Archive for the 'Mountain/southern us' Category



Follow The Drinking Gourd


h1 Tuesday, March 1st, 2005

gourd.gif

Special thanks to Nedra Talley Ross (of the Ronettes) for background vocals.
http://www.history-of-rock.com/ronettes.htm

FOLLOW THE DRINKING GOURD DECODED

[A] Follow the [Em] drinking gourd!
[A] Follow the [Em] drinking gourd.
For the [G] old man is [D] waiting to [C] carry you to [D] freedom
[Em] Follow the [D] drinking [Em] gourd.

The old man in this chorus was Peg Leg Joe, a sailor-turned-carpenter who had lost part of his right leg in an accident at sea. Joe wintered in the South doing odd jobs, from plantation to plantation. When he wasn't working he taught the slaves this song containing a secret escape route to freedom in the North.

The Drinking Gourd is not a gourd, but the Big Dipper with its two pointer stars (Dubhe and Merak) that visually lead to the North Star.
By following the North Star the slaves were able to consistently navigate northward.

When the sun comes back and the first quail calls,
Follow the drinking gourd,
For the old man is waiting to carry you to freedom
If you follow the drinking gourd.

Each year when the quails migrated south, the slaves were told to begin their journey northward, which entailed crossing the unnavigable Ohio River. It was too swift and wide to cross, except in winter, when it was frozen and slaves could walk to the other shore on the ice.

The riverbank makes a very good road,
The dead trees will show you the way,
Left foot, peg foot traveling on,
Following the drinking gourd.

Peg Leg Joe marked one bank of the Tombigbee River in Mississippi with his easily identifiable footprints. By following them and the dead trees along the riverbank, the slaves could have a safe journey free from plantation owner's hounds.

The river ends between two hills,
Follow the drinking gourd,
There's another river on the other side,
Follow the drinking gourd.

When the Tombigbee ended, the slaves were told to continue northward, over the hills, to the Tennessee River where the Underground Railroad would help them.

Lyrics:
FOLLOW THE DRINKING GOURD

[Em] When the sun goes back and the [C] first quail calls
[Em] Follow the [D] drinking [Em] gourd
[Em] The old man is a-waitin' for to [C] carry you to freedom
[Em] Follow the [D] drinking [Em] gourd

[A] Follow the [Em] drinking gourd!
[A] Follow the [Em] drinking gourd.
For the [G] old man is [D] waiting to [C] carry you to [D] freedom
[Em] Follow the [D] drinking [Em] gourd.

The river bed makes a mighty fine road,
Dead trees to show you the way
And it's left foot, peg foot, traveling on
Follow the drinking gourd

CHORUS

The river ends between two hills
Follow the drinking gourd
There's another river on the other side
Follow the drinking gourd

CHORUS

I thought I heard the angels say
Follow the drinking gourd
The stars in the heavens gonna show you the way
Follow the drinking gourd

CHORUS

Cindy


h1 Sunday, January 2nd, 2005

Cindy.jpg

This is one of the great American folk songs that I learned at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. I love playing banjo on this song, which according to John Lomax is originally from North Carolina. Cindy is a widely known frolic tune, appearing in many folk music collections and even old elementary school songbooks.
Lyrics:
CINDY

[C] You ought to see my Cindy
She lives away down [G] south
[C] She's so sweet the [F] honeybees
[C] Swarm [G] around her [C] mouth.

cho: Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
Get along [C] home.
Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
I'll [C] marry [G] you some [C] day. (I'm a-gonna leave you now)

Wish I was an apple
Hangin on a tree
An' every time that Cindy passed
She'd take a bite o' me

cho: Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
Get along [C] home.
Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
I'll [C] marry [G] you some [C] day. (I'm a-gonna leave you now)

She took me to the parlor
She cooled me with her fan
She said I was the prettiest thing
In the shape of mortal man

cho: Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
Get along [C] home.
Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
I'll [C] marry [G] you some [C] day. (I'm a-gonna leave you now)

Now Cindy got religion,
She had it once before
When she heered my old banjo
She's the first one on the floor.

