When you see her grabbing the Guitar's neck with hand, upside down, you know she learn everything on her own. This is a self-taught genius.

I've been a musician all my life. When i was first exposed to her music, I was in a trance like state. Just can't find words to describe how I felt. God bless her.

She said she named herself. When she was a little girl her mother always just called her "Babe". Then when she went to school and the first grade teacher asked what her name was she said " Elizabeth"

I mean I’m watching the two fingers and i still sit amazed at the sound they’re making. Ms. Cotten is an American treasure.

I was privileged to see Her in the early 70`s at the Wash. Sq. Meth Church in Greenwich Village,NY. She sat on the old altar,children gathered around her & she just continued to play, like we were all at home. A wonderful evening!

I saw her once in a small, free concert in Graham Chapel on the campus of Washington University when I was a student back in 1978. By that time her sight was failing and she was accompanied and assisted by one of the Seeger family. But once she was seated, guitar in hand, there was no doubt that she was 'home'.Sadly, when she invited the audience to sing along on Freight Train it was apparent that many of the younger students didn't have a clue what the words were, or what they were witnessing.

Her touch and dynamics are masterful. The picking pattern can be learned in time, but you have to *earn* that touch she had.

She can play the song any way she likes, she wrote the thing. Great rendition.

This is America guys and gals,,,,this the DNA ,,the real Deal

Hearing her story and the beauty and simplicity of her music makes want to cry tears of joy, sorrow, longing. It speaks so deeply to my soul.

This lady was amazing in her style of finger picking!

THIS IS MY FIRST TIME SHE'S A FRIKIN GENIUS . I LOVE HER.

0:50 Freight Train 3:30 In the Sweet Bye and Bye 5:06 Wilson Rag (instr.) 8:17 Shoot That Buffalo (banjo) 9:45 George Buck (banjo)

Pure genius ! She makes finger picking the guitar and banjo look so easy and effortless.

These southern black people are the endless paved road for music. This is going to influenced centuries of child all over the world. I'm so glad to be a child that got influenced my American Southern Music.

This woman beats me hands down...fantastic!

Lo mejor muy hermoso.estas en el cielo abuela linda tus manos alegran.la madera con cuerdas tocas el alma.y el cielo azulado.aparecen animales jugando .en tus notas.cantan pájaros danzando juntos como hermanos .

So glad music like this is preserved and shared for others to enjoy. Incredible story, music and picking style.

Pure Magic, she is fantastic. RIP Elizabeth. Elvis and herself are having great times in the studio in the sky.

Completely self-taught....she was a lot like Mother Maybelle Carter, obviously different techniques and the fact that Mother Maybelle was right-handed and Elizabeth was left handed, but both were self-taught and changed the way country and folk picking was looked at and changed it forever. Love this treasure here!

When she was 12 she wrote ‘Freight train with the words ‘When I’m dead ... Such a young girl thought about these things already! She is marvelous for what she produced❤️🌹👌💥🌻

Her voice😍 I am listening with a big smile in my face. Wonderful💯💯❤❤🙏

I"m going to the rock and roll hall of fame this week, where she has been inducted. I learned Freight train on the guitar and will play at their studio, in her honor, not as well as her, but I'll give it my best.

God's gifts are sweet and come in all forms angels 😇 💜 💕

Amazing. Just no other words. Brilliant woman, lovely old soul. Shame more don't know about her.

Pure musicality right there.

Wow! I've NEVER seen anyone play like that !!! Can you imagine..Playing the melody with your thumb and the bass with your index finger??? She had to be ...( quess I could be accused of stating the obvious)...tremendously talented !!! ...Wow! Just AMAZING !!! ...When you're a picker yourself and you hear someone that's good it inspires you....Then , when you hear someone like this ...That is simply AMAZING it kinda makes you wanna just give up...Because you know deep in your heart you could practice until the end of time and NEVER be anywhere NEAR THIS GREAT !!! ...LOL...Its kinda depressing.....But at the same time....You just don't want to stop hearing it ,,,,,,EVER !!! ...

Freight Train is the MOST heartbreakingly beautiful music I’ve ever heard

FolkSeattle...Thanks for bringing Elizabeth Cotten 😇🌹🌹👏to us! Had never heard of heard of this UNIQUE, powerful lady. An everlasting TREASURE!

Her bends just kill!😍

Love this as a charles mcdevitt skiffle track, but listening to it as played by Elizabeth Cotten brings a tear to my eye. Its just beautiful the way she plays.

She and Etta Baker. Very influential. Very significant.

My hero.

this is blody brilliant, and now I know how much she influence so much music I took fror granted

One of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen and heard

Thank u Miss Cotten ❤

One of America's greatest unknown treasures.

Found this through Reverb's site. Glad I did. This lady is amazing & so is her story. She should've been a lot more well known & famous. She's so talented & incredible.

