Iris DeMent - Let the Mystery Be

SONG Let the Mystery Be

WRITTEN BY Iris DeMent

PERFORMED BY Iris DeMent

APPEARS ON Infamous Angel (1992)

I forget where I first heard Iris DeMent, but I remember my reaction to her voice: I stopped whatever it was I was doing and just listened. There is no other voice like Iris's; it's as if she were channeling the souls of rural Southern women going right back to when the first Scots-Irish settlers first found their way into the hollers of the Appalachians. It's the voice of an old, old soul, full of the sorrows and the joys of women making the best of life with the bare minimum to work with. And yet the owner of that voice is still a young woman.

Whatever the first occasion, I've been listening to Iris DeMent for a long time now. At one point she was a regular on A Prairie Home Companion; she sang harmonies on several songs with Nanci Griffith and Emmylou Harris on Nanci's Other Voices, Other Rooms (and wasn't that a vocal trio to die for!), and has also sung with John Prine and Steve Earle. That archetypal voice has been ringing in my ears for a while now.

The song "Let the Mystery Be" is classic Iris, dealing with matters of belief in a unique and decidedly unorthodox manner. She talks about where we might or might not go after death, looking at what everybody says, and figuring that nobody really knows she decides to "let the mystery be." This stereotypical Southern Baptist voice utters heresy! But she's done that often in her career, with songs like "The Way I Should" and "He Reached Down". And in doing so, she's only echoing those old souls she's channeling, because despite the hellfire-and-brimstone of the Southern preachers, the everyday men and women up in the hollers and in the backwoods were a lot less strict and much more forgiving than the preachers. The woman with that voice may have gone to church on Sunday and listened to the preacher and shouted "Amen", but in her heart of hearts she kept her own counsel. Let the men wrangle about doctrine and who's going to heaven and who to hell; she's content to "let the mystery be".

LYRICS

Everybody's wonderin' what and where they all came from.
Everybody's worryin' 'bout where they're gonna go when the whole thing's done.
But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.

Some say once you're gone you're gone forever, and some say you're gonna come back.
Some say you rest in the arms of the Saviour if in sinful ways you lack.
Some say that they're comin' back in a garden, bunch of carrots and little sweet peas.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.

Everybody's wonderin' what and where they all came from.
Everybody's worryin' 'bout where they're gonna go when the whole thing's done.
But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.

Instrumental break.

Some say they're goin' to a place called Glory and I ain't saying it ain't a fact.
But I've heard that I'm on the road to purgatory and I don't like the sound of that.
Well, I believe in love and I live my life accordingly.
But I choose to let the mystery be.

Everybody's wonderin' what and where they all came from.
Everybody's worryin' 'bout where they're gonna go when the whole thing's done.
But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.

The video I found for this on YouTube is from her 1995 transatlantic sessions with Irish, Scots, and American musicians. On this tune she has mostly Americans (Molly Mason & Jay Ungar and Russ Barenburg) with the addition of Irish musician Donal Lunny on Irish bouzouki. It's a lovely rendition. Enjoy!

Paul Sanchez: Foot Of Canal Street

SONG Foot Of Canal Street

WRITTEN BY Paul Sanchez, John Boutte

PERFORMED BY Paul Sanchez

APPEARS ON Hurricane Party (2000)

Paul Sanchez is a New Orleans treasure who deserves a much wider audience. Sanchez, who performs primarily in New Orleans and Louisiana, is quite simply one of the best singer-songwriters working today. Not only that, he is a gifted producer, as he amply demonstrates in his work with jazz singer John Boutte and on Stew Called New Orleans, their excellent collaboration released earlier this year.

They wrote "Foot of Canal Street" after discovering that both of their fathers -- one black, one white -- were buried on the same cemetery at the foot of said street. Boutte observed that we all wind up there sooner or later, and a song was born. Although the song begins slowly as dirge, the contrasting lyrics stem Sanchez' sunny optimism. "Don't waste your time being angry" because, well, in the end "I'll see you there/at the foot of Canal Street." It then breaks into a second line, one the Sanchez expects to last long after "all is gone."

New Orleans horn charts provide a perfect complement to the lyrics, supplyinh the gravity for the first part of the song and propelling the second line as "Foot" gathers momentum. The charts are a hallmark of Sanchez' arrangements, linking his songwriting to the musical tradition of New Orleans.

