Their wells are deep and so is yours, Andy. Thank you for writing and sharing this wonderful and thought-provoking piece. I recently read Shapiro's "Year of Lear" and this is a fantastic chaser. Both show me how little I know, how much further there is to go.
Thanks, James. I feel the same; the more I learn, the more I realise there is still to discover. That seems to be the way things are in every field, but as long as it is rewarding and enjoyable then we keep on journeying. I hope you like the next one in this series, too. It should be posted fairly soon.
I never really cared for commentary on Bob Dylan, but to let the lyrics speak from themselves. I came across Andy Muir, and he changed my thoughts on that. He is insightful, on target, and I look forward to each new work he offers to those wise enough to read them.
Those are very kind words, Bob,as there have been from you often in times past - there's lots for you to catch up on here, hope you still feel the same after reading them!
🙂If you had read the Nick Tosches masterpiece, Country: the Twisted Roots of Rock n Roll, you would have known Warren Smith wrote 'Black Jack David' in 1956!
Well, it is true, in a way, I suppose - as in he wrote his adaptation of it in 1956, but that was some centuries after it was first sung in Scotland.
"David" sounds terribly polite, to me, incidentally, and against the spirit of the lower-class lover with whom she ran off. It would be interesting to know why he changed it to that. The man who wrote "Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache" would have had a good reason for it.
There is one song that sounds ancient to me, but is really from the 1950s - "Long Black Veil".
I've not read that Tosches book, though I have read "Where Dead Voices Gather", though that must have been over twenty years ago now.
Excellent piece, Andy! I love your contextual explanations of the broadside tradition and all the rich entanglements with Shakespeare and Dylan. I adore "Little Musgrave." My favorite version is by the traditional Irish group Planxty, featuring the great Christy Moore. Thanks for giving me the prompt to go back and listen again to that great ballad.
Their wells are deep and so is yours, Andy. Thank you for writing and sharing this wonderful and thought-provoking piece. I recently read Shapiro's "Year of Lear" and this is a fantastic chaser. Both show me how little I know, how much further there is to go.
Thanks, James. I feel the same; the more I learn, the more I realise there is still to discover. That seems to be the way things are in every field, but as long as it is rewarding and enjoyable then we keep on journeying. I hope you like the next one in this series, too. It should be posted fairly soon.
I never really cared for commentary on Bob Dylan, but to let the lyrics speak from themselves. I came across Andy Muir, and he changed my thoughts on that. He is insightful, on target, and I look forward to each new work he offers to those wise enough to read them.
Those are very kind words, Bob,as there have been from you often in times past - there's lots for you to catch up on here, hope you still feel the same after reading them!
All the best,
Andy
"He's got a new one out now, I don't even know what it's about
But I'll see him in anything so I'll stand in line." :)
🙂If you had read the Nick Tosches masterpiece, Country: the Twisted Roots of Rock n Roll, you would have known Warren Smith wrote 'Black Jack David' in 1956!
Haha, did he really say that?
Well, it is true, in a way, I suppose - as in he wrote his adaptation of it in 1956, but that was some centuries after it was first sung in Scotland.
"David" sounds terribly polite, to me, incidentally, and against the spirit of the lower-class lover with whom she ran off. It would be interesting to know why he changed it to that. The man who wrote "Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache" would have had a good reason for it.
There is one song that sounds ancient to me, but is really from the 1950s - "Long Black Veil".
I've not read that Tosches book, though I have read "Where Dead Voices Gather", though that must have been over twenty years ago now.
Excellent piece, Andy! I love your contextual explanations of the broadside tradition and all the rich entanglements with Shakespeare and Dylan. I adore "Little Musgrave." My favorite version is by the traditional Irish group Planxty, featuring the great Christy Moore. Thanks for giving me the prompt to go back and listen again to that great ballad.
Thanks, Graley. Here's a link to that for others to enjoy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUTfv2P5oW4