Hi,
There are 11 Carter family tiles beginning with J-K; 10 songs and 1 skit:
Jealous Hearted Me; Jim Blake's Message; Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy; Jimmie Rodgers Visits the Carter Family; John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man; Just a Few More Days; Just Another Broken Heart; Keep on the Firing Line; Keep on the Sunny Side; Kissing Is a Crime; Kitty Waltz;
Jealous Hearted Me is a blues recorded in 1936 by the Carters. One early version was Charley Lincoln [Hicks], "Jealous Hearted Blues," recorded in Atlanta for Columbia on November 4, 1927, mx 145103-2, released on Columbia 14305-D. Clearly this is a song the Carter's borrowed.
Charley Lincoln probably got his version from Ma Rainey's 1924 "Jealous Hearted Blues." The song was copyrighted by Lovie Austin but the verses except for the first are traditional. Later the song was a rewrite hit with the title, "Evil Hearted Me."Still more lyrics to "Jealous Hearted Me" come from recordings by Minnie Pearl, who squawked out this tune regularly:
You can have my coffee, you can have my tea
But just you let my feller be,
I'm jealous, jealous-hearted me
I'm just as jealous as I can be.
Now, I like victuals, sauerkraut
I take my mail on the rural route
I'm jealous,jealous-hearted me
I'm just as jealous as I can be.
Take your dominic rooster and your shanghai hen
Get a 'fer' piece away and don't you come again
I'm jealous, jealous-hearted me
I'm just as jealous as I can be.
Jealous Hearted Me- Carter Family
Takes a rockin' chair to rock, takes a rubber ball to roll
Takes the man I love to satisfy my soul
Because I'm jealous, jealous hearted me
I said I'm jealous, jealous as I can be
Got a stove in the kitchen, and it bakes nice and brown
But I need a poppa to turn the damper down
Because I'm jealous, jealous hearted me
I said I'm jealous, jealous as I can be
You can have my money, you can have my home
But for goodness sakes, women, let my man alone
Because I'm jealous, jealous hearted me
I said I'm jealous, jealous as I can be
Gonna buy me a bulldog to watch while I sleep
To watch that man of mine on his midnight creep
Because I'm jealous, jealous hearted me
I said I'm jealous, jealous as I can be
Jim Blake's Message is an event song from the king of the event song writers, Carson Robison with Peter Condon- lyrics, in 1927. Carson would put out a song immediately after some tragedy occured and his buddy and partner Vernon Dalhart would record the song. In this case the lyrics are based on a tradtional song from around 1900 that Condon knew.The lyrics were first printed in a 1910 issue of "Railroad Man's Magazine" after a request for the lyrics in 1909. The Carters probably added "Message" to the "Jim Blake" title to avoid copyright problems.
From Charles K. Wolfe: Jim Blake's Message is, according to Sara, from a ballet they got "out toward Kentucky." This performance, as well as a transcript and song history, is presented in Norm Cohen's 'Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong.' His research has dated the song to the 1890s, but no one seems to know if it was based on a true experience or not. A.P. copyrighted his version of the song on January 5, 1938 - almost six months after he recorded it.
JIM BLAKE'S MESSAGE- The Carter Family, June 17, 1937
"Jim Blake, your wife is dying!"
Went over the wires tonight
The message was brought to the depot
By a lad all trembling with fright
He entered the office crying
His face was terribly white
"Send this message to dad and his engine
Mother is dying tonight!"
In something less than an hour
Jim's answer back to me flew
"Tell wife I'll be there at midnight
I'm praying for her too."
I left my son in the office
Took the message to Jim's wife
There found the dying woman
Was scarce of breath and life.
O'er hill and dale and valley
Thunders the heavy train
It's engine is sobbing and throbbing
And under a terrible strain
But Jim hangs on to his throttle
Guiding her crazy flight
And his voice cries out in the darkness
"God speed the Express tonight!"
I telephoned the doctor
"How is Jim's wife?"
I ask"About the hour of midnight
Is long as she can last!"
In something less than an hour
The train will be along
But here I have a message
Oh God, there is something wrong!
The message reads, "Disaster!
The train is in the ditch
The engineer is dying
Derailed by an open switch.
"And there's another message
To Jim's wife it is addressed,
"I'll meet her at midnight in Heaven
Don't wait for the fast Express!"
Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy was Jimmie Brown (the paper boy) by William Shakespeare Hays in 1875.
JIMMIE BROWN, THE PAPER BOY
To my friend C. P. Atmore, Esq. (Louisville, Ky.)[title page:] "Jimmy Brown" (1875)[cover page: "Jimmy Brown, the Paper Boy"]Song & Chorusby William Shakespeare Hays, 1837-1907New York: J. L. Peters, 599 Broadway, Plate No. 10,697-3.[Source: 03139@loC]
1.I'm very cold and hungry, sir,
My clothes are worn and thin,--
I wander on from place to place,
My daily bread to win;
But never mind, sir, how I look,
Don't sneer at me, or frown,--
I'm selling papers, for I am
The newsboy, Jimmie Brown.
CHORUS: I sell the morning paper, sir,
My name is Jimmie Brown,--
Most ev'ry body knows I am
The "poor boy of the town."
2.My father was a drunkard, sir,
So I've heard my mother say,--
Before he died, how oft for him
I've heard her weep and pray!
But I am helping mother now,
I journey up and down,
To sell my papers, for I am
The newsboy, Jimmie Brown.(CHORUS)
3.My mother tells me ev'ry night
To kneel with her and pray,--
She says if I've an honest heart,
I'll be all right some day;
And when she's gone to heaven, sir,
To wear a starry crown,
She'll wait up there to welcome home
The newsboy of the town.(CHORUS)
JIMMIE BROWN, THE NEWSBOY- Carter Family
I sell the morning paper, sir, my name is Jimmie Brown,
And everybody knows I am the newsboy of the town;
You can hear me yelling "Morning Star" as I run along the street,
I've got no hat upon my head, no shoes upon my feet.
I'm awful cold and hungry, sir, my clothes are worn and thin,
I wander bout from place to place my daily bread to win;
Never mind, sir, how I look don't look at me and frown,
I sell the morning paper, sir, my name is Jimmie Brown.
My father died a drunkard, sir, I've heard my mother say,
And I am helping mother as I journey on my way;
Mother always tells me, sir, I've nothing in the world to lose,
I'll get a place in Heaven, sir, to sell the Gospel News.
So never mind, sir, how I look don't look at me and frown,
I sell the morning paper, sir, my name is Jimmie Brown;
You can hear me yelling "Morning Star" as I run along the street,
I've got no hat upon my head no shoes upon my feet.
Jimmie Rodgers Visits the Carter Family: The session began in Louisville, Kentucky on June 10, 1931 the whole group recorded their song-and-spoken-word skits "The Carter Family and Jimmie Rogers in Texas" and "Jimmie Rogers Visits The Carter Family." On June 12 the first skit was redone to its released form. The first release by the two top Country recording artists for Victor was "Jimmie Rodgers Visits the Carter Family" backed by Rodgers "Moonlight and Skies." The single was a big success by post 1929 standards, selling 24, 000 copies. Curiously, the other songs from that session (except Jimmie's solo "Let Me Be Your Side Track") were released five years later, long after Rodgers was dead.
John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man: was recorded by the Carter Family in 1928 in one of their early session for Victor. The Carter Family version doesn't repeat the last lyric line, instead there is and instrumental verse. The Carters version was the fourth recording of the song, preceeded by Eva Davis and local star Ernest Stoneman in 1925. The song was collected in 1916 by Cecil Sharp. There is an excellent article by John Harrington Cox in the JOAFL.
Here are some details about the history: John Hardy was a black man working in the tunnels of West Virginia. In fact, as Alan Lomax remarks, "the two songs ["John Henry" & "John Hardy"] have sometimes been combined by folk singers, and the two characters confused by ballad collectors...."). One payday, in a crap game at Shawnee Coal Company's camp in what is today Eckman, WV, John Hardy killed a fellow worker. Lomax provides the following additional info- His white captors protected him from a lynch mob that came to take him out of jail and hang him. When the lynch fever subsided, Hardy was tried during the July term of the McDowell County Criminal Court, found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. While awaiting execution in jail, he is said to have composed this ballad, which he later sang on the scaffold. He also confessed his sins to a minister, became very religious, and advised all young men, as he stood beneath the gallows, to shun liquor, gambling and bad company. The order for his execution shows that he was hanged near the courthouse in McDowell County, January 19, 1894. His ballad appears to have been based upon certain formulae stanzas from the Anglo-Saxon ballad stock.... Alan Lomax, The Folk Songs of North America, Garden City, 1960, p. 264; lyrics on pp. 271-273.
JOHN HARDY WAS A DESPERATE LITTLE MAN- Carter Family 1928
John Hardy, he was a desp'rate little man,
He carried two guns ev'ry day.
He shot a man on the West Virginia line,
An' you ought seen John Hardy getting away.
[Instrumental Line]
John Hardy, he got to the Keystone Bridge,
He thought that he would be free.
And up stepped a man and took him by his arm,
Says, "Johnny, walk along with me."
He sent for his poppy and his mommy, too,
To come and go his bail.
But money won't go a murdering case;
They locked John Hardy back in jail.
John Hardy, he had a pretty little girl,
That dress that she wore was blue
As she came skipping through the old jail hall,
Saying, "Poppy, I've been true to you."
John Hardy, he had another little girl,
That dress that she wore was red.
She followed John Hardy to his hanging ground,
Saying, "Poppy, I would rather be dead."
I been to the East and I been to the West,
I been this wide world around.
I been to the river and I been baptized,
And now I'm on my hanging ground.
John Hardy walked out on his scaffold high,
With his loving little wife by his side.
And the last words she heard poor John-O say,
"I'll meet you in that sweet bye-and-bye."
Just a Few More Days is a gospel song found on "Hymns of Praise: For the Church and Sunday School by F. G. Kingsbury -Hymns, English - 1922 - page 15. The idea may have come from the third verse of the 1903 gospel song "The Good Old-Fashioned Way".
"Just a few more steps to follow
Just a few more days to roam...
"There are references to it in The New Cokesbury Hymnal, Nashville (1928) edited by Charles C . Washburn:
"Just a few more days to be filled with praise, And to tell the...
Just a few more years with their toil and tears, And the journey...
JUST A FEW MORE DAYS- Carter Family 1938
Not so long ago one morning
Mother called me to her bed
Then she threw her arms around me
Listen to the words she said
Darling, I am going to leave you
But you'll not be left alone
Jesus will protect and shield you
After he has carried me home
Just a few more days of sorrow
Just a few more days of pain
Just a few more days of cloudiness
Just a few more days of rain
Then I'm going to live with Jesus
He has got a home prepared
Then I'll join the holy angels
Mother will be waiting there
Sometimes I am sorely tempted
Sometimes I am sorely tired
But to overcome I'm trying
Taking Jesus as my guide
Oh, sometimes the path seems rugged
But it only makes me pray
And I know if I keep trying
I'll see my mother some sweet day
Just a few more days of sorrow
Just a few more days of pain
Just a few more days of cloudiness
Just a few more days of rain
Then I'm going to live with Jesus
He has got a home prepared
Then I'll join the holy angels
Mother will be waiting there
"Just Another Broken Heart" is the Carter's arrangement of the folk song usually known as "Only Flirting," "Only a Broken Heart" or "She was Only Flirting."Randolph collected the song as "She Said She Was Only Flirting" from Elizabeth Waddell in 1927: Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume IV, Religous Songs and Others, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p272/#764. The singer said the song was a parody of a Longfellow poem: http://books.google.com/books?id=g3JtLNe3nroC&pg=PA272&dq=She+Said+She+Was+Only+Flirting&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
It was first recorded by Billy Vest in 1931 as "Oh Sir, I was Only Flirting."It's related to the popular Sinful to Flirt songs [Laws G19] such as "Willie Down by the Pond" and has the same theme as "Juanita." If anyone has any other lyrics versions please post.
JUST ANOTHER BROKEN HEART- Carter Family 1936
They stood on the beach one evening
Out in the moonlight fair
'Twas a boy in the pride of manhood
And a girl in beauty rare
I never thought that you loved me
An innocent look of surprise
Crept out from beneath her lashes
And into those deep brown eyes
Oh, sir, I was only a-flirting
Only a-playing a part
Just another boy's life ruined
Just another broken heart [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Sir, I'm to be married this winter
Farewell, and she gave me her hand
And drawing a robe around her
She left me alone on the sand
She goes with a crowd, I'll pass her
Always bitter and cold
Just another boy grown weary
Just another boy grown old [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
There's a rose grows in your garden
White rose is the emblem of peace
And when I am dead, little darling
Plant that rose at my head and my feet
Oh, sir, I was only a-flirting
Only a-playing a part
Just another boy's life ruined
Just another broken heart
Keep on the Firing Line is a Sounthern gospel song by Bessie F. Hatcher in 1915. It was recorded twice before the Carters 1941 recording.
Keep on the Sunny Side, the Carters theme song, was written by Ada Blenkhorn and J Howard Entwisle in 1899.
Kissing Is a Crime was recorded by the Carters in 1935. "I'll not Kiss You Anymore" was recorded in 1930 but unissued.It was collected as a folk song in Alabama. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZG_VpWAciWsC&pg=PA166&dq=%22I+know+a+pretty+little+girl%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html It resembles the Scottish song "Some Say that Kissing's a Sin" published in 1829. AP clearly changed "sin," a word he could't use, to "crime."
KISSING IS A CRIME- Carter Family 1935
I know a little girl
And I want her for my wife
She's pretty and sweet, and neat little feet
Never been kissed in her life
You can ask for a kiss
She never got a beau
And every time she vows and cries
She'll never do so anymore
Going to be a better girl and never kiss again
Afraid my maw might find out and cause her great pain
You may walk and talk and hold my hand
But kissing is a crime
I'll not kiss you anymore until next time [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I called at her house one night
But I didn't intend to stay
She laid her head on my shoulder and said
The old folks are away
I kissed her a dozen times
Someone came to the door
And every time she vows and declares
She'll never do so anymore
Going to be a better girl and never kiss again
Afraid my maw might find out and cause her great pain
You may walk and talk and hold my hand
But kissing is a crime
I'll not kiss you anymore until next time
Kitty Waltz was recorded in 1929 by the Carters. The first country recording was Al Hopkins in 1926 which may have been the source. The instrumental versions were copyrighted by W. Henry Sayen in 1873 and R. Schwentzer as "Kittie Waltz" in 1872.
KITTY WALTZ- Carter Family 1929
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Waltz, Kitty, waltz, let everybody waltz
Waltz, Kitty, waltz, let everybody waltz
Waltz, Kitty, waltz, let everybody waltz
The guitars are ringing, come on and waltz [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
The girls are singing, their guitars are ringing
Their steps are so neat, their music so sweet
Waltz, Kitty, waltz, let everybody waltz
The guitars are ringing, come on and waltz [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Boys, come on and join our band
Their guitars are ringing, their music is grand
Waltz, Kitty, waltz, let everybody waltz
The guitars are ringing, come on and waltz [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Waltz, Kitty, waltz, let everybody waltz
Waltz, Kitty, waltz, let everybody waltz
Waltz, Kitty, waltz, let everybody waltz
The guitars are ringing, come on and waltz [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Caeter Family 1933-1936 Married Life, Single Life
Hi,
Today we'll examine one of the difficult periods of the Carters' career. On the left is a photo of Coy Bays, A.P.'s cousin.
