by Elizabeth Cotten
As far as I know this is the original recording, and the recording I’ve based my transcription on:
And here’s a great performance of the song when she was in her later years. Notice her left-handed, upside down style – bass is all played with the index finger, melody with the thumb.
I’ve written out the music and tab below for the two versions of the song I demonstrate in the video. Firstly there’s the basic arrangement. Then there’s a more or less note-for-note version of what Cotten plays on the first section of her recording above, though it’s impossible to exactly replicate what she does when playing the guitar the conventional way. PDFs: Basic Arrangement and Elizabeth-Stylee
