Goin Home: Antonin Dvorak & William Arms Fisher

So if you can believe it, here we are at the final story behind American Songs volume 2: Goin Home.If you've missed the stories behind American Songs volume 2 in previous posts and would like to catch up, please use these links:

• Goin' to the West
• Evangeline
• Gum Tree Canoe
• Oh Susanna (free download)
• Long Track Blues (Sterling A. Brown)
• Unclouded Day (free download)
• Oh Sister (free download)
• This Land is Your Land

 

Story behind the song: The melody for "Goin' Home" was written by the classical Czech composer Antonin Dvorak in 1893 as part of his Symphony no. 9: From the New World (a symphony loosely based on Longfellow's poem "Song of Hiawatha"). In the early 1890's, Dvorak was invited to teach for a four-year residency at the American Conservatory of Music in New York.

Dvorak was very interested in "peasant music" when he lived in Prague, and when he came to America, that interest transferred over to what he referred to as "negro melodies." His copy assistant Harry Burleigh (an African-American) played a large role in introducing him to these folk songs. Dvorak began to promote the controversial idea that African-American music would be the future of America. He incorporated these musical themes into his own music, and admitted talented African-American musicians into his classes free of charge.
Now this idea of Black music as the "future of America" was controversial in a number of ways. Some, as you would expect, felt he was tainting the fine art of classical music by incorporating such a "lowly" art form. Others felt that Dvorak's analysis wasn't authentic, but based solely on some of the popular affectations of "negro melodies" written by white men (like Stephen Foster, for example)...I found this interesting piece in a May 30, 1893 article in the South Carolina paper, "The State":

Had Dvorak, who is learned in music, been long in this country, he would know, as nearly everyone else knows, that none of the so called "negro melodies" is of negro origin..."The Swanee River," "Nellie Gray," "Massa's in the cold, cold, ground," and the other accepted melodies pertaining to Afro-Americanism are the creations of white men. Dr. Dvorak ought to spend a winter in Blake Township, Colleton County, or on Hilton Head Island. There he would hear genuine negro melodies. He can't hear them in the concert halls of the North.

Nevertheless, Dvorak's interest in African-American melodies (which did include spirituals like "Swing Low Sweet Chariot") affected many in the music world. One of his students, William Arms Fisher, took his message to heart and began collecting, arranging, and publishing hundreds of African-American spirituals. He also wrote words to the Largo movement of Symphony no. 9, which became known as "Goin' Home."

I chose "Goin' Home" for the last song of American Songs volume 2 because, despite the fact that it is not technically American music, but European, it was monumental in the way the world began to hear traditional American folk music. And thematically, all the songs on this new album have to do with traveling, moving, trying desperately to get to a place of hope, freedom, or love. How else could it possibly end?

Here is a very interesting article about Dvorak and the American landscape of the 1890's from University of Texas. (If you click on the gorgeous Bierstadt Indian Canoe oil painting, you can watch an analysis of "New World Symphony.")

Here's more on William Arms Fisher and his relationship with Dvorak. (Scroll down until you hit "Fisher.")
Here is a beautiful version of the 2nd movement played by the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra:

Lyrics (Click on the song title to listen to a sample):

Goin' Home, music by Antonin Dvorak, words by William Arms Fisher

Goin' home, goin' home,
I'm a-goin' home,
Quiet like some still day,
I'm jes' goin' home.

It's not far, jes' close by,
Through an open door,
Work all done, care laid by,
Gwine to fear no more.

Mother's there 'spectin' me,
Father's waitin' too,
Lot's o' folk gathered there,
All the friends I knew.

Home, home, I'm goin' home.
Nothin' lost, all's gain.
No more stumblin' on the way,
No more longin' for the day,
Gwine to roam no more.

Mornin' star lights the way,
Res'less dreams all done, all done,
Shadow's gone, break o' day,
Real life's jes' begun.

Dere's no break, ain't no end,
Jes' a-livin' on,
Wide awake with a smile,
Goin' on and on.

Goin' home, goin' home,
I'm jes goin' home,
It's not far, Jes' close by,
Through an open door,
I'm jes' goin home.

This Land Is Your Land: Woody Guthrie

This week, we move on to one of the most famous folk songs of all time: Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land."

