unicornmeat

Here’s another (semi) displacement song by a bluegrassy brotherly duo.
The Delmore Brothers were commercially successful and it’s not hard to tell why. A lot of their songs are full of uplifting “pep.”
I just love this little number, and I wish I were listening to it in my car with this city at my back.

The Delmore Brothers
Going Back to the Blue Ridge Mountains

Lately, this has been my favorite song about a place. As I’ve listened to it repeatedly, I’ve found it more and more moving.
At first I found the harmony pleasing. I realized the song is just the same thing.. over and over. A song like that has to be special. See also: Carter Family. Just the same pretty thing over and over.
I thought “I could sing this as ‘West Virginia’ instead of ‘Alabama.” I was wrong. I’m not sure if West Virginia has all the same crops and the same scenes mentioned in this song, but even if it does, this song deserves to be kept intact.
The Bailey brothers are actually from Tennessee. This song was recorded many times by Alabama natives the Louvin Brothers. Everything seems to point towards Charlie Louvin as the originator of this song.. but it seems like the Bailey Brothers recorded this in the early 50s at the latest, and the Louvin Brothers years later. Maybe not, I dunno. Anyway I like the Bailey Brothers more. Their music is more old timey.
The lyrics amount to one the most passionate odes to a homeland that I can think of. Very descriptive and sentimental. Without the usual bitter lament of moving to a big city and wasting time. This song makes me want to go to the beautiful places that I love, up in the woods and all around the Appalacians. The leaves are turning colors right now. There’s not enough trees in the city to appreciate them.

The Bailey Brothers
Alabama

PS One last thing.. WHAT IS “CERISA”??

My brother called me with an extra ticket to go see John Prine in DC.
I’ve seen him a number of times since my childhood but it’s been awhile. In the past few years of listening to music and playing some guitar and singing to myself, I’ve chosen new favorites.. growing up I really liked “Paradise” and “Hello In There.”
A few years ago I got really into “Christmas In Prison.” I guess I haven’t really listened to much of his later stuff. I didn’t like it as much. Like the “In Spite of Ourselves” song which has Iris DeMent and a sweet melody going for it but the lyrics are just too dumb for me.

John Prine & Nanci Griffith
Streets of Baltimore

I’ve said before that I am not really a fan of this arrangement. The subtle changes in the lyrics.. the monologue..
But you know, i’ve got this theme going on so here it is.

Bobby Bare
The Streets of Baltimore
(1966)

Well this is it… my #1 “displacement” song I think. “The Streets of Baltimore.” The original is written and performed by Tompall Glaser but I don’t actually have that version. When I do I’ll post it. The second person to make it a big hit is Bobby Bare here. He looks like sort of a turd on this album sleeve but he seems ok I guess.
It’s not my favorite version. I’m not sure which is. I first heard John Prine do it… but it’s been covered by Gram Parsons, Shane McGowan, The Lemonheads, and a score of others. So I may keep em coming.
Hell, maybe eventually I’ll record this song myself.
Listening to a lot of versions of a song really solidifies my likes and dislikes as far as lyrical nuances. I don’t know why but I’ve always been annoyed by some changes artists make when they sing a song. Not always, but sometimes it just seems pointless. As I said, I haven’t heard the original but I can say that I prefer the versions where they say “her heart was filled with gladness” instead of “laughter.” I mean why would the city lights make her laugh.. that’s stupid. And “some old machine” vs “an old machine.” “Some old machine” sounds more like he’s like he’s just telling the story of working some old machine, rather than like.. working on an antique or something which would be an unnecessary detail even if it were the original intention.
Yeah, I nitpick just a bit.
Note: This is the first time I’ve used Audacity instead of Cool Edit to record a song. I think it might be better.

I was just exploring the wonderful world of youtube jazz enthusiasts. There’s some live videos, home-made photo montages, and stills with music.
The song “Cryin’ For The Carolines” goes along with my theme of the sadness of people who’ve left the country for the big city. The Ruth Etting version is good and sad.

Ruth Etting
Cryin’ For The Carolines

Other versions of the song can be found on Archeophone Records’ awesome “Hit Of The Week” volume 1, and here are some youtube videos:

also, check out Ruth Etting!

Neat, huh?

Aside from ole Blind Willie McTell down there, I haven’t been listening to much “old-timey” stuff lately.
Lots of Caravelles, though. I could post a bunch more of their songs.
Instead I’ll post a displacement song longing for the South.
Gene Austin was a pretty big star and stuff. Lots of people know that “My Blue Heaven” song.
I haven’t been to the Southland since I last went to New Orleans in ’03. Man I need a road trip.

