In the Pines

This song has been recorded hundreds of times in a variety of styles, from bluegrass to rock and roll, but Lead Belly’s eerie, powerful version has always been my favorite. Of course, I love everything Lead Belly ever recorded, and I regret having been just a little too young to have heard him in person. This performance, with brilliant backup work by first-class players, is a great closing number for this collection. Larry, Teresa and I used to perform this song together regularly at the Midnight Rambles, with Levon playing drums. There was nothin better than to be on stage and look over to see him grinning his big smile at you over his snare drum as he kept his incomparable groove. I sure do miss that guy!