Lyrics of
Cotton Fields

Cotton Fields, written by Huddie Ledbetter (better known as Lead Belly) in the 1940s, talks about the cotton plantations in the southern United States, specifically mentioning Texarkana, near the Texas and Arkansas border. Lead Belly was an influential folk and blues musician known for his mastery of the twelve-string guitar and powerful voice. The song reflects his southern roots and the hard life on the cotton plantations.

see chords
When I was a little itty bitty baby
My momma would rock me in the cradle
In them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana just about a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home
When them cotton balls get rotten
You can't pick very much cotton
In them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana just about a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home
When I was a little itty bitty baby
My momma would rock me in the cradle
In them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana just about a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home
When them cotton balls get rotten
You can't pick very much cotton
In them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana just about a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home
(Solo)
When I was a little itty bitty baby
My momma would rock me in the cradle
In them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana just about a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home
In them old cotton fields back home