Shake Sugaree -
"Shake Sugaree" hasn't stayed in the past; it has been kept alive by generations of artists:
: Being left-handed, Cotten played a right-handed guitar held upside-down without restringing it. This meant she picked the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb. Shake Sugaree
Unlike many of Cotten's other hits like "Freight Train," which she wrote as a child, "Shake Sugaree" (1967) was a collaborative effort born from her role as a great-grandmother. "Shake Sugaree" hasn't stayed in the past; it
The lyrics—"Oh, lordy me / Didn't I shake sugaree? / Everything I got is done and pawned"—have puzzled listeners for decades. Even Cotten herself once admitted, "To tell the truth, I don't know what got it started". Interpretations vary widely: The lyrics—"Oh, lordy me / Didn't I shake sugaree
: Entirely self-taught, she didn't perform publicly until her 60s, after being "discovered" while working as a housekeeper for the musical Seeger family. A Lasting Legacy
: The definitive version features Cotten’s 12-year-old great-granddaughter, Brenda Evans , on lead vocals, while Cotten provides her signature "upside-down" guitar accompaniment. What Does "Shake Sugaree" Actually Mean?
: Some see it simply as a set of nonsense riddles meant for children.