Married Life, Single Life- A.P. and Sara Separate- 1933
A.P. asked his cousin Coy Bays to help out by driving Sara around while he was away. Two of Coy’s sisters and one brother had contracted TB and Sara started making regular visits to check on them. Sara and Coy became close, and eventually they fell in love. According to biographer Mark Zwonitzer, "Sometimes they’d leave and be gone for two or three days at a time."
"I fell in love with Coy the first time I laid eyes on him," Sara said later. After a while A.P. knew and he was furious. When the affair became known, Coy's parents, Charlie and Mary Bays, decided that it would be best if they got Coy out of the valley, and the Bays family set out for California.
"Mama and Papa were opposed to it," said Coy’s sister Stella. "They loved Sara but…this was a very sad thing in our life. This was a very embarrassing thing because it was their nephew (A.P.) and their son. And both loved the same woman."
Crushed by Coy's departure and unable to live with A.P., Sara left the house and moved back to Rich Valley, leaving the children with their father. After the separation Ralph Peer and his wife, Anita, convinced the estranged couple that while their domestic life might be in shambles, there was no reason they should not continue to play music together on a professional basis, and so the Original Carter Family continued to perform and record new songs.
June Carter Cash: "But down in the valley, things weren't so good at A.P. and Sara's house. They were separated, but they continued to sing together and work together. As far as I can remember it was the first separation that ever occurred in the valley so we never talked about it. Their songs seemed to mean more, and their records sold more, and more but they were both good people and life went on."
Carter Family Continue Performing
During this time Maybelle and Ezra were busy raising their talented daughters in the Carter singing tradition. A.P. and Sara reportedly got along better after their separation. A.P. still booked concerts as June Carter Cash recalled:
"Uncle "Doc" booked the school houses all through Virginia, North and South Carolina, West Virginia and Kentucky and the Carter Family played the old stages without the benefit of sound. I remember the concerts as if they were yesterday. The old coal oil lamps lined the front of the stage, and the stage was set with just two chairs. All the songs that they sang had a reason. A.P. Carter became A.P. Carter to me after I saw their first show. It was somewhere in North Carolina, and I felt very small. My mother and Aunt Sara sat down in the two chairs, mother with her guitar and Aunt Sara with her autoharp. A.P. stood alone. He walked slow stood with his eyes just over you, and demanded your attention without saying one word. You could hear a pin drop. They sang the songs of the "Wabash Cannon Ball," "Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes," "The Worried Man Blues," "Jimmy Brown The News Boy," "Homestead on the Farm," "Wildwood Flower," and "You Are My Flower," "Jealous Hearted Me," and "On The Rock Where Moses Stood."A.P. told a story with every song, why it was written, where it came from or the reason for its being. He talked with authority and he knew what he was saying. They sang of love, of their love for the mountains and Virginia, war songs, slave songs, songs from the coalfields, and the old gospel story songs such as "Little Moses."
Carters Change Labels: Under Peer’s guidance they changed record labels in 1935, re-recording much of their material for the American Recording Company (ARC) and the hit, "Can the Circle Be Unbroken." At $75 a side the Carters made a lot of money re-recording their old hits.
A.P and Sara Divorce 1936
In September 1936, after three years of trying to reconcile with her husband, she finally sued A.P. for divorce. A.P. Carter was to appear at the circuit court the following Monday "to answer a bill in Chancery in our said court against him by Sara E. Carter. He did not even show up at court to defend himself. In a separate filing at the Gate City courthouse that same week, AP Carter agreed to pay Sara $1200 for a farm she had bought in the Little Valley.
Decca
After the divorce The Carter Family began a two-year association with Decca during which they waxed 60 more songs, and were at a performance peak. Unlike ARC, Decca insisted on fresh material. A.P. was never short on songs and these two years of recording (1936-1938) produced an impressive body of work. MCA has recently reissued many of these recordings on a new CD produced by the Country Music Foundation called "The Carter Family: Country Music Hall of Fame Series" (MCAD-10088), with programming and informative notes by Bob Pinson.
Carter Family: Songs Titles with the Letter I
Hi,
Today's blog will feature the 22 titles of Carter Family Songs beginning with the Letter I:
I Ain't Goin' to Work Tomorrow; I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart; I Found You Among the Roses; I Have an Aged Mother; I Have No One to Love Me (But the Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea); I Loved You Better Than You Knew; I Never Loved But One; I Never Will Marry; I Wouldn't Mind Dying; I'll Be All Smiles Tonight; I'll Be Home Someday; I'll Never Forsake You; I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes; I'm Working on a Building; If One Won't Another One Will; In a Little Village Churchyard; In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain; In the Shadow of the Pines; In the Valley of the Shenandoah; It Is Better Farther On; It'll Aggravate Your Soul; It's a Long Long Road to Travel Alone.
I Ain't Goin' to Work Tomorrow is a traditional folk song arranged by the Carter Family and is on one of their earlier recordings in 1928.
The lyrics show up in collected versions of Darlin' Corey. It seems the Carters collected the lyrics and arranged the song. It was in the repertoire of Kentucky musician Lily May Ledford.
I AIN'T GOING TO WORK TOMORROW- Carter Family 1928
CHORUS: Well, I ain't going to work tomorrow
And I may not work next day
Well I ain't going to work tomorrow
For it be a wet, rainy day
I'm a-going to leave this country
I'm a-going around this world
I'm a-going to leave this country
For the sake of one little girl
Well, she told me that she loved me
And it give my poor heart grief
Now she's got her back turned on me
And she's courting whoever she please
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Well, I lost my money in gambling
And I lost my name, you see
I am nobody's darling
And nobody cares for me
CHORUS:
Don't you hear my banjo ringing
Don't you hear this mournful sound
Don't you hear those pretty girls laughing
Standing on the cold, cold ground
I'll hang my head in sorrow
I'll hang my head and cry
I'll hang my head in sorrow
As my darling passes by
CHORUS:
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart, also known as "Under the Pale Moonlight," is a song written in 1899 by Abbie Ford, who wrote mainly ragtime style music. The song has entered tradition and has been found in several folk song collections.
I CANNOT BE YOUR SWEETHEART Carter Family 1934
Last night I told my heart's love
All under the pale blue sky
Eagerly waiting an answer
I plainly could see in her eye
I love you, sweetheart, I love you
And ask you to be my bride
Her face turned pale and she trembled
And sadly to me replied
CHORUS: I cannot be your sweetheart
I cannot stay by your side
There's one who's waiting off yonder
Who's claiming me his bride
My heart is almost broken
Your vows only add to my pain
I love you, sweetheart, I love you
Though we may never meet again
We said goodbye in the moonlight
My heart was turned to a stone
One peaceful hour I was made happy
But now I am sad and lone
Amidst my sorrows forever
Though she may go far away
Wherever she goes I'll love her
And still I can hear her say
CHORUS:
I Found You Among the Roses is by George Pitman in 1913. The Carters recorded their version in 1940. The sheet music is located at at the Levy Collection online.
I Found You Among The Roses-Carter family
Once again dear it's rose time it's June time
All the flowers they bloom as of yore
And the robin's sweet song is singing
As I walked here to greet you once more
A year has passed dear since we came here
This old love of ours to renew
And I found you among the roses
The day I come back to you
CHORUS: I found you among the roses
The day I come back to you
All my gladness was there in a garden so fair
Was the happiest moment I knew
Your lips were the color of roses
I craved them as flowers crave the dew
It was out here in your rose garden
Where I found you
I remember the kiss that you gave me
For your cheeks like the rosebuds red
Was a kiss dear that meant to fore me
For all the harsh words I have said
Red roses a blooming around me
I loved every one of them too
For it was there dear in your rose garden
Where I found you
I Have an Aged Mother is also known "Ten Thousand Miles Away" as well as "On The Banks of A Lonely River." Here's a link to the 1882 Broadside sheet music "composed by I.M. Williams" at American Memory: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mussm&fileName=sm/sm1882/16100/16161/mussm16161.db&recNum=1&itemLink=D?mussm:4:./tem
"On The Banks of A Lonely River" was a big hit for Tarton and Darby on Columbia in 1930 possibly prompting the Carters to record the song for Victor later that year. Record sales that year plummeted because of the Great Depression.
I HAVE AN AGED MOTHER- Carter Family
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Last night while I lay sleeping
Last night while in a dream
I saw my dear old mother
Down by a rippling stream
Don't ask me why I'm weeping
Don't ask me why I pray
For I've an aged mother
10,000 miles away [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
A letter here from sister dear
Come home, we're all alone
Dear mother's slowly fading
She can't be with us long
Don't ask me why I'm weeping
Don't ask me why I pray
I've a dear old mother dying
10,000 miles away
Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Out in the cold world
A long ways from home
I'm drawing near the old home
Dear sister's at the gate
She's leading me through the doorway
Oh, brother, you've come too late
Oh, lead me to the casket
Throw back the linen so fine
That I may kiss her pale white lips
For I know they'll never kiss mine
I see the pale moon shining
On mother's white tombstone
The rosebuds 'round them twining
Are just like me—alone
Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Out in the cold world
Left all alone
I Have No One to Love Me (But the Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea) is the British Ballad "Sweet William" also know as Captain Tell me True and first recorded in 1924 by Gid Tanner as "Sailor Boy." The ballad index gives the earliest date as before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2298)).
The plot is as follows: A girl asks her father to build her a boat so that she may search for her lover. She describes the boy to a passing captain, who tells her he is drowned. She gives directions for her burial, then dies of grief or dashes her boat against the rocks.Other names include: "The Pinery Boy" "The Sailor's Sweetheart" "My Boy Willie" "Papa, Build Me a Boat" The Carters recorded their version in 1928:
I HAVE NO ONE TO LOVE ME BUT THE SAILOR ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA Carter Family
It was on last Sunday evening
Just about the hour of three
When my darling started leaving
To sail on that deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
He promised to write a letter
He promised to write to me
And I haven't heard from my darling
Who sails on that deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
My mother is dead and buried
My papa's forsaken me
And I have no one to love me
But the sailor on the deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Oh, Captain, can you tell me
Can you tell me where he may be
Oh, yes, my little maiden
He's drownded in the deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Farewell to friends and relations
It's the last you'll see of me
I'm going to end my trouble
By drowning in the deep blue sea
I Loved You Better Than You Knew is a song by Johnny Carroll in 1893 and the first recording was just three years later by Goerge Gaskin on Ber 925. In 1895 "I Love You Yet" was written as "An Answer to Johnnie Carroll's Beautiful & Popular Song I Loved You Better Than You Knew." Here's the Carters 1930 version:
I LOVED YOU BETTER THAN YOU KNEW- Carter Family
Our hands are clasped, alas, forever
Perhaps we'll never meet again
I love you like I love no other
This parting fills my heart with pain
As through this weary world I wander
My thoughts alone will be of you
In memory will I see you ever
I loved you better than you knew [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
You ask and freely I'll forgive you
The happy past I must forget
And while I wander alone in silence
I hope that you'll be happy yet
As through this weary world I wander
My thoughts alone will be of you
In memory will I see you ever
I loved you better than you knew [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Perhaps when I am gone forever
You'll sometimes sit and think of me
And wonder if I'm dead or living
Perhaps I'll think the same of you
As through this weary world I wander
My thoughts alone will be of you
In memory will I see you ever
I loved you better than you knew
I Never Loved But One is based on the song "Those Dark Eyes" by Armand in 1865. It's been recorded as "Dark Eyes" and probably was titled differently by the Carters in 1932 to avoid copyright issues.Her's the sheet music:http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?dukesm:1:./temp/~ammem_0URU::@@@mdb=mcc,gottscho,detr,nfor,wpa,aap,cwar,bbpix,cowellbib,ca
I NEVER LOVED BUT ONE- Carter family
Onward to the eastern skies,
With mooing efforts kissed the sea
I sigh and think of those blue eyes
That have hope and love for me
For they, o they have stole away
The heart that truly once was mine
Like some lone bird without a mate
My weary heart is desolate
I look around but cannot trace
One welcome word or smiling face
In gazing crowds I am alone,
Because I never loved but one [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Come up closer to me now,
Your chestnut hair is touched with snow
But still it is the same dear face,
I loved so well long years ago
The same as on that winter night,
You bent to me and kissed my brow
Happy hours of trusting love,
Oh well, they're all over now
And I must sail the whitening foam,
Till I can see a foreign home
Till I forget that fair sweet face,
I ne'er can find a resting place
I look around but cannot trace
One welcome word or smiling face
In gazing crowds I am alone
Because I never loved but one
"I Will Never Marry" is a folk song that was collected by Belden in Missouri in 1906 and also appeared in England as "The Lover's Lament for Her Sailor" in the 1800s. Early versions include Sam Cowell's music hall re-working of the song (Oh, my Love's Dead!), followed by The Sorrowful Ladie's Lament (c.1673), apparently a broadside expansion of the earlier Captain Digby's Farewell. It's also titled, "The Shells of the Ocean."
I NEVER WILL MARRY- Carter Family 1933
I never will marry. I'll be no man's wife.
I intend to stay single for the rest of my life.
One day as I rambled down by the sea shore,
The wind it did whistle and the waters did roar.
I heard a poor maiden make a pitiful cry.
She sounded so lonesome at the waters nearby.
I never will marry. I'll be no man's wife.
I intend to stay single for the rest of my life.
The shells in the ocean will be my deathbed,
And the fish in the water swim over my head.
My love's gone and left me. He's the one I adore.
I never will see him, no never, no more.
She plunged her fair body in the water so deep.
She closed her pretty blue eyes in the water so deep.
I never will marry. I'll be no man's wife.
I intend to stay single for the rest of my life.
"I Wouldn't Mind Dying" comes from African-American gospel sources ans was recorded by Rev. I.B. Ware in 1928; Golden Leaf Quartette from Jefferson County Alabama in 1928. It's also titled "Bye and Bye We're Going To See The King" by the blind pianist Juanita Arizona Dranes in 1925 and later by Blind Willie Johnson.
I WOULDN'T MIND DYING- Carter Family
By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
Wouldn't mind dying, got to go by myself
Wouldn't mind dying, got to go by myself
Wouldn't mind dying, got to go by myself
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
After death we're going to stand the test
After death we're going to stand the test
After death we're going to stand the test
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy is His Name
Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy is His Name
Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy is His Name
And I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
Wouldn't mind dying, got to stay dead so long
Wouldn't mind dying, got to stay dead so long
Wouldn't mind dying, got to stay dead so long
And I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
Ezekiel saw the wheel, a wheel within a wheel
Ezekiel saw the wheel, a wheel within a wheel
Ezekiel saw the wheel, a wheel within a wheel
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
I'll Be All Smiles Tonight is a song written by T.B. Ranson in 1879. Here's a link to the song with notes and TAB: http://gulfweb.net:34043/~rlwalker/jamnfolk/book001/I
It was recorded by Luther B. Clark and the Blue Ridge Highballers (1926); Mac and Bob (1927); Allen Brothers (1928); Reed Children (1928); Jenkins and Whitworth (1929); Bradley Kincaid (1929); Linda Parker and The Cumberland Ridge Runners (1933); and the Carter Family (1934).
