The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) is a beetle which feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growing areas by the 1920s, devastating the industry and the people working in the American South. "Boll Weevil" is a traditional blues song, also known by similar titles such as "Boweavil" or "Boll Weevil Blues". Although many songs about the boll weevil were recorded by blues musicians during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, this one has become well known, thanks to Lead Belly's rendition of it as recorded by folklorist Alan Lomax in 1934. It was recorded by Gid Tanner, Blind Willie McTell, Lead Belly, Carl Sandburg, Woody Guthrie, Tex Ritter, Burl Ives, The Weavers, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Pete Seeger, Dave Van Ronk and others. The version here is Woody Guthrie's from Hard Hitting Songs.