"Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" is a traditional folk song popularised in the late 1950s by blues guitarist Eric Von Schmidt.
The song was first recorded as "Don't Tear My Clothes" in January 1935 by the State Street Boys, a group that included Big Bill Broonzy and Jazz Gillum.
[2] The next few years saw several more versions, including "Don't Tear My Clothes" by Washboard Sam in June 1936,[3] "Baby Don't You Tear My Clothes" by the Harlem Hamfats in May 1937,[4] "Let Your Linen Hang Low" by Rosetta Howard with the Harlem Hamfats in October 1937[5] and "Mama Let Me Lay It On You" by Blind Boy Fuller in April 1938.
According to his chronicle of the Cambridge Folk era, also called "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down", Eric had first heard the song via the Blind Boy Fuller recording.
The song was later picked up by the young, up and coming folk singer Bob Dylan, who made it famous on his Columbia Records debut.