Leadbelly (film) and a drunken friend are playing around with a gun, and Leadbelly accidentally shoots him. He is thrown in prison where he is forced to work in a chain gang. When he tries to escape, he is caught and put in a box. His father arrives and tries to bail Leadbelly out, but fails. Before leaving, he manages to convince the warden to get Leadbelly a twelve-string acoustic guitar. After getting the new guitar, he plays a song for Governor Pat Neff who reassures Leadbelly he will be set free. After he leaves prison, he returns to Fannin Street, sees
When Jones' Ale was New online at the British Library Sound Archive. Peter Kennedy recorded Gloucestershire singer Harry Illes in 1957. A version collected from "Sailor Dad" Hunt of Marion, Virginia, by John A Lomax in 1941 was released on a Library of Congress LP, American Sea songs and Shanties. A L Lloyd, Martin Wyndham-Read, John Kirkpatrick and Danny Spooner have all recorded versions. The title of a version by The Kipper Family "When Peculiar Ale was New", may be a reference to Theakston's Old Peculiar, a popular real ale. A.L. Lloyd said that this song was sung at Easter by “Jolly-boys” or “Pace-eggers”: "Here