Patrick Leigh Fermor soundtrack

"Then I . . . headed . . . to pick up my new passport. Filling in the form the day before—born in London, 11 February 1915; height 5'9 3/4"; eyes, brown; hair, brown; distinguishing marks, none—I had left the top space empty, not knowing what to write. Profession? 'Well, what shall we say?' The Passport Official had asked, pointing to the void. My mind remained empty. A few years earlier, an American hobo song called Hallelujah I’m a bum! had been on many lips; during the last days it had been haunting me like a private leitmotif and without realizing I must have been humming the tune as I pondered, for the Official laughed 'You can’t very well put that,' he said. After a moment he added: 'I should just write "student" '; so I did."
—Patrick Leigh Fermor, A Time of Gifts, p. 21

Listen to a 1926 recording of "Hallelujah I'm a Bum!"

Download it at the Internet Archive [this also includes a brief history of the song, including its Wobbly origins—PLF had it a bit wrong when he identified the song as a hobo anthem, it was most likely written by the activist Harry McClintock, who went by the great nickname "Haywire Mac."]

Dan Zanes has also included the track on his "Parades And Panoramas: 25 Songs Collected By Carl Sandburg For The American Songbag." You can listen to a sample and view the lyrics at Dan Zanes's site.