I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world
and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter how hard it's run you down, and rolled you over, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built; I am out to sing the songs that will make you take pride in yourself and in your work. (Woody Guthrie)

If you've missed the stories behind American Songs volume 2 in previous posts and would like to catch up, please use these links:

• Goin' to the West
• Evangeline
• Gum Tree Canoe
• Oh Susanna (free download)
• Long Track Blues (Sterling A. Brown)
• Unclouded Day (free download)
• Oh Sister (free download)

Story behind the song: Woody Guthrie is, of course, one of the most famous songwriters in the history of American folk music. He only lived to be 42, but in that span of time wrote 1400 songs, including that lasting anthem sung by children all over the world: "This Land Is Your Land."
In 1940, when Woody Guthrie wrote "This Land Is Your Land," one of the most popular songs on the radio was Kate Smith's version of "God Bless America." Woody heard "God Bless America" over and over and thought that it was far too idealistic. He had traveled all over the country and knew first hand the depths of poverty and sadness that existed in America. In response to the popular song, he wrote his own anthem that expressed not only deep awe and admiration of what America has to offer, but also honest doubts and questions, and in true Woody Guthrie style...a call to action!

If you are interested in Woody Guthrie's fascinating (and often quite sad) life, there are a lot of great resources:

Woody Guthrie on American Masters: This was a terrific program shown on PBS last year. On the website, you can watch additional footage and interviews with the filmmaker, Peter Frumkin (you need to download the free RealPlayer, though, if you don't already have it).

Woody Guthrie in the Museum of Musical Instruments: This is a *great* site. It takes you through various periods of Woody Guthrie's life, and as you scroll down the pages, you can click on images of his original artwork, cartoons, quotes. If you scroll down the main page, you'll even see the original, scribbled lyrics of "This Land Is Your Land" (click on it to enlarge the image, and you'll see it was originally titled "God Blessed America").

Woody Guthrie Official Website: This site has a massive lyrics index and a more in-depth biography, as well as some curriculum ideas for teachers who want to teach about Woody Guthrie in grades K-12.
I also highly recommend Kathy Jakobsen's beautifully illustrated children's book, This Land Is Your Land. The illustrations are gorgeous and depict not only beautiful coastlines and rolling fields, but soup kitchens and homeless families and city streets that *also* make up the fabric of our country. There are Woody Guthrie quotes throughout the book, and Pete Seeger wrote a terrific tribute for the final pages. I really think Woody Guthrie would have been proud of this book, and every family would benefit from having a copy. (Now how's that for a ringing endorsement?)

Here's a YouTube video of some rare Woody Guthrie footage and his own version of the song:

Lyrics (Click on the title to listen to a sample):

This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I was walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting
This land was made for you and me

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing"
But on the other side it didn't say nothing
That side was made for you and me

In the streets of the city, in the shadow of the steeple
By the relief office I seen my people
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me
As I go walking that freedom highway
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me

Long Track Blues (Sterling A. Brown)

Continuing the series of "stories behind the songs" from my new album, American Songs volume 2, we reach one of my favorite poets: Sterling A. Brown.

If you've missed the stories behind the songs in previous posts and would like to catch up, please use these links:

• Goin' to the West
• Evangeline
• Gum Tree Canoe
  
• Oh Susanna (free download)
• Unclouded Day (free download)
• Oh Sister (free download)

Story behind the song: If you are a regular reader of this blog, you have certainly noticed the name Sterling Brown once or twice before. Sterling A. Brown was born in Washington D.C. in 1901 and died in 1989. He continues to be one of the most influential African-American Poets of all time.

What I love about Sterling Brown's poetry is his sense of rhythm and cadence. He wrote a lot about jazz and blues, and those two musical forms obviously had a great influence on the sound of his poetry...the poems almost sound like they are *meant* to be sung. So Anthony, Carter, and I got together and decided to put "Long Track Blues" to music. Carter did an amazing job with the guitar work...he captured the gutwrenching melancholy perfectly, and it even sometimes sounds like you can hear a train off in the distance.

I love the first and last stanza of "Long Track Blues." The speaker, hanging around the train tracks, longing for the one who left, does the only thing there is to do...gives a blessing: "Lordy, let your green light/Shine down on that babe of mine."

You can hear Sterling Brown read 3 of his poems, including one of my favorites, Southern Road, at the Academy of American Poets website.

