Folk Singers - Tumblr Posts
hey! do you have a folk song that you want to know the history of? just ask me about it, and I'll make a whole post dedicated to its history, earlier versions, why it was made, why it got popular, etc.
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.
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)
"Coyote, My Little Brother" Pete Seeger, 1966
originally written and performed in 1963 by Peter la Farge here
notably recently covered by contemporary artist Mitski in 2024 here
this song describes the poisoning of coyotes by strychnine that was part of a larger campaign to eradicate coyotes and ended up killing 2 million coyotes and millions of other predators and devastating local ecosystems everywhere in the USA.
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)
"Alice's Restaurant Massacree" Arlo Guthrie, 1967
this song is hilarious and timeless. It's a classic anti-state/anti-war protest song.
Do you have any thoughts on "Luang Prabang" by Dave van Ronk? It's such a catchy song, but I always want to know more about the wooden medals the song references.
thanks for the work!
Suggested Song
"Luang Prabang" Dave Van Ronk, 1985 "Luang Prabang" was written by Dave Van Ronk sometime before or around 1971, the oldest release I could find is from April 1973, where Patrick Sky and Dave Van Ronk both perform it live on the radio (timestamp 33:05) However, the song was first recorded in 1971 by Patrick Sky, Van Ronk's friend, for his Satirical album "Songs That Made America Famous". Still, it wasn't released until later in 1973 because they had trouble finding a record company due to the edgy and over-the-top nature of the songs featured, to put it lightly. It wouldn't be until later in 1985 when Dave Van Ronk would release a version himself.
"Luang Prabang" is based on a Traditional English tune, "Byker Hill" first published in 1812 in "Rhymes of Northern Bards", and collected around 1810. It was first recorded in 1958-9 by Sandy Paton. Byker Hill and Walker Shore, the places featured in the song, were coal mines and quarries near Newcastle, making this song a coal miners song.
Here's a modern rendition of the song for example. "Luang Prabang" is specifically an anti-Vietnam-war song. Luang Prabang is a real city in Laos. the U.S.A. also dropped 2 million tons of bombs on Laos through the 1960s and 1970s, "the bombs fell like rain." The Song details, sardonically, the physical toll on the American soldiers. The Wooden medal reference is another joke like this. It's basically saying the medal is worthless, not even a bronze medal. The joke is there to contrast the other repeated lyrics like "Now I'm a fucking hero". The only things the character singing got from the song are physical mutilation, the death of everyone else around him, and a wooden medal. It's grim and funny like most songs protesting the war in Vietnam.