Willie Moore

0265.gif

Drone in G, and play melody Video version HERE.
Lyrics:
Willie Moore was a King, his age twenty-one
Courted a maiden fair;
Her eyes were like two diamonds bright
Raven black was her hair, hmmm hmmm hmmm…
He courted her both day and night,
To marry him she did agree,
But when they went to get her parents' consent,
They said, 'This could never be,' hmmm, hmmm, hmmm…
'I love Willie Moore,' sweet Annie replied,
'Better than I love my life,
And l would rather die than weep here and cry,
Never to be his wife,' hmmm, hmmm, hmmm…
That very same night sweet Anne disappeared,
They searched the country 'round
In a little stream down by the cabin door,
The body of sweet Annie was found' hmmm, hmmm, hmm
Sweet Annie's parents they live all alone,
One mourns, the other cries,
In a little grave down by the cabin door
The body of sweet Annie now lies.
Willie Moore scarce spoke that anyone knew,
Soon from his friends did part;
And the last heard of him was he's on Montreal
Where he died of a broken heart.

Dink’s Song

Dinks1.jpg

John A. Lomax made his memorable recording. Lomax tells the tale in his remarkable book, Adventures Of A Ballad Hunter, published by MacMillan in 1947:

‘A few miles away from College Station (ie the Texas A&M College, where Lomax first began collecting folk songs) runs the Brazos River. The broad bottom lands of that river were covered with large cotton plantations. There, one day in 1908, behind lowered curtains in the home of a bachelor overseer I first saw jazz danced between the sexes. Even this rough man was unwilling to allow the public to know that he permitted young Negroes to dance in the postures now accepted as a matter of course in barrel-houses and honkytonks in cities of the South. I discovered at this time the Ballet Of The Boll Weevil, Dink’s Fare You Well, Oh Honey and many ‘blues’. Carl Sandburg, whom I place first among all present amateur folk singers, uses regularly the first two songs on his programmes. He says that Dink’s song reminds him of Sappho.

I found Dink washing her man’s clothes outside their tent on the bank of the Brazos River in Texas. Many other similar tents stood around. The black men and women they sheltered belonged to a levee-building outfit from the Mississippi River Delta, the women having been shipped from Memphis along with the mules and the iron scrapers, while the men, all skilful levee-builders, came from Vicksburg. A white foreman volunteered: ‘Without women of their own, these levee Negroes would have been all over the bottoms every night hunting for women. That would mean trouble, serious trouble. Negroes can’t work when sliced up with razors.’

The two groups of men and women had never seen each other until they met on the river bank in Texas where the white levee contractor gave them the opportunity presented to Adam and Eve – they were left alone to mate after looking each other over. While her man built the levee, each woman kept his tent, toted the water, cut the firewood, cooked, washed his clothes and warmed his bed. Down on the dumps nearer the river, clouds of drifting dust swirled from the feet of moving mules and from piles of shifted earth, while the shouts of the muleskinners sometimes grouped themselves into long-drawn-out couplets with a semi-tune – levee camp hollers:

I looked all over the corral,
Lawd, I couldn’t find a mule with his shoulder well.

Lawd, they won’t ‘low me to beat ’em,
Got to beg ’em along.

But Dink, reputedly the best singer in the camp, would give me no songs. ‘Today ain’t my singin’ day,’ she would reply to my urging. Finally, a bottle of gin, bought at a nearby plantation commissary, loosed her muse. The bottle of liquor soon disappeared. She sang, as she scrubbed her man’s dirty clothes, the pathetic story of a woman deserted by her lover when she needs him most – a very old story. Dink ended the refrain with a subdued cry of despair and longing – the sobbing of a woman deserted by her man.

