but jake blount isn't content to simply research and copy the past. he sound right into the present, and put his own spin on it. jake: ♪ didn't it rain, children ♪ string band music whetr it's spirituals, whatever, is still alive and breathing and growing. it is not restricted to old times. i think it's perfectly allowable to admit that people who are young and alive today have things to contribute to that. tom: he proved that point on his first full-length release, 2020's spider tales, where he covered lead belly's classic tale of jealousy and suspicion, where did you sleep last night. >> ♪ my girl, don't lie to me tell me where did you sleep last night ♪ tom: blount's version changes the girl to a boy, giving the song what the guardian called an arresting new power on an album it called an instant classic. jake: ♪ my boy, my boy, don't lie to me ♪ tom: his most recent album is called the new faith. it contains a song called the downward road. this 1934 version is sung by a group of incarcerated black men in south carolina. it's a spiritual about the