Song Of The Day

Song of the day

do you want to know the history of a folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll cover it

"I Ride an Old Paint/Leavin' Cheyenne" Carl Sandburg, 1937

"I Ride an Old Paint/Leavin' Cheyenne" is a traditional cowboy ballad, first published in 1916 by John Lomax in "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads"

and later, in 1921, by Nathan Howard "Jack" Thorp in "Songs of The Cowboys"

and even later in 1927, by Carl Sandburg in " The American Songbag"

all 3 of them propose different origins to the song, which demonstrate a larger story-

Carl Sandburg says in The American Songbag that he heard it from a singer who heard it from a cowhand traveling to the border with some friends:

Jack Thorp says that he heard it from a cowboy in Pecos City, Texas, but doesn't say who.

Luckily, with John Lomax, there actually is a thread to pull with the origins of this song.

John Lomax had learned the song from Cowpoke Jess Morris who at multiple times had said that he learned the song as a child working on his father's ranch from Freed-man Cowboy Charley Willis, a famous Black cowboy and employed by Morris' Father, E.J Morris.

in 1928, he says that he learned it working at his father's ranch at a young age but doesn't specify Charley Willis.

Amarillo Sunday News-Globe (Amarillo, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 133, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 18, 1928 (p. 2)

and in 1952, where he specifies that it was Charley Willis who taught him.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Tex.) Sun, Jun 01, 1952. (p. 18)

In J. Morris' unpublished manuscript and other correspondence that's been archived at the American FolkLife Center at the Library of Congress, he talks about the life of Charley Willis. He was an amazing cowhand because of his soothing voice, how he was leaving from Texas to Wyoming, how he might have actually had a horse called "Old-Paint." If you're interested in learning more about that, i recommend:

this short article

this npr article

and chapter 12 of this book

While neither Charley Willis nor his son were ever recorded singing this song, in 1942, Jess Morris was finally recorded by John Lomax, and this version is probably as close to the version by Charley Willis as we're going to get

it seems that in 1913, Jess Morris recorded the song, but this recording no longer exists, but here's a tag for it.

Steven Wade, The Beautiful Music All Around Us (2012) p.345, The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

as with many things, however, one of the first recorded renditions of this song belongs to Harry McClintock in 1928

based on the similar lyrics in all of the older versions, I believe this song is actually a Descendant of "The Wagoner's Lad" (also called "Lovely Nancy" or "My Horses Ain't Hungry" sometimes) and belongs to the "On Top of Old Smokey" family of traditional folk music.

take a look at the lyrics from the 3 books it was first recorded in

While Sandburg's is pretty different, Lomax and Thorp's versions both contain lyrics that are also in "The Wagoner's Lad" as well as other similarities, as do Jess Morris' version and Harry Mcclintock's.

here are "The Wagoner's Lad" lyrics to compare with

"The Wagoner's Lad" was first compiled in 1906 by Cecil Sharp and published in 1917

where Sharp explains that it was much much older and that the Appalachian culture was particularly skillful at persevering traditional folk songs. this song also probably comes from even older, more traditional folk tunes from English folk music.

it was first recorded in 1926 and performed by Kelly Harrel as "My Horses ain't Hungry"

my favorite rendition is "Pretty Nancy" by Jean Ritchie in 1971

Getting back on the topic of "Old Paint," my favorite version of all time is by contemporary artist Colter Wall in 2023, who combines the best aspects of the traditional song's various melodies and lyrics and really makes the story of the song stick out as a bittersweet masterpiece.

Anyway, I don't know who wrote "Old Paint". like with all folk music, it's very likely that it has multiple origins or that Charley Willis learned it from someone else. Regardless, I'm happy that he's credited with writing the song. black history in the American West is so often erased that whatever shred of recognition that is given to black cowboys is something to hold onto.

Odetta, Photo by Herb Snitzer, 1990

Sing Out! Poster from 1968, signed by various folk singers

Song of the day

do you want to know the history of a folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll cover it

"Little Boxes" Malvina Reynolds, 1967-70s

originally written by her in 1962 and first recorded by her friend Pete Seeger in 1963. where it was his only charting single in 1964

the song is a fun satire, poking fun at the crushing normativity that was present in the 50s and 60s.

Tribute to Elizabeth Cotten with Odetta

Song of the Day

(do you want the history of your favorite folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll do a full rundown)

"Dirty old Town" Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, 1956 this song was originally written by Ewan MacColl in 1949, for his play "Landscape with Chimneys". The song is based off of his childhood city, Salford, Lancashire, England, where he grew up.

In an interview with the BBC, Peggy Seeger said

"it remains a perfect song" "It's a beautiful melody, just four economical verses, and it has been covered by hundreds of singers each in their own way"

she continues with regards to the covers,

"I don’t like what The Dubliners did to it, I don’t like what The Pogues did to it – I think they have lost the loneliness," "I think they have lost the confusion of a young person walking through it." "To me, Ewan was reliving his 20s and his late teens so I think it is harder to change."

she adds,

"It speaks to everybody from a dirty old broken down industrial city," "But Salford was in Ewan MacColl’s bones." "He took me to his dirty old town within a week of our three-decade partnership."

This relates to one of my favorite things about the song, it's equally relatable for everyone in a burnt-out industrial city. hell, I really relate to the song and my hometown is a railroad town in Wyoming. I grew up listening to this song because my mom loved it and her hometown is a rustbelt city that was crumbling factorial ruins when she was growing up.

Even though Peggy Seeger doesn't like the covers, I still want to mention the version by The Pogues as it's one of my favorites. I do agree with her that both of the translations lost some of the charm that the original had.

The original captured the spirit of traditional Irish and English folk music, so much so that I assumed it was a traditional ballad. little new compositions of folk music succeed in doing this, which makes the song impressive.