A few years ago, Smithsonian Folkways came out with a CD of Sterling Brown reading his own work, including Long Track Blues and another of my favorites, Ma Rainey. If you have a subscription to Rhapsody (which I *love*) you can listen to the whole album here.

Here's a link to the Collected Poems of Sterling A. Brown, edited by Michael S. Harper.

Here's a nice tribute written by Sterling Brown's colleague, E. Ethelbert Miller.

Here's an in-depth article from the African American Review about Sterling Brown. Joanne Gabbin, the author, says this about the poet:

His is the voice of the poet that captures the blues moan of lost and long-gone loves, the chant of saints who pray to be in the number, the tragicomic cry in the face of injustice and violence, and the jubilee songs of endurance and perseverance.

Lyrics (Click on the title to listen to a sample):

Long Track Blues (Sterling A. Brown)

Went down to the yards
To see the signal lights come on;
Looked down the track
Where my lovin' babe done gone.

Red light in my block,
Green light down the line;
Lawdy, let yo' green light
Shine down on that babe o' mine.

Heard a train callin'
Blowin' long ways down the track;
Ain't no train due here,
Baby what can you bring back?

Brakeman tell me
Got a powerful ways to go;
He don't know my feelins
Baby, when he's talkin' so.

Lanterns a-swingin',
An' a long freight leaves the yard;
Leaves me here, baby,
But my heart it rides de rod.

Sparks a flyin',
Wheels rumblin' wid a mighty roar;
Then the red tail light,
And the place gets dark once more.

Dog in the freight room
Howlin' like he los' his mind;
Might howl myself,
If I was the howlin' kind.

Norfolk and Western,
Baby, and the C. & O.;
How come they treat
A hardluck feller so?

Red light in my block,
Green light down the line;
Lawdy, let yo' green light
Shine down on that babe o' mine.

Gum Tree Canoe: S. S. Steele, 1847

Carter taught me this next song from American Songs volume 2, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite traditional songs.

If you've missed the stories behind the songs in previous posts and would like to catch up, please use these links:

• Goin' to the West
• Evangeline
• Oh Susanna (free download)
• Unclouded Day (free download)
• Oh Sister (free download)

Story behind the song: Carter Little sent me this song back in April, and I immediately fell in love with it. It's a song about two slaves who work in the cotton fields near the Tombigbee river, which flows from Mississippi to the Alabama River. In the evenings, to forget the hardships of the day, they go out for a row in their canoe, and one day, they decide to keep going and never come back.

It's a very beautiful and exciting song about emancipation and hope. I love the way the words "true" and "blue" are constantly repeated throughout the song. Both words hold such promise...of open skies and freedom, and the hope that devotion, perseverance, and holding to what is true will eventually set you free.

The song was written in 1847 by S. S. Steele, and you can actually view the original sheet music at Music for the Nation (very cool). Originally, the song was sung in dialect and from a male perspective. Hopefully not too sacreligiously, I changed the true love's name from Julia to Joseph, and sang the song from a female perspective.

Lyrics (the way I sing them...visit Digital Tradition for the original lyrics in dialect and further notes on the song) Click on the title to listen to a sample
Gum Tree Canoe: S. S. Steele, 1847

On the Tombigbee River so bright I was born
In a hut made of husks of the tall yellow corn
It was there I first met with my Joseph so true
And he'd row me around in his gum tree canoe

Sing row away row o'er the water so blue
Like a feather we'll float in our gum tree canoe

All day in the field the soft cotton I'd hoe
I'd think of my Joseph and sing as I go
I'll catch him a bird with a wing of true blue
And at night we will row in our gum tree canoe

Sing row away row o'er the water so blue
Like a feather we'll float in our gum tree canoe

With my hands on the banjo and toe on the oar
I sing to the sound of the river's soft roar
While the stars they look down on my Joseph so true
And dance in his eye in our gum tree canoe

Sing row away row o'er the water so blue
Like a feather we'll float in our gum tree canoe

One day the old river took us so far away
That we couldn't get back, so we thought we'd just stay
We spied a tall ship with a flag of true blue
And she took us in tow in our gum tree canoe

Sing row away row o'er the water so blue
Like a feather we'll float in our gum tree canoe

Evangeline: Josephine Cameron & Anthony Walton

Continuing the series of posts about songs from American Songs volume 2, we come to one of my favorite stories: Evangeline.

