Hallelujah, I'm a Bum

I'm not proud of my singing voice or my guitar playing, but I have no shame, so I'm doing this anyway.  I've had trouble coming up with stuff for my blog lately and decided to grant a request.

One of my Arkansas blog friends wanted to hear me sing "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum".  I first thought I'd just sing it acapella, but then I noticed she specifically mentioned the guitar.  I probably learned the tune in my mother's womb, since my family went to church three times a week: because it's the tune of an old hymn, Revive Us Again.  My mom was the first one who introduced me to the words of Hallelujah, I'm a Bum, too; but later I recall singing it in grade school at some point.  I thought it was one of the funniest songs I had ever heard at the time.

Harry McClintock, whose nickname was Haywire Mac, is credited with writing the lyrics to the song around 1897, although some say he wasn't the one who came up with it.  However, the song fit McClintock to a T, because he could frequently be found bumming around the country. It became a favorite of the hobos and was frequently sung in hobo camps, or “jungles,” as they were sometimes called.  Mac later fought in the Spanish-American War,  where he taught many of his fellow soldiers to sing Hallelujah, I’m a Bum.

Many verses were added by other people through the years; all you have to do is rhyme two lines, then sing the chorus again, so it doesn't take Shakespeare to figure out some rhyming words.  Oh, and only two guitar chords are needed to accompany it.

However, it may have been written by a Kansas City hobo known only as "One-Finger Ellis," who scribbled it on the wall of his prison cell in 1897.  This is only a sample of all the verses to this song.