I'LL BE ALL SMILES TONIGHT- Carter Family
I'll deck my brow with roses
The loved ones may be there
And gems that others give me
Will shine within my hair
And even those who know me
Will think my heart is light
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight
I'll be all smiles tonight, love
I'll be all smiles tonight
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Oh, when the dance commences
Oh, how I will rejoice
I'll sing the song you taught me
Without a falling voice
When the flattering ones come around me
They'll think my heart is light
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight
I'll be all smiles tonight, love
I'll be all smiles tonight
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
And when the room he enters
With a bride upon his arm
I stood and gazed upon him
As though he was a charm
And onced he smiled upon her
And onced he smiled on me
They know not what I suffered
They found no change in me
I'll be all smiles tonight, love
I'll be all smiles tonight
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight
I'll Be Home Someday is a gospel song from the Carters 1934 session in Camden NJ; I haven't found any info about this song. Anyone?
I'LL BE HOME SOMEDAY- Carter Family
I was standing by the bedside of a neighbor
Who was just about to cross the swelling tide
I asked if he would do me a favor
Just take a message to the other side [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
If you see my Savior, tell him that you saw me
When you saw me I was on my way
You may meet some old friends who may ask about me
Just tell them I'll be home someday [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Now you have to take this journey on without me
It's a debt that sooner or later must be paid
If you see my Savior, don't forget to tell him
Don't forget to tell him what I say [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
You may chance to see my father or my mother
Or some friends who have gone before
You may chance to see my sister or my brother
But try and see my Savior first of all
I'll Never Forsake You was recorded by the Carters in 1940 for Okeh. Need some help on the source: Anyone?
I'll Never Forsake You- Carter Family
I am so happy that you love no other but me
All of my life I've tried to win your love you see
And I still wonder if you will be happy with me
When we are married and I've taken you my wife to be
I have waited so long for the words you just said
I always thought that you loved another instead
But you have told me with your own sweet lips so red
And I am waiting for the day when we shall wed
If you should ever forsake me my love I would pray
Take me to my maker up in heaven where white angels stay
Cause I could never go on living without you this way
If we have to part I'd rather you take me today
No, no I'll never forsake you I'll always be true
And we'll be happy together because I love you
And when I think of us parting sweetheart it runs through my head
If we can't be happy together my love I would rather be dead
I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes is one of the Carters well known songs, the melody has been used for many other songs. From the notes by the well known scholar, Charles K. Wolfe: "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" is another Carter song that became a standard, echoing down through the years in country music. One historian has called it "the best known melody in country music," and it has been used for everything from Roy Acuff's "Great Speckled Bird" to Kitty Wells' "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels." Sara and Maybelle both recalled that they had known the song all their lives, certainly it shows up in dozens of folksong collections, and prior to the Carter version had been recorded by Welby Toomey (a Kentucky singer), Earl Johnson (a Georgia fiddler), the Stoneman Family (from the Galax, Virginia, area), and others -- though none of them actually used A.P.'s title."
"Thrills I Can't Forget" "Blue Eyes" and "In the Shadow of the Pines" are some other titles. It's been collected as "Broken Ties" as early as 1915. Another song with the same melody is "Great Speckled Bird." The song was recorded by The Carter Family on February 14, 1929 also again for Bluebird in 1941.
I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes- Carter Family
Would been better for us both had we never
In this wide and wicked world had never met
For the pleasure we both seen together
I am sure, Love, I'll never forget
Chorus: Oh, I'm thinking tonight, of my blue eyes
Who is sailing far over the sea
Oh, I'm thinking tonight, of my blue eyes
And I wonder if he ever thinks of me
Oh, you told me once, Dear, that you loved me
You said that we never would part
But a link in the chain has been broken
Leaves me with a sad and aching heart
Chorus
When the cold, cold grave shall enclose me
Will you come, Dear, and shed just one tear
And say to the strangers around you
A poor heart you have broken lies here.
Chorus
"I'm Working on a Building" came from black gospel sources. The Carters learned their version from gospel singer Pauline Gary from Kingsport who was a friend of Leslie Riddle. The Carters also learned "On a Hill Lone and Gray," and "On My Way To Cannan's Land" from her. Here are the earliest printed lyrics:
"WORKIN' ON THE BUILDING" recorded in Odum & Johnson, The Negro and His Songs (1925, p. 72).
If I wus a sinner man, I tell you what I'd do,
I'd lay down all my sinful ways an' work on the building too.
I'm workin' on the building fer my Lord,
Fer my Lord, fer my Lord,
I'm workin' on the building fer my Lord,
I'm workin' on the building, too.
If I wus a gamblin' man, I tell you what to do,
I'd lay down all my gamblin', an' work on the building, too.
If I was a 'ho'-munger, I tell you what to do,
I'd lay down all my munglin' and work on the building, too.
I'M WORKING ON A BUILDING- Carter Family
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my lord
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my lord
If I was a liar
I tell you what I would do
I would quit my lying
And work on the building too
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my lord
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my lord [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
If I was a drunkard
I'll tell you what I would do,
I would quit my drinking
And work on the building too
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my lord
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my lord [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
If I was a preacher
Tell you what I would do,
I would keep on preaching
And work on the building too
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my Lord
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my Lord
If One Won't Another One Will is known as "Lonesome (Stormy) Scenes of Winter, The" [Laws H12]. The song was collected by Belden in 1904. It's referenced to October, 1887 by Meade and appeares in Wehman's Collection of Songs. Here is a list of collections:
Belden, pp. 195-196, "The Lonesome Scenes of Winter" (1 text)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 136-137, "The Lonesome Scenes of Winter (All in the Scenes of Winter" (1 text)
Wyman-Brockway II, p. 94, "The Gonesome [sic] Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean, pp. 108-109, "Lonesome Hours of Winter" (1 text)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 156-157, "The Stormy Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 57, "The Lonesome (Stormy) Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 127-129, "Lonesome Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)Shellans, pp. 38-39, "The Scornful Lover" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 209-212,"Stormy Winds of Winter" (4 texts, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 50, "The Stormy Winds of Winter" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Peacock, pp. 445-446, "Flora" (1 text, 1 tune)
Some recordings:Lewis McDaniel & Walter Smith: "I Went to See My Sweetheart" (Victor 23505, 1930; on ConstSor1)Southern Melody Boys, "Lonesome Scenes of Winter" (Montgomery Ward 7227, 1937)
IF ONE WON'T ANOTHER ONE WILL- Carter Family 1932
I went one Sunday evening
My true love for to see
I asked her to marry
And she would not answer me [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
The night is almost spent
It is nearer the break of day
I'm waiting for an answer
Oh, what will you say [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Kind sir, if I must tell you
I'd choose the single life
I never thought it suited
For me to be your wife [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
In the course of six weeks later
This lady's mind did change
She wrote me a letter
Kind sir, I feel ashamed [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I feel as though I slighted you
I cannot hear you mourn
So here is my heart, come take it
And claim it as your own [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I wrote her back an answer
And sent it back in speed
I own that once I did love you
I loved you dear indeed [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
But then my mind has changed me
I seek another way
Upon some pretty fair maiden
My heart will have its sway [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Upon some pretty fair maiden
My heart shall have its fill
This world is wide and lonely
If one won't another one will
In a Little Village Churchyard was recorded in 1936 by the Carters. Meade separates the Carters song from a song with same title which we can call "In a Little Village Churchyard- II" which is known as "Mother's Grave." It's from "Since My Mother's Dead And Gone" by Phil Mowrey, Harry Percy. The other song is also known as "Old Village Churchyard" and "Since My Mother's Dead and Gone." The song was rewritten by Carson Robison in 1926.
Apparently the Carters song is "In That Dear Old Village Churchyard" from Primitive Baptist Hymn Book and Tune Book (1918) compiled by Elder John Daily. Lomax collected it as "In this Old Gray Village Churchyard" and a similar version was recorded by Roscoe Holcomb.
IN A LITTLE VILLAGE CHURCHYARD Carter Family
In a little village churchyard
There I see a grassy mound
There my sweetheart lies a-sleeping
In the cold and silent ground
Gently waves the weeping willow
Birds, they warble sweet and low
And there's no one left to love me
Since my sweetheart had to go
In that little village churchyard
There I stray with a broken heart
There is no one left to love me
Since the day we had to part [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
That sad day will I remember
When she called me to her side
How I watched her spirit fading
And the tears did blind my sight
Then she said, goodbye, my darling
Dry those teardrops from your eyes
Promise me, my little darling
That you'll meet me up on high
In that little village churchyard
There I stray with a broken heart
There is no one left to love me
Since the day we had to part [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Oft I've wandered to the graveyard
Flowers to plant with tender care
O'er the grave of my dear darling
Darkness finds me weeping there
In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain was recorded in NYC in 1937. According to the Carters biography Sara sang the song to Jeanette. The song seems to be based on another song but at this point we don't know the song.
IN THE SHADOW OF CLINCH MOUNTAIN- Carter Family
Oh, I grew up on the side of Clinch Mountain
'Mid the beauty and the wonders of the woods
Where sweet songs from the bright, sunny fountain
And the warbles of the birds I understood
Then I asked how this green, lofty mountain
In the cavern of the lonely desert stood
Said the songs of the bright, sunny fountain
We are given by the waters of His love
When I've sung my last song in the evening
And the sun sets in the golden west
All the scenes of this world I'll be leaving
In the shadow of Clinch Mountain I will rest [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Through the gates I have passed now from childhood
O'er the railways to the valley of the west
Singing songs of the Clinch Mountain wildwood
Songs neighbors sang and birds still sang the best
When I've sung my last song in the evening
And the sun sets in the golden west
All the scenes of this world I'll be leaving
In the shadow of Clinch Mountain I will rest [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Long ago stood the oaks and the cedars
Singing sweetly in a whisper of the past
Stand they not now, those great towering leaders
Nor the fountain where their crystal gleams are cast
When I've sung my last song in the evening
And the sun sets in the golden west
All the scenes of this world I'll be leaving
In the shadow of Clinch Mountain I will rest
In the Valley of the Shenandoah is another song that has virually no information about any source that I could find. Without more info we can just assume it's a song by AP Carter. Harry Fox Agency says the legal name of the song is "In the Valley of the Shenandoah," and the songwriter is A.P. Carter. Publisher is APRS, and the contact is Peermusic, www.peermusic.com.
IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHENANDOAH- Recorded Oct 14, 1941
As I sit alone tonight in the stillness of the night
I picture happy scenes of long ago
Of a maiden fair and bright who is seeping there tonight
In the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge
It was in the month of June when the roses were in bloom
When I held her in my arms and softly said
"Darling, in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge" [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When I left her all alone in her Shenandoah home
She promised she'd be waiting there for me
But the angels came along and took her from our home
From the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge
It was in the month of June when the roses were in bloom
When I held her in my arms and softly said
"Darling, in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge"[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When the evening shadows fall, in memory I recall
The pledge when I gave to her a ring
"Darling in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge"
It was in the month of June when the roses were in bloom
When I held her in my arms and softly said
"Darling, in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge"
It Is Better Farther On is a traditional gospel song arranged by The Carter Family. One verse is from 1836; The song was published in 1877 as Trad. Arranged by L. Thompson (1911)
It Is Better Farther On Carter Family-1938
As we travel through the desert
Storms beset us by the way
But beyond the river Jordan
Lies a field of endless day
Farther on, still go farther
Count the milestones one by one
Jesus will forsake you never
It is better farther on
Oh my brother are you weary
Of the roughness and the way
Does your strength begin to fail you
And your vigor to decay
At my grave, o still be singing
Though you weep for one that's gone
Sing it as we once did sing it
It is better farther on
It'll Aggravate Your Soul is a song, according to the Carter's Biography, that was written entirely by A.P. Carter even tho the first verse appears to be based on other lyrics. It's one of the few songs AP sang solo and it was written during the time when he and Sara were seperated.
IT'LL AGGRAVATE YOUR SOUL Carter family- 1934
Come all of you people take warning from me
Don't take no girl to Tennessee
For if you get married and don't agree
It'll aggravate your soul
We left Maces early in the night
Expect to get married before daylight
So many things happened to hinder our flight
It aggravated my soul
Arrived at The Bristol at 11 o'clock
The parson was there right on the spot
We found that the license had been forgot
It aggravated my soul
We went for the license in an automobile
Run so fast couldn't see the wheel
No one can explain how bad I did feel
It aggravated my soul
We stayed all night at The Bristol Hotel
Just to make folks think we were swell
Next morning they put it in the Bristol Herald
It aggravated my soul
And when the new style books comin' around
She begins to get ready to go to town
You know right then she's milliner shop bound
It'll aggravate your soul
She wants a new coat and a hobble skirt
And you can't get in for the young un's and dirt
And when she gets out, oh how she will flirt
It'll aggravate your soul
nd when depressions gather round your head
You'll think of what your dear old mother said
With a pain in you back and heart and head
It'll aggravate your soul
Now young men take warning from me
Don't take no girl to Tennessee
For if you get married and don't agree
It'll aggravate your soul
It's a Long Long Road to Travel Alone is a song attributed to Maybelle Carter. In 1931 the copyright office registered "It's a long road to travel alone" words and music by BAD [pseud of Mrs. WH Do France]. Anyone know about this song?
It's A Long, Long Road To Travel Alone- Carter Family 1940
I always thought I'd like to roam
One day I started alone
Out in this old wide wicked world
Away from friends and home
It's a long long road to travel alone
And when the day is gone
No place to pillow my head at night
Only on the cold cold stone
I've travelled around from town to town
Now it's time that I settled down
I've had my fill of rambling around
And now I am homeward bound
One day a letter came to me
And this is what it read
Come home my boy to the old homestead
Your father and mother are dead
It's been a long road to travel alone
I wish I had never roamedI thought
I'd soon see my mother and dad
But now I am left alone
Today's blog will feature the 22 titles of Carter Family Songs beginning with the Letter I:
I Ain't Goin' to Work Tomorrow; I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart; I Found You Among the Roses; I Have an Aged Mother; I Have No One to Love Me (But the Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea); I Loved You Better Than You Knew; I Never Loved But One; I Never Will Marry; I Wouldn't Mind Dying; I'll Be All Smiles Tonight; I'll Be Home Someday; I'll Never Forsake You; I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes; I'm Working on a Building; If One Won't Another One Will; In a Little Village Churchyard; In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain; In the Shadow of the Pines; In the Valley of the Shenandoah; It Is Better Farther On; It'll Aggravate Your Soul; It's a Long Long Road to Travel Alone.
I Ain't Goin' to Work Tomorrow is a traditional folk song arranged by the Carter Family and is on one of their earlier recordings in 1928.
The lyrics show up in collected versions of Darlin' Corey. It seems the Carters collected the lyrics and arranged the song. It was in the repertoire of Kentucky musician Lily May Ledford.
I AIN'T GOING TO WORK TOMORROW- Carter Family 1928
CHORUS: Well, I ain't going to work tomorrow
And I may not work next day
Well I ain't going to work tomorrow
For it be a wet, rainy day
I'm a-going to leave this country
I'm a-going around this world
I'm a-going to leave this country
For the sake of one little girl
Well, she told me that she loved me
And it give my poor heart grief
Now she's got her back turned on me
And she's courting whoever she please
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Well, I lost my money in gambling
And I lost my name, you see
I am nobody's darling
And nobody cares for me
CHORUS:
Don't you hear my banjo ringing
Don't you hear this mournful sound
Don't you hear those pretty girls laughing
Standing on the cold, cold ground
I'll hang my head in sorrow
I'll hang my head and cry
I'll hang my head in sorrow
As my darling passes by
CHORUS:
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart, also known as "Under the Pale Moonlight," is a song written in 1899 by Abbie Ford, who wrote mainly ragtime style music. The song has entered tradition and has been found in several folk song collections.
