932 – Sam Cooke – Chain gang (1960)

Escrita por Sam Cooke e Charles Cook Jr., foi gravada em 25 de janeiro de 1960, nos estudios da RCA em New York City e lançada em 6 de julho em um compacto que tinha I fall in love every day como Lado B.

É um dos maiore sucessos de Cooke, chegando ao numero 2 dos charts pop americanos e tambem nos charts de R&B. Também chegou ao numero 9 no Reino Unido.

Foi inspirada quando Cooke viu sem querer uma chain gang verdadeira numa highway.

A letra:

I hear somethin' sayin'

That's the sound of the men working on the chain ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang

All day long they're singin'
(Hooh aah) (hooh aah)
(Hooh aah) (hooh aah)

That's the sound of the men working on the chain ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang

All day long they work so hard
Till the sun is goin' down
Working on the highways and byways
And wearing, wearing a frown
You hear them moanin' their lives away
Then you hear somebody sa-ay

That's the sound of the men working on the chain ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang

Can't ya hear them singin'
Mm, I'm goin' home one of these days
I'm goin' home see my woman
Whom I love so dear
But meanwhile I got to work right he-ere

That's the sound of the men working on the chain ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang

All day long they're singin', mm
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my work is so hard
Give me water, I'm thirsty

My, my work is so hard
Oh my, my, my, my, my, my work is so hard

A versão de Sam Cooke:

A versão de D. B. Buxton:

A versão de Peter Schwarzwald: