This piece is inspired by prison work songs recorded by Alan and John Lomax at The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in the 1930’s. Two of these songs, Rosie and Take This Hammer, were particularly intriguing to me because of their lyrical/musical content and served as the inspiration for this piece. A version of Take This Hammer was later made famous by Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter, an inmate at Angola in the 1930’s, who became a renowned blues musician after he was “discovered” by Lomax.