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Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right

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"Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right"
Song
A-side"Go with Me to That Land"

"Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right" is a gospel blues song recorded in 1930 by Blind Willie Johnson with backing vocals by Willie B. Harris, who may have been his first wife.[1] The song was released in 1930 on Columbia 14597 as B-side to "Go with Me to That Land".[2]

The chorus consists of the lines:

Everybody should treat a stranger right, long ways from home,
Everybody should treat a stranger right, a long way from home.

The verses comment on that idea, notably with reference to the Three Wise Men offering gifts to the Christ-child in the manger.[2]

Recordings

The following recordings are by people with Wikipedia articles:

  • 1930 – Blind Willie Johnson [3]
  • 1993 – Knut Reiersrud, on the album Tramp (in USA, Footwork) under the title "You Ought to Treat a Stranger Right" [4]

References

  1. ^ "Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right". Smithsonian Folkways. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Blakey, D. N. (2007). Revelation Blind Willie Johnson the Biography. online: Lulu Publishing. p. 278 et seq. ISBN 978-1430328995.
  3. ^ Blind Willie Johnson: Everybody Ought To Treat a Stranger Right at AllMusic. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  4. ^ Knut Reiersrud: You Ought to Treat a Stranger Right at AllMusic. Retrieved February 1, 2015.