cho: Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
Get along [C] home.
Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
I'll [C] marry [G] you some [C] day. (I'm a-gonna leave you now)

Now Cindy got religion,
She wheeled round and round
She got so full of glory
That she knocked the preacher down

cho: Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
Get along [C] home.
Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
I'll [C] marry [G] you some [C] day. (I'm a-gonna leave you now)

[C] You ought to see my Cindy
She lives away down [G] south
[C] She's so sweet that [F] honeybees
[C] Swarm [G] around her [C] mouth.

cho: Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
Get along [C] home.
Get along [F] home, Cindy Cindy
I'll [C] marry [G] you some [C] day. (X2)

Some additional verses:

Cindy in the summertime
Cindy in the fall
If I can't have Cindy all the time
Have no one at all.

Cindy is a pretty girl
Cindy is a peach;
Threw her arms around my neck
Hung on like a leach.

Cindy got religion,
Tell you what she done:
Walked up to the minister
Chawed her chewin' gum.

Cindy got religion,
She had it once before
When she heered my old banjo
She's the first one on the floor.

Cindy got religion
She really went to town;
Got so full of glory, Lord,
Shook her stockin's down.

If I had a pretty gal
I'd put her on a shelf;
Ev'ry time she smiled at me,
I'd jump right up myself.

Cindy had one blue eye
She also had one brown
One eye looked in the country
The other one looked in town

Wish I had a needle and thread
Wish that I could sew
I'd sew that gal to my coat tails
And down the road we'd go

alt chorus:
Git along home, Cindy
Git along home to stay
Git along home, Cindy
One more night 'n' day

alt cho: It's kiss me, gal
Kiss me once again.
Oh, it's kiss me, gal
All night long.

Ezekiel Saw A Wheel


h1 Thursday, April 1st, 2004

EZ_Wheel.gif

Image Credit: http://www.untiedmusic.com/ezekiel/

This is a spiritual I learned many years ago at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. It refers to a part of the Old Testament where Ezekiel sees a vision of concentric wheels floating in space. They have many properties attributed to flying saucers. It makes one wonder whether people who claim to see flying saucers are seeing into a spiritual dimension. There are many mysteries.

I have recorded this song in the new genre Pho-Kop to coincide with the April 1, 2004 release of my new CD 'Limited Edition' where Pho-Kop first appears in the song 'Shady Grove.'

Trad., Arr. R. McGuinn / McGuinn Music (BMI) 2004

Lyrics:
[G] Ezekiel saw a wheel, way up in the middle of the air

Ezekiel saw a wheel way in the [D] middle of the [G] air

Little wheel run by faith, big wheel run by the grace of God

Ezekiel saw a wheel way in the [D] middle of the [G] air

Shenandoah


h1 Tuesday, September 2nd, 2003

Shenandoah.jpg

This was a sea chantey, used with the windlass, and the capstan.The lead man would sing the first and third lines of each verse and the crew would sing on the second and fourth lines, as they did their work, with winches for loading cargo, raising sails, pulling up anchors, and other jobs on deck.

Some believe the song originated among the early American river men, or Canadian voyageurs. Others believe it was a land song before it went to sea. Most agree that it incorporates both Irish and African-American elements.

Shenandoah was tremendously popular both on land and sea and was known by countless names, including: Shennydore, The Wide Missouri, The Wild Mizzourye, The World Of Misery-Solid Fas (a West Indian rowing shanty that may be older than other versions), The Oceanida, and Rolling River.

Two verses of the song were published in an article by W. J. Alden in Harper's Magazine (1882). A version of Solid Fa's was collected by R. Abrams in England in 1909. The shanty is said to date at least to the 1820s.

Shenandoah was an Indian chief living on the Missouri River.

Thanks to Lesley Nelson for this information. http://www.contemplator.com/folk.html

Lyrics:
[E] Oh Shenandoah, I love your daughter
[A] Way-aye, you rolling [E] river
I'll [C#m] take her 'cross yon rolling [E] water
[E] A way – we're bound away
'cross the [B7] wide [E] Missouri!

