Showing posts with label 2000's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2000's. Show all posts
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Day of Rest - Boulder to Birmingham
I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham
I would hold my life in his saving grace.
I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham
If I thought I could see, I could see your face.
Tomorrow it will be five years. I'd still walk from Boulder to Birmingham to see you again. Miss you beautiful girl.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Another Look: The Ballad of Jesse James
Original post here.
Sherwood Ross apparently took umbrage at the "lies" told in "The Ballad of Jesse James" and decided to write his own version.
Sherwood Ross apparently took umbrage at the "lies" told in "The Ballad of Jesse James" and decided to write his own version.
Poor Jesse was not poor
That's a lot of horse manure
He stole half a million from the till;
He was 34 years old
And his only god was gold
And nary a single rich man did he kill.
Ouch. Then again, this Jesse James never cheated on America's Sweetheart.
You can see the entire song here.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Cruel Mother and The Ballad of Susan Smith.
I was trying to find a way to start this post without spouting some long repeated statement about how mothers killing their children really, really, upsets people. You know what I mean: "perhaps no crime is horrifying then mothers who blah, blah, blah."
Really though. The idea of a mother killing their own, is horrifying. I think people would rather believe that all killers are unknowns that lurk in the shadows, rather than pondering the idea that a woman could kill her child. A child who loves her and trusts her; who she's supposed to protect with her life.
"The Cruel Mother" has many versions and variants: "The Greenwood Side", "Fine Flowers in the Valley and the "Minsters Daughter of New York" are just three of them. The story however remains pretty much the same. A woman has two illegitimate children in the forest. She kills them. As she walks home she sees two children at play. She tells the children how well she would treat them if they were hers. They inform her that they are her children, and when they were hers she killed them. The song typically ends with her being cursed to hell. (Link)
What keeps certain songs alive is having a universal quality, something that people in every age can relate to. The Cruel Mother speaks to that horror and disgust that we feel, that same horror and disgust that people felt centuries ago when they heard a mother had murdered her child.
That horror could have inspired Lee Ann Brown's modern retelling of "Cruel Mother", "The Ballad Susan of Smith." In 1994 a woman named Susan Smith claimed that she had been carjacked, and the man who did it had driven away with her children Michael and Alex still in the car. The story made headlines, bulletins went out all over the nation. The news broadcast interviews of a tearful Susan begging for her "babies".(Link)
Then nine days later it happened. Susan Smith confessed to the murder of her children She had driven her 1990 Mazda Protege' to John D. Long Lake. She got out of the car, put it into drive, and let it roll in to the lake with her sleeping children inside.(Link) The public's sorrow and anger was instant. Sorrow for two precious children. Anger for the woman that did it. The possible motive: that she had done it to win back her rich boyfriend, further enraged people. "That bitch." "That monster."
I remember watching a clip of the funeral with my father. At one point he sucked in a breath, wiped tears from his eyes and said, "hope she rots in hell."
Really though. The idea of a mother killing their own, is horrifying. I think people would rather believe that all killers are unknowns that lurk in the shadows, rather than pondering the idea that a woman could kill her child. A child who loves her and trusts her; who she's supposed to protect with her life.
"The Cruel Mother" has many versions and variants: "The Greenwood Side", "Fine Flowers in the Valley and the "Minsters Daughter of New York" are just three of them. The story however remains pretty much the same. A woman has two illegitimate children in the forest. She kills them. As she walks home she sees two children at play. She tells the children how well she would treat them if they were hers. They inform her that they are her children, and when they were hers she killed them. The song typically ends with her being cursed to hell. (Link)
What keeps certain songs alive is having a universal quality, something that people in every age can relate to. The Cruel Mother speaks to that horror and disgust that we feel, that same horror and disgust that people felt centuries ago when they heard a mother had murdered her child.
That horror could have inspired Lee Ann Brown's modern retelling of "Cruel Mother", "The Ballad Susan of Smith." In 1994 a woman named Susan Smith claimed that she had been carjacked, and the man who did it had driven away with her children Michael and Alex still in the car. The story made headlines, bulletins went out all over the nation. The news broadcast interviews of a tearful Susan begging for her "babies".(Link)
Then nine days later it happened. Susan Smith confessed to the murder of her children She had driven her 1990 Mazda Protege' to John D. Long Lake. She got out of the car, put it into drive, and let it roll in to the lake with her sleeping children inside.(Link) The public's sorrow and anger was instant. Sorrow for two precious children. Anger for the woman that did it. The possible motive: that she had done it to win back her rich boyfriend, further enraged people. "That bitch." "That monster."
I remember watching a clip of the funeral with my father. At one point he sucked in a breath, wiped tears from his eyes and said, "hope she rots in hell."
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Another Look Knoxville Girl pt 3
Previous posts can be found here and here.
Just as a reminder, here are the lyrics from Knoxville Girl.
As I've said before I'm not a music historian so finding other's perspectives on certain songs I love is a joy. While fuddling around on the internet a while back. I discovered Murder By Gaslight, which had a post on my beloved Knoxville Girl.
Turns out, while the ballad does have it's origins in England and Ireland, Americans imprinted an actual murder on the song.
Murder By Gaslight led me to the fantastic article "Not Prepared to Die: Knoxville Girl" which talks about many of the things I did in my first post, although far more eloquently then I every could:
Just as a reminder, here are the lyrics from Knoxville Girl.
As I've said before I'm not a music historian so finding other's perspectives on certain songs I love is a joy. While fuddling around on the internet a while back. I discovered Murder By Gaslight, which had a post on my beloved Knoxville Girl.
Turns out, while the ballad does have it's origins in England and Ireland, Americans imprinted an actual murder on the song.