"Foot of CanalStreet" merely scratches the surface of Paul Sanchez' best work. For more, check out last year's superb Exit To Mystery St., Stew Called New Orleans, and his production of John Boutte's excellent Good Neighbor.

LYRICS

Don't waste your time being angry

When a moment's better with a smile

If you feel your time's been wasted

Waste it here a while

Standing at the bus just across from Krauss

Waiting for the driver to take me to my heavenly house

I'll see you there

At the foot of Canal Street

What will you wear

At the foot of Canal Street

Will the band be playing

At the foot of Canal Street

What will the people be saying

At the foot of Canal Street

Does your father lie there

Does your mother pray there

I'm going to put on my golden crown

At the foot of Canal Street

When the levee banks have overflowed

And the street car has seen its day

When all is gone: The plantations,

The Treme, and the Vieux Carre

I'll be swinging to that music

Way up on the higher ground

Where Pops is blowing "Walk On"

And Gabriel making sacred sounds

I'll see you there

At the foot of Canal Street

What will you wear

At the foot of Canal Street

Will the band be playing

At the foot of Canal Street

What will the people be saying

At the foot of Canal Street

Does your father lie there

Does your mother pray there

I'm going to put on my golden crown

At the foot of Canal Street

The Guess Who : These Eyes

SONG These Eyes

WRITTEN BY Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings

PERFORMED BY The Guess Who, Junior Walker& The All Stars

APPEARS ON Wheatfield Soul, What Does It Take To Win Your Love

The Internet has done wonders for my life in many ways. It's opened a lot of doors. It's also a great way to find information about songs and artist at your convenience. Sometimes you learn about songs that you already enjoyed listening to but knew nothing about. The other day it helped me discover the origins of a song that I actual knew word for word but couldn't name. I know that sounds strange so let me explain.

I grew up in one of those houses where the grown ups controlled the music and what everyone listened to. For us that meant that if there was music being played it was classic rhythm and blues. I guess that's why at 35 years old I prefer those songs to most of the music of my own generation. I remember paying attention to the songs and learning the words but I never really used to pay attention to the title of the song and the artist. That's why I know how a lot of songs sound but don't always know the person performing it.

The other day I was at my desk listening to some music on YouTube while I worked on some reports. I was listening to this song by the Chi-Lites when one of the related videos caught my attention. The clip was a song called These Eyes performed by a group called The Guess Who. While the title of the song seemed familiar the group was totally unknown to me. I decided to click on the clip to see if it was that song and it was. Now I know this song so well that I can sing it word for word. It's the same groove I remember but I was sure it wasn't the same artist. I did some searching and found out The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band who recorded the song in 1969. It was their first U.S. top ten hit. They were also the first Canadian group to score a number one hit in America with the song "American Woman". I find that amusing since it’s another song I know really well and never paid attention to the artist.

I was happy I found the name of it but I still didn't think that The Guess Who was the same group who recorded the version that I used to listen to. The voice was too familiar to be a group I never heard of before. I did a little more research and it turns out that the song was recorded by Junior Walker and The All Stars a year after The Guess Who originally released it. I found a clip of the Junior Walker version and listened to it for the rest of the day at work. I am glad I discovered the original version of this song because I have to admit that even though it some guys from Canada it has just as much soul to me as Junior Walker and The All Star's remake. The only thing that the Junior Walker version has the original doesn't is a wicked saxophone player blowing his soul out of the horn. The saxophone solo gives that version extra points. Other than that they are both really good.

Lyrics

These eyes cry every night for you
These arms long to hold you again
The hurtin's on me, yeah
But I will never be free, no, my baby, no no
You gave a promise to me, yeah
And you broke it, you broke it, oh no

These eyes watched you bring my world to an end
This heart could not accept and pretend
The hurtin's on me, yeah
But I will never be free, no no no
You took the vow with me, yeah
And you spoke it, you spoke it, babe

These eyes are cryin'
These eyes have seen a lot of loves
But they're never gonna see another one like I had with you

These eyes are cryin'
These eyes have seen a lot of loves
But they're never gonna see another one like I had with you

These eyes are cryin'
These eyes have seen a lot of loves
But they're never gonna see another one like I had with you

These eyes cry every night for you
These arms, these arms long to hold you, hold you again

These eyes are cryin'
These eyes have seen a lot of loves
But they're never gonna see another one like I had with you

These eyes are cryin'
These eyes have seen a lot of loves
But they're never gonna see another one like I had with you

These eyes are cryin'
These eyes have seen a lot of loves
But they're never gonna see another one like I had with you

These eyes are cryin'
These eyes have seen a lot of loves
But they're never gonna see another one like I had with you
Baby, baby, baby, baby

Zachary Richard: No French, No More

SONG No French, No More

WRITTEN BY Zachary Richard, Tommy Shreve

PERFORMED BY Zachary Richard

APPEARS ON Women In The Room (1990)

NOTE On Women In The Room, Richard sings "No French, No More" in English and French. The version below is in French only.

