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Obsessed with this postcard Woody sent to Alan like beautiful
Suggested Song
"900 Miles" Terry Callier, 1968
origins under the cut
the origins of this song are a bit unclear. No one knows who first wrote it or some specifics with its origins. 900 miles is related to the traditional southern song, "Reuben's train," written sometime after 1860, based on the Reuben Wells Locomotive.
the earliest example of the song in print (that i could find anyway) was in 1913, from the journal of American folklore. somewhat similar to the song that Terry Callier covers. I've seen some references to the song being dated to the very early 1900s and late 1800s, so this song is older than 1913.
the first recording of the song (that i could find) was in 1924 by Fiddlin' John Carson "I'm Nine Hundred miles from home"
and in 1927 by Henry Whitter and G. B. Grayson "train No.45"
a common title for this song is Train No. 45 (which is usually just the instrumental version for the reuben train song), which is confusing because the reuben wells is actually referred to as no. 35, but maybe they changed it in the 20s because that was when the California Western Railroad No. 45 was built. I'm not really sure.
Many of the folk artists who covered this song and the music anthologists who collected have credited to hearing it from black singers originally like woody guthrie and Alan Lomax (p.245). Alan Lomax talks about its different versions in different southern states and its history as a labor song for Sharecroppers and convicts who were both white and black.
and Folklorist Norm Cohen talks about its use and connections to black folklife here (p. 502-518).
and it's featured here in the album, "Before The Blues Vol. 2 (The Early American Black Music Scene) 2016"
based on Alan Lomax's account, it seems that the 900 mile version was popularized because of Woody Guthrie's version in 1944
This song is incredibly famous and has been covered by many other traditional and revival folk artists, including: Cisco Houston (1950-1953), Odetta (1963), Barbara Dane (1961), Richie Havens (late 1960s?) and Bob Dylan (1967).
one of the most popular versions of the song "500 miles" was written in 1961 by Hedy west and is a much newer adaptation of the traditional song, it also has a much more cheery melody and fast tempo compared to the somewhat sullen "900 miles". it has been covered many times by country and folk revival artists like: the journeymen (1961), The Kingston Trio (1962), Peter Paul, and Mary (1962), and the Brothers four (1963).
the version by Terry Callier was recorded in 1965, but his folk album wasn't released until 3 years later in 1968. when he released his first album, "The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier." 900 miles was the first song on the tracklist and the album combined elements of traditional folk/blues as well as jazz. he takes traditional songs and re-imagines them with a fresh pair of eyes that makes this folk album stand out from the multitude of others at the time. While it's considered a cult classic today, it seems like it may have not performed very well monetarily considering how long it took to release and how every other Terry Callier release is completely different.
still, even though this was only his first album, and his genre and style diverged pretty heavily from this first album, it remains to me, one of the best things to come out of the folk revival scene, and 900 miles by Terry Callier will remain the best cover of the traditional labor song.
for user @paulkleefishmagic
Suggested song
"The Frozen Logger" The Weavers, 1951
"The Frozen Logger" was originally written and performed in 1929 by Jim Stevens (the man who popularized the folk legend Paul bunyan in his 1925 book "Paul Bunyan"
for his program on the ABC seattle network "The Histories of Paul Bunyan"
here's a segment of Jim Stevens talking about that himself:
Oregon Historical Quarterly Vol. 50, No. 4 (Dec., 1949) pp.235-242
it's possible that the song was performed by Ivar Haglund (notable for his prolific seafood themed songs and clam restaurant) in the early to mid 1940s on his radio show "Around the Sound" where he would sing folk music for 15 minutes, and I found a couple sources listing him as either the copyright owner of the song, or the writer (he did not write the song). He was friends with Jim Stevens, and it's likely that Stevens taught him the song.
Radio Daily, July 1944 and KJR flyer, 1942
Many secondhand sources mentioned that "The Frozen Logger" was based on an old tune or an old ballad, with words that were originally written by Jim Stevens, including Jim Stevens himself though he's not specific. I think i might be the first person ever to point out that the ballad it was based on belongs to the folk song family of "The Unfortunate Rake"/ "The Unfortunate Lad" (recorded here in the 1960s and performed by A.L. Lloyd) it has a similar story structure, similar characters, similar rhymes, and similar composition.
in " 'The Unfortunate Rake' and His Descendants" by Kenneth Lodewick, the original song is dated as being from ireland in 1790, and one of its earliest printings was in England in 1850 as a folk ballad
as you might be able to guess if you're familiar with cowboy ballads, this song is also the origin of "Streets of Laredo" or "The cowboys lament" which emerged in the late 1800s from cowhand workers. A cowhand in the late 1870s named Frank H. Maynard has claimed to write the song in 1876 and published his version in "Cowboy's Lament: A Life on the Open Range" in 1911 after it was published in Alan Lomax's "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads" in 1910. in my opinion, i think this song could have multiple origins.
the oldest recording i could find was by Harry McClintock in 1928
as an aside, there was also ANOTHER lumberjack version of the song collected by John C. French called "The Wild Lumberjack" from Pennsylvania logging camps dated between 1870-1904/1905. performed here by Kenneth S Goldstein (1960s). This song isn't the origin of "The Frozen Logger" but it's interesting that there are two songs like this.
