The verses tell the story of a man imprisoned for unknown reasons "I went across the river, and I lay down to sleep/When I woke up, had shackles on my feet", who pines for his lost love, who is "on the train and gone."
[1] The song was recorded by Woody Guthrie in 1940,[2][3] and in the years that followed by his sometime singing partners Cisco Houston[4] Burl Ives,[5] Ramblin' Jack Elliott (with Derroll Adams),[6] and Pete Seeger.
[8] Lonnie Donegan and his band released a skiffle arrangement in 1955, with vocals by Dickie Bishop, paying homage to Guthrie and Houston in a later interview.
"Worried Man Blues" performed by George Jones is the first song on the album The Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family released in 2004.
Numerous blues artists (including Big Bill Broonzy, Sam Collins, Blind Boy Fuller, Tampa Red, Sonny Terry, and Big Joe Williams) have recorded songs with titles similar to "Worried Man Blues", but with entirely different lyrics and melody.