Old Country - Tumblr Posts
New York City, 1943
" I could talk to you about fascism. It is a big word and it hides in some pretty little places.
It is nothing in the world but greed for profit and greed for the power to hurt and make slaves out of the people."
Woody Guthrie, from his diary to his daughter c. 1940s
National Museum of American History, Ralph Rinzler Collections, Smithsonian Institute
fliers
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.
Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art • Words and Wisdom by Nora Guthrie and Robert Santelli
an assortment of Woody Guthrie quotes, signatures, and poetry
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)
"Satisfied Mind" Joan Baez, 1965
originally cowritten by Red Hayes and Jack Rhodes in 1926, recorded 1954
Another interesting cover is by Ella Fitzgerald in 1955, who turned it into a jazz classic.
Woody Guthrie performing in 1943
the various notebooks of Woody Guthrie
"Cathy says" is referring to his daughter, where he'd document many of her earliest words
portraits from People's Songs Magazine 1946-48
Hi! Can I ask you about the history of the Wagoner's Lad? I'm a fan of Peter & Gordon their song Pretty Mary, but only today, while listening to some Peggy Seeger, I realised that it's a different pov adaptation of that ballad!
Suggested Songs
"Pretty Mary" Peter & Gordon, 1964
Like you said, "Pretty Mary" is a gender-bent version of the Traditional song "The Wagoner's Lad", which was first documented in 1907 by Cecil Sharp. Here's the fun part- if you are familiar with folk song collector Cecil Sharp and American folk songs, you might expect that it was first collected somewhere in the UK or perhaps Ireland if it was spicy. However, the song was first collected in Appalachia! Despite focusing on English folk songs, Cecil Sharp also collected and recorded folk songs in the Appalachia.
It was first published in "English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians" in 1917. and was first recorded in 1926 by Kelly Harrell as "My horses ain't Hungry".
Another Interesting part of this song is that many of its verses have ended up in the song "On Top of Old Smokey", another song collected by Cecil Sharp in Appalachia in 1916.
This makes it hard to tell the two songs apart, as they've become tangled up with each other. Both songs even contain the same Roud folk song number: 414. "On Top of Old Smokey" was first recorded in 1925 by George Reneau. Old Smokey probably refers to the Great Smoky Mountain range that exists between Tenessee and North Carolina.
This Song, throughout its history, has been adapted and recorded over and over again, here's just a few examples.
Pretty Nancy by Jean Ritchie 1970s (?) The Wagoner's Lad by the Kossoy Sisters 1956 My Horses Ain't Hungry by Mike Seeger 1977 On Top of Old Smokey by Gene Autry 1952 Fare You Well Polly by Pete Seeger, 1954 Rye Whiskey by Woody Guthrie 1940 Goodbye Old Paint by Colter Wall 2021
and there are many many many more.
Thanks for the recommendation! I hope this was helpful
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.
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
Song of The Day
"Shake Sugaree" Elizabeth Cotten and Brenda Evans, 1960s Shake Sugaree was written sometime in the 1960s by Elizabeth Cotten's Great-Grandchildren. She explains, "Each child got a verse." The song is sung here by Brenda Evans, who was 12 years old then, and was recorded by Mike Seeger. This song could have been the inspiration for the song "Sugaree" by the Grateful Dead, but the band has denied this. Jerry Garcia was a big fan of her work and performed and the band performed some of her songs. I'm not really familiar with these people though, so I'm not sure. Brenda Evans would continue to be a musician, and I think, was a member of the band "The Undisputed Truth" for a time. And would continue to make and perform music in the 1970s.
Doc Watson, 1965. Ralph Rinzler papers and audio recordings, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Woody Guthrie and Ramblin Jack Elliott, 1955
Self Portrait by Woody Guthrie
Song of The Day
"Salty Dog Blues" Mississippi John Hurt, 1965 (?)
Salty dog Blues is a song that had existed comfortably in the public domain in the early 1900s (I couldn't find any research of it being a traditional song however) until it was first recorded in 1924 by Papa Charlie Jackson. Which was.. adapted for Broadway?
The Interesting thing about this song is its versatility. It has been performed in a plethora of related but distinct genres. Like:
Bluegrass (Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, 1967) Blues (Clara Smith 1926) Country 1 (Morris brothers 1937) Country 2 (Johnny Cash 2000) Jazz 1 (Freddie Keppard's Jazz Cardinals 1926) Jazz 2 (Pat Hawes 2000)
The meaning of salty dog in this context is unclear. It could be a sexual innuendo, a term for a sailor who has been at sea for too long, or even a local beverage, maybe even a combination of all 3.
I like Mississippi John Hurt's cover the best, his voice is very relaxing and soothing which adds another layer to the fun song.
"I am a changer a constant changer I have to be or die Because whatever stops changing is dead. And I am alive."
-Woody Guthrie from his journal, Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art • Words and Wisdom by Nora Guthrie and Robert Santelli