"Pick a Bale of Cotton" (Roud 10061, sometimes "Pick a Bale o' Cotton") is a traditional American folk song and work song first recorded by Texas inmates James "Iron Head" Baker (1933)[1] and Mose "Clear Rock" Platt (1939)[2] and later popularized by Lead Belly (Huddie William Ledbetter).
The medley also appeared as a track on the German charity album Im Zeichen eines guten Sterns on Polydor.
In 2014, Country and Irish singer Derek Ryan covered it in his 2014 album The Simple Things also releasing a music video.
[1] The song, particularly its original lyrics, has been criticized as racist and reminiscent of—and glorifying—the slavery period in American history.
The original lyrics contained the offensive, generally censored racial slur nigger multiple times.