If you've missed the stories behind the songs in previous posts and would like to catch up, please use these links:

• Oh Susanna (free download)
• Unclouded Day (free download)
• Oh Sister (free download)
• Goin' to the West

Story behind the song: To begin at the beginning, "Evangeline" is an epic poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1847. It's a beautiful story about two young star-crossed lovers, Evangeline and Gabriel, which has reached mythic proportions in America. You can find accounts in various parts of the country of the "actual" gravesites and homes of Evangeline and Gabriel. People have gone on journeys, tracing their paths, trying to recreate their travels. In reality, Longfellow did not base his poem on any actual historical figures. Evangeline and Gabriel are fictional, but the story and the places are very real.

In the mid 1700's, the conflict between the British and French (Acadian) settlers in Nova Scotia came to a critical point. The British government began to force Acadians out of Nova Scotia by the thousands and shipped many of them off to the American Colonies. In Longfellow's poem, Evangeline and Gabriel are just about to get married when the soldiers come, and in the chaos, Gabriel gets shipped to Louisiana while Evangeline remains in what is now Maine. They spend the rest of their lives trying to find each other.

I love the first stanza of the poem's introduction, where Longfellow describes Acadia after the exiles:

THIS is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,
Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic,
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.
Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean
Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.
This is the forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath it
Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the huntsman?
Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian farmers --

You can read the entire poem at University of Virginia's website.
You can also download it for free from Google Books.

Here's an interesting page about the importance of "Evangeline" in Creole culture in Louisiana.

So my friend and co-writer Anthony loves this story and we decided to try to write a song that captures the essence of it. And since the story is such a part of the American folk tradition, our very own American myth, I decided to include the song on American Songs volume 2. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Lyrics (Click on the title to listen to a sample)Evangeline by Josephine Cameron & Anthony Walton

We were young, beauty and grace untold
And my Gabriel, I would have and hold
But skies were gray on our wedding day
And our joy cut short when the soldiers came

He cried, "Evangeline, Evangeline"
And now I'm running through a nightmare with a dream
I know I'll never find him
But sure, I've got to try
'Cause I'll never, never say goodbye

Up and down the old Mississippi shore
For my Gabriel, I searched ever more
Louisiana all the way to Michigan
I could hardly breathe for the hurt of missing him

He cried, "Evangeline, Evangeline"
And now I'm running through a nightmare with a dream
I know I'll never find him
But sure, I've got to try
'Cause I'll never, never say goodbye

And then one day, when I was old and gray
A dying man called out my name
I knew at once it was my Gabriel
I embraced my love, and then he left this world

He said, "Evangeline, Evangeline"
And I'm still running through this nightmare with a dream
I knew I'd never find him
But sure, I had to try
'Cause I'll never, never say goodbye

Goin' to the West: Traditional

For the next few weeks, I'll tell you a little bit about the rest of the songs that I chose for my new album, American Songs vol. 2, and I might as well begin at the beginning...

(If you haven't already, please check out posts and free downloads of Oh Susanna, Unclouded Day, and Oh Sister.)


Story behind the song: Carter Little taught me "Goin' to the West" 10 years ago when we were in college, and it seemed like a perfect place to begin our first album together.

The song was composed sometime around 1880 when people were migrating in mass numbers across the country to new land in places like Texas and California. When I was a kid, I used to try to imagine what it would be like, traveling for weeks and months across the plains in a covered wagon. The exhilaration and excitement of the open road and new beginnings. And also the overwhelming exhaustion and fear.

I can only imagine that the story in "Goin' to the West" must have replayed over and over again in the 1800's. Originally sung from the male perspective, it is the story of a man whose wife has refused to go West. She is bound and determined to stay put, safe and sound "in the land you love." And he, in the traditional American way, has that deep longing, that intense need to keep going, keep searching for a better land, a better life.

If you listen to a lot of traditional music, you might know versions by the legendary Bill Staines, Peggy Seeger, and/or Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin.