The Chief disdained the trader's dollars,
Way-aye, you rolling river
My daughter you shall never follow
A way – we're bound away
'cross the wide Missouri!

For seven years I courted Sally,
Way-aye, you rolling river
For seven more I longed to have her
A way – we're bound away
'cross the wide Missouri!

She said she would not be my lover
Way-aye, you rolling river
Because I was a tarry sailor
A way – we're bound away
'cross the wide Missouri!

At last there came a Yankee skipper
Way-aye, you rolling river
He winked his eye, and he tipped his flipper
A way – we're bound away
'cross the wide Missouri!

He sold the Chief that fire-water
Way-aye, you rolling river
And 'cross the river he stole his daughter
A way – we're bound away
'cross the wide Missouri!

Oh Shenandoah, I love your daughter
Way-aye, you rolling river
I'll take her 'cross yon rolling water
A way – we're bound away
'cross the wide Missour

He's Got The Whole World In His Hands


h1 Wednesday, July 2nd, 2003

In these troubled times it's reassuring to know that, He's Got The Whole World In His Hands.
Lyrics:
He's got the [G] whole world in His hands

He's got the [D7} whole world in His hands

He's got the [G] whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world [D7] in His [G] hands

He's got the wind and the rain in His hands

He's got the wind and the rain in His hands

He's got the wind and the rain in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the Little Bitty Baby in His hands

He's got the Little Bitty Baby in His hands

He's got the Little Bitty Baby in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got you and me brother in His hands

He's got you and me sister in His hands

He's got you and me brother in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the earth and the sky in His hands

He's got the earth and the sky in His hands

He's got the earth and the sky in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the young and the old in His hands

He's got the young and the old in His hands

He's got the young and the old in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the rich and poor in His hands

He's got the rich and poor in His hands

He's got the rich and poor in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got everybody in His hands

He's got everybody in His hands

He's got everybody in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands

12 Gates To The City


h1 Thursday, May 1st, 2003

This is an old southern spiritual, inspired by the Bible's Revelation chapter 21.

Revelation 21 – King James Version ( Public Domain)

Lyrics:
[Em] Oh, what a beautiful city.
[B7] Oh, what a beautiful city
[Em] Oh, what a beautiful city
[Em] Twelve gates to the city, [B7] – [[Em] Hallelujah

Three gates in the east,
Three gates in the west,
Three gates in the north
Three gates in the south
[Em] Twelve gates to the city, [B7] – [[Em] Hallelujah

Who are those children dressed in red?
There's twelve gates to the city, Hallelujah
Must be the children that Moses led
There's twelve gates to the city, Hallelujah

My Jesus done just what He said
There's twelve gates to the city, Hallelujah
He healed the sick and He raised the dead.
There's twelve gates to the city, Hallelujah

Pretty Saro


h1 Saturday, March 1st, 2003

Saro.jpg

This song was collected in the Asheville area of North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia around 1930 by Dorothy Scarborough. She included it in her book 'A Song Catcher in Southern Mountains, American Folk Songs of British Ancestry.' This is an excerpt from her text:

'Mrs. Stikeleather also sang it (Pretty Saro) into my dictaphone and contributed it to this collection. She told me that while the date 'eighteen forty-nine' is used in some of the versions of the song, 'seventeen forty-nine' is more probably correct, as that year witnessed considerable immigration to North Carolina from Ireland, and Scotland, and this old English song was no doubt adapted to its new setting at that time.' Scarborough later says that the use of the phrase 'free-holder' indicates the song is of British origin.

Lyrics:
[A] When I first come to this [E] country in [A] seventeen-forty-nine,

I saw many fair [E] lovers, but never saw [E] mine.

I looked all [A] around me, and found I was [E] alone.

Me a poor [D] stranger, and a long way from [E] home.

Down in some lonesome valley, down in some lonesome place,

Where the wild birds do whistle their notes to increase,

I think of pretty Saro whose waist is so neat

And I know of no better pastime than to be with my sweet.