Destroy a culture's language and you destroy a culture. The English knew that when they attempted to outlaw the Irish language, and the Irish just as surely knew it as they strove to keep their language alive. In "No French, No More," Zachary Richard laments the impact of the disappearance of French on his native Cajun culture ("But nowadays it's getting so you can't/Tell the Cajun from Americains"). At the same time, he speaks to a larger sense of loss, warning that once something is gone, "it ain't never coming back," and closing with a lament consisting of "jamais," the French word for "never."

"No French, No More" tells of the lasting shame imparted to French speakers for doing nothing more than speaking what was to them a native tongue, and of how the simple desire of a better life for their children became a vehicle for that shame. Although the character in the song attains success, he does so at the expense of his father's pride and his own identity. In the end, he's left wondering whether his achievements are worth their cost, and suspects that they are not. After all, his father -- "calloused hands" and all -- had an identity while the character simply "wears a suit" like anyone else and has hands that "dirt never touched".

Richard sings with an almost organic, environmental sensibility, as if he knows that the decline of the French language goes hand-in-hand with the disappearance of the bayous and wetlands of Southern Louisiana. In this regard, "No French, No More" is not only a lament, it's a warning, and a prescient one at that: Fifteen years after Richard recorded this song, Hurricane Katrina swept through the depleted bayous south of New Orleans, up the manmade intracoastal waterways that bisect New Orleans, and into history as the most destructive force to ever strike American soil. As we now know, it needn't have happened, that a healthy system of wetlands would have done much to retard the force of Katrina. Richard couldn't have known this when he wrote "No French, No More," but the song nonetheless finds an especially haunting resonance in Katrina's wake.

LYRICS

My papa was a hard working man

Held a plow inside a calloused hand

Up before the sun came out on the land

Try to give us everything he can

He sent us off to school when a teacher came

He said "My boy try hard, do the best you can."

But the teacher we could not understand

Because she only talked Americain

Papa couldn't tell us and it didn't make no sense

When the teacher told us we couldn't talk no French

No more

Things were changing fast in Louisiane

Cajun can't talk English feel ashamed

But nowadays it's getting so you can't

Tell the Cajuns from Americains

Papa couldn't tell us and it didn't make no sense

When the teacher told us we couldn't talk no French

No more

Do you hear me calling, do you understand?

Once it is gone, it ain't never coming back

No more

I got me a job just like my papa planned

I wear a suit and dirt never touch my hand

But I still see the look in my papa's eyes

The pain and the shame that he just could not hide

Papa couldn't tell us and it didn't make no sense

When the teacher told us we couldn't talk no French

No more

Do you hear me calling, do you understand?

Once it is gone, it ain't never coming back

No more

He, mon cher garcon

Est-ce que tu mes comprends?

Jamais...

Jamais...

Jamais...

Jamais...

Avalon Blues

Song: Avalon Blues Written By: Mississippi John Hurt

Appears on: Mississippi John Hurt: 1928 Sessions (Yazoo); The Best of Mississippi John Hurt (Vanguard)

I don’t tend to be a fellow who thinks in terms of “best” or “greatest”—these concepts are a bit too hierarchical for my tastes. However, if I could take the recordings of only one fingerstyle blues guitar player to the proverbial desert island, I’d certainly have to pick the music of Mississippi John Hurt. While Hurt’s playing didn’t have the drive or urgency of Charlie Patton’s or Blind Lemon Jefferson’s, there’s something so lyrical about his music—it’s really like a clear running stream with the rippling melody notes & the low hum of the steady bass pattern underneath. It’s just beautiful.

Of course, we might never have known so much about Mississippi John Hurt—he was not a professional musician, but a sharecropper in his hometown of Avalon, Mississippi. He did play for various social functions, however, & as a result he partnered with fiddled Willie Narmour, who later recommended Hurt to Okeh Records producer Tommy Rockwell. Rockwell arranged for Hurt to travel to New York for a recording session in 1928 & something very special was captured on 13 tracks.