Lyrics (Click on the title to listen to a sample):
Goin' to the West (traditional)

In this fair land I'll stay no more
Here labor is in vain
I'll leave the mountains of my youth
And seek the fertile plains
I'm going to the West

chorus:
You say you will not go with me
You turn your eyes away
You say you will not follow me
No matter what I say
I'm going to the West
I'm going to the West

Three years have gone since we first met
Since I became your bride
Now I must journey far away
Without you by my side
I'm going to the West

I'll leave you here in this land you love
Met, seen, so bright and fair
Where fragrant flowers are bloomin'
And music fills the air
I'm going to the West

Thanks to The Mudcat Cafe, an amazing online resource for traditional folk music.

American Songs 2 Sneak Preview: Oh Susanna

In anticipation of the release of my new CD, American Songs vol. 2, I've been giving away a free "sneak preview" song each week. I hope you've enjoyed Oh Sister and Unclouded Day. This week's song is one of the most famous American folk songs of all time. I'm willing to bet you've heard it once or twice. :)

Please spread the word: all I ask in return for these free songs is that you please send them on to others who might enjoy them as well! Click here to email this post to a friend.

Here's a quick preview:


Story behind the song: Usually, you hear "Oh Susanna" performed as an upbeat, rousing, clap-along kind of song. Which I love. But I also love the poignancy of the melody and the very real heartbreak and longing that are in the lyrics. I wanted to find a way to really bring out the story of this song...the traveler returning from a long absence (likely from fighting in the Civil War) doing everything he can to drag himself home to his true love, knowing that even with all his effort he may very well never see her again. The way I hear the song, the singer is trying to cover up some of this sadness and fear with gaiety (the banjo) and bravado (The sun so hot I froze to death, Susanna don't you cry) in order to convince himself and his love that everything will, truly, be all right in the end. So in my version, you will hear a different kind of "Oh Susanna"...the version that maybe he would have sung to himself at night when he doesn't think anyone else is around. Please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think of it.

A note on the songwriter: Stephen Foster was 21 when he wrote "Oh Susanna" in 1847, and it was almost immediately a hit. It became a theme song for the gold rush era (they sang "I'm goin' to California with my washpan on my knee!"), and has since been performed countless times all over the world. Stephen Foster was a meticulous and prolific songwriter (he wrote over 200 songs in his short life of 38 years). His melodies are timeless, and his manuscripts show that he put a lot of effort into creating lyrics that were both precise and emotionally gripping. And yet, many of his songs pose a problem to modern listeners and performers. In many of his works, including "Oh Susanna," Stephen Foster wrote in imitation of the dialect of African-American slaves which is at times shockingly condescending, over-simplified, and cartoonish. At the same time, he also wrote songs that depicted slaves as human beings with very real feelings of pain, love, and sorrow, which was not a particularly common view at the time. Here are some interesting links:

• The original verses of "Oh Susanna" in dialect
• Stephen Foster's manuscript pages
• Stephen Foster page at University of Pittsburgh's Center For American Music
• Stephen Foster's biography on PBS' I Hear America Singing

Bonus question: What is your earliest or best memory of "Oh Susanna" (when did you first hear it, learn it, sing it, or do you have any particular memories associated with the song)? Leave a comment below and the day the CDs arrive, I'll pick one comment randomly and send that person a free copy of American Songs, volume 2. Note: Just so you know, if you leave an anonymous comment (which of course you are welcome to do), I won't know who you are and won't be able to include you in the random draw. 9/15/07--The random-draw is now closed. Congratulations to Diane Pollock...I hope you enjoy the CD!

Lyrics (click on the title to download the free song):
Oh Susanna by Stephen Foster

I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee
I'm goin' to Lou'siana my true love for to see
It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry
The sun so hot I froze to death, Susanna don't you cry

Oh Susanna, oh don't you cry for me
I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee

I had a dream the other night when everything was still
I dreamed I saw Susanna a-comin' down the hill
A buckwheat cake was in her mouth, a tear was in her eye
Says I, I'm comin' from the South, Susanna don't you cry

Oh Susanna, oh don't you cry for me
I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee

I soon will be in New Orleans, and then I'll look around
And when I find Susanna, I'll fall onto the ground
And if I do not find her, then surely I will die
But when I'm dead and buried, Susanna don't you cry

Oh Susanna, oh don't you cry for me
I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee

American Songs 2 Sneak Preview: Unclouded Day

As you know, my new cd with Carter Little is almost ready. I hope you enjoyed the first American Songs Vol. 2 "sneak preview" track, Oh Sister. (Thanks to Zooglobble for the nice mention!)