Murder By Gaslight led me to the fantastic article "Not Prepared to Die: Knoxville Girl" which talks about many of the things I did in my first post, although far more eloquently then I every could:
The killer didn't just visit this girl's home on Sunday evenings, he dwelt there, which carries a definite suggestion that he stayed the night. Faced with imminent death, the girl says she's “unprepared to die”, which tells us she's not yet had a chance to make her peace with God about some recent sin that's troubling her mind. Her “dark and roving eye” hints that - in the killer's mind at least - she's a bit of a temptress. Although she can now never be his bride, that possibility's evidently been raised, or why else would he mention it? - Paul SladePaul Slade also mentioned another great version, Charlie Louvin's version from his 2007 album, Charlie Louvin. It features Will Oldman as well. The song can be found here
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
It's Nick Cave's Birthday!
I was pretty busy last week due to my brother's wedding, but I'm back. Back in time to celebrate the birthday of one of my favorite singers. Nick Cave was born today in 1957, in Warracknabeal Australia.
I'm sure some of you are saying "who in the hell is Nick Cave?" He's a singer, songwriter, composer, novelist, screenwriter and a all around badass dude. He's fronted The Bad Seeds for about 27 years, and his latest protect Grinderman has blown musicians more than half his age out of the water.
Deanna (damn you "embedding disabled by request")
Brompton Oratory . . .
Tupelo. This one is from Denver, where yours truly was in the audience.
How cool is Nick Cave? So cool that Johnny Cash covered one of his songs.
Because of this date, I decided it was time to make my special announcement.
Read on . . .
Monday, August 30, 2010
Goodbye Earl/The Ballad of Francine Hughes
A song about two lifelong friends dealing with an abusive spouse by killing him and dumping his body in the lake. They end up happy and he ends up "a missing person who nobody missed at all". The song is country pop/bluegrass lite, but it's damn fun to sing along to.
While I don't advocate killing abusers, whenever I hear of somebody beating a partner bloody I feel a little twinge that says "five minutes alone with a baseball bat". I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way. I think this song comes from that "twinge". Besides, hearing about how Earl made a plea bargain and only got 6 months wouldn't be as fun.
Of course there is a question if the song and it's video treat the subject with a little too much levity. Battered women do kill their abusers, and unlike the "Goodbye Earl", they seldom get away with it so easily.
The Ballad of Francine Hughes, is a far darker and realistic take on spousal abuse. Francine Hughes (who's tale was also told in the book The Burning Bed, and in the movie of the same name), was abused by her husband for years. Even after she divorced him, he refused to leave the house and continued beating her. On March 9, 1977, after a particularly brutal beating, Francine set fire to the bedroom that she and her ex-husband shared, while he was asleep in their bed. (Info) (Info). She was later found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. (Info)
Sung to a traditional melody, it's half murder ballad, and half public service announcement. In the interview, Lyn Hardy brings up an issue that I sometime wrestle with when it comes to my love for traditional murder ballads: most of them are about men killing women. Not just murder ballads; most of the songs I've found are about men killing women. In most cases that I've found, if a man is murdered in the song, it's usually by another man.
What makes the men in murder ballads different than real-life perpetrators of violence, is that they are often presented as "good guys" who were suddenly overcome by rage, fear, love (yes love), or some other type of strong emotion. Real life abuse is systematic, and often escalates. Abusers who kill their spouses have probably abused them in the past. These aren't crimes of passion, they are premeditated acts of violence.
(Info)
So why sing about it? The murder ballad appeals to the darker aspect of human nature. Tossing a abusive spouse in the lake; shooting a cheating spouse with a machine gun; Getting revenge on a racist cop. Would we do it if we could?
Francine Hughes wasn't just a woman in a song. On the night of March 9th in 1977, Francine decided that Mickey had to die.
While I don't advocate killing abusers, whenever I hear of somebody beating a partner bloody I feel a little twinge that says "five minutes alone with a baseball bat". I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way. I think this song comes from that "twinge". Besides, hearing about how Earl made a plea bargain and only got 6 months wouldn't be as fun.
Of course there is a question if the song and it's video treat the subject with a little too much levity. Battered women do kill their abusers, and unlike the "Goodbye Earl", they seldom get away with it so easily.
The Ballad of Francine Hughes, is a far darker and realistic take on spousal abuse. Francine Hughes (who's tale was also told in the book The Burning Bed, and in the movie of the same name), was abused by her husband for years. Even after she divorced him, he refused to leave the house and continued beating her. On March 9, 1977, after a particularly brutal beating, Francine set fire to the bedroom that she and her ex-husband shared, while he was asleep in their bed. (Info) (Info). She was later found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. (Info)
Sung to a traditional melody, it's half murder ballad, and half public service announcement. In the interview, Lyn Hardy brings up an issue that I sometime wrestle with when it comes to my love for traditional murder ballads: most of them are about men killing women. Not just murder ballads; most of the songs I've found are about men killing women. In most cases that I've found, if a man is murdered in the song, it's usually by another man.
What makes the men in murder ballads different than real-life perpetrators of violence, is that they are often presented as "good guys" who were suddenly overcome by rage, fear, love (yes love), or some other type of strong emotion. Real life abuse is systematic, and often escalates. Abusers who kill their spouses have probably abused them in the past. These aren't crimes of passion, they are premeditated acts of violence.
(Info)
So why sing about it? The murder ballad appeals to the darker aspect of human nature. Tossing a abusive spouse in the lake; shooting a cheating spouse with a machine gun; Getting revenge on a racist cop. Would we do it if we could?
Francine Hughes wasn't just a woman in a song. On the night of March 9th in 1977, Francine decided that Mickey had to die.
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