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
He Was a Friend of Mine He Was a Friend of Mine "He Was a Friend of Mine" is a traditional folk song in which the singer laments the death of a friend. Alan Lomax, first to collect the song, in 1939, described it as a "blues" that was "a dirge for a dead comrade." The earliest known version of the song is titled "Shorty George" (Roud 10055). A performance by African-American inmate Smith Casey, who accompanied himself on guitar, was first recorded by musicologist couple John A. and Ruby Terrill Lomax in 1939 at the Clemens State Farm in Brazoria County, Texas. The professional singer