Upon the Scaffold High

I never really thought about how important the work of the Lomaxs' was. There is a beautiful tradition that would have been lost, had they not done their work.  One aspect that is of interest for me is the progression and change of a song. There are so many different songs that emerge from one line. "Peaches in the summertime, and apples in the fall" can be found in a number of songs. Then there are entire songs that change into new songs, like the Down by the Salley Gardens.

Here again we are dealing with actions and consequences, murder and justice.


Down in the willow garden
Where me and my true love did meet,
It was there we were courtin',
My love fell off to sleep.

I had a bottle of burgundy wine,
My true love she did not know.
It was there I murdered that dear little girl
Down on the banks below.

I drew my saber through her,
It was a bloody knife,
I threw her into the river,
It was a horrible sight.

My father oft had told me
That money would set me free

If I would murder that poor little girl
Whose name was Rose Connelly.

Now he stands at his cabin door,
Wiping his tears from his eyes,
Gazing on his own dear son,
Upon the scaffold high.

My race is run beneath the sun,
The Devil is waiting for me,
For I did murder that dear little girl
Whose name was Rose Connelly.

In My Dreams You Always Leave Me

You are my sunshine is a song my parents would sing to us kids before bedtime. It has such a warm place in my heart.

And then there is the line... "In my dreams dear, you always leave me."  That is just about the saddest thing I can think of. It is such a lonesome feeling to dream about loss.

Just a Deck of Cards and a Jug of Wine

I was listening to the sea shanties. I wanted to create an experience of the sea-washed air. The none directionality that a sailor must feel, while they're on deck during a storm. It was unsatisfying. I did not like the work. So I went back to the music... I listened to 'Lost Highway' by Hank Williams.

Being lost in life can be dizzying. Killing time with wine and cards gets to you after a while. The freedom of wandering through life takes a toll. You can hear it in Hank's voice.

The Mississippi Delta was Shinin' like a National Guitar

On the same day I got my BMG Best of the Blues album I got another blues compilation. The standout on that cd was 'Love in Vain' by Robert Johnson. It took me longer to absorb, but ever since I have been a big fan of Robert Johnson. His music can make anything else seem 'trivial.' It takes me to a place of struggles.

I am taken to the River. Traveling along the Mississippi, with dreams of a better life. Leaving everything you know and hold dear, with no guarantee for a better future. Things had to be pretty bad down on the Delta.


 I'm not sure where Paul Simon is coming from with this song. I know he was going through change, and heartbreak himself, but I'm not sure if they should be compared. I think it is more than geographical reasoning, but I link the two.

The River was the intermediary. Connecting a known life of hardship, to uncertain future, with the promise of change. 

Here's to Cisco, and Sonny, and Leadbelly too

It's too bad circumstances forced us to skim over Woody Guthrie. I am glad, however, that these two got to be presented together. They belong together.

It must have been through Bob Dylan that I found Woody. It's been so long, and I identify with him so much, that it is hard remembering what life was like before I found him.

He did work.

The country was in pieces, and he rode around with people like Leadbelly singing songs to give people hope.

Entertaining people so they would forget that they were hungry, shoeless, or homeless. They gave relief, however fleeting it was. Self indulgent, yes maybe, but he did good work.

I remember the day Pete Seeger died. I almost cried. The last person to ride with Woody is gone. The world needs a Woody Guthrie.

Good Mornin' Baby

My older brother had the MTV Unplugged Nirvana album. In a roundabout way this was my introduction to the blues. When I was 13 I got BMG's Best of the Blues. Looking back it was not a bad introduction. It had Leadbelly's 'Where did You Sleep Last Night' some Howlin' Wolf and other gems, but namely it had 'Coffee Blues' by Mississippi John Hurt.

Thirteen is a funny age. My Family was in the process of moving from Southern California to Northern California. It was just a weird time. I really liked that album. John Hurt was the most accessible singer on the album,for a white boy in California. A bright sheen cast over a strange year. That is what I mean when I say Mississippi John Hurt makes me happy.

Banks of the Ohio

There is a long tradition in American Folk music of someone murdering someone else. In the songs there are typically qualifiers, or justifications as to why the murderer acted as they did. I think if we divorce the theme from the subject we can understand the stories better. From the murderer's point of view... Someone hurt me. I overreacted. Now life will never be the same again.

I am not advocating murder. Or saying the song, any of the murder ballads really, is justified. I am saying things happen in life that are hard to process. Art (songs in this instance) can help us understand our feeling, through a hyperbolic analogies.