Horton wrote the lyrics for "New Mule Skinner Blues", Bill Monroe's second recorded version of the song.

[3] The song was discussed in the Ken Burns 2019 documentary miniseries Country Music and Jimmie Rodgers' rendition was on the soundtrack album for the series.

He boasts of his skills: "I can pop my 'nitials on a mule's behind" and hopes for "a dollar and a half a day".

The first verse of the song is similar to Tom Dickson's 1928 recording "Labor Blues" in which the exchange is clearly between a white boss and an African-American worker who is quitting the job, not applying for it: "Captain" was a traditional term for the white boss; "Shine" is a derogatory expression for "African-American".

After the narrator rebels and quits because he is not being paid, he turns his attention to his "Mississippi gal" and the remaining lyrics concern their romance.