I CANNOT BE YOUR SWEETHEART Carter Family 1934
Last night I told my heart's love
All under the pale blue sky
Eagerly waiting an answer
I plainly could see in her eye
I love you, sweetheart, I love you
And ask you to be my bride
Her face turned pale and she trembled
And sadly to me replied
CHORUS: I cannot be your sweetheart
I cannot stay by your side
There's one who's waiting off yonder
Who's claiming me his bride
My heart is almost broken
Your vows only add to my pain
I love you, sweetheart, I love you
Though we may never meet again
We said goodbye in the moonlight
My heart was turned to a stone
One peaceful hour I was made happy
But now I am sad and lone
Amidst my sorrows forever
Though she may go far away
Wherever she goes I'll love her
And still I can hear her say
CHORUS:
I Found You Among the Roses is by George Pitman in 1913. The Carters recorded their version in 1940. The sheet music is located at at the Levy Collection online.
I Found You Among The Roses-Carter family
Once again dear it's rose time it's June time
All the flowers they bloom as of yore
And the robin's sweet song is singing
As I walked here to greet you once more
A year has passed dear since we came here
This old love of ours to renew
And I found you among the roses
The day I come back to you
CHORUS: I found you among the roses
The day I come back to you
All my gladness was there in a garden so fair
Was the happiest moment I knew
Your lips were the color of roses
I craved them as flowers crave the dew
It was out here in your rose garden
Where I found you
I remember the kiss that you gave me
For your cheeks like the rosebuds red
Was a kiss dear that meant to fore me
For all the harsh words I have said
Red roses a blooming around me
I loved every one of them too
For it was there dear in your rose garden
Where I found you
I Have an Aged Mother is also known "Ten Thousand Miles Away" as well as "On The Banks of A Lonely River." Here's a link to the 1882 Broadside sheet music "composed by I.M. Williams" at American Memory: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mussm&fileName=sm/sm1882/16100/16161/mussm16161.db&recNum=1&itemLink=D?mussm:4:./tem
"On The Banks of A Lonely River" was a big hit for Tarton and Darby on Columbia in 1930 possibly prompting the Carters to record the song for Victor later that year. Record sales that year plummeted because of the Great Depression.
I HAVE AN AGED MOTHER- Carter Family
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Last night while I lay sleeping
Last night while in a dream
I saw my dear old mother
Down by a rippling stream
Don't ask me why I'm weeping
Don't ask me why I pray
For I've an aged mother
10,000 miles away [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
A letter here from sister dear
Come home, we're all alone
Dear mother's slowly fading
She can't be with us long
Don't ask me why I'm weeping
Don't ask me why I pray
I've a dear old mother dying
10,000 miles away
Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Out in the cold world
A long ways from home
I'm drawing near the old home
Dear sister's at the gate
She's leading me through the doorway
Oh, brother, you've come too late
Oh, lead me to the casket
Throw back the linen so fine
That I may kiss her pale white lips
For I know they'll never kiss mine
I see the pale moon shining
On mother's white tombstone
The rosebuds 'round them twining
Are just like me—alone
Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Out in the cold world
Left all alone
I Have No One to Love Me (But the Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea) is the British Ballad "Sweet William" also know as Captain Tell me True and first recorded in 1924 by Gid Tanner as "Sailor Boy." The ballad index gives the earliest date as before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2298)).
The plot is as follows: A girl asks her father to build her a boat so that she may search for her lover. She describes the boy to a passing captain, who tells her he is drowned. She gives directions for her burial, then dies of grief or dashes her boat against the rocks.Other names include: "The Pinery Boy" "The Sailor's Sweetheart" "My Boy Willie" "Papa, Build Me a Boat" The Carters recorded their version in 1928:
I HAVE NO ONE TO LOVE ME BUT THE SAILOR ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA Carter Family
It was on last Sunday evening
Just about the hour of three
When my darling started leaving
To sail on that deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
He promised to write a letter
He promised to write to me
And I haven't heard from my darling
Who sails on that deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
My mother is dead and buried
My papa's forsaken me
And I have no one to love me
But the sailor on the deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Oh, Captain, can you tell me
Can you tell me where he may be
Oh, yes, my little maiden
He's drownded in the deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Farewell to friends and relations
It's the last you'll see of me
I'm going to end my trouble
By drowning in the deep blue sea
I Loved You Better Than You Knew is a song by Johnny Carroll in 1893 and the first recording was just three years later by Goerge Gaskin on Ber 925. In 1895 "I Love You Yet" was written as "An Answer to Johnnie Carroll's Beautiful & Popular Song I Loved You Better Than You Knew." Here's the Carters 1930 version:
I LOVED YOU BETTER THAN YOU KNEW- Carter Family
Our hands are clasped, alas, forever
Perhaps we'll never meet again
I love you like I love no other
This parting fills my heart with pain
As through this weary world I wander
My thoughts alone will be of you
In memory will I see you ever
I loved you better than you knew [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
You ask and freely I'll forgive you
The happy past I must forget
And while I wander alone in silence
I hope that you'll be happy yet
As through this weary world I wander
My thoughts alone will be of you
In memory will I see you ever
I loved you better than you knew [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Perhaps when I am gone forever
You'll sometimes sit and think of me
And wonder if I'm dead or living
Perhaps I'll think the same of you
As through this weary world I wander
My thoughts alone will be of you
In memory will I see you ever
I loved you better than you knew
I Never Loved But One is based on the song "Those Dark Eyes" by Armand in 1865. It's been recorded as "Dark Eyes" and probably was titled differently by the Carters in 1932 to avoid copyright issues.Her's the sheet music:http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?dukesm:1:./temp/~ammem_0URU::@@@mdb=mcc,gottscho,detr,nfor,wpa,aap,cwar,bbpix,cowellbib,ca
I NEVER LOVED BUT ONE- Carter family
Onward to the eastern skies,
With mooing efforts kissed the sea
I sigh and think of those blue eyes
That have hope and love for me
For they, o they have stole away
The heart that truly once was mine
Like some lone bird without a mate
My weary heart is desolate
I look around but cannot trace
One welcome word or smiling face
In gazing crowds I am alone,
Because I never loved but one [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Come up closer to me now,
Your chestnut hair is touched with snow
But still it is the same dear face,
I loved so well long years ago
The same as on that winter night,
You bent to me and kissed my brow
Happy hours of trusting love,
Oh well, they're all over now
And I must sail the whitening foam,
Till I can see a foreign home
Till I forget that fair sweet face,
I ne'er can find a resting place
I look around but cannot trace
One welcome word or smiling face
In gazing crowds I am alone
Because I never loved but one
"I Will Never Marry" is a folk song that was collected by Belden in Missouri in 1906 and also appeared in England as "The Lover's Lament for Her Sailor" in the 1800s. Early versions include Sam Cowell's music hall re-working of the song (Oh, my Love's Dead!), followed by The Sorrowful Ladie's Lament (c.1673), apparently a broadside expansion of the earlier Captain Digby's Farewell. It's also titled, "The Shells of the Ocean."
I NEVER WILL MARRY- Carter Family 1933
I never will marry. I'll be no man's wife.
I intend to stay single for the rest of my life.
One day as I rambled down by the sea shore,
The wind it did whistle and the waters did roar.
I heard a poor maiden make a pitiful cry.
She sounded so lonesome at the waters nearby.
I never will marry. I'll be no man's wife.
I intend to stay single for the rest of my life.
The shells in the ocean will be my deathbed,
And the fish in the water swim over my head.
My love's gone and left me. He's the one I adore.
I never will see him, no never, no more.
She plunged her fair body in the water so deep.
She closed her pretty blue eyes in the water so deep.
I never will marry. I'll be no man's wife.
I intend to stay single for the rest of my life.
"I Wouldn't Mind Dying" comes from African-American gospel sources ans was recorded by Rev. I.B. Ware in 1928; Golden Leaf Quartette from Jefferson County Alabama in 1928. It's also titled "Bye and Bye We're Going To See The King" by the blind pianist Juanita Arizona Dranes in 1925 and later by Blind Willie Johnson.
I WOULDN'T MIND DYING- Carter Family
By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
Wouldn't mind dying, got to go by myself
Wouldn't mind dying, got to go by myself
Wouldn't mind dying, got to go by myself
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
After death we're going to stand the test
After death we're going to stand the test
After death we're going to stand the test
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy is His Name
Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy is His Name
Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy is His Name
And I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
Wouldn't mind dying, got to stay dead so long
Wouldn't mind dying, got to stay dead so long
Wouldn't mind dying, got to stay dead so long
And I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
Ezekiel saw the wheel, a wheel within a wheel
Ezekiel saw the wheel, a wheel within a wheel
Ezekiel saw the wheel, a wheel within a wheel
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all
I'll Be All Smiles Tonight is a song written by T.B. Ranson in 1879. Here's a link to the song with notes and TAB: http://gulfweb.net:34043/~rlwalker/jamnfolk/book001/I
It was recorded by Luther B. Clark and the Blue Ridge Highballers (1926); Mac and Bob (1927); Allen Brothers (1928); Reed Children (1928); Jenkins and Whitworth (1929); Bradley Kincaid (1929); Linda Parker and The Cumberland Ridge Runners (1933); and the Carter Family (1934).
I'LL BE ALL SMILES TONIGHT- Carter Family
I'll deck my brow with roses
The loved ones may be there
And gems that others give me
Will shine within my hair
And even those who know me
Will think my heart is light
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight
I'll be all smiles tonight, love
I'll be all smiles tonight
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Oh, when the dance commences
Oh, how I will rejoice
I'll sing the song you taught me
Without a falling voice
When the flattering ones come around me
They'll think my heart is light
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight
I'll be all smiles tonight, love
I'll be all smiles tonight
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
And when the room he enters
With a bride upon his arm
I stood and gazed upon him
As though he was a charm
And onced he smiled upon her
And onced he smiled on me
They know not what I suffered
They found no change in me
I'll be all smiles tonight, love
I'll be all smiles tonight
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight
I'll Be Home Someday is a gospel song from the Carters 1934 session in Camden NJ; I haven't found any info about this song. Anyone?
I'LL BE HOME SOMEDAY- Carter Family
I was standing by the bedside of a neighbor
Who was just about to cross the swelling tide
I asked if he would do me a favor
Just take a message to the other side [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
If you see my Savior, tell him that you saw me
When you saw me I was on my way
You may meet some old friends who may ask about me
Just tell them I'll be home someday [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Now you have to take this journey on without me
It's a debt that sooner or later must be paid
If you see my Savior, don't forget to tell him
Don't forget to tell him what I say [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
You may chance to see my father or my mother
Or some friends who have gone before
You may chance to see my sister or my brother
But try and see my Savior first of all
I'll Never Forsake You was recorded by the Carters in 1940 for Okeh. Need some help on the source: Anyone?
I'll Never Forsake You- Carter Family
I am so happy that you love no other but me
All of my life I've tried to win your love you see
And I still wonder if you will be happy with me
When we are married and I've taken you my wife to be
I have waited so long for the words you just said
I always thought that you loved another instead
But you have told me with your own sweet lips so red
And I am waiting for the day when we shall wed
If you should ever forsake me my love I would pray
Take me to my maker up in heaven where white angels stay
Cause I could never go on living without you this way
If we have to part I'd rather you take me today
No, no I'll never forsake you I'll always be true
And we'll be happy together because I love you
And when I think of us parting sweetheart it runs through my head
If we can't be happy together my love I would rather be dead
I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes is one of the Carters well known songs, the melody has been used for many other songs. From the notes by the well known scholar, Charles K. Wolfe: "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" is another Carter song that became a standard, echoing down through the years in country music. One historian has called it "the best known melody in country music," and it has been used for everything from Roy Acuff's "Great Speckled Bird" to Kitty Wells' "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels." Sara and Maybelle both recalled that they had known the song all their lives, certainly it shows up in dozens of folksong collections, and prior to the Carter version had been recorded by Welby Toomey (a Kentucky singer), Earl Johnson (a Georgia fiddler), the Stoneman Family (from the Galax, Virginia, area), and others -- though none of them actually used A.P.'s title."
"Thrills I Can't Forget" "Blue Eyes" and "In the Shadow of the Pines" are some other titles. It's been collected as "Broken Ties" as early as 1915. Another song with the same melody is "Great Speckled Bird." The song was recorded by The Carter Family on February 14, 1929 also again for Bluebird in 1941.
I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes- Carter Family
Would been better for us both had we never
In this wide and wicked world had never met
For the pleasure we both seen together
I am sure, Love, I'll never forget
Chorus: Oh, I'm thinking tonight, of my blue eyes
Who is sailing far over the sea
Oh, I'm thinking tonight, of my blue eyes
And I wonder if he ever thinks of me
Oh, you told me once, Dear, that you loved me
You said that we never would part
But a link in the chain has been broken
Leaves me with a sad and aching heart
Chorus
When the cold, cold grave shall enclose me
Will you come, Dear, and shed just one tear
And say to the strangers around you
A poor heart you have broken lies here.
Chorus
"I'm Working on a Building" came from black gospel sources. The Carters learned their version from gospel singer Pauline Gary from Kingsport who was a friend of Leslie Riddle. The Carters also learned "On a Hill Lone and Gray," and "On My Way To Cannan's Land" from her. Here are the earliest printed lyrics:
"WORKIN' ON THE BUILDING" recorded in Odum & Johnson, The Negro and His Songs (1925, p. 72).
If I wus a sinner man, I tell you what I'd do,
I'd lay down all my sinful ways an' work on the building too.
I'm workin' on the building fer my Lord,
Fer my Lord, fer my Lord,
I'm workin' on the building fer my Lord,
I'm workin' on the building, too.
If I wus a gamblin' man, I tell you what to do,
I'd lay down all my gamblin', an' work on the building, too.
If I was a 'ho'-munger, I tell you what to do,
I'd lay down all my munglin' and work on the building, too.