The Great Depression was just on the horizon, however, & this had a major impact on the fledgling recording industry: one big casualty was that the companies curtailed recording a lot of the folk & blues & country music that appealed to less affluent customers—recordings of African-American artists in particular were particularly hard hit—& so John Hurt stayed on in Avalon, farming & playing guitar in the local area.

After World War II the interest in what was then called “folk music” really started to take off, however. A number of folks scoured every source possible for old 78s, & of course among these collectors was Harry Smith, who used his vast 78 collection as the basis for the groundbreaking Anthology of American Folk Music. Among the 84 recordings on the Anthology were two by Mississippi John Hurt: “Frankie” & “Spike Driver Blues.”

The Anthology was a major event in the folk music circles—guitarist John Fahey called it a more important document than the Dead Sea Scrolls—& since the Anthology’s 1952 release was really only a generation removed from the artists whose work it featured, people began to track down these musicians.

Musicologist Tom Hoskins decided to find this mysterious Mississippi John Hurt, the masterful guitarist (it’s said that when Segovia heard “Frankie” he couldn’t believe only one guitar was playing!) How could he manage to find this man who’d drifted into obscurity for over 20 years?

It turns out that Hurt had composed & recorded a song about his hometown—“Avalon Blues”—which he recorded during those 1928 Okeh sessions. As a result, Hoskins was able to find Hurt in 1963—at which point Hurt was either 70 or 71 years old (there’s some dispute about whether he was born in 1892 or 1893). But despite his age, & his years of manual work, he could still play the guitar & sing—& I mean he could really play the guitar. After convincing Hurt that he was not an FBI agent, Hoskins encouraged Hurt to start a second career as a musician, & for three years until his death in 1966, Hurt was a major sensation on the folk music circuit (& beyond—he even appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson). The quality of his musicianship during those few years compares very favorably with his early recordings—in fact, there’s a certain relaxed quality in his later live recordings that in some ways seems even better than his earlier material (see Vanguard’s The Best of Mississippi John Hurt, recorded live at Oberlin in 1966 as proof of this).

“Avalon Blues” is a great example of Hurt’s work: it has the quiet humor riding atop a genuine vein of emotion—homesickness in this case—that are both trademarks of his vocal style. The guitar work is just superb: Mississippi John Hurt was a master of the pattern picking that’s known as the “Piedmont Style,” which is also associated with two other favorites of mine, Elizabeth Cotten & Etta Baker. The first video clip is the 1928 version of "Avalon Blues"; the second is from a later, live recording. As you’ll notice, Hurt changed the lyrics when he was older: among others, he added: “Just one thing I can’t understand, many pretty mamas in Avalon, & I’m just one man.”

“Avalon Blues” is just a wonderful song, & it can be appreciated simply as that. But the history it illustrates is fascinating, too: the big recording push in the 20’s, the failure of many record labels in the Depression, & the keen interest in the old music that came out of the 1950s.

Enough from me—hope you enjoy this great music!

Avalon Blues

Got to New York this mornin', just about half-past nine
Got to New York this mornin', just about half-past nine
Hollerin' one mornin' in Avalon, couldn't hardly keep from cryin'

Avalon is my hometown, always on my mind
Avalon is my hometown, always on my mind
Pretty mamas in Avalon want me there all the time

When the train left Avalon, throwin' kisses and wavin' at me
When the train left Avalon, throwin' kisses and wavin' at me
Says, "Come back, daddy, and stay right here with me"

Avalon's a small town, have no great big range
Avalon's a small town, have no great big range
Pretty mamas in Avalon, they sure will spend your change

New York's a good town, but it's not for mine
New York's a good town, but it's not for mine
Goin' back to Avalon, near where I have a pretty mama all the time

Jill Scott : A Long Walk

SONG A Long Walk

WRITTEN BY Jill Scott, Andre Harris

PERFORMED BY Jill Scott

APPEARS ON Who is Jill Scott ? (Words and Sounds Volume 1)


I was looking at some of my older posts and they are way too serious. Whenever I start thinking about which song to write about on this blog I try to find something really deep and thought provoking. I’m probably thinking to hard about it. After all, I am only 35 years old and I am not that deep once you get to know me. I guess my general blogging principle of having something to say is getting in the way of selecting a song that’s just fun to listen to. I’m going to change that so I wanted to write a lighter post this time about a song that I would listen to when I am just lighting the grill and sipping on a cold one. It’s almost the end of the summer. The weather is nice and people should be out enjoying themselves. The song I would like to present to you is one that I play during those times. It is performed by the lovely and talented Jill Scott. The song is titled A Long Walk and it appears on her debut album Who is Jill Scott (Words and Sounds Volume 1). In my opinion this is a classic R&B album in the modern Neo-Soul era. It manages to keep its quality over time which honestly isn’t something that many modern rhythm and blues or hip hop albums do these days.