Lyrics:
E A E
If I had wings like Norah’s dove
C#m A
I’d fly up the river to the one I love
E A E B7 E
Fare thee well, oh my honey, fare thee well

I’ve got a man, he’s long and tall
Moves his body like a cannon ball
Fare thee well, oh my honey, fare thee well

One of these days and it won’t be long
Call my name and I’ll be gone
Fare thee well, oh my honey, fare thee well

I remember one night, a drizzling rain
Round my heart I felt a pain
Fare thee well, oh my honey, fare thee well

If I had listened to what my mama said
I’d be at home in my mama’s bed
Fare thee well, oh my honey, fare thee well

(c) 2000 McGuinn Music / Roger McGuinn

Ain’t No Mo Cane On De Brasis AKA Cane Blues

cane.jpg

This is a Southern chain gang song
Lyrics:
G D Em
It ain’ no mo’ cane on de Brazis
Am D Bm
Oh… Oh Oh
C Am G Em
Done groun’ it all in molazzis,
Am D G
Oh… Oh Oh

B’lieve I’ll do like ol’ Riley,
Ol’ Riley walked de Brazis.

One o’ dese mornin’s an’ it won’ be long,
You gonna call me an’I’ll be gone.

Oughta come on de river in nineteen-O-fo’,
You could fin’ a dead man on every turn row.

Oughta come on de river in nineteen an’ ten,
Dey was drivin’ de women jes’ like de men.

I looked at my Ol’ Hannah’ an’she’s turnin’red,
I looked at my podner an’ he’s almos’dead.

Well, I wonder what’s de matter, somepin’ mus’ be wrong
We’re stil I here rollin, Shorty George done gone.

Go down, Ol’ Hannah, doncha rise no mo’,
Ef you rise any mo’ bring judgment day.

It ain’ no mo’ cane on de Brazis
Done groun’ it all in molazzis,

(c) 1999 McGuinn Music / Roger McGuinn

Fair Nottamun Town

This is one of those enigmatic songs with a lovely haunting melody. I first heard 'Fair Nottamun Town' performed in 1957, by Jean Ritchie on an Elektra Records Folk Sampler. The name of the town was originally Nottingham, and the lyrics got 'distilled' in the Appalachian Mountains. This is a great example of the folk process.

The lyrics are quite surreal, and may have originally been inspired by a battle of The English Civil Wars of 1642-51. The tension between Charles and Parliament was still great, since none of the issues raised by the Short
Parliament had been resolved. This tension was brought to a head on January 4th, 1642 when Charles attempted to arrest five members of parliament. This attempt failed, since they were spirited away before the king's troops arrived. Charles left London and both he and parliament began to stockpile military resources and recruit troops.

Charles officially began the war by raising his standard at Nottingham in August, 1642. This song may have been the bizarre observations of one of King Charles' mounted soldiers.

Jean Ritchie writes:

Dear Roger McGuinn,

This is Jean Ritchie here; I loved listening to your music on the web, and
appreciate your interest in folk music. Your singing of 'Fair Nottamun Town'
was especially fine and I felt I must write to give you my history with the
song. The version you perform is the Ritchie Family (Kentucky) version. I
have never heard JJ Niles sing it, nor has anyone else I know- I knew him
quite well; he visited and got songs from the family in his early days, and
it was there he saw his first dulcimer, but to my knowledge he never
performed, 'Nottamun Town.' The time you heard him must have been the only
one, and he certainly learned it from the Ritchies.

The song has been in our family back many generations, and was collected at
the Hindman Settlement School in Knott County, KY by Cecil Sharp around 1917
from the singing of my sister Una who was a student there (Una was 4th in our
family of 14; I'm 'the baby one,' and am 77 now). Our family ancestors came
over from England, Scotland, Ireland, the earliest ones we know of arrived in
1768. Our family still cherishes and sings the songs they brought with them.