My love she won't have me, so I understand

She wants a free-holder, who owns house and land.

I cannot maintain her with silver and gold,

Nor buy all the fine things that a big house can hold.

I wish I was a poet and could write a fine hand.

I would send my love a letter that she could understand.

And I'd send it by a messenger where the waters do flow.

And think of pretty Saro wherever I go.

When I first come to this country in seventeen-forty-nine,

I saw many fair lovers, but never saw mine.

I looked all around me, and found I was alone.

Me a poor stranger, and a long way from home.

I Am A Pilgram


h1 Friday, November 1st, 2002

Pilgrim.jpg

This is an old spiritual, sung by numerous country artists. It has a good melody and is a good picking song. I thought of it in conjunction with Thanksgiving, as it was the Pilgrims who started it all. Happy Thanksgiving 2002!
Lyrics:
[G] I am a [D] pilgrim an’ a [G] strangerTraveling [C] through this wearsome [G] land

I’ve got a home, in yonder [C] city good Lord [C7],

[G] And it’s not not [D] made by [G] hand

I’ve got a mother, sister and a brother
Who have been this way before
I am determined to go and see them, good Lord
Over on that other shore

I going down to the river of Jordan
Just to bathe my wearsome soul
If I can just touch the hem of his garmet, good Lord
Then I know he’d take me home

I am a pilgrim and a stranger
Travelling through this wearsome land
I’ve got a home in that yonder city, good Lord
And it’s not not made by hand

Wildwood Flower


h1 Tuesday, October 1st, 2002

Wildwood.jpg

This is a nineteenth-century North American parlor song that has gone into the public domain. There are many variants, some quite amusing when compared to this version. For instance the line:

I will dance I will sing and my life shall be gay

I will charm every heart in the crowd I survey has been changed to:

Oh, I'll dance, I will sing and my laugh shall be gay

I will charm ev'ry heart, in his crown I will sway

Clearly a misunderstood line, passed along by the oral tradition. This is a fine example of the folk process.

This song was written by Maud and J.P. Weber, and popularized by the Carter Family. Another great Guitar picking song. This is the first song I've recorded with my new Martin HD28V that Dick Boak at Martin Guitars helped me pick out at the factory.

Lyrics:
[D] I will twine with my mingles of [A] raven [D] black hair

With the roses so red and the [A] lilies [D] so fair

The myrtle so bright in its [G] emerald [D] hue

And the pale amaryllis and [A] violets so [D] blue

Oh he promised to love me and promised to love

And cherish me over all others above

I woke from my dream and my idol was clay

And my portion of loving had all passed away

I will dance I will sing and my life shall be gay

I will charm every heart in the crowd I survey

Though my heart now is breaking he shall never know

How his name makes me tremble my pale cheeks to glow

Oh he taught me to love him and called me his flower

A blossom to cheer him through life’s weary hour

But now he is gone and left me alone

With the wild flowers to weep and the wild birds to moan

Yes I’ll dance and I’ll sing and my life shall be gay

I will banish this weeping, drive troubles away

I’ll live yet to see him regret that dark hour

When he won and neglected his frail wildwood flower

All My Trials


h1 Monday, July 1st, 2002

Trials.jpg

Though this song has Bahamian origins, it is usually classified as a Spiritual. A mother is comforting her child on her deathbed.

This is dedicated to the memory of Paul Lowman.

Lyrics:
[D] Hush little baby don't you cry [D7]

[D[ You know your mama's bound to [G] die

[D] All my [A7] trials Lord

Will soon be [D] over

If religion was a thing that money could buy

The rich would live and the poor would die

All my trials Lord

Soon be over

Too late my brothers

Too late, but never mind

All my trials Lord

Soon be over

There is a tree in Paradise

The Pilgrims call it the tree of life

All my trials Lord

Soon be over

If religion was a thing that money could buy

The rich would live and the poor would die

All my trials Lord

Soon be over

Hush little baby don't you cry

You know your mama’s bound to die

All my trials Lord

Soon be over