Jill Scott is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She’s a singer, a poet, an actor, and sometimes in my daydreams she’s my long distance girlfriend. She was discovered by my favorite band The Roots and released her debut album in 2000. She writes very thought provoking and insightful lyrics but I selected this song because of its simple message. The song is about her desire to just take a walk with this man that she is really into. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a summer’s evening than that. I wouldn’t mind taking a nice walk with Jill for a few hours. When you really like someone it doesn’t really matter what you do together. All that matters is that you and that person are together. That’s the message in this song. Why the message may be clear and easy to figure out, the lyrical word play is quite impressive. You can hear the spoken word background in a lot of her songs. From a cultural standpoint I appreciate this song for the same reasons I named in my post about Talib Kweli. Any song that speaks to the positive side of young African American relationships gets special attention from me. The sister’s aren’t all trying to trap us and take our money. All the brothers aren’t trying to have sex with every woman we meet. Sometimes we just want to buy some ice cream and listen to the radio. I know I ended up putting a message in here anyway but I couldn’t help myself.

Lyrics:

You're here, I'm pleased
I really dig your company
Your style, your smile, your peace mentality
Lord, have mercy on me
I was blind, now I can see
What a king's supposed to be
Baby I feel free, come on and go with me

Let's take a long walk around the park after dark
Find a spot for us to spark
Conversation, verbal elation, stimulation
Share our situations, temptations, education, relaxations
Elevations, maybe we can talk about Surah 31:18

Your background it ain't squeaky clean shit
Sometimes we all got to swim upstream
You ain't no saint, we all are sinners
But you put your good foot down and make your soul a winner
I respect that, man you're so phat
And you're all that, plus supreme
Then you're humble man I'm numb
Yo with feeling, I can feel everything that you bring

Let's take a long walk around the park after dark
Find a spot for us to spark
Conversation, verbal elation, stimulation
Share our situations, temptations, education, relaxations
Elevations, maybe we can talk about Surah 31:18

Or maybe we can see a movie
Or maybe we can see a play on Saturday (Saturday)
Or maybe we can roll a tree and feel the breeze and listen to a symphony
Or maybe chill and just be, or maybe
Maybe we can take a cruise and listen to the Roots or maybe eat some passion fruit
Or maybe cry to the blues
Or maybe we could just be silent
Come on, Come on

Let's take a long walk around the park after dark
Find a spot for us to spark
Conversation, verbal elation, stimulation
Share our situations, temptations, education, relaxations
Elevations, maybe we can talk about Surah 31:18

Or maybe we can see a movie
Or maybe we can see a play on Saturday (Saturday)
Or maybe we can roll a tree and feel the breeze and listen to a symphony
Or maybe chill and just be, or maybe
Maybe we can take a cruise and listen to the Roots or maybe eat some passion fruit
Or maybe cry to the blues
Or maybe we could just be silent
Come on, Come on

Let's take a long walk around the park after dark
Find a spot for us to spark
Conversation, verbal elation, stimulation
Share our situations, temptations, education, relaxations
Elevations, maybe baby, maybe we can save the nation
Come on, Come on

See That My Grave is Kept Clean

SONG: See That My Grave is Kept Clean

WRITTEN BY: credited to Blind Lemon Jefferson

PERFORMED BY: Blind Lemon Jefferson, Dave Van Ronk, Bob Dylan, Mavis Staples, & lots of others

APPEARS ON: Blind Lemon Jefferson: Anthology of American Folk Music, vol. 3, Songs [Smithsonian/Folkways]; also The Best of Blind Lemon Jefferson [Yazoo], & other compilations; Dave Van Ronk: The Folkways Years [Smithsonian/Folkways]; Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan [Columbia]

I may be giving folks the impression that I have a thing for kind of eerie songs—writing about “Country Blues,” & then following that up with “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”! At any rate, “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” (AKA “Two White Horses,” AKA “One Kind Favor”) is a harrowing evocation of death, just as “Country Blues” holds very little back in its portrait of dissolution. & to my mind, if we’re going to talk about “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean,” we have to talk about the great Texas bluesman, Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Blind Lemon Jefferson was born in the 1890s (the exact year isn’t certain) in a town called Coutchman, TX (since abandoned) & died in 1929 in Chicago. Blind from birth, Jefferson began his performing career in his early teens, & later moved to Dallas, where he befriended both Leadbelly & T-Bone Walker. He traveled to Chicago in the 1920s, where he recorded for Paramount Records, & later Okeh Records. His death apparently remains a bit of a mystery—he may have suffered a heart attack after being disoriented in a Chicago snowstorm, or he may have frozen to death.