If you will check in Sharp's book of Appalachian songs he collected, you will
find the Ritchie version- the one you sing- as notated from the singing of
Una and Sabrina Ritchie (Sabrina was our cousin). I added the 'mule roany
mare' phrase, instead of 'that was called a grey mare.' Also, it always
bothered me that one-half of one of the verses was missing- just filled in
with dots…. then the last two lines are the ones beginning, 'I bought me
a quart…' For years, I sang, 'la,la,la,' for those missing lines, but
finally just put in two of my own, 'They laughed and they smiled, not a soul
did look gay; they talked all the while, not a word did they say…'

In the sixties, when the Kingston Trio and others began performing and
copywriting (as writers) our family songs, I applied for several copyrights
for the family. A copyright for 'Fair Nottamun Town' was approved in 1964,
based on the changes I had made in the lyrics. I have contributed much of
the royalties (from Bob Dylan and others) to Kentucky charities over the
years.

Your suggestion that the song may have been inspired by the English Civil
Wars of 1642-51 is most interesting. I had heard another suggestion of it's
possible origins, years ago, saying that it may have been composed during
the Great Plague! When I did my Fulbright year, searching for sources of
our family songs,in 1952, I spent time researching in Nottingham, and could
find not a mention of it in the libraries, nor could any scholar tell me
anything. Douglas Kennedy said that it was most likely the 'magic song'
used in an early Nottingham mummrs' play. This could not be confirmed,
because I couldn't find in any historical account any news of mummers' plays
in that city. Douglas said that even though it was not now remembered, that
of course there HAD been a mummers' play, as every city had one… This
seemed to me to be the most likely explanation, as the words do go along
with the 'topsy-turvy' nature of the plays (clothing exchanged & turned
inside out to hide identities, etc). One old mummer in Marshfield, when I
asked him what the song might mean,
said, '…why, lass, if the meaning's found out- the magic is lost!'

Another interesting thing is that there is not another similar variant of
'Nottamun Town' in this country, or in England. An English group recorded it
years ago, but they had learned it from me, at Newport I think. Can't
remember the group's name, but it had Martin Carthy in it, and maybe Peter
Bellamy. Many folk scholars have noticed and commended our family on our
unique preservation of several old and rare ballads- one is our, 'Fair Annie
of the Lochroyan,' a mixing-up of the words, 'The Lass of Roch Royal.'

All the best,

Jean Ritchie

Lyrics:
[Em]In Fair Nottamun Town, not a soul would look [G] up

Not a soul would look [Em] up, not a [D] soul would look [Em]down

Not a soul would look [Em] up, not a [D] soul would look [Em] down

To [Am] show me the [Em] way to fair [D] Nottamun [Em]town

I rode a grey horse, a mule roany mare
Grey mane and grey tail, a green stripe down her back
Grey mane and grey tail, a green stripe down her back
There wa'nt a hair on her be-what was coal black

She stood so still, she threw me to the dirt
She tore my hide and she bruised my shirt
From saddle to stirrup I mounted again
And on my ten toes I rode over the plain

Met the King and the Queen and a company more
A-riding behind and a-marching before
Came a stark naked drummer a-beating a drum
With his heels in his bosom come a marching along

They laughed and they smiled, not a soul did look gay
They talked for a while, not a word did they say
I bought me a quart to drive gladness away
And to stifle the dust, for it rained the whole day

Sat down on a hard, hot cold frozen stone
Ten thousand stood round me and yet I's alone
Took my hat in my hand for to keep my head warm
Ten thousand got drownded that never was born

Repeat first verse.

(copyright notice here) Jean Ritchie 1964, 1971 Geordie Music Publishing Co. ASCAP

Sail Away Lady

Sail.jpg

'Sail Away Lady' is typical of the kind of dance music that was popular in America in the period between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. By the 17th Century the banjo had been introduced to this continent from West Africa. The European settlers generally used the violin unaccompanied for dancing, and sang unaccompanied or with a violin only. Increased social contacts of various kinds during the middle 19th century popularized the violin – banjo combination. This tune can be found in almost every collection of fiddle music.

I first heard 'Sail Away Lady' in the mid '50s at the Gate of Horn in Chicago, sung by Odetta. She had a big rolling style on this song with a huge crescendo on the choruses.

