard someday  x2

And the wind's gonna rise up and blow my blues away

*

MARTHA GERENBECK - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1963) 

GREEN TREES AND BLUE WATER

 

Martha: "I learned the major portion of I KNOW YOU RIDER from Davy Gude's version on a record called 'New Folks'. The next to last verse I heard done by Judy Collins on a radio program and madly took down the words because it appeals to me more than the others. I heard Bonnie Dobson sing the last verse on my first visit to the Second Fret last summer."

I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss your pretty mama from rollin' in your arms

I love my baby and he's bound to love me some  x2

He throws his arms around me like a circle around the sun

I know that sun gonna shine in my back yard someday  x2 

And the wind's gonna rise up and blow all my blues away 

I'm going down to the river and sit down on a log  x2 

If I can't be your woman, at least I can be your dog

I love my rider, God almighty knows  x2

I'm gonna follow my rider wherever he goes

*

JUDY HENSKE - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1963)

JUDY HENSKE

I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss your sweet-lovin' woman rollin' in your arms

Well the sun gonna shine 'round my back door some day  x2

And the wind from the river's gonna blow my blues away

It takes a red-headed man make a long-time woman feel bad  x2

Oh it makes me remember 'bout that long slow rollin' I had

*

THE KINGSTON TRIO - 'RIDER' (1963)

SUNNY SIDE!

Well I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

You're gonna miss your daddy rollin' in your arms

Well, the sun's gonna shine on my back door some day  x2

Then the wind from the river gonna blow all my troubles away

Well, I ain't got a nickel, no, I ain't got a lousy dime  x2

But I got a long way to go 'fore the end of my time

It takes a hard hearted woman make a long time man feel bad  x2

'Cause it makes him remember the long hard road that he's had

*

THE BIG 3 - 'RIDER' (1963)

3

I know my rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

I know she's gonna miss me from rolling in her arms

Well did you ever wake up and find your rider gone?  x2

Well put you on a wonder and wish you'd never been born

Sun's gonna shine in my back door some day  x2

Wind's gonna rise and blow my blues away

I'll build your fire, you know I'll cut your logs  x2

I'll be a loving baby but I ain't gonna be your dog

Well dawn's coming early, night's gonna fade away  x2

Ever see your rider coming, baby, 'bout the break of day

*

THE OUTSIDERS (Joel Cory & George McKelvey) - 'GONNA MISS YOUR LOVIN' PAPA' (1963) 

CHEER ME UP LADS

I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss your lovin' papa from rolling in your arms

I laid right down and I tried to take my rest  x2

But my mind kept a-rambling like the wild geese in the west

I know my baby and she's bound to love me some  x2

She put her lovin' arms around me like a circle round the sun

The sun's gonna shine in my back door someday  x2

The wind's gonna rise and blow my blues away

*

SERENDIPITY SINGERS - 'RIDER' (1964) 

TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF

I know my rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

I know he's gonna miss me from rolling in his arms

Did you ever wake up and find your rider gone  x2

Well it puts you on a wonder and you wish you'd never been born

Well you ain't got a nickel and you ain't got a lousy dime  x2

But when you see your rider coming, baby, then that sun will shine

Yeah the sun's gonna shine in my back door someday  x2

Wind's gonna rise and blow my blues away

Well the dawn's coming early, night will fade away  x2

When you see your rider comin' baby, 'bout the break of day

*

VINCE MARTIN & FRED NEIL - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1964)

TEAR DOWN THE WALLS

I say I know you rider miss me when I'm gone  x2

Won't have nobody now mama, roll 'round in your sweet lovin' arms

Lovin' you baby, easy as fallin' off a log  x2

I can't make love to you, mama, ain't gonna hang around and be your dirty dog

Early one mornin' rider and it won't be long  x2

You're gonna call my name now baby, sweet lovin' daddy gonna be long gone

*

GALE GARNETT - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1964)

MY KIND OF FOLK SONGS

I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss your lovin' mama rolling in your arms

One of these mornings, rider it won't be long  x2

You're gonna call my name but I will be long gone

Go to the river, take 'long my rocking chair  x2

If the blues don't overtake me, gonna rock away from here

(Gale Garnett also recorded a version in French, "Mon plus beau rêve," released on a single & EP in France in 1965!)

*

CAROL HEDIN - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1964) 

DEVIL TAKE ME WITH YOU

Mostly patterned from Tossi Aaron's version, but with a unique last verse.

I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone x2

Gonna miss your ever-lovin' mama from rolling in your arms

I'm going down the road where I can get more decent care x2

Going back to my used-to-be rider 'cause I don't feel welcome here

Just as sure as the birds they fly in the sky above x2

Life ain't worth living when you're not with the one you love

Well it's been good times baby but there's better down the road x2

You taught my heart more blues Lord than it ever known

I know, I know you rider...

*

ALICE STUART - 'WOMAN BLUE' (1964)

ALL THE GOOD TIMES

You know you rider miss me when I'm gone  x2

You're gonna miss your loving woman rolling in your sweet baby's arms

I'm going down the river, I'm floating on a log  x2

Singing if I can't be your woman, I'm gonna be your dog

But I'll wash your clothes and baby I'll tend your farm  x2

I'll even haul your whiskey down, down from the Fresno barn

If you're ever gonna love me, daddy now's the time to start  x2

You ain't done nothing yet baby but just break a sweet woman's heart

Now I've got good loving baby, you take it if you think you can  x2

I tell you I've got the best baby if you'll just be my man

I love you baby, I'm not too good with words  

I love you baby, words don't come too good to me 

Just by the way I'm asking, oh rider can you see

Well the sun gonna shine in my back yard someday  x2 

Chilly wind gonna blow baby, blow all my blues away

And I say rider, you miss me when I'm gone

Oh please tell me rider gonna miss me when I'm gone

*

JUDY RODERICK - 'WOMAN BLUE' (1965)

