Lyrics:Corrina, Corrina [Version (a)]:
Corrina, Corrina
Girl where you been so long?
Corrina, Corrina
Gal where you been so long?
I've been worryin' 'bout you
Baby please come home
I got a bird that whistles
Got a bird that sings
I got a bird that whistles
Got a bird that sings
But I ain't got Corrina
Life don't mean a thing
Corrina, Corrina
Girl you're on my mind
Corrina, Corrina
Girl you're on my mind
Now I'm thinkin' about you, babe
I just can't keep from cryin'
The Song:"Corrina, Corrina" is an old old bluesy song, from the early 1900s. It got passed down through bluesmen over the years, until Bob Dylan did it on his second album,
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Dylan tossed a lyric from Robert Johnson into the middle. Dylan's version is an amalgam of sources, and musically is somewhat separate from the older "Corrina"s (lyrically it's similar). You can read about the song
here.
I do believe Beck had Dylan's version in mind. He uses the same lyrics/arrangement, but slows it down a bit (Dylan's is slightly upbeat). Beck appears to be the only person on his recording, and as always, his acoustic blues guitar is beautiful.