I'M WORKING ON A BUILDING- Carter Family
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my lord
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my lord
If I was a liar
I tell you what I would do
I would quit my lying
And work on the building too
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my lord
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my lord [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
If I was a drunkard
I'll tell you what I would do,
I would quit my drinking
And work on the building too
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my lord
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my lord [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
If I was a preacher
Tell you what I would do,
I would keep on preaching
And work on the building too
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my Lord
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my Lord
If One Won't Another One Will is known as "Lonesome (Stormy) Scenes of Winter, The" [Laws H12]. The song was collected by Belden in 1904. It's referenced to October, 1887 by Meade and appeares in Wehman's Collection of Songs. Here is a list of collections:
Belden, pp. 195-196, "The Lonesome Scenes of Winter" (1 text)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 136-137, "The Lonesome Scenes of Winter (All in the Scenes of Winter" (1 text)
Wyman-Brockway II, p. 94, "The Gonesome [sic] Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean, pp. 108-109, "Lonesome Hours of Winter" (1 text)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 156-157, "The Stormy Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 57, "The Lonesome (Stormy) Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 127-129, "Lonesome Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)Shellans, pp. 38-39, "The Scornful Lover" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 209-212,"Stormy Winds of Winter" (4 texts, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 50, "The Stormy Winds of Winter" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Peacock, pp. 445-446, "Flora" (1 text, 1 tune)
Some recordings:Lewis McDaniel & Walter Smith: "I Went to See My Sweetheart" (Victor 23505, 1930; on ConstSor1)Southern Melody Boys, "Lonesome Scenes of Winter" (Montgomery Ward 7227, 1937)
IF ONE WON'T ANOTHER ONE WILL- Carter Family 1932
I went one Sunday evening
My true love for to see
I asked her to marry
And she would not answer me [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
The night is almost spent
It is nearer the break of day
I'm waiting for an answer
Oh, what will you say [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Kind sir, if I must tell you
I'd choose the single life
I never thought it suited
For me to be your wife [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
In the course of six weeks later
This lady's mind did change
She wrote me a letter
Kind sir, I feel ashamed [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I feel as though I slighted you
I cannot hear you mourn
So here is my heart, come take it
And claim it as your own [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I wrote her back an answer
And sent it back in speed
I own that once I did love you
I loved you dear indeed [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
But then my mind has changed me
I seek another way
Upon some pretty fair maiden
My heart will have its sway [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Upon some pretty fair maiden
My heart shall have its fill
This world is wide and lonely
If one won't another one will
In a Little Village Churchyard was recorded in 1936 by the Carters. Meade separates the Carters song from a song with same title which we can call "In a Little Village Churchyard- II" which is known as "Mother's Grave." It's from "Since My Mother's Dead And Gone" by Phil Mowrey, Harry Percy. The other song is also known as "Old Village Churchyard" and "Since My Mother's Dead and Gone." The song was rewritten by Carson Robison in 1926.
Apparently the Carters song is "In That Dear Old Village Churchyard" from Primitive Baptist Hymn Book and Tune Book (1918) compiled by Elder John Daily. Lomax collected it as "In this Old Gray Village Churchyard" and a similar version was recorded by Roscoe Holcomb.
IN A LITTLE VILLAGE CHURCHYARD Carter Family
In a little village churchyard
There I see a grassy mound
There my sweetheart lies a-sleeping
In the cold and silent ground
Gently waves the weeping willow
Birds, they warble sweet and low
And there's no one left to love me
Since my sweetheart had to go
In that little village churchyard
There I stray with a broken heart
There is no one left to love me
Since the day we had to part [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
That sad day will I remember
When she called me to her side
How I watched her spirit fading
And the tears did blind my sight
Then she said, goodbye, my darling
Dry those teardrops from your eyes
Promise me, my little darling
That you'll meet me up on high
In that little village churchyard
There I stray with a broken heart
There is no one left to love me
Since the day we had to part [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Oft I've wandered to the graveyard
Flowers to plant with tender care
O'er the grave of my dear darling
Darkness finds me weeping there
In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain was recorded in NYC in 1937. According to the Carters biography Sara sang the song to Jeanette. The song seems to be based on another song but at this point we don't know the song.
IN THE SHADOW OF CLINCH MOUNTAIN- Carter Family
Oh, I grew up on the side of Clinch Mountain
'Mid the beauty and the wonders of the woods
Where sweet songs from the bright, sunny fountain
And the warbles of the birds I understood
Then I asked how this green, lofty mountain
In the cavern of the lonely desert stood
Said the songs of the bright, sunny fountain
We are given by the waters of His love
When I've sung my last song in the evening
And the sun sets in the golden west
All the scenes of this world I'll be leaving
In the shadow of Clinch Mountain I will rest [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Through the gates I have passed now from childhood
O'er the railways to the valley of the west
Singing songs of the Clinch Mountain wildwood
Songs neighbors sang and birds still sang the best
When I've sung my last song in the evening
And the sun sets in the golden west
All the scenes of this world I'll be leaving
In the shadow of Clinch Mountain I will rest [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Long ago stood the oaks and the cedars
Singing sweetly in a whisper of the past
Stand they not now, those great towering leaders
Nor the fountain where their crystal gleams are cast
When I've sung my last song in the evening
And the sun sets in the golden west
All the scenes of this world I'll be leaving
In the shadow of Clinch Mountain I will rest
In the Valley of the Shenandoah is another song that has virually no information about any source that I could find. Without more info we can just assume it's a song by AP Carter. Harry Fox Agency says the legal name of the song is "In the Valley of the Shenandoah," and the songwriter is A.P. Carter. Publisher is APRS, and the contact is Peermusic, www.peermusic.com.
IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHENANDOAH- Recorded Oct 14, 1941
As I sit alone tonight in the stillness of the night
I picture happy scenes of long ago
Of a maiden fair and bright who is seeping there tonight
In the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge
It was in the month of June when the roses were in bloom
When I held her in my arms and softly said
"Darling, in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge" [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When I left her all alone in her Shenandoah home
She promised she'd be waiting there for me
But the angels came along and took her from our home
From the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge
It was in the month of June when the roses were in bloom
When I held her in my arms and softly said
"Darling, in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge"[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When the evening shadows fall, in memory I recall
The pledge when I gave to her a ring
"Darling in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge"
It was in the month of June when the roses were in bloom
When I held her in my arms and softly said
"Darling, in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge"
It Is Better Farther On is a traditional gospel song arranged by The Carter Family. One verse is from 1836; The song was published in 1877 as Trad. Arranged by L. Thompson (1911)
It Is Better Farther On Carter Family-1938
As we travel through the desert
Storms beset us by the way
But beyond the river Jordan
Lies a field of endless day
Farther on, still go farther
Count the milestones one by one
Jesus will forsake you never
It is better farther on
Oh my brother are you weary
Of the roughness and the way
Does your strength begin to fail you
And your vigor to decay
At my grave, o still be singing
Though you weep for one that's gone
Sing it as we once did sing it
It is better farther on
It'll Aggravate Your Soul is a song, according to the Carter's Biography, that was written entirely by A.P. Carter even tho the first verse appears to be based on other lyrics. It's one of the few songs AP sang solo and it was written during the time when he and Sara were seperated.
IT'LL AGGRAVATE YOUR SOUL Carter family- 1934
Come all of you people take warning from me
Don't take no girl to Tennessee
For if you get married and don't agree
It'll aggravate your soul
We left Maces early in the night
Expect to get married before daylight
So many things happened to hinder our flight
It aggravated my soul
Arrived at The Bristol at 11 o'clock
The parson was there right on the spot
We found that the license had been forgot
It aggravated my soul
We went for the license in an automobile
Run so fast couldn't see the wheel
No one can explain how bad I did feel
It aggravated my soul
We stayed all night at The Bristol Hotel
Just to make folks think we were swell
Next morning they put it in the Bristol Herald
It aggravated my soul
And when the new style books comin' around
She begins to get ready to go to town
You know right then she's milliner shop bound
It'll aggravate your soul
She wants a new coat and a hobble skirt
And you can't get in for the young un's and dirt
And when she gets out, oh how she will flirt
It'll aggravate your soul
nd when depressions gather round your head
You'll think of what your dear old mother said
With a pain in you back and heart and head
It'll aggravate your soul
Now young men take warning from me
Don't take no girl to Tennessee
For if you get married and don't agree
It'll aggravate your soul
It's a Long Long Road to Travel Alone is a song attributed to Maybelle Carter. In 1931 the copyright office registered "It's a long road to travel alone" words and music by BAD [pseud of Mrs. WH Do France]. Anyone know about this song?
It's A Long, Long Road To Travel Alone- Carter Family 1940
I always thought I'd like to roam
One day I started alone
Out in this old wide wicked world
Away from friends and home
It's a long long road to travel alone
And when the day is gone
No place to pillow my head at night
Only on the cold cold stone
I've travelled around from town to town
Now it's time that I settled down
I've had my fill of rambling around
And now I am homeward bound
One day a letter came to me
And this is what it read
Come home my boy to the old homestead
Your father and mother are dead
It's been a long road to travel alone
I wish I had never roamedI thought
I'd soon see my mother and dad
But now I am left alone
Monday, December 15, 2008
Carter Family- The Depression Years- Recording With Jimmie Rodgers
Hi,
I've gone through all the 292 original Carter Family songs. Whew! The information about the sources of the Carters songs has been posted on the Mudcat Discussion Forum and we're trying to decide the best way to present it.
We'll be looking at the rest of the Carters songs on my blog over the next few weeks and I'll post the I-J-K titles soon. For now let's look at how the Carter Family fared during the first years of the Great Depression 1929-1933.
The Depression Years- Recording With Jimmie Rodgers
Economically and emotionally these were trying times. Unlike many groups, the popular Carter Family recorded with Victor throughout the Great Depression (1929-34) years at least twice every year from 1929 to 1932. Even though their sales dropped drastically they still outsold other Country groups. Recording and performing did not bring in as much money, and A.P.'s erratic personal habits contributed to stress at home. In 1929, A.P. sought work in Detroit for several months, while Maybelle and her husband, Ezra, followed his railroad job to West Virginia, and, in 1931, to Washington, D.C. The recording business would not recover until the mid-1930s.
Ralph Peer hatched up the idea for the first all-star team-up in country music, bringing the Carter Family and Jimmie Rogers together to record. June Carter Cash, "They recorded with Jimmy Rodgers, and I remember once that mother said Jimmy was too sick to play his guitar so she played it for him."
The session began in Louisville, Kentucky on June 10, 1931 with "Why There’s a Tear in My Eye" and "The Wonderful City." A.P., who did not sing or play, contributed the song, "Why There’s a Tear in My Eye" and had some lines in the skits. A.P’s song as many collected came from other sources, "An Old Man’s Story" was copyrighted by Carson Robinson in 1928. On June 11 Jimmie recorded "Let Me Be Your Side Track" and the whole group recorded their song-and-spoken-word skits "The Carter Family and Jimmie Rogers in Texas" and "Jimmie Rogers Visits The Carter Family." On June 12 the first skit was redone to its released form.
The first release by the two top Country recording artists for Victor was "Jimmie Rodgers Visits the Carter Family" backed by Rodgers "Moonlight and Skies." The single was a big success by post 1929 standards, selling 24, 000 copies. Curiously, the other songs from that session (except Jimmie’s solo "Let Me Be Your Side Track") were released five years later, long after Rodgers was dead.
"The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in Texas," though recorded in Kentucky, asks the listener to imagine the Carters paying a visit to Jimmie in the Lone Star State. The number begins with Jimmie offering a short-lived snatch of song on 'Yodelling Cowboy', switches into repartee as the three Carters knock at the door, and then segues into Jimmie and his guests performing "T for Texas."
In 1932 Peer renewed the Carters' contract, this time with himself instead of Victor. The five-year contract gives the Carters $75 per song and guaranteed them four songs per year; Peer takes all the royalties. Peer was leaving Victor after conflicts with Eli Oberstein his replacement.
This was a bad deal for the Carters, who remained loyal to Peer. Oberstein tried to persuade the Carters to remain with Victor where they would, in addition to receiving a song guarantee continue to receive royalties.
That's all for now,
Richard
I've gone through all the 292 original Carter Family songs. Whew! The information about the sources of the Carters songs has been posted on the Mudcat Discussion Forum and we're trying to decide the best way to present it.
We'll be looking at the rest of the Carters songs on my blog over the next few weeks and I'll post the I-J-K titles soon. For now let's look at how the Carter Family fared during the first years of the Great Depression 1929-1933.
The Depression Years- Recording With Jimmie Rodgers
Economically and emotionally these were trying times. Unlike many groups, the popular Carter Family recorded with Victor throughout the Great Depression (1929-34) years at least twice every year from 1929 to 1932. Even though their sales dropped drastically they still outsold other Country groups. Recording and performing did not bring in as much money, and A.P.'s erratic personal habits contributed to stress at home. In 1929, A.P. sought work in Detroit for several months, while Maybelle and her husband, Ezra, followed his railroad job to West Virginia, and, in 1931, to Washington, D.C. The recording business would not recover until the mid-1930s.
Ralph Peer hatched up the idea for the first all-star team-up in country music, bringing the Carter Family and Jimmie Rogers together to record. June Carter Cash, "They recorded with Jimmy Rodgers, and I remember once that mother said Jimmy was too sick to play his guitar so she played it for him."
The session began in Louisville, Kentucky on June 10, 1931 with "Why There’s a Tear in My Eye" and "The Wonderful City." A.P., who did not sing or play, contributed the song, "Why There’s a Tear in My Eye" and had some lines in the skits. A.P’s song as many collected came from other sources, "An Old Man’s Story" was copyrighted by Carson Robinson in 1928. On June 11 Jimmie recorded "Let Me Be Your Side Track" and the whole group recorded their song-and-spoken-word skits "The Carter Family and Jimmie Rogers in Texas" and "Jimmie Rogers Visits The Carter Family." On June 12 the first skit was redone to its released form.
The first release by the two top Country recording artists for Victor was "Jimmie Rodgers Visits the Carter Family" backed by Rodgers "Moonlight and Skies." The single was a big success by post 1929 standards, selling 24, 000 copies. Curiously, the other songs from that session (except Jimmie’s solo "Let Me Be Your Side Track") were released five years later, long after Rodgers was dead.
"The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in Texas," though recorded in Kentucky, asks the listener to imagine the Carters paying a visit to Jimmie in the Lone Star State. The number begins with Jimmie offering a short-lived snatch of song on 'Yodelling Cowboy', switches into repartee as the three Carters knock at the door, and then segues into Jimmie and his guests performing "T for Texas."
In 1932 Peer renewed the Carters' contract, this time with himself instead of Victor. The five-year contract gives the Carters $75 per song and guaranteed them four songs per year; Peer takes all the royalties. Peer was leaving Victor after conflicts with Eli Oberstein his replacement.
This was a bad deal for the Carters, who remained loyal to Peer. Oberstein tried to persuade the Carters to remain with Victor where they would, in addition to receiving a song guarantee continue to receive royalties.