WOMAN BLUE

I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Miss your loving woman from rolling in your arms

Loving you baby is as easy as falling off a log  x2

[If] I can't be your woman, baby I'll be your dog

I'd cut your wood and baby I'd tend your fire  x2

I'd even haul your whiskey up from Fresno bar

I lay down and I tried to take my rest  x2

My mind it keeps rambling like wild geese in the west

Sun's gonna shine on my back door someday  x2

Wind is gonna rise, gonna blow my blues away

*

JIM & JEAN - 'RIDER' (1965) 

JIM & JEAN

 

I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss your sweet lovin' baby rolling in your arms

It takes a brown-headed woman to make a long-time man feel bad  x2

And to make him remember all the long slow rollin' that he had

Loving you baby, easy as falling off a log  x2

If I can't be your woman, let me be your dog

The sun's gonna shine round my back door someday  x2

The wind on the river's gonna blow my blues away

*

GRATEFUL DEAD - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1966) 

Live & unreleased until 1970.

I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss your baby from rolling in your arms

Lay down last night, lord I could not take my rest  x2

My mind was wandering like the wild geese in the west

I wish I was a headlight on a northbound train  x2

I'd shine my light through the cool Colorado rain

I'd drink muddy water, sleep in a hollow log  x2

Than stay here in Frisco, be treated like a dog

The sun will shine in my back door someday  x2

March winds will blow all my troubles away

*

THE BYRDS - 'I KNOW MY RIDER' (1966)

Unreleased.

 

Well I know my rider's gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

She's gonna miss her loving daddy from rollin' in her arms

When you see me coming, better hoist your window high  x2

When you see, you see me leaving, you better hang down your head and cry

Well I know my rider she's bound to love me some  x2

She used to throw her arms around me like some circle around the sun

*

JANIS JOPLIN & BIG BROTHER - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1966)

Live & unreleased.

I know you rider, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

You're gonna miss your loving baby from rolling in your arms

Don't the moon look lonesome when it's shining down through the trees  x2

Don't my man look fine when he's running, running after me

I know my baby he's bound to love me some  x2

He's gonna throw his arms around me like a circle, like a circle round the sun

*

THE EVERPRESENT FULLNESS - 'RIDER' (1966) 

(Released in 1970.)

I am a rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

You're gonna miss your daddy rolling in your arms

Sun's gonna shine in your back door someday  x2

And the wind from the river gonna blow your blues away 

*

THE ASTRONAUTS - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1967) 

TRAVELIN' MEN

 

I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Miss your ever-lovin' man rolling in your arms

The sun gonna shine on my back door one day  x2

The breeze on the river blow my blues away

Takes a red-headed woman make a long-time man feel bad  x2

Hey, you're gonna miss the best lovin' man you have ever had

*

THE INDEFINITE FOUR - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1967) 

DO AS THEY SAY

Haven't heard.

*

THE ROSE GARDEN - 'RIDER' (1968)

THE ROSE GARDEN

 

(Derived from the Byrds' version.)

I know my rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

Gonna miss her loving daddy rolling in her arms

When you see me coming, better wish you had no eyes  x2

When you see, you see me coming, hang down your head and cry

I know my rider, she's bound to love me some  x2

She used to throw her arms around me like a circle around the sun

*

JOHN RENBOURN - 'I KNOW MY BABE' (1966)

ANOTHER MONDAY

 

(Possibly derived from Dave Gude's version.)

(John Renbourn live 1966.)

I know my baby bound to love me some  x2

Why she throws her arms around me like a circle round the sun 

Lay down last night just to try to take my rest  x2

But my mind got to wandering like wild geese in the west

Sun's gonna shine on my back door someday  x2

Well the wind's gonna blow, gonna blow my blues away

*

JAMES TAYLOR - 'CIRCLE 'ROUND THE SUN' (1968)

JAMES TAYLOR

 

(Another descendant of Dave Gude's version.)

(I prefer Taylor's live take to the album version. But the album was popular and 'Circle Round the Sun' spawned several covers of its own.)

Now I love my baby, and she's bound to love me some  x2

Now she throws her arms around me just like a circle around the sun

I lay down last night lord, just to try to take my rest  x2

But my thoughts they just kept wandering like them wild geese in the west

Now I know that sunrise, sunrise, it's gonna shine in my back yard someday  x2

And that wind's just bound to rise up, gonna blow, blow all my blues away

*

HOT TUNA - 'KNOW YOU RIDER' (1970)

HOT TUNA

 

Jorma: "I learned I Know You Rider either at Antioch or NYC sometime in 1960."

Well I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2

You're gonna miss your daddy from rollin' in your arms

Lovin' you baby is easier than rollin' off a log  x2

I'll be your man now, sure won't be your dog

Well the sun gonna shine in my back door someday  x2

March wind gonna blow all my blues away

*

MOUNTAIN BUS - 'I KNOW YOU RIDER' (1971)

SUNDANCE

 

(I'll close with this take, which is mainly derived from the Grateful Dead's live version. Some words eluded me.)

 

I know you rider, well you gonna miss me when I'm gone  x2 

Gonna miss your daddy from rolling in your arms 

Love you baby, rollin' off a log  x2

I wanna be your lover man, don't wanna be your dog

Cryin' pity, low-down dirty shame  x2 

Since I've been [??], ever since I've been your man 

Wish I was a headlight on a northbound train  x2 

I'd shine my light on [???] rain

Sun's gonna shine in my back door someday  x2

March wind's gonna come and blow all my troubles away