Lyrics:
G D G
Ain't no use to sit and cry
G D G
Sail away lady sail away
G D G
You'll be an angel bye and bye
G D G
Sail away lady sail away

C
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
G
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
D
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
G
Don't you rock 'im die – de -O

Well I've got a home in Tennessee
Sail away lady sail away
That is where I'd rather be
Sail away lady sail away

Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O

Now come along boys and go with me
Sail away lady sail away
We'll go down to Tennessee
Sail away lady sail away

Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O

Whenever I get my new house done
Sail away lady sail away
Love you pretty girls one by one
Sail away lady sail away

Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O

Hush little baby don't you cry
Sail away lady sail away
You'll be an angel bye and bye
Sail away lady sail away

Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O

Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O
Don't you rock 'im die – de – O

© 1999 McGuinn Music / Roger McGuinn

John The Revelator

bwj2.jpg

This song was recorded originally in 1930 by Blind
Willie Johnson. He was one of the foremost African American singers of
religious songs, with thirty records to his credit. On his recording of
this song, his wife, Angeline sang the answer back part.

I have tried to keep as close to the original sound as possible, but
the person who sang the answer back part on this recording would prefer
to remain anonymous.

Lyrics:
D

Well who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

Tell me what’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

Now who art worthy, crucified and holy
Bound up for some, Son of our God
Daughter of Zion, Judea’s Lion
He redeemed us, Jesus bought us with his blood

Now tell me who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

Well what’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

Well Moses to Moses, Watching the flock
Saw the bush where they had to stop
God told Moses pull off your shoes
Out of the flock, a well a you I choose

Now tell me who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

Well what’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

� McGuinn Music 1998 Roger McGuinn

Mighty Day

Mighty.jpg

Commemorating the great Galveston Flood, which began on September 8, 1900. I recorded this song with minor differences in 1961, when I worked as accompanist for the Chad Mitchell Trio on their album, 'Mighty Day On Campus.'

We are now in the height of hurricane season and have already suffered loss from hurricane Georges. A strong hurricane can do as much damage as a nuclear bomb, and should be respected.

Lyrics:
Em B7
I remember one September,
Em B7
When storm winds swept the town;
Em Am
The high tide from the ocean, Lord,
B7 Em
Put water all around.
Em Em7
cho: Wasn't that a mighty day,
A Am
A mighty day
Em
A mighty day,
B7
Great God, that morning
Em
When the storm winds swept the town!

There was a sea-wall there in Galveston
To keep the waters down,
But the high tide from the ocean, Lord,
Put water in the town.

The trumpets warned the people,
'You'd better leave this place!'
But they never meant to leave their homes
Till death was in their face.

The trains they all were loaded
With people leaving town;
The tracks gave way to the ocean, Lord,
And the trains they went on down.

The seas began to rolling,
The ships they could not land;
I heard a Captain crying,
'God, please save a drowning man!'

The waters, like some river,
Came a-rushing to and fro;
I saw my father drowning, God,
And I watched my mother go!

Now death, your hands are icy;
You've got them on my knee.
You took away my mother,
Now you're coming after me!

John Henry

traingol.jpg

The legend of John Henry dates back to the early 1870s during the building of the Big Bend Tunnel through the West Virginia mountains by C & O Railroad workers. To carve this tunnel, then the longest in the United States, men worked in pairs to drill holes for dynamite. One man used a large hammer to pound a huge drill, while another man screwed it into the rock.

John Henry was renowned for his strength and skill in driving the steel drills into the solid rock. One day the captain brought a newly invented steam drill to the tunnel to test. Which was stronger, man or machine? John Henry, the strongest steel driver of them all, beat the steam drill, but according to the song, the effort killed him.

Lyrics:
A
When John Henry was a little baby,
E7
Just a sittin' on his mammy's knee,
A7 D7
Said the Big Bend Tunnel on that C & O Road
A
Gonna be the death of me, Lord God
E7 A
Going to be the death of me.'