A raw unaltered talent, I think that comes from her overcoming her oppressions when she was younger maybe also older! That fighting spirit really does show through in her compromising music and pure joy in what she does and allowing other people to watch and listen to her bless you Elizabeth

What a treasure the documentaton in videos of Elizabeth are, thanks to you and others who poste her tunes!!

I'm so glad I came across this, so glad. Elizabeth Cotten is in my Hall of Fame.

This is true Americana music 🎵 singing and playing what she knew. What an awesome human being

Super!❤❤❤🎉😊

isso que e um autentico........som de musica folk.....Elizabeth Cotten ela e incrivel...e eu nao a conhecia.....obrigado FolkSeattle..por fornecer esse material tao agradavel..ao nossos ouvidos.......

Esp from 5.40 - best guitarrifs I have heard for years.

Love it!

Beautiful,serene,exquisite.Such a sweet lovely lady.Love her picking style'

WOW! SHE BEND THE STRING,LIKE SHE HAVE A TREMOLO ON THE GUITAR!

Just found out about her. So meditative and tranquil. Just beautiful

Yesterday was her 130th anniversary and one of my bucket list items is to learn to play Freight Train, trouble is I'm 70 and a novice. Go Elizabeth! Star!

She is so amazing 🤩

This amazing guitar player notice she is playing left handed using the high e string as her as everyone else would use the low e amazing woman a tribute to all musicians so impressed

unreal......Shes is so beauteful...wow...in my face she plays and sign like an angel thanks for sharing

Oh wow! i wish i could have seen her. She is underrated. Her playing and singing is soothing to me, like a familiar blanket. I could listen to her all day.

My first guitar hero... Mrs. Cotton plays her guitar upside-down. Cotton "pickin" style. There are 2 parts to this review on KZfaq. This lady is a National treasure.

Beautiful. Thank you for your music, Ms. Cotton. God Bless.

I love u all young people that take this music to ur hearts beacause its only thrugh our roots we can be true to ourself and people around us. Its only then we can learn and be taught and teach our children whats important in life. keep reading, listenng, contemplate and spread the voices and explain the different if u have to

she is amazing.

Talk about 'The Road Less Traveled' with that picking/playing style. ........... us left-handed people, and how we take on the other-handed world (wink). Freight Train was the first song I learned .......that was at age three; but I had only enough patience to learn the first line, and would run about waving my arms and yelling, for that is how 3 y.o.'s sing, mostly, that one opening line.

Two legends I count myself lucky to have seen while they were still with us -- Ella Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Cotten. LIbby was in her 90s. Do we know when this was filmed? I love the close-up of the fingerpicking.

Elizabeth Cotten lives on

Wow, great stuff! Thanks for finding and posting her great guitar playing! This song was the first one I learned to finger pick, but watching her do it, upside down and backwards is just blowing my mind!! Thank you so much for letting us all watch this!

Amazing. Love the bends. I played in a jam with a guy who played left handed on a right handed guitar. Never could follow his chords.

Very beautiful

👍 👌 👍 👌 great 👍

Goodness Gracious. My new hero.

She is a true blessing, God Bless her. She has a gift.

Great upload. Thank you.

Truly an artist wow, amazing

very touching.pure soul.

Fantastic! That was awesome!

This gives me hope to learn upside-down :"]

This is absolutely gorgeous

It would be interesting to know about her history of her life, what a sweet gal. 💐🕊🥀🎚🙏 and to play that guitar the way she does, l guess upside down, amazing. 💐🕊🥀🎚🙏

How can anyone give this magical talented woman thumbs down? I just hope they hit the button on by mistake.

Beautiful!!! thanks!

This is so good :-) Thanks for sharing it!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING! MY LIFE IS FOREVER CHANGED!

All I can say is WOW !!!

thanks for share! wanderful!!!

In a parallel universe, everyone plays like her and she plays the way we see as normal

Beautiful genius.

incredible . The song she plays at 8.21 on the banjo reminds me so much of Doc Boggs playing.

I never heard of her. Thank you ♪♪▼♪♪

Wonderful.

love love her.. 💙

It's interesting to watch her pick the melody out with her thumb. I could learn alot from someone like that.

amazing.

she's a left-handed + playing with a right-handed guitar! wow!!!!

God bless that woman what a wonderful spirit

wow. that was awesome

Wonderful

Elizabeth proving that you can absolutely shred on an acoustic guitar, playing folk music. I wonder if she influenced Nick Drake - her guitar parts remind me most of his.

I love the second song she plays! The Preacher and the Slave!

5:58 sounds a lot like the Buckingham Nicks Guitar Part in “Don’t Let Me Down Again”; could’ve been the inspiration!

enchanted.

Libbia, kind of in love with you still, you had a talent I don't, I don't begrudge any of it, so glad to have found you

Amazing👍👍🎶🎸🎶🎸🎶💃🎶🏃

She's just great, wonderful. She has a genuine sweetness that comes through. You can try this at home, but, you might hurt yourself lol.

This is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!