What we have ifor certain is Jefferson’s recorded legacy, which has in turn been passed down by some greats who’ve been influenced by his style—not just Leadbelly & Walker, but also the great Lightnin’ Hopkins, for instance. Jefferson had the voice of a street singer—his voice was powerful, & he tended to pitch it high (a street singer’s strategy—if you want your voice to carry, pitch it up a tone). His guitar playing was extraordinary, both in terms of the rhythmic backing (check out the drive of the damped chords behind his singing in the music clip below) as well as in the characteristic runs he’d perform as the “response” (between the sung lines) on both the treble & the bass strings.

The lyrics to “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” are straightforward but poetic in their starkness. I particularly like the “long lane” verse, which seems to suggest a whole lot of darkness—the long lane is presumably death, but what’s the “bad way that never change”? Damnation? A life lived wrong? I’ve transcribed the lyrics from Blind Lemon’s singing as best I could. You can find the lyrics on-line, but while most of the sites say these are Blind Lemon’s lyrics, they actually are the ones sung by Bob Dylan on his self-titled debut album. Dylan’s lyrics vary from Jefferson’s in some significant ways.

Because of this, I thought I’d take a paragraph to consider “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” as an example of the folk process. While the song is credited to Blind Lemon, I’ve also seen sources that claim it’s a traditional spiritual that Jefferson re-worked as a blues song (e.g., Fred Sokolow in Ragtime, Blues & Jazz for Banjo). Of the versions I know, Van Ronk’s follows Jefferson’s quite closely—both men were masterful guitarists with powerful voices, & while Van Ronk changes the order of the verses, he keeps the words largely the same. Interestingly, Van Ronk doesn’t sing the “My heart stopped beating and my hands got cold” verse, the last line of which I can’t make out despite repeated tries. I can only tell for certain that it can’t be the same words as Dylan sings, “Now I believe what the Bible told,” tho it could be something quite like that. Both Jefferson & Van Ronk seem to concentrate on the eeriness of directly evoking death. Dylan’s version, which (with apologies to Dylan fans) I do find to be the least satisfying, seems to concentrate instead on anger. His tempo seems to race & he seems to almost spit the words out. I do like some things about the guitar part, tho; & hey, I sing this song accompanied by 5-string banjo, so it’s not like I’m against re-interpretation.

& I like Mavis Staples’ re-interpretation. If “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” ultimately has spiritual roots before its blues transformation, Ms Staples version really hearkens back to these, & while Dylan adds an edge, she softens the song as we know it from Blind Lemon Jefferson, singing about redemption rather than “a bad way that never change.”

I couldn’t find information about a recording of this either by Mavis Staples or the Staples Singers, tho I thought I remembered that one existed (in addition to this YouTube version, which has such splendid instrumentation). There also doesn’t appear to be a YouTube clip of Van Ronk’s version, but hey, that just means you ought to check it out on the cd or as an mp3, either of which is very much worth doing. Here are the lyrics, followed by the video clips.


Well, there's one kind of favor I'll ask of you
Well, there's one kind of favor I'll ask of you
Lord, it’s one kind of favor I'll ask of you
It’s see that my grave is kept clean

It’s a long lane that’s got no end
It’s a long lane that’s got no end
It’s a long lane ain’t got no end
& it’s a bad way that never change

Lord it's two white horses in a line
Well it's two white horses in a line
Well it’s two white horses in a line
Goin’ take me to my burying ground

My heart stopped beating and my hands got cold
My heart stopped beating and my hands got cold
Well, my heart stopped beating, Lord my hands got cold
It wasn’t [???] that bible told

Have you ever hear that coffin sound
Have you ever heard that coffin sound
Have you ever hear that coffin sound
Then you know another poor boy’s in the ground

Dig my grave with a silver spade
Dig my grave with a silver spade
Dig my grave with a silver spade
You may lead me down with a golden chain

Have you ever hear that bell moan
Have you ever hear that bell moan
Have you ever hear that church bells moan
Then you know another poor boy’s dead and gone

Gillian Welch - Elvis Presley Blues

SONG Elvis Presley Blues

WRITTEN BY Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

PERFORMED BY Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

APPEARS ON Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator), 2001

This song came to mind due to two incidents: the anniversary of Elvis's death is coming up and Graceland is bracing for the mass pilgrimages and all the hoopla that goes with that anniversary; and I just listened to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings sing this at the Newport Folk Festival last weekend.