Gene Austin
The Voice Of The Southland

On a completely unrelated note, I’ve been enjoying this band Lux Perpetua. I like the song called “Drive Me Around.”
Right now I’m listening to “Happy Hour” by the House Martins. Mom and I used to go to Joe’s Record Paradise and Kemp Mill now and then. I remember the House Martins CD being one of the first CDs she bought, after finally caving in to the new technology. I can also remember the trip to Joe’s leading up to that. She couldn’t find any records she wanted. On the drive home she muttered about how they were only carrying these Compact Discs now. “Happy Hour,” appropriately enough, makes me nostalgically cheerful.
But.. this Gene Austin song. I don’t have much to say about it right now. I just don’t have much to say.

Here’s another bluegrass country displacement song. This one I remember hearing all my life. The collaborative album between Jonathan Edwards and the Seldom Scene came out in 1985, when I was 4. I’ve seen both acts live, many times, thanks to my awesome mom.
It’s actually been about ten years since John Duffy, founder of the Seldom Scene, passed away. I’d encourage further research in Duffy and the Seldom Scene if you are interested in the 70s bluegrass revival, the “DC bluegrass scene,” and most of all.. a time when “alt country” wasn’t so self-aware.
The song I’ve posted, “Blue Ridge” features some beautiful vocals in the bluegrass style that I love. This song is great for singing. I’m less into it once the piano comes in, because I like things simple.
I ripped this from my mom’s LP but the sound aint so bad.

Jonathan Edwards & The Seldom Scene
Blue Ridge

“The biography of Hazel Dickens would appear to follow the typical trajectory of many young rural Appalachian women from rural West Virginia raised in coal-mining communities in the 1950s. She grew up near Montcalm, West Virginia, one of 11 children, and moved away in her teens to work in the factories of Baltimore. What is different about Hazel Dickens is that she transformed this experience into the inspiration and material for a life-long musical career that has spoken of hard work, hard times, and hardy souls. Songs she has penned such as “Working Girl Blues,” “Black Lung,” “Don’t Put Her Down, You Helped Put Her There,” and “West Virginia, My Home,” have provided the narrative storyline and emotional insight for many who have found themselves in similar circumstances.” – Harmony Ridge Music

So, as you can read, Hazel Dickens is a queen of country displacement songs.
My mom’s family hails from West Virginia, and this song seems to be one of those that always gets played a few times whenever we gather for Christmas or Thanksgiving or whatever. (On a side note, several versions of ‘Rock Island Line’ are always enjoyed as well)
I was first familiar with the solo version, but once I heard the duet with Alice Gerrard, it soon became my favorite. There’s not much greater than the sound of two guitars.
These recordings are from the 1960′s, but are absolutely timeless. Any good modern bluegrass that I like basically sounds like this.

I was supposed to go camping in West Virginia this weekend but the trip fell through. I was pretty upset. I need to get a good breath of country air before it gets too cold to leave my apartment.
These songs are limited-time only, lest I get sued or something.

Hazel Dickens
West Virginia, My Home

Hazel Dickens w/Alice Gerarrd
West Virginia, My Home

A common song topic that often goes overlooked is displacement and homesickness. Particularly country music, I have a little collection of songs like this spanning the decades.
This one here is not a country song, but a tune by the immortalized Fanny Brice. You may have heard of the play/movie “Funny Girl,” based on her life. Here is a good site comparing the true facts of Fanny’s life to the story of “Funny Girl.” I should probably watch that movie, but I can’t bring myself to. I remember my parents making fun of Baaahbrah when I was a very young child. I think their generation had more class associations with music. I don’t really think of anything as “uptight rich people music.” Wait, maybe I do. Celine Dion?
Anyway, this song deals with the classic disillusionment of city living, from an immigrant point of view. The rat race. The capitalist dream. It’s like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under.

“‘All day long I hear the Song of the Sewing Machine in a factory on Union Square….’ The Fanny Brice side [of this LP] closes with an early 20th-century reminder of working conditions of not too long ago in the Garment District of New York.”
- (1969) Gerald P. Plano, Fanny Brice/Helen Morgan LP

Fanny Brice
The Song of the Sewing Machine
12/20/1927
from RCA Fanny Brice – Helen Morgan split LP, 1969

I have some more songs with this theme that I want to post, but some of them are newer songs, so I might only keep the files up for a week or so. So keep checking back! If you want me to update more, you should send me an optical mouse, because my mouse is filthy and impossible to use, and it makes me never want to touch the computer again.