I believe that "The Frozen Logger" is an adaptation from the cowboy version. Jim Stevens grew up in Idaho and worked in Montana (where he mentions learning many songs) and in 1959, he gave an interview with Ivar Harglund about how he used traditional folk and country music and created new and topical lyrics for the Keep Washington Green Campaign in the 1940s
The first ever publishment and recording (That I could find) of "The Frozen Logger" was in 1947 by Earl Robinson in his Keynote Album, commented upon by the Chicago star by Raeburn Flerlage that same year.
The Chicago Star (Chicago, III.) April 5, 1947 (p.13). Library of Congress
Pete seeger, one of the Weavers, was (for some reason that escapes me) friends with Ivar Haglund (who was friends with Jim Stevens) and, like with the song "the Old Settler" , it is likely that Haglund taught the song to Pete Seeger who then, with the rest of the Weavers, performed it in 1951, popularizing the song.
for @slowtraincumming
Song of the day
(do you want the history of your favorite folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do a full rundown)
"The Dying Cowboy" Cisco Houston, 1952
"The Dying Cowboy " or "Cowboys Lament" is based on an old sailors poem, written by Edwin Hubbell Chapin and published in 1839, "The Ocean Burial"
Edgar Allan Poe's "Southern Literary Messenger" vol V, pp.6l5-6l6, 1839
here's an example of the traditional song put to music by Eugene Jemison in 1954
by the 1880s, the lyrics had morphed into the famous cowboy song we all know and love, but it wasn't until 1910 that it was pared with its well-known melody by John Lomax in the album, "Cowboy Songs And Other Frontier Ballads" here (recorded 1942)
by far, the most interesting thing that happened to the song is that its meaning was reversed. in 1934, Carson Robison changed the lyrics and the song and titled it "Carry Me Back to The Lone Prairie" (recorded 1941) and several other contemporary famous country artists
like Sons of the Pioneers,
Riders in the Sky,
Gene Autry,
Johnny Bond,
and Roy Rogers.
covered this song.
this more Hollywood country version of the song changed the story away from the bitter toiling of cowhand workers and towards nostalgia for the West that fit right in with other popular country music of the 40s and 50s. At the same time, the song was covered by Cisco Houston, a leftwing activist and official Union Boy, among other progressives, as a criticism of working class conditions. This song is so utterly fascinating to me and the best way to visually and auditorially explain the historical split manufactured between folk and country.
portraits from People's Songs Magazine 1946-48
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
"The Falcon" Mimi & Richard Fariña, 1965
originally based on a traditional English folk song "The Cuckoo Bird", first published between 1780-1812 in London,
later captured by alan lomax in 1942
Mimi & Richard changed the traditional folk song to a hauntingly beautiful anti-war song, describing the predatory nature of fascism and the falcons longing for peace and whimsy.
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
"Great Historical Bum" Odetta, 1960
Originally written in 1941 by Woody Guthrie for his Columbia River Song collection. That time when Woody Guthrie (a socialist) was commissioned by the US federal government (at the recommendation of Alan Lomax. to write folk songs in support of the Coulee Dam in 1941. Woody Guthrie was in poverty at the time and was happy to finally have a job. During the month he traveled through Oregon and wrote a song every day, including "Pastures of Plenty" and "Roll on Columbia".
the lyrics in these songs, including this one, include radical themes like working-class rights, unions, anti-fascism, and anti-capitalism. because of this and because Woody Guthrie was an anti-capitalist, the songs and the documentary they were made for were ordered destroyed by the Eisenhower administration. luckily the recordings were saved by a proletarian comrade: a former employee of the Bonneville Power Administration, who decided to keep a copy of the film and recordings.
this song may also be inspired by another traditional song recorded in 1928 by Harry McClintock , but I'm not sure.
I like this cover by Odetta quite a bit. I think she does the original one justice.
Song of the day
do you want the history of your favorite folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do a full rundown
"Polly Vaughn" The Dillards, 1963
"Polly Vaughn"/"Molly Bawn"/ "The Shooting of his Dear" is a traditional Irish folk song that first appeared in print in a 1765 chapbook, as "Molly Bawn"
This Version was first recorded in 1936 by Emma Dusenbur but I couldn't find a digitized version.
The earliest recording I could find was collected by Alan Lomax in 1937 and performed by Aunt Molly Jackson. It was later recorded and performed on the radio in America, the UK, and Canada during the 1940s and 1950s. I had a hard time finding these recordings but here is one from 1954 by Evelyn Skaggs in Arkansas, collected by Mary Celestia Parler. The Dillards version was recorded in 1963, and, in my opinion, is the best version. The pacing and energy of the performance really add to the tragedy and drama of the story. They deliver the horror of a young man accidentally killing his lover as he mistook her for a swan. Other versions are nice but the one by the Dillard's sounds like how the story feels.
Some other notable covers include those by Tia Blake Peter, Paul, and Mary Hedy West