I've been listening to Gillian Welch ever since Emmylou Harris (who I worship and adore) started singing some of her songs and bringing her to a wider audience, and I've been listening closely ever since. Gillian's music isn't for everybody; it makes you think, it's best listened to in a quiet place, and it doesn't fit any particular genre niche. Some people think her music is boring, and even depressive. I just think it's quiet and meditative. Since teaming up with partner David Rawlings the music has gotten a little livelier (and David's solos on that archtop Gibson of his are nothing less than amazing), but David's a very thoughtful person, too, so the music hasn't lost any of its depth.

This song has always appealed to me. It captures the loneliness of Elvis's life, looks at the real person trapped inside the cultural icon, and how his death may have felt like relief to him. But the part that always hits me is the choruses, always talking about how "he shook it":

And he shook it like a chorus girl
And he shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler, baby,
Like you never seen.

...and other metaphoric descriptions throughout the song. And in my mind's eye I always see the Elvis scenes from the move Forrest Gump, with Elvis getting Forrest to show him his "moves" and imitating them, and later Forrest and his mother watching Elvis trying out those moves on national TV. It's so homey and prosaic, and both that segment of the movie and Gillian's song make me wonder about the Mississippi boy lost under the layers of the legend. And I listen and sigh when the song is done.

LYRICS

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
Just a country boy that combed his hair
And put on a shirt his mother made and went on the air
And he shook it like a chorus girl
And he shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler, baby,
Like you never seen

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
How he took it all out of black and white
Grabbed his wand in the other hand and he held on tight
And he shook it like a hurricane
He shook it like to make it break
And he shook it like a holy roller, baby
With his soul at stake

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
He was all alone in a long decline
Thinking how happy John Henry was that he fell down and died
When he shook it and he rang like silver
He shook it and he shine like gold
He shook it and he beat that steam drill, baby
Well bless my soul

He shook it and he beat that steam drill, baby
Well bless my soul, what's wrong with me?

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
Just a country boy that combed his hair
Put on a shirt his mother made and he went on the air
And he shook it like a chorus girl
He shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler, baby
Like he never seen

The video of this song is from a performance at Vicar St. in Dublin in 2004. Enjoy!

Maze : We Are One

SONG We Are One

WRITTEN BY Frankie Beverly

PERFORMED BY Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, The Hot 8 Brass Band

APPEARS ON We Are One(1983), Rock With The Hot 8(2005)

New Orleans is known for its history of jazz and the brass band sound that was born in the black community. The music has been passed down from generation to generation and is a main staple of our culture. Millions of people travel here for the authentic New Orleans music experience. There is nothing like the sound of a New Orleans brass band. Over the years they have progressed from the traditional songs into more modern and contemporary songs as well. I thought I would tie that in with another local musical favorite of the community.

Maze was discovered by Marvin Gaye under the name Raw Soul and released their first album Maze featuring Frankie Beverly in 1976. The group is not originally from New Orleans but you couldn’t tell me that when I was growing up. They have always been considered our adopted band. Their popularity here was so great they recorded their album Live in New Orleans in 1980. They are the only modern group I ever heard my grandfather asked to be played. Although they never had a major crossover hit, Maze has always been a favorite in the R&B world. They could perform in New Orleans five times a year and sell out each time. Those crowds would consist of people from thirty years old to seventy. Every year they close out the last night of the Essence Music Festival and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

One of their best songs is a cool groove about unity titled We Are One. It is the title track of their album released in 1983. It features the smooth vocals of the great Frankie Beverly and the soulful melody with the classic Maze sound. Pay special attention to the organ in the background. We Are One explains the idea that despite the cruel and hurtful things we do and say to one another, we are all connected and can get through anything with the love we have for one another. In the song Frankie Beverly lets us know that if we are one no matter what we do and we just need to put it all together things would be better. The words fit a lot of issues going on around the world and especially here in New Orleans. It’s a perfect song for bringing family and friends together. It’s perfect for a community that has been shaken by disaster and fighting through rough times. It also could be a great song for a country that could use more of a united feeling. It’s a great song of a great R&B album.

