Elizabeth Cotten’s “Shake Sugaree” is a delightfully whimsical song that carries at its heart a good deal of wisdom. Cotten developed the simple melody of the song from folk sources, and used it as a lullaby when putting her great grandchildren to bed in the evening. She encouraged the kids to think of words for the song, and they all had a hand in its composition. The song seems to be about hardship and poverty, as the lyrics list all manner of things that the singer has pawned, but the chorus (”didn’t we shake sugaree”) is upbeat and bears no trace of regret. To “shake sugaree” is to dance. Jean Ritchie has suggested that “sugaree” is a reference to the Appalachian practice of “sugaring,” of throwing sugar out to “slick up the dance floor.” So the message in “Shake Sugaree” seems to be that no matter how bad things get, you can always dance. Cotten’s original version was the title tune on her second album for Smithsonian Folkways, and the lyric was actually sung by one of her great grandchildren, Brenda Evans, who was then only 12 years old. Cotten performed the song frequently in concert, and its lightly surreal lyrics and gentle, positive tone have made it a popular cover song in folk circles. Taj Mahal, Mary Lou Lord (with Elliot Smith on guitar), Chris Smither, Greg Brown, Faith Nolan, and Po Girl have all recorded versions of “Shake Sugaree.” Fred Neil covered it as “I’ve Got a Secret (Shake Sugaree),” and it is Neil’s rendition that Bob Dylan used when he performed the song on his 1996 and 1997 tours. The Grateful Dead song “Sugaree” is based on Cotten’s original, but is essentially an entirely new piece, in which Sugaree becomes the name of a woman (a hooker, actually). Aside from “Freight Train,” “Shake Sugaree” is Libba Cotten’s best-known song, and its timeless and gentle wisdom make it a wonderfully joyous lullaby, one that feels like it has always been there.