In The Pines

“In the Pines” (Roud 3421), also known as “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”, “My Girl”, “Hey Girl”, or “Black Girl”, is a traditional American folk song originating from two songs, “In the Pines” and “The Longest Train”, both of whose authorship is unknown and date back to at least the 1870s. The songs originated in the Southern Appalachian area of the United States in the contiguous areas of East Tennessee and Kentucky, Western North Carolina and Northern Georgia.

Versions of the song have been recorded by many artists in numerous genres, but it was most often associated with American bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and American blues musician Lead Belly, both of whom recorded a version of the song in the 1940s, before achieving wide fame with the grunge band Nirvana.