“I don’t know why I ain’t killed nobody. I just ain’t got that in me. Mike, I’ve had a chance, people talkin’ over my shoulder, telling me, “Pour it on, Dock,” and me with a .38 Special in my hand, dead cocked. ‘Bout the only person that—and they really needed killing. I mean, if you count anyone needed killing. “Pour it on, Dock, we’ll swear you on, pour it on, pour it on.” I say no, no I won’t do it without he goes too far and they never went too far and I never poured it on. And I ain’t got no blood on my hands.”

Dock Boggs in an interview with Mike Seeger about his struggle with and against violence.

Sometime’s killin’s what they need,
They got bones to break and hearts to bleed
Some men hold the lord within
But demons sit on the porch n’ watch the wind.
Pour it on, we’ll swear you on
And death is dead and gone and gone
Pour it on, the crows they sing
Side by side and the vultures hissing.
Pour it on—Dock.
Why’d you kill the old lady?
She got between the bullet and me
And at least some souls are born for thee
And other’sve got their souls with thee
Pour it on, we swear it on,
Death is dead, it’s gone, it’s gone
Pour it on, the crows they sing
Side by side and the vultures hissing.
Pour it on, Dock.
Pour it on.
We’ll swear y’on Dock
Pour it on!
C’mon Dock.
Come pour it on—we’ll swear you on.
Pour it on…Dock.
Maybe work the mines no more
We’ll break the doors and shoot them whores
Sign our names in the Big White Book
Or scorch in Hell for the lives we took
Pour it on, we swear it on,
Death is dead, it’s gone, it’s gone
Pour it on, the crows sing
Side by side and the vultures hissing!
Pour it on
Death is dead, and gone, and gone.
Sometimes killin’s what they need.

Old Crow Medicine Show, Pour It On, Dock. Off their album Greetings from WaWa

The first time I heard this song it kind of itched at me. I looked up the lyrics a while ago but couldn’t find them online, so I transcribed them here. While researching them again today, I came across a journal article called Dock Boggs in Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia. It put the OCMS song into context, which I’ve provided above, and talked about influential folk/old-time artist Dock Boggs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dock_Boggs), and his personal war. It’s no wonder the song caught me so badly. Follow my line here if you’re unfamiliar but interested—I’ve given you your own micro-music history start up guide.