Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right

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"Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right"
Johnson-TreatAStrangerRight.jpg
Single by Blind Willie Johnson
Releasedc. 1930
RecordedAtlanta, Georgia, April 20, 1930
LabelColumbia (14597-D)
Songwriter(s)Unknown

"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]

In 2018, Ry Cooder said that the song was "one of Blind Willie Johnson’s great songs - he’s the go to guy".[3]

Recordings[]

The following recordings are by people with Wikipedia articles:

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. ^ a b "Video Premiere: Ry Cooder "Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right" (Live in studio)". Relix. April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  4. ^ Blind Willie Johnson: Everybody Ought To Treat a Stranger Right at AllMusic. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  5. ^ Knut Reiersrud: You Ought to Treat a Stranger Right at AllMusic. Retrieved February 1, 2015.


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