Well John Henry said to the captain,
I'm gonna take a little trip downtown
Get me a thirty pound hammer with that nine foot handle
I'll beat your steam drill down, Lord God
I'll beat your steam drill down

Well John Henry hammered on that mountain
Till his hammer was striking fire
And the very last words that I heard that boy say was
Cool drink of water 'for I die, Lord God
Cool drink of water 'for I die

Well they carried him down to the graveyard
And they buried him in the sand
And every locomotive came a roarin' on by
They cried out, 'There lies a steel drivin' man, Lord God
There lies a steel drivin' man.

Well there's some say he came from Texas
There's some say he came from Maine
Well I don't give a damn where that poor boy was from
You know that, he was a steel drivin' man, Lord God
John Henry was a steel drivin' man

Well when John Henry was a little baby,
Just a sitting on his mammy's knee,
Said the Big Bend Tunnel on that C & O Road
Gonna be the death of me, Lord God
Gonna to be the death of me.'

� 1998 McGuinn Music – Roger McGuinn

Mary Had A Baby

Mary.jpg

This is an old Christmas spiritual that I found without a melody. In keeping with the folk process, I came up with a tune.

My guitar is tuned down to C#, where Lead Belly used to tune his Stella 12-string.

Lyrics:
[E] Mary had a baby oh my Lord
[A] Mary had a baby oh my Lord
[G] Mary had a baby [B7] oh my Lord
[A] People keep a-comin' an' the [B7] train done gone

What did she name Him oh my Lord
What did she name Him oh my Lord
What did she name Him oh my Lord
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone

She named Him Jesus oh my Lord
She named Him Jesus oh my Lord
She named Him Jesus oh my Lord
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone

Where was He born oh my Lord
Where was He born oh my Lord
Where was He born oh my Lord
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone

Born in a stable oh my Lord
Born in a stable oh my Lord
Born in a stable oh my Lord
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone

And where did she lay Him oh my Lord
And where did she lay Him oh my Lord
And where did she lay Him oh my Lord
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone

She laid Him in a manger oh my Lord
She laid Him in a manger oh my Lord
She laid Him in a manger oh my Lord
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone

Copyright (c) 1998
Roger McGuinn
McGuinn Music

Wagoner’s Lad

wagoner.gif

Last week, I had the pleasure of performing at a
tribute concert for The Harry Smith Anthology, sponsored by the
Smithsonian, The Folk Alliance, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

It was a wonderful night of music and re-acquaintance with old
friends. Ella Jenkins was there, whom I hadn’t seen in over thirty
years, as well as the New Lost City Ramblers, and new friends, Jeff and
Jay from Wilco.

This is one of my favorite songs from the Anthology. It’s one of
those melodies that stays with you long after you’ve heard the song.

The original recording is from 1928, by Buell Kazee, with just vocal
and 5-string banjo. I have done it again, keeping the sound as close to
the original as possible.

The format is interesting; the first verse is by a narrator, the
second by the girl, the third by the boy and the fourth and fifth verses
are split between the boy and girl.

She’s trying to talk the Wagoner’s Lad into staying with her, and he’s dead set on leaving.

Lyrics:
[G] Oh hard is the [C] fortune of all women [G] kind.
They’re [D] always [G] controlled, they’re always [D] confined
Controlled by their [G] parents until they are [D] brides
Then [C] slaves to their husbands for the rest of their [G] lives

Oh I am a poor girl, my fortune is sad
I have always been courted by the wagoner’s lad
He courted me daily both by night and by day
And now he is loaded and going away

Your parents don’t like me because I am poor
They say I’m not worthy of entering your door
I work for my living, my money’s my own
And if they don’t like me they can leave me alone

Your horses are hungry, go feed them some hay
Come sit down beside me as long as you may
My horses ain’t hungry, they won’t eat your hay
So fare thee well darling, I’ll be on my way

Your wagon needs greasing, your whip’s for to mend
Come sit down beside me as long as you can
My wagon is greasy, my whip’s in my hand
So fare thee well, darling, no longer to stand
� 1998 McGuinn Music – Roger McGuinn