“How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?” by Alfred Reed was recorded on 4 December 1929, less than two months after the great stock market crash of October 29th on Wall Street.

This is one of the first published protest songs.

(Blind Alfred Reed, at right, with fiddler Fred Pendleton circa 1927:)

Andy Arleo presents a thorough history of the song and its variants in this research document.