That's all for now,
Richard
Monday, December 8, 2008
Carter Family Songs titled H
Hi,
Today we'll look at the original Carter Family songs titled with H:
Happiest Days of All;
Happy in the Prison;
Happy or Lonesome;
He Never Came Back;
He Took a White Rose from Her Hair;
Heart That Was Broken for Me;
Heaven's Radio;
Hello Central, Give Me Heaven;
Hello Stranger;
Hold Fast to the Right;
Home by the Sea;
Home in Tennessee;
Homestead on the Farm;
Honey in the Rock;
Happiest Days of All is usually titled "Gathering Shells From the Seashore." The song is by Will Thompson in 1875. Otto Gray's band did the first recording in 1930, the Carters did theirs in 1932. There's a good article from 1906 here:http://books.google.com/books?id=f_bCmZUgDIcC&pg=PA297&dq=Gathering+Shells+From+the+Seashore&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF ALL- Carter Family
I wandered today on the seashore
The waves and the winds are low
I thought of the days that are gone by, ma
Many long years ago
We lingered by the gently flowing billows
And watched the golden sunset fade away
And there among the sweet ocean breezes
We talked about our future wedding day
CHORUS: Gathering up the shells from the seashore
Gathering up the shells from the sea
Those were the happiest days of all, ma
Gathering up the shells from the shore [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When the waves are rolling on the ocean
And the golden moonbeams on the pebbles shine
At your cottage by the sea I'll come again, ma
When the waves are rolling gentle, sweetheart mine
Now I am growing up in years, ma
My locks are all silver and gray
But the vows that we made on the shore, ma
Are fresh in my memory today CHORUS:
No more bright shells we will gather
As the waves come dashing as of yore
She lies 'neath the white pebbled sand
Just covered up with shells on the shore CHORUS:
Happy in the Prison is a spiritual also known as "When I Lay my Burdens Down" or "Since I Lay my Burdens Down." The Carters learned some African-American spirituals and blues from Leslie Riddle and his friend Pauline Gray. The Carters 1938 recording followed several important recordings. Here's the first, the 1927 Earnest Phipps Holiness Quartet version:
HAPPY IN PRISON- 1927 Earnest Phipps Holiness Quartet
Well I am happy in this prison
Yes, I'm happy everywhere
In my heart the Savior's risen
Of 10,000 he was spared
CHORUS: Glory, glory, *hallelujah
Sinners lay that burden down
Glory, glory, hallelujah
For a cross receive a crown(fiddle)
Oh Pentecostal reign is falling
And its coming draweth nigh
Well I can hear the Savior calling
Go in heaven or you die. CHORUS (Fiddle)
Blind Roosevelt Graves recorded this traditional spiritual in 1929 backed with an incredibly hot band, Mississippi Jook Band, that included his brother Aaron.
WHEN I LAY MY BURDENS DOWN- Blind Roosevelt Graves
Glory glory, hallelujah,
When I lay my burdens down
Glory glory, hallelujah,
When I lay my burdens down.
All of my troubles will be over,
When I lay my burdens down,... (x2)
I'll go home to meet my Savior,
When I lay my burdens down,... (x2)
I will see, see my mother,
When I lay my burdens down,... (x2)
HAPPY IN PRISON- Carter Family
I am happy in a prison
Yes, I'm happy anywhere
In my soul my savior's risen
Of 10,000 he is fair
Glory, glory, hallelujah
Sinners lay your burdens down
Glory, glory, hallelujah
For a cross receive a crown [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When the food is low and failing
And the children bare for clothes
I look up to father's healing
For I know my savior knows
I am happy in a prison
Yes, I'm happy anywhere
In my soul my savior's risen
Of 10,000 he is fair [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Any cost, a fire is burning
And its coming draweth nigh
But I'm happy, always happy
Though in prison I must die
I am happy in a prison
Yes, I'm happy anywhere
In my soul my savior's risen
Of 10,000 he is fair
"Happy or Lonesome" is likely based on an earlier parlor song and was first collected by Dick Burnett and published in 1913 as "Are You Happy or Lonesome" in his songster; the same songster that produced "Man Of Constant Sorrow." Burnett and Rutherford first recorded the song in 1927. The Carters slight name change was probably recommended by Peer to prevent copyright problems since the song was copyrighted by Columbia.
HAPPY OR LONESOME- Carter Family, 1934
Come back to me in my dreaming
Come back to me once more
Come with the love light gleaming
As in the days of yore
I wonder if you still love me
And if your heart is still true
When the spring roses are blooming
Then I'll come back to you
Somewhere a heart is breaking
And calling me back to you
Memories of loved ones awaiting
Each happy home and you
Absence makes my heart fonder
Is it the same with you
Are you still happy, I wonder
Or do you feel lonesome, too [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When the sun is sinking
In the golden west
And the birds and flowers
They have gone to rest
Come tell me that you still love me
And that your heart is still true
When the spring roses are blooming
Then I'll come back to you
Somewhere a heart is breaking
And calling me back to you
Memories of loved ones awaiting
Each happy home and you
Absence makes my heart fonder
Is it the same with you
Are you still happy, I wonder
Or do you feel lonesome, too
He Never Came Back was written by William Jerome in 1892 and can be viewed here:
http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/levy-cgi/display.cgi?id=141.006.001;pages=4;range=0-3
HE NEVER CAME BACK-Words and Music by William Jerome 1892.
1. A soldier kissed his wife goodbye, he was going to the war.
The tears they trickled down the face of the one he did adore.
"Be patient until I return, my own sweetheart," he cried,
But at the battle of Bull Run, he like a soldier died.
CHORUS: He never came back.
He never came back.
His dear form she never saw more.
But how happy she'll be
When his sweet face she'll see
When they meet on that beautiful shore.
2. I went into a restaurant as hungry as a bear,
And like a raving maniac, I grabbed the bill of fare.
The waiter said, "What will you have?" "Bring me a steak," I say.
He took my order, bowed his head, and slowly walked away. CHORUS:
3. I went to see the Barnum's show and took my mother-in-law.
She laughed at ev'rything she saw until it broke her jaw.
Outside the tent, a big balloon it proved to be my friend.
I shoved her in, then cut the rope, and up she did ascend. CHORUS:
4. A jay that lived "down on the farm" came in to see the town
And registered at Smith's Hotel as Mister Hayseed Brown.
He took his key and went upstairs with whiskers green as grass,
Pulled off his boots, jumped into bed, and then blew out the gas. CHORUS:
5. An old maid who was forty-five, she madly fell in love,
And with a young man just nineteen who called her turtledove.
The wedding day at last arrived. The birds did gaily sing.
He touched her for a hundred to go out and buy the ring. CHORUS:
Fiddlin' John Carson first recorded the song in 1926 as "When We Meet on that Beautiful Shore." The Carters recorded theirs in 1937:
HE NEVER CAME BACK- Carter Family
An old Jane about 49 came in to view the town
She registered up at Smith's Hotel as Miss Ada Brown
She said she was just 25 and that she was in love
With a young lad about 16, she called him her turtledove.
The wedding day at last arrived, the birds did merrily sing
He touched her up for a hundred to go out and buy the ring]
He never came back, no, he never came back
He's been gone for a year or more
That sassy young thing better have that ring
When we meet on that beautiful shore
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I went down to a restaurant as hungry as a bear
And a raving thief I did, I grabbed the bill of fare
The waiter said, now what for you, a piece of steak, I said
He taken my order and bowed his head and slowly walked away
No, he never came back, no, he never came back
I waited an hour or more
His neck I will break if he has not that steak
When we meet on that beautiful shore
He Took a White Rose from Her Hair is a traditional song usually titled "The (Little) White Rose" and was first recorded in 1927 by Red Patterson and his Piedmont Log Rollers. Again the title was probably changed by the Carters to prevent copyright problems. The song appears in print in 1929 JOAFL.
I found this snippet on-line:
"O, Willie," I said with a smile,
"I'm sure I will have to say no."
He took a white rose from my hair
And said "Good bye, I must go.
Here's a version on-line from Alabama: http://books.google.com/books?id=ZG_VpWAciWsC&pg=PA290&dq=took+a+white+rose+folk+song&lr=&as_brr=0&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
"The White Rose" was a favorite of WHAS radio radio star Frankie Moore and his Log Cabin Boys. They included the song in their 1936 songbook.
HE TOOK WHITE ROSES FROM HER HAIR- Carter Family 1935
Oh Willie my darling come back
I will ever be faithful and true
Oh Willie my darling come back
I'll forever be faithful to you
I remember once that he said
He loved me better than his life
He called me his darling his wife
Then asked me to be his own bride
Oh darling he said I am sure
Your heart is made of a stone
He took a white rose from my hair
Then left me a standing alone
The next day poor Willie was dead
He was found in the pond near the mill
Oh the clear precious waters so fair
That flows from the branch up the hills
His blue eyes were forever closed
And damp was his golden hair
And close to his pale lips was found
The white rose which he took from my hair
Heart That Was Broken for Me is a southern gospel song by Judson W. Van DeVenter (1855-1939) written in 1914.
Van DeVenter attended Hillsdale College, Michigan, then taught art in Sharon, Pennsylvania. After several years, he decided to switch to a career in evangelism, working with Wilbur Chapman and others in America and England. Toward the end of his life, he lived in St. Petersburg, Florida, then moved to Tampa, Florida, around 1923. He was professor of hymnology at the Florida Bible Institute (now Trinity Bible College) for four years.Probably his best know gospel song is "I Surrender All"
THE HEART THAT WAS BROKEN FOR ME- Carter Family 1938
There came from the skies
In the days long ago
The Lord with a message of love
The world knew Him not
He was treated with scorn
This wonderful Gift from above
They crowned Him with thorns
He was beaten with straps
He was wounded and nailed to the tree
But the pain in His heart
Was the hardest to bear
The heart that was broken for me
He came to His own
To his owners He loved
The sheep that had wandered astray
They heard not His voice
But the Friend of mankind
Was halted and driven away
I will take up my cross
I will walk by His side
For the pathway of duty I see
I will follow my Lord
And abide in His heart
The heart that was broken for me
Heaven's Radio is a gospel song recorded by the Carters in 1940. I'm not sure where they got this one but Stamps-Baxter music copyrighted a song by Brumley titled "Heaven's Radio Station Is In The Air" in 1943 so the idea was around. From a 1942 book: Such items as a Negro woman singing a song she composed called "Heaven's Radio" in which the words are the expression of a simple mind. The song was referred to a Freddie Lee Kirby who was a black choir director in Texas during the 1930s. [Popular Song Index: Third Supplement By Patricia Pate Havlice Published by Scarecrow Press, 1989]
HEAVEN'S RADIO- Carter Family
There's a wonderful invention
It's called the radio
You can hear it every where you chance to go
But the static in the air
Sometimes makes it hard to hear
But it is not so with heaven's radio.
CHORUS: Heaven's radio on the other shore
For my precious savior always listens in
It's the same old radio that was used long time ago
For my precious savior always listens in
Daniel in the lions den
With this power should surely win
For my precious savior always listens in
And I know without a doubt
Honest prayers will bring you out
For my precious savior always listens in
Well He set the Hebrews three
From the fiery furnace free
For my precious savior always listens in
He will rescue you today
In that same old fashioned way
For my precious savior always listens in
Hello Central, Give Me Heaven is a song by Charles K. Harris written in 1901. Here's a link to the sheet music: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query
HELLO, CENTRAL! GIVE ME HEAVEN 1934 Carter Family
Hello, central, give me heaven
For I know my mother's there
And you'll find her with the angels
Over on the golden stair
She'll be glad it's me a-speakin'
Won't you call her for me please
For I surely want to tell her
That we're sad without her here
Hello, central, give me heaven
For I know my mother's there
And you'll find her with the angels
Over on the golden stair [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Papa dear is sad and lonely
Sobbed a tearful little child
Since mama's gone to heaven
Papa dear, you do not smile
I must speak to her and tell her
That we want her to come home
You just listen while I call her
Call her through the telephone
Hello, central, give me heaven
For I know my mother's there
And you'll find her with the angels
Over on the golden stair [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I will answer just to please her
Yes, dear hearts, I'll soon come home
Kiss me, mama, it's your daughter
Kiss me through the telephone
"Hello Stranger" is a collection of blues and traditional lyrics from different songs arranged by The Carter Family. Maybelle wrote/arranged blues songs as well as A.P. The first verse seems to be the only original one from the Carters. It's been recorded by Doc Watson; Hazel and Alice.
HELLO, STRANGER Arranged Carter Family 1937
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
You are a stranger and you're a pal of mine.
Get up, rounder, let a working man lay down
Get up, rounder, let a working man lay down
You are a rounder, but you're all out and down
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Every time I ride the 6th and 4th streetcar
Every time I ride the 6th and 4th streetcar
I can see my baby peeping through the bars.
She bowed her head, she waved both hands at me
She bowed her head, she waved both hands at me
I'm prison bound, I'm longing to be free
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Oh, I'll see you when your troubles are like mine
Oh, I'll see you when your troubles are like mine
Oh, I'll see you when you haven't got a dime.
Weeping like a willow, mourning like a dove
Weeping like a willow, mourning like a dove
There's a girl up the country that I really love
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
You are a stranger and you're a pal of mine
Hold Fast to the Right is from James Vaughan 1906. Lester McFarland and James Gardner recorded the song first in 1928.
HOLD FAST TO THE RIGHT- Carter Family 1937
Kneel down by the side of your mother, my boy
You have only a moment, I know
But stay till I give you my parting advice
It is all that I have to bestow
CHORUS: Hold fast to the right, hold fast to the right
Wherever your footsteps may roam
And forsake not the way of salvation, my boy
That you learned from your mother at home
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
You leave us to seek your employment, my boy
By the world you have yet to be tied
But in the temptations and trials you meet
May your heart to the savior confide
CHORUS: [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I gave you to god in your cradle, my boy
And taught you the best that I knew
And as long as His mercies permits me to live
I shall never stop praying for you
CHORUS:
You will find in this satchel a Bible, my boy
It's a book of all others are built
It will help you to live and prepare you to die
And will lead to the gates of the blest
CHORUS:
Home by the Sea seems to be a rewrite of "Dear Old Home Beyond the Sea" by A. Hamilton Sims and William A. Keller (music) written in 1887. The sentiment is identical but the song probably entered traditional and was changed. You can look here:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100007143/pageturner.html
HOME BY THE SEA Carter Family
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
There's a lonely cottage by the seaside
Where the water lilies strew the shore
It was there I passed my happy childhood
With a loved one that's gone before
Then give me back my dear old home
That old home by the sea
And I never will wander far away
From my home, my dear old cottage home
Oh-le-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-ee Ah-lee-oh-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-e-ee
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Many years have passed since there I wandered
But the old cot' ne'er has been forgot
And my heart in fancy oft returns
To that dear old familiar spot
Then give me back my dear old home
That old home by the sea
And I never will wander far away
From my home, my dear old cottage home
Oh-le-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-ee Ah-lee-oh-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-e-ee
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Yes, my heart is like a humming sea shell
That tells of its birth where e'er it roams
I will sing of my cottage by the seashore
Of my home, my dear old cottage home
Then give me back my dear old home
That old home by the sea
And I never will wander far away
From my home, my dear old cottage home
Home in Tennessee was actually titled "My Little Home in Tennessee" and recorded by the Carters in 1932. It was not issued for Victor at that time and was released later on RCA CNV102. Although the song entered tradition or at least the title has, this was a song by Maggie Andrews (an alias for Carson Robison) and because it was copyrighted by Columbia, the song was not released. The song was recorded by Al Craver (actually Vernon Dalhart) for Columbia in 1925. Later when the song was released by the Carters the name was changed slightly.
