Live Feb 1988 version
I ain't got no home, I'm just a ramblin' 'round
I work when I can get it, I roam from town to town
Police make it hard, boys, wherever I may go
I ain't got no home in this world anymore
Six children I have raised, they're scattered and they're gone
And my darling wife to heaven she has flown
She died of the fever, yes, on the cabin floor
I ain't got no home in this world anymore
I mined in your mines and I gathered in your corn
I been workin' mister since the day that I was born
Now I worry all the time like I never did before
I ain't got no home in this world anymore
I just ramble 'round to see what I can see
This wide wicked world is sure a funny place to be
The gamblin' man is rich and the workin' man is poor
I ain't got no home in this world anymore
Well, I'm stranded on this road that goes from sea to sea
A hundred thousand others are stranded here with me
A hundred thousand others, yes, and a hundred thousand more
I ain't got no home in this world anymore
Ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Woo ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
The above lyrics are for the live performance of I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE recorded during the private rehearsals that took place in late January and early February 1988 at Expo Theater in Fort Monmouth, NJ, in preparation for the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour. The song was played in an acoustic band arrangement, featuring Bruce Springsteen on acoustic guitar and vocals, Nils Lofgren on acoustic guitar, Roy Bittan on accordion, and Patti Scialfa on background vocals. This performance was later released on the A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly home video. The exact recording date is unknown but it most probably took place around mid-February 1988.
In the documentary Bruce Springsteen spoke about Woody Guthrie's I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE: "I think that the heart of this song, it cries out for some sort of belief and reckoning with the idea of universal family, you know, which is something that uh... people long for. You know, everybody longs for that. And that's why it is so resonate and will always — will always be resonate, you know. Uh... you know, it reaches down and pulls out that part of you that thinks of the next guy and I think that was embedded in every song he wrote, you know, every story he told, every song he wrote."
A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly is a various artists benefit documentary and home video in support of Folkways Records and the Woody Guthrie Archives. Narrated by Robbie Robertson, it features interviews with and performances by leading folk, rock, and country recording artists including Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Little Richard, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, U2, and others. The documentary premiered on Showtime on 17 Sep 1988 and was released as a home video by Columbia Records later that year. It was originally issued on VHS and Laserdisc and in October 2000 it was reissued on DVD.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band recorded two Woody Guthrie songs for the documentary and homes video, I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE and VIGILANTE MAN. These were recorded live during the private rehearsals that took place in late January and early February 1988 in preparation for the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour. Toby Scott was the audio engineer. Springsteen also appears on an ensemble studio performance of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND.
Along with the documentary and home video Columbia Records also released a various artists tribute album that featured studio versions of I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE and VIGILANTE MAN. All artist royalties from both the album and video supported Folkways Records and the Woody Guthrie Archives which were acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987.
As part of its "Interchords" series, Columbia Records also released a limited US-only promotional album containing the soundtrack for the A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly documentary. It includes the same live Feb 1988 versions of I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE and VIGILANTE MAN, studio version of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND, and interview excerpts.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
The home video release reportedly differs dramatically from the special that aired on TV. For example, the TV special showed Springsteen playing a verse of I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE acoustically by himself. This version does not appear on the home video release. If you do have recording of the original 1988 TV special (analog or digital), or if you have any additional relevant information about this matter please contact me via the below form or by email: .
Some sources claim that the documentary premiered on PBS in October 1988. If you do have any additional information about this matter please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE on this website:
I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE [Studio version]
