When I was putting together my recent Songs of the Civil War Era concert, there were some areas I already had pretty well under my belt. I've been singing the spirituals and popular songs of the time (like Oh Susanna and Gum Tree Canoe) for quite a while now.
But I wasn't as familiar with songs that were sung on the battlefield. It was very interesting to research these tunes and find out how they evolved. One fascinating example was "Bonnie Blue Flag," and you can hear the whole story by clicking on the player below (again, if you're in Facebook, you might have to go directly to my blog).
I recently received some mp3s of my Songs of the Civil War Era concert/lecture at Bowdoin College, so for those of you who missed it, I'm going to post a song each Wednesday for the next three weeks.
The first is "Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground," and you can listen to it by clicking on the player below (if you're on Facebook or the like, and can't see the player, try accessing it directly from my blog).
The sound guy kindly faded this one out for me, but if you'd truly like to set the scene, picture yourself in a nice crowded auditorium. Everyone's just settled in. You've heard a little intro about what to expect during the program, and this sad, slow song begins. Now as I enter the last chorus (where the fade starts), imagine the piercing bleep bleep of a fire alarm! Just in case you were getting a little *too* comfortable. :)
All turned out fine. We got a little cold outside (in the spirit of things, I suppose) but were able to head back in and finish up. Enjoy...
I've been slowly working my way through Song of America, the 3-disc compilation of "the history of America through music" put together by Janet Reno. Yes, Janet Reno. For real.
One song that I keep coming back to is the Harper Simon (Paul Simon's son) version of "Yankee Doodle". I never even *liked* "Yankee Doodle"...it was just one of those catchy but kind of annoying tunes with goofy lyrics that you learn when you're a kid. But this version really took me by surprise. And it made me do 3 things:
Then, it made me actually think about it. What day to day life must have been like for soldiers during the Revolutionary War, many who were just boys, gathered by the thousands to fight.
Father and I went down to camp, Along with Captain Gooding; And there we saw the men and boys, As thick as hasty pudding.
Yankee doodle, keep it up, Yankee doodle dandy; Mind the music and the step, And with the girls be handy.
There was Captain Washington Upon a slapping stallion, A-giving orders to his men, I guess there was a million.
Finally, it made me look it up. Apparently, the song was written by the British and was sung to deride and make fun of the American soldiers. Funny how it has become completely co-opted and is such a firm part of the American tradition. This quote is from the Library of Congress website:
"Doodle," as found in old English dictionaries, meant a sorry, trifling fellow; a fool or simpleton. "Dandy," on the other hand, survived also as a description of a gentleman of affected manners, dress, and hairstyle. All taken, "Yankee Doodle" is a comic song and a parody. Indeed, the British made fun of rag-tag American militiamen by playing "Yankee Doodle" even as they headed toward the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
On an interesting side note, in February, Harper Simon is apparently coming out with an album that is a collaboration with Edie Brickell. Sheesh...think I'm looking forward to *that* one just a little bit?
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.
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):
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 Traditionfor 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
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...
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.
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.
In a couple weeks, American Songs vol. 2 will be available at CDBaby.com (with a multiple copy discount of $6.99/CD if you buy more than one!) It will take a month or so for the album to be uploaded to iTunes and Rhapsody and all the other online stores, but I'll keep you posted as soon as that happens. If you would like to order the CD from me directly (by mail order), please follow the directions on my website.
Over the next month or so, I'll be posting the lyrics, history, and stories behind other traditional songs on the album, including some of my favorites:
Goin' to the West
Gum Tree Canoe
This Land Is Your Land
This album was *so* fun to make...I hope you'll enjoy the songs!
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:
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
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):
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.
When I was putting together my recent Songs of the Civil War Era concert, there were some areas I already had pretty well under my belt. I've been singing the spirituals and popular songs of the time (like Oh Susanna and Gum Tree Canoe) for quite a while now.