HOME IN TENNESSEE Carter Family 1932
CHORUS: Oh, yes, I'm going back
To my home in Tennessee
Back to the girl that's waiting
In the cotton fields to see
There's a mother and a dad
That's waiting patiently
And the place I'm longing for tonight
Is my home in Tennessee [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I've sailed the skies in airplanes
To a place called Bunker Hill
I've dropped from the clouds in a parachute
And, oh, boys, what a thrill
I've saw shells fall in no man's land
And dined on the great prairie
But the place I'm longing for tonight
Is my home in Tennessee CHORUS: [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I've been to 'Frisco's golden gate
Also that of Maine
I've been to the Rocky Mountains
And back down again
Been up to old New York
Saw the Statue of Liberty
But the place I'm longing for tonight
Is my home in Tennessee CHORUS:
Homestead on the Farm was recorded twice by the Carter Family; first for Victor in 1929 then for ARC in 1935. The song is based on "I Wonder How The Old Folks Are At Home" by Lambert and Vandersloot in 1909. Will Oakland recorded the song for Edison in 1910. Here's the sheet music: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sheetmusic/a/a02/a0276/
THE HOMESTEAD ON THE FARM Carter Family
Well, I wonder how the old folks are at home
Well, I wonder if they miss me when I'm gone
I wonder if they pray
For the boy who went away
And left his dear old parents all alone
You could hear the cattle lowing in the lane
You could almost see the fields of bluegrass green
You could almost hear them cry
As they kissed their boy goodbye
I wonder how the old folks are at home
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK TO TUNE OF HOME, SWEET HOME]
Just a village and a homestead on the farm
And a mother's love to shield him from all harm
A mother's love so true
And a sweetheart brave and true
A village and a homestead on the farm
You could hear the cattle lowing in the lane
You could almost see the fields of bluegrass green
You could almost hear them cry
As they kissed their boy goodbye
I wonder how the old folks are at home
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK TO TUNE OF HOME, SWEET HOME] [REPEAT CHORUS]
Honey in the Rock is a gospel song written by Frederick A. Graves in 1895. The Carters recorded their version in 1937.
Honey In The Rock- Carter family
Oh my brother, do you know the Savior
Who is wondrous kind and true?
He's the Rock of your salvation
There is honey in the Rock for you
Oh, honey in the Rock (oh, honey in the Rock)
Sweet honey in the Rock (sweet honey in the Rock)
Oh it tastes just like honey in the Rock
Oh taste and see if the Lord is good
Oh it tastes just like honey in the Rock
Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious?
Do you walk in the way that's new?
Have you drank from the living fountain?
There is honey in the Rock for you
Oh, there's honey in the Rock my brother
There is honey in the Rock for you
Leave your sins for the Blood to cover
There is honey in the Rock for you
HONEY IN THE ROCK- Graves lyrics
O my brother, do you know the Savior,
Who is wondrous, kind, and true?
He's the Rock of your salvation!
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Refrain: Oh, there's honey in the Rock, my brother;
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Leave your sins for the Blood to cover;
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious?
Do you walk in the way that's new?
Have you drunk from the living fountain?
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Do you pray unto God the Father,
"What wilt Thou have me to do?"
Never fear, He will surely answer,
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Then go out through the streets and byways,
Preach the Word to the many or few;
Say to every fallen brother,
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Today we'll look at the original Carter Family songs titled with H:
Happiest Days of All;
Happy in the Prison;
Happy or Lonesome;
He Never Came Back;
He Took a White Rose from Her Hair;
Heart That Was Broken for Me;
Heaven's Radio;
Hello Central, Give Me Heaven;
Hello Stranger;
Hold Fast to the Right;
Home by the Sea;
Home in Tennessee;
Homestead on the Farm;
Honey in the Rock;
Happiest Days of All is usually titled "Gathering Shells From the Seashore." The song is by Will Thompson in 1875. Otto Gray's band did the first recording in 1930, the Carters did theirs in 1932. There's a good article from 1906 here:http://books.google.com/books?id=f_bCmZUgDIcC&pg=PA297&dq=Gathering+Shells+From+the+Seashore&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF ALL- Carter Family
I wandered today on the seashore
The waves and the winds are low
I thought of the days that are gone by, ma
Many long years ago
We lingered by the gently flowing billows
And watched the golden sunset fade away
And there among the sweet ocean breezes
We talked about our future wedding day
CHORUS: Gathering up the shells from the seashore
Gathering up the shells from the sea
Those were the happiest days of all, ma
Gathering up the shells from the shore [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When the waves are rolling on the ocean
And the golden moonbeams on the pebbles shine
At your cottage by the sea I'll come again, ma
When the waves are rolling gentle, sweetheart mine
Now I am growing up in years, ma
My locks are all silver and gray
But the vows that we made on the shore, ma
Are fresh in my memory today CHORUS:
No more bright shells we will gather
As the waves come dashing as of yore
She lies 'neath the white pebbled sand
Just covered up with shells on the shore CHORUS:
Happy in the Prison is a spiritual also known as "When I Lay my Burdens Down" or "Since I Lay my Burdens Down." The Carters learned some African-American spirituals and blues from Leslie Riddle and his friend Pauline Gray. The Carters 1938 recording followed several important recordings. Here's the first, the 1927 Earnest Phipps Holiness Quartet version:
HAPPY IN PRISON- 1927 Earnest Phipps Holiness Quartet
Well I am happy in this prison
Yes, I'm happy everywhere
In my heart the Savior's risen
Of 10,000 he was spared
CHORUS: Glory, glory, *hallelujah
Sinners lay that burden down
Glory, glory, hallelujah
For a cross receive a crown(fiddle)
Oh Pentecostal reign is falling
And its coming draweth nigh
Well I can hear the Savior calling
Go in heaven or you die. CHORUS (Fiddle)
Blind Roosevelt Graves recorded this traditional spiritual in 1929 backed with an incredibly hot band, Mississippi Jook Band, that included his brother Aaron.
WHEN I LAY MY BURDENS DOWN- Blind Roosevelt Graves
Glory glory, hallelujah,
When I lay my burdens down
Glory glory, hallelujah,
When I lay my burdens down.
All of my troubles will be over,
When I lay my burdens down,... (x2)
I'll go home to meet my Savior,
When I lay my burdens down,... (x2)
I will see, see my mother,
When I lay my burdens down,... (x2)
HAPPY IN PRISON- Carter Family
I am happy in a prison
Yes, I'm happy anywhere
In my soul my savior's risen
Of 10,000 he is fair
Glory, glory, hallelujah
Sinners lay your burdens down
Glory, glory, hallelujah
For a cross receive a crown [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When the food is low and failing
And the children bare for clothes
I look up to father's healing
For I know my savior knows
I am happy in a prison
Yes, I'm happy anywhere
In my soul my savior's risen
Of 10,000 he is fair [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Any cost, a fire is burning
And its coming draweth nigh
But I'm happy, always happy
Though in prison I must die
I am happy in a prison
Yes, I'm happy anywhere
In my soul my savior's risen
Of 10,000 he is fair
"Happy or Lonesome" is likely based on an earlier parlor song and was first collected by Dick Burnett and published in 1913 as "Are You Happy or Lonesome" in his songster; the same songster that produced "Man Of Constant Sorrow." Burnett and Rutherford first recorded the song in 1927. The Carters slight name change was probably recommended by Peer to prevent copyright problems since the song was copyrighted by Columbia.
HAPPY OR LONESOME- Carter Family, 1934
Come back to me in my dreaming
Come back to me once more
Come with the love light gleaming
As in the days of yore
I wonder if you still love me
And if your heart is still true
When the spring roses are blooming
Then I'll come back to you
Somewhere a heart is breaking
And calling me back to you
Memories of loved ones awaiting
Each happy home and you
Absence makes my heart fonder
Is it the same with you
Are you still happy, I wonder
Or do you feel lonesome, too [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When the sun is sinking
In the golden west
And the birds and flowers
They have gone to rest
Come tell me that you still love me
And that your heart is still true
When the spring roses are blooming
Then I'll come back to you
Somewhere a heart is breaking
And calling me back to you
Memories of loved ones awaiting
Each happy home and you
Absence makes my heart fonder
Is it the same with you
Are you still happy, I wonder
Or do you feel lonesome, too
He Never Came Back was written by William Jerome in 1892 and can be viewed here:
http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/levy-cgi/display.cgi?id=141.006.001;pages=4;range=0-3
HE NEVER CAME BACK-Words and Music by William Jerome 1892.
1. A soldier kissed his wife goodbye, he was going to the war.
The tears they trickled down the face of the one he did adore.
"Be patient until I return, my own sweetheart," he cried,
But at the battle of Bull Run, he like a soldier died.
CHORUS: He never came back.
He never came back.
His dear form she never saw more.
But how happy she'll be
When his sweet face she'll see
When they meet on that beautiful shore.
2. I went into a restaurant as hungry as a bear,
And like a raving maniac, I grabbed the bill of fare.
The waiter said, "What will you have?" "Bring me a steak," I say.
He took my order, bowed his head, and slowly walked away. CHORUS:
3. I went to see the Barnum's show and took my mother-in-law.
She laughed at ev'rything she saw until it broke her jaw.
Outside the tent, a big balloon it proved to be my friend.
I shoved her in, then cut the rope, and up she did ascend. CHORUS:
4. A jay that lived "down on the farm" came in to see the town
And registered at Smith's Hotel as Mister Hayseed Brown.
He took his key and went upstairs with whiskers green as grass,
Pulled off his boots, jumped into bed, and then blew out the gas. CHORUS:
5. An old maid who was forty-five, she madly fell in love,
And with a young man just nineteen who called her turtledove.
The wedding day at last arrived. The birds did gaily sing.
He touched her for a hundred to go out and buy the ring. CHORUS:
Fiddlin' John Carson first recorded the song in 1926 as "When We Meet on that Beautiful Shore." The Carters recorded theirs in 1937:
HE NEVER CAME BACK- Carter Family
An old Jane about 49 came in to view the town
She registered up at Smith's Hotel as Miss Ada Brown
She said she was just 25 and that she was in love
With a young lad about 16, she called him her turtledove.
The wedding day at last arrived, the birds did merrily sing
He touched her up for a hundred to go out and buy the ring]
He never came back, no, he never came back
He's been gone for a year or more
That sassy young thing better have that ring
When we meet on that beautiful shore
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I went down to a restaurant as hungry as a bear
And a raving thief I did, I grabbed the bill of fare
The waiter said, now what for you, a piece of steak, I said
He taken my order and bowed his head and slowly walked away
No, he never came back, no, he never came back
I waited an hour or more
His neck I will break if he has not that steak
When we meet on that beautiful shore
He Took a White Rose from Her Hair is a traditional song usually titled "The (Little) White Rose" and was first recorded in 1927 by Red Patterson and his Piedmont Log Rollers. Again the title was probably changed by the Carters to prevent copyright problems. The song appears in print in 1929 JOAFL.
I found this snippet on-line:
"O, Willie," I said with a smile,
"I'm sure I will have to say no."
He took a white rose from my hair
And said "Good bye, I must go.
Here's a version on-line from Alabama: http://books.google.com/books?id=ZG_VpWAciWsC&pg=PA290&dq=took+a+white+rose+folk+song&lr=&as_brr=0&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
"The White Rose" was a favorite of WHAS radio radio star Frankie Moore and his Log Cabin Boys. They included the song in their 1936 songbook.
HE TOOK WHITE ROSES FROM HER HAIR- Carter Family 1935
Oh Willie my darling come back
I will ever be faithful and true
Oh Willie my darling come back
I'll forever be faithful to you
I remember once that he said
He loved me better than his life
He called me his darling his wife
Then asked me to be his own bride
Oh darling he said I am sure
Your heart is made of a stone
He took a white rose from my hair
Then left me a standing alone
The next day poor Willie was dead
He was found in the pond near the mill
Oh the clear precious waters so fair
That flows from the branch up the hills
His blue eyes were forever closed
And damp was his golden hair
And close to his pale lips was found
The white rose which he took from my hair
Heart That Was Broken for Me is a southern gospel song by Judson W. Van DeVenter (1855-1939) written in 1914.
Van DeVenter attended Hillsdale College, Michigan, then taught art in Sharon, Pennsylvania. After several years, he decided to switch to a career in evangelism, working with Wilbur Chapman and others in America and England. Toward the end of his life, he lived in St. Petersburg, Florida, then moved to Tampa, Florida, around 1923. He was professor of hymnology at the Florida Bible Institute (now Trinity Bible College) for four years.Probably his best know gospel song is "I Surrender All"
THE HEART THAT WAS BROKEN FOR ME- Carter Family 1938
There came from the skies
In the days long ago
The Lord with a message of love
The world knew Him not
He was treated with scorn
This wonderful Gift from above
They crowned Him with thorns
He was beaten with straps
He was wounded and nailed to the tree
But the pain in His heart
Was the hardest to bear
The heart that was broken for me
He came to His own
To his owners He loved
The sheep that had wandered astray
They heard not His voice
But the Friend of mankind
Was halted and driven away
I will take up my cross
I will walk by His side
For the pathway of duty I see
I will follow my Lord
And abide in His heart
The heart that was broken for me
Heaven's Radio is a gospel song recorded by the Carters in 1940. I'm not sure where they got this one but Stamps-Baxter music copyrighted a song by Brumley titled "Heaven's Radio Station Is In The Air" in 1943 so the idea was around. From a 1942 book: Such items as a Negro woman singing a song she composed called "Heaven's Radio" in which the words are the expression of a simple mind. The song was referred to a Freddie Lee Kirby who was a black choir director in Texas during the 1930s. [Popular Song Index: Third Supplement By Patricia Pate Havlice Published by Scarecrow Press, 1989]
HEAVEN'S RADIO- Carter Family
There's a wonderful invention
It's called the radio
You can hear it every where you chance to go
But the static in the air
Sometimes makes it hard to hear
But it is not so with heaven's radio.
CHORUS: Heaven's radio on the other shore
For my precious savior always listens in
It's the same old radio that was used long time ago
For my precious savior always listens in
Daniel in the lions den
With this power should surely win
For my precious savior always listens in
And I know without a doubt
Honest prayers will bring you out
For my precious savior always listens in
Well He set the Hebrews three
From the fiery furnace free
For my precious savior always listens in
He will rescue you today
In that same old fashioned way
For my precious savior always listens in
Hello Central, Give Me Heaven is a song by Charles K. Harris written in 1901. Here's a link to the sheet music: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query
HELLO, CENTRAL! GIVE ME HEAVEN 1934 Carter Family
Hello, central, give me heaven
For I know my mother's there
And you'll find her with the angels
Over on the golden stair
She'll be glad it's me a-speakin'
Won't you call her for me please
For I surely want to tell her
That we're sad without her here
Hello, central, give me heaven
For I know my mother's there
And you'll find her with the angels
Over on the golden stair [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Papa dear is sad and lonely
Sobbed a tearful little child
Since mama's gone to heaven
Papa dear, you do not smile
I must speak to her and tell her
That we want her to come home
You just listen while I call her
Call her through the telephone
Hello, central, give me heaven
For I know my mother's there
And you'll find her with the angels
Over on the golden stair [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I will answer just to please her
Yes, dear hearts, I'll soon come home
Kiss me, mama, it's your daughter
Kiss me through the telephone
"Hello Stranger" is a collection of blues and traditional lyrics from different songs arranged by The Carter Family. Maybelle wrote/arranged blues songs as well as A.P. The first verse seems to be the only original one from the Carters. It's been recorded by Doc Watson; Hazel and Alice.
HELLO, STRANGER Arranged Carter Family 1937
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
You are a stranger and you're a pal of mine.
Get up, rounder, let a working man lay down
Get up, rounder, let a working man lay down
You are a rounder, but you're all out and down
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Every time I ride the 6th and 4th streetcar
Every time I ride the 6th and 4th streetcar
I can see my baby peeping through the bars.
She bowed her head, she waved both hands at me
She bowed her head, she waved both hands at me
I'm prison bound, I'm longing to be free
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Oh, I'll see you when your troubles are like mine
Oh, I'll see you when your troubles are like mine
Oh, I'll see you when you haven't got a dime.