This week's free track is a traditional spiritual written in 1879 by the Rev. J. K. Alwood from Michigan. You may know the famous Willie Nelson version, Uncloudy Day, and I hope you'll enjoy our version as well. Please feel free to leave a comment below to let us know what you think.

Please spread the word: all I ask in return for these free songs is that you please send them on to others who might enjoy them as well!

Here's a quick preview:

Story behind the song: As the story goes, the Rev. J. K. Alwood was riding his horse home from a debate with an Adventist minister in Ohio. The debate had gone late into the night, and as he was riding, Rev. Alwood saw "a beautiful rainbow north by northwest against a dense black nimbus cloud. The sky was all perfectly clear except this dark cloud which covered about forty degrees of the horizon and extended about halfway to the zenith." He was so stunned and inspired by the sight that he wrote the song "Unclouded Day." You can read Rev. Alwood's own account as well as a remembrance by his son at the Alwood Family Tree homepage.

Lyrics (click on the title to download the free song):

Unclouded Day by Rev. J.K. Alwood

O they tell me of a home far beyond the skies,
O they tell me of a home far away;
O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise,
O they tell me of an unclouded day.

Chorus
O the land of cloudless day,
O the land of an unclouded sky;
O they tell me of a home,
Where no storm clouds rise,
O they tell me of an unclouded day.

O they tell me of a home where my friends have gone,
O they tell me of that land far away;
Where the tree of life in eternal bloom
Sheds its fragrance thru the unclouded day.

O they tell me of the King in His beauty there,
And they tell me that mine eyes shall behold,
Where He sits on the throne that is whiter than snow,
In the city that is made of gold.

O they tell me that he smiles on His children there,
And his smile drives their sorrows all away;
And they tell me that no tears ever come again,
In that lovely land of unclouded day.

American Songs 2 Sneak Preview: Oh Sister

Today is a very exciting day for me because I just sent off all the components of my new CD off to the manufacturer! Carter Little and I have been working hard all summer on a new collection of traditional American folk songs, and really hope you are going to enjoy it. We certainly had a lot of fun making it!

So, over the next few weeks while the disc is being pressed, I thought I'd post a few "sneak preview" tracks that you can download and listen to for free. The first of these is Oh Sister. Simply click on the song title, and you can listen to it or download it for free (by clicking "download") from my MySpace page. (UPDATE 10/15: The song is now available for download on my website for those who have technical difficulties with MySpace.) Next Wednesday, I'll post another song for you to preview.

If you like the song, please send the link on to others who might enjoy it. As I always say, word of mouth makes all the difference to independent artists.

Here's a quick preview:


Story behind the song: I have 5 sisters and a brother, and all of us have had various difficult struggles throughout our lives. I was sitting in my car at a stoplight one day, thinking about how easy it is for us to feel like we're alone in this world. We try so hard not to bother anyone else with our burdens, and try to soldier on alone, carrying it all ourselves. But we don't have to go it alone. Even if we don't quite believe it, there truly are others around who would be happy to shoulder a little weight. It was then that I started hitting out a rhythm on the steering wheel and singing the first chorus to this song until the light turned green.

Song lyrics:

Oh Sister by Josephine Cameron & Anthony Walton

Oh sister, oh sister
Why you got the whole world on your shoulders?
Why you got to carry it around?

Your brother, he went off to an old man's war
And your mother and your father are on distant shores
But I'll be here with an open door
If you ever need a hand to hold

Oh father, oh father
Why you got the whole world on your shoulders?
Why you got to carry it around?

Your daughter, she went off with another man
One by one, your sons shook off the dust of this poor land
But they'll be back with a helping hand
If you hold your pride and call them home

Oh brother, oh brother
Why you got the whole world on your shoulders?
Why you got to carry it around?

You had to leave your family to get on your way
And you're worried we don't love you 'cause you stayed away
But we'll just be glad to see your smiling face
There's a welcome table waiting here at home

Oh mother, oh mother
Why you got the whole world on your shoulders?
Why you got to carry it around?

In the cold, blue dark of night
When you're weary, frozen with fright
Lift those burdens you're holding so tight
Lift them up, the sun will rise