The reason I selected this song out of all the Maze songs is because it’s also my favorite recorded brass band song. The Hot 8 Brass Band recorded the second line version of this song in 2005. It’s an example of the versatility of the modern brass band. It also shows that true musicians can take a song like this and create an entirely different sound while keeping the emotion of the original intact. You have the Hot 8 Brass Band, Frankie Beverly singing and blowing about unity. That’s a real New Orleans experience. I have a little advice for anyone thinking about coming to visit my city. If you want to come to the Maze concert with my people make sure you learn how to do the Bus Stop. There’s nothing worse than someone messing up the line in the middle of the song.

Lyrics:
Can't understand
why we treat each other in this way
Taking up time
With the silly silly games we play
We've got our love
And no matter how it's said or done
We are one no matter what we do
We are one love will see us through
We are one and that's the way it is
Sometimes I feel
That we try and make each other sad
The things we do
How we make each other feel so bad
We've got so much
We could all be having so much fun
We are one from the very start
We are one deep down in your heart
We are one
And that's the way it is
I Can't understand
why we treat each other in this way
Taking up time
With the silly silly games we play
We've got our love
And no matter how it's said or done
We are one no matter what we do
We are one love will see us through
We are one and that's the way it is

We Are One - Hot 8 Brass Band

Shaver: Live Forever

SONG Live Forever

WRITTEN BY Billy Joe Shaver, Eddie Shaver

PERFORMED BY Shaver

APPEARS ON Tramp on Your Street (1993); Unshaven: Live at Smith's Old Bar (1995); Victory (1998); many others

NOTE "Live Forever" is Billy Joe Shaver's best-loved song. He has recorded it many times, both under his own name and under the rubric of Shaver, the band he formed with his late son Eddie.

The older I get, the more I value songs like "Live Forever." More than a simple profession of faith -- the first line is the confident "I'm gonna live forever" -- Billy Joe Shaver explains exactly his understanding of immortality:

• what one creates ("the songs I leave behind me")
• one's children ("Please try to raise your children right")
• love of another person ("Remember someone really loves you")

In this respect, "Live Forever" is unique in that there is no guessing, no resolution of doubt. Shaver knows what it means to "cross that river" and still "always be around." The extent that we can share his understanding resolves some of our own questions about mortality and alleviates the fear of death.

This knowledge came hard for Billy Joe, whose tumultuous personal life reached its nadir on New Year's Eve 2000 when his son and collaborator Eddy died of a heroin overdose. Eddy's mother and Shaver's wife Brenda, who Shaver married and divorced a number of times, passed away the year before along with his mother, both succumbing to cancer.

Although the Shavers wrote "Live Forever" prior to all of this personal tragedy, Billy Joe continues to sing it today. As such it has become a plea to his audience to not make the same mistakes he did. Especially resonant is the verse about children:

You fathers and you mothers

be good to one another

Please try to raise your children right

Don't let the darkness take 'em

Don't let 'em feel forsaken

Just lead 'em safely to the light

The video below emphasizes children, showing a wistful Shaver with the grandchildren he never had.

When it comes to creativity, we can't all be songwriters or authors or painters. But we can appreciate creativity, and in that act recreate a song, a book, a painting and add our grasp of it to the cosmos of art. That's what this blog is about: Evangelizing an art form that contributors care deeply about and find personally meaningful so that we and our readers can participate in a continual cycle of creation and recreation. I hope that Billy Joe Shaver would approve.

LYRICS

I'm gonna live forever

I'm gonna cross that river

I'm gonna catch tomorrow now

You're gonna wanna hold me

Just like I've always told you

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

Nobody here will ever find me

But I will always be around

Just like the songs I leave behind me

I'm gonna live forever now

You fathers and you mothers

be good to one another

Please try to raise your children right

Don't let the darkness take 'em

Don't let 'em feel forsaken

Just lead 'em safely to the light

When this old world is blown asunder

And all the stars fall from the sky

Remember someone really loves you

We'll live forever you and I

I'm gonna live forever

I'm gonna cross that river

I'm gonna catch tomorrow now...

Joe Ely with Joel Guzman on accordion:




Patty Griffin: