Free White Christmas, bloody Christmas by M. Bruce Jones, Trudy J Smith Page A

the murderer he was found.
    His name was Charlie Lawson; He had a loving wife. They'll never know what caused him To take his family's life.
    They said he killed his wife at first And the little ones did cry, "Please Papa, won't you spare our lives For it is so hard to die."
    But the raging man could not be stopped; He would not heed their cries He killed six children and his wife And then he closed their eyes.
    "And now farewell to friends at home; I'll see you all no more, Into my breast I'll fire one shot And my troubles will be o'er."
    They did not carry him to jail; No lawyer did he pay. He'll have his trial in another world On the final judgement day.
    They were all buried in a crowded grave. While the angels watched above. "Come home, come home, my wandering ones To the land of peace and love."
    The Murder of The Lawson Family by Walter "Kid" Smith. Copyright 1931 by Southern Music Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright renewed. International copyright secured. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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    Murder of the Lawson Family. A North Carolina musician and recording artist, Posey Rorer, took an interest in Smith's song and decided to take it on as a project.
    Ballads were tremendously popular during this era. With the growth of sales of phonographs and the records that went with them, recording companies had become big moneymakers in the large cities.
    According to Kinney Rorrer in his 1982 book entitled, Ramblin Blues: The Life and Songs of Charlie Poole, Posey Rorer believed that since news of the Lawson murders had gone as far as the New York Times (and eventually all over the world), that a larger recording company such as Columbia Records in New York City might be interested.
    Rorer sent clippings of the news reports about the murders to Columbia and inquired of their possible interest in recording the song. Columbia responded to his inquiry by inviting him to New York to audition the song.
    Certain that Columbia would be interested in his project, Rorer organized a new group called the Carolina Buddies. Along with Rorer on violin, the members consisted of: Walter Smith as vocalist, Lewis McDaniel of Virginia on guitar and Robert Carter of Mayodan, North Carolina, on tenor vocal and five-string banjo.
    Rorer's new band practiced at the home of Rorer's sister, Satira Rorer Massey, in secret. The group had some fear that an old associate, Charlie Poole, might somehow beat them to New York to record a version of the song before them.
    The group was well received in New York and recorded Smith's song on the Columbia label on March 25,1930, as The Murder of the Lawson Family. The melody of the song was the same as that of a previous one done by Rorer called Pearl Bryant, This original recording was coupled with a song called In a Cottage by the Sea.
    Other songs were recorded in this session for Columbia, but The Murder of the Lawson Family was by far the most successful in total sales. This success encouraged still
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    another group called the Red Fox Chasers to record a cover version on the Champion label. This recording was called, Murder of the Lawson Family.
    Along with other circumstances, the desperation of the great depression took its toll on most all of the musicians of the era. It certainly was a bleak time for Posey Rorer. By 1933, Rorer was rarely playing at all anymore. Eventually, he gave up his music altogether and he even pawned his fiddle to a local taxi driver. He managed to earn a modest living cutting wood.
    In June of 1936, at the age of 44, Rorer was found dead of a heart attack in a local park.
    For more information about the music and the musicians of this era, we suggest you read the book Ramblin Blues: The Life and Songs of Charlie Poole. It can be obtained by writing the author, Kinney Rorrer, at 913 Vicar Road, Danville, VA 24540.

    (Above) Walter "Kid" Smith
    as he appeared when he wrote The Murder of the Lawson Family. (Right) Buster Carter in 1928. (Photoscourtesy
    of Kinney