Weeping like a willow, mourning like a dove
Weeping like a willow, mourning like a dove
There's a girl up the country that I really love
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
You are a stranger and you're a pal of mine
Hold Fast to the Right is from James Vaughan 1906. Lester McFarland and James Gardner recorded the song first in 1928.
HOLD FAST TO THE RIGHT- Carter Family 1937
Kneel down by the side of your mother, my boy
You have only a moment, I know
But stay till I give you my parting advice
It is all that I have to bestow
CHORUS: Hold fast to the right, hold fast to the right
Wherever your footsteps may roam
And forsake not the way of salvation, my boy
That you learned from your mother at home
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
You leave us to seek your employment, my boy
By the world you have yet to be tied
But in the temptations and trials you meet
May your heart to the savior confide
CHORUS: [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I gave you to god in your cradle, my boy
And taught you the best that I knew
And as long as His mercies permits me to live
I shall never stop praying for you
CHORUS:
You will find in this satchel a Bible, my boy
It's a book of all others are built
It will help you to live and prepare you to die
And will lead to the gates of the blest
CHORUS:
Home by the Sea seems to be a rewrite of "Dear Old Home Beyond the Sea" by A. Hamilton Sims and William A. Keller (music) written in 1887. The sentiment is identical but the song probably entered traditional and was changed. You can look here:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100007143/pageturner.html
HOME BY THE SEA Carter Family
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
There's a lonely cottage by the seaside
Where the water lilies strew the shore
It was there I passed my happy childhood
With a loved one that's gone before
Then give me back my dear old home
That old home by the sea
And I never will wander far away
From my home, my dear old cottage home
Oh-le-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-ee Ah-lee-oh-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-e-ee
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Many years have passed since there I wandered
But the old cot' ne'er has been forgot
And my heart in fancy oft returns
To that dear old familiar spot
Then give me back my dear old home
That old home by the sea
And I never will wander far away
From my home, my dear old cottage home
Oh-le-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-ee Ah-lee-oh-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-e-ee
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Yes, my heart is like a humming sea shell
That tells of its birth where e'er it roams
I will sing of my cottage by the seashore
Of my home, my dear old cottage home
Then give me back my dear old home
That old home by the sea
And I never will wander far away
From my home, my dear old cottage home
Home in Tennessee was actually titled "My Little Home in Tennessee" and recorded by the Carters in 1932. It was not issued for Victor at that time and was released later on RCA CNV102. Although the song entered tradition or at least the title has, this was a song by Maggie Andrews (an alias for Carson Robison) and because it was copyrighted by Columbia, the song was not released. The song was recorded by Al Craver (actually Vernon Dalhart) for Columbia in 1925. Later when the song was released by the Carters the name was changed slightly.
HOME IN TENNESSEE Carter Family 1932
CHORUS: Oh, yes, I'm going back
To my home in Tennessee
Back to the girl that's waiting
In the cotton fields to see
There's a mother and a dad
That's waiting patiently
And the place I'm longing for tonight
Is my home in Tennessee [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I've sailed the skies in airplanes
To a place called Bunker Hill
I've dropped from the clouds in a parachute
And, oh, boys, what a thrill
I've saw shells fall in no man's land
And dined on the great prairie
But the place I'm longing for tonight
Is my home in Tennessee CHORUS: [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I've been to 'Frisco's golden gate
Also that of Maine
I've been to the Rocky Mountains
And back down again
Been up to old New York
Saw the Statue of Liberty
But the place I'm longing for tonight
Is my home in Tennessee CHORUS:
Homestead on the Farm was recorded twice by the Carter Family; first for Victor in 1929 then for ARC in 1935. The song is based on "I Wonder How The Old Folks Are At Home" by Lambert and Vandersloot in 1909. Will Oakland recorded the song for Edison in 1910. Here's the sheet music: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sheetmusic/a/a02/a0276/
THE HOMESTEAD ON THE FARM Carter Family
Well, I wonder how the old folks are at home
Well, I wonder if they miss me when I'm gone
I wonder if they pray
For the boy who went away
And left his dear old parents all alone
You could hear the cattle lowing in the lane
You could almost see the fields of bluegrass green
You could almost hear them cry
As they kissed their boy goodbye
I wonder how the old folks are at home
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK TO TUNE OF HOME, SWEET HOME]
Just a village and a homestead on the farm
And a mother's love to shield him from all harm
A mother's love so true
And a sweetheart brave and true
A village and a homestead on the farm
You could hear the cattle lowing in the lane
You could almost see the fields of bluegrass green
You could almost hear them cry
As they kissed their boy goodbye
I wonder how the old folks are at home
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK TO TUNE OF HOME, SWEET HOME] [REPEAT CHORUS]
Honey in the Rock is a gospel song written by Frederick A. Graves in 1895. The Carters recorded their version in 1937.
Honey In The Rock- Carter family
Oh my brother, do you know the Savior
Who is wondrous kind and true?
He's the Rock of your salvation
There is honey in the Rock for you
Oh, honey in the Rock (oh, honey in the Rock)
Sweet honey in the Rock (sweet honey in the Rock)
Oh it tastes just like honey in the Rock
Oh taste and see if the Lord is good
Oh it tastes just like honey in the Rock
Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious?
Do you walk in the way that's new?
Have you drank from the living fountain?
There is honey in the Rock for you
Oh, there's honey in the Rock my brother
There is honey in the Rock for you
Leave your sins for the Blood to cover
There is honey in the Rock for you
HONEY IN THE ROCK- Graves lyrics
O my brother, do you know the Savior,
Who is wondrous, kind, and true?
He's the Rock of your salvation!
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Refrain: Oh, there's honey in the Rock, my brother;
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Leave your sins for the Blood to cover;
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious?
Do you walk in the way that's new?
Have you drunk from the living fountain?
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Do you pray unto God the Father,
"What wilt Thou have me to do?"
Never fear, He will surely answer,
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Then go out through the streets and byways,
Preach the Word to the many or few;
Say to every fallen brother,
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Carter Family and Leslie Riddle 1928
Hi,On the left is a photo of Brownie McGee (left holding guitar) and Leslie Riddle (right holding mandolin).
A.P. Carter became acquainted with Riddle through Sam Lyons and Riddle became the Carter Family's song catcher and teacher.
Here are some of the details:
Second Recording Session 1928
The following spring, Ralph Peer gave the Carter Family expense money to travel to the company studios in Camden, New Jersey and cut twelve more songs on May 9 and 10, 1928 including their theme song, "Keep on the Sunny Side" and perhaps their most widely known song, "Wildwood Flower."
At $50 per song, the total take amounted to $600 for the twelve songs they recorded, as much as they could make in a whole year on the farm. They split the money three ways, and with their winnings A.P. bought 70 acres of land and moved Sara and their three children into a larger farmhouse.
The songs recorded included some of their best: "Meet me by the Moonlight Alone," "Keep on the Sunny Side," "Little Darling, Pal of Mine," "Forsaken Love," "Anchored in Love," "I Ain't Goin' to Work Tomorrow," "Will You Miss Me when I'm Gone," "Wildwood Flower," "River of Jordan," "Chewing Gum," and "John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man."
Lesley Riddle and A.P. Collect Songs- 1928
The Carters needed new songs to record and get copyrighted and A.P. became one of most successful song collectors in the history of Country Music. Most of the Carter family songs were collected and arranged by A.P. on his song collecting rambles throughout the south. He would find someone that had a song, get them to sing it. He would write down the words, arrange it and teach it to Sara and Maybelle.
One source of A.P.’s songs were African-American musicians, an unusual choice for the segregated rural south. In Kingsport, Tennessee A.P. collected "Motherless Children" from John Henry Lyons who belonged to a group including Brownie McGee and Steve Tarter. One Sunday morning in 1928 Lyons introduced Lesley (Esley) Riddle to A.P.
Leslie Riddle, an African-American guitarist and singer was born on June 13, 1905 in Burnsville, North Carolina. After a cement factory accident robbed him of his right leg, Riddle learned to play guitar while he was recovering from his injury. Throughout the Twenties, the decade after his accident, he played and sang in small string bands, at churches and neighborhood gatherings. He moved to Kingsport and was soon a regular in the area African-American musical scene.
"I played a couple of songs for him (A.P.) and he wanted me to go back home with him right then and there," said Riddle in an interview with Mike Seeger. "I went over to Maces Spring with him and stayed about a week. We got to be good friends and for the next three or four years I continued going over to his house, going where he wanted to go. I went out about 15 times to collect songs."
"He was just gong to get old music, old songs, what had never been sung in sixty years," said Riddle. "He was going to get it, put a tune to it, and record it." Riddle also taught the Carter Family such songs he knew like "Coal Miner Blues," "The Cannon Ball," "I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome," and "Let the Church Roll On." Maybelle Carter learned to fingerpick and play slide guitar from Riddle. "You don’t have to give Maybelle any lessons," said Riddle. "You let her see you playing something, she’ll get it- you better believe it."
It was Riddle’s job to learn the melody of the song. "If I could hear you sing, I could sing it too," said Riddle. "I was his tape recorder. He’d take me with him and he’s get someone to sing the whole song. Then I’d get it and learn it to Sara and Maybelle."
Through Riddle and his friend gospel singer Pauline Gary from Kingsport the Carters also learned "On a Hill Lone and Gray," "I’m Working On A Building" and "On My Way To Cannan’s Land." Through Riddle they adapted songs like Blind Lemon Jefferson’s "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (See That My Grave Is Kept Green) and Blind Willie Davis’ "Rock of Ages" (When the World’s On Fire), which is the melody that Guthrie later used to write, "This Land Is Your Land." By 1937 Riddle had married and no longer worked with the Carter family. In 1942 he and his wife moved north to Rochester, N. Y. and lost touch the Carter Family.
That's all for now. We'll be back to the Carter's songs next blog.
Richard
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Carter Family Songs Titled G
Hi,
Back to the Carters songs!
Here are the 11 original Carter Family songs title with G: Gathering Flowers from the Hillside; Girl on the Greenbrier Shore; Give Him One More as He Goes; Give Me Roses While I Live; Give Me Your Love and I'll Give You Mine; Glory to the Lamb; God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign; Gold Watch and Chain; Goodbye to the Plains; Gospel Ship; Grave on the Green Hillside;
Gathering Flowers from the Hillside is another song collected by Belden before the Carters 1935 recording. Some lyrics from Belden are:
"I've been gathering wild flowers on the hillside
To wreathe upon your brow.
But so long you've kept me waiting
They are dead and faded now."
Did A.P. Carter have access to published folk song collections? We may never know. The Carters traveled to NJ and NY and Peer probably knew about folk collections.
Gathering Flowers appears in the 1945 JOAFL as collected by Crabtree. The 1962 JOAFL says "Gathering Flowers from the Hillside" and "Charlie Brooks and Nellie Adair," are traditional.
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside- Carter Family
I've been gathering flowers from the hillside
To wreath around your brow
But you've kept me a-waitin' so long, dear
The flowers have all withered now
I know that you have seen trouble
But never hang down your head
Your love for me is like the flowers
Your love for me is dead
It was on one bright June morning
The roses were in bloom
I shot and killed my darling
And what will be my doom?
Closed eyes cannot see these roses
Closed hands cannot hold them, you know
And these lips that still cannot kiss me
Have gone from me forever more
"Girl on the Greenbrier Shore" is another traditional ballad arranged by the Carter Family. The Greenbrier River flows through the Cumberland area in Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia. It is sometimes called 'The Greenbrier Shore,' 'The Red River Shore,' 'New River Shore.' Note that "The Red River Shore" is an American cowboy variant of this ballad.
I'm not sure which version is the oldest but the ballad is probably derived from an English source. Dylan did the song 'The Greenbrier Shore' then changed it to 'The Red River Shore.' The Greenbriar Boys [Greenbriar Boys version is on Vanguard VRS-9104, LP (1962), trk# A.05] named their group after this song.The earliest reference I found was "Greenbrier Shore" in the 1910 "A Syllabus of Kentucky Folk-songs" By Hubert Gibson Shearin, Josiah Henry Combs.
Here's the lyrics from English Folk Songs in the Southern Appalachians, by Cecil Sharp. Some of teh lyrics are also found in other songs like The Wagoner's Lad. It was collected from Mrs. William C. Wooton, KY, 1917:
The Green Brier Shore
I am a lovely laddie and I can love long
I can love an old sweetheart till another one comes on;
I'll hug them and kiss them and keep them at ease
I'll turn my back upon them and court who I please.
At the foot of yon mountain, where fountains do flow,
Where green and wild lilies forever do grow,
I spied a fair damsel and her I adore;
I was forced to go and see her on the green brier shore.
I courted that damsel through love and good-will,
I courted that damsel, it witnessed to kill;
I courted that damsel full six months or more;
I was forced to go leave her on the green brier shore.
I had not been gone long till a letter was sent;
In the midst of that letter these few words were spelled:
Come back my own true love, it's you I adore,
And I will go with you from the green brier shore.
And when her old parents came this for to hear,
They swore they'd deprive her of her own dearest dear.
They selected an army, full twenty or more,
To fight her own true love on the green brier shore.
He drew his sword and pistol, they glistened around;
In a short length of time they fell to the ground.
Some he killed dead, and he wounded a score,
And he gained his own true love on the green brier shore.
So hard is the fortune of poor womankind;
They are always subjected and always confined,
And controlled by their parents till they are made wives,
Then they slave for their husbands all the rest of their lives.
GIRL ON THE GREENBRIAR SHORE Carter Family 1941 on Bluebird:
'Twas in the year of '92,
In the merry month of June,
I left my mother and a home so dear
For the girl I loved on the greenbriar shore.
My mother dear, she came to me
And said "Oh son, don't go, "
"Don't leave your mother and a home so dear
To trust a girl on the greenbriar shore.
"But I was young and reckless too,
And I craved a reckless life-
I left my mother with a broken heart
And I choosed that girl to be my wife
Her hair was dark and curly too
And her loving eyes were blue;
Her cheeks were like the red red rose
The girl I loved on the greenbriar shore.
The years rolled on and the months rolled by
She left me all alone
Now I remember what mother said
Never trust a girl on the greenbriar shore.
The Carter's 1940 song "Give Him One More as He Goes" comes from Ike Brown's "I'll give you One More as you go" in 1884. It was recorded as "My Sweetheart is A Sly Little Miss" by Walter Smith in 1930.
Give Him One More As He Goes- Carter Family
My sweetheart is a shy little miss
And one I fondly adore
And when you ask her for a kiss
She'll give you just one and no more
She'll give you just one and no more
She'll give you just one and no more
And when you ask her for a kiss
She'll give you just one and no more
Her dad was feelin old man
He always had a feelin for me
I can tell you when this feelin began
When his daughter I first went to see
I was bidding my sweetheart good night
In the usual manner you know
When a voice from the house said sic him Touse
And give him one more as he goes
And give him one more as he goes
And give him one more as he goes
When a voice from the house said sic him Touse
And give him one more as he goes
It was over the garden wall
In a manner I'll tell you not slow
He exclaimed with a swear and his foot smote the air
And I'll give him one more as he goes
And I'll give him one more as he goes
And I'll give him one more as he goes
He exclaimed with a swear and his foot smote the air
And I'll give him one more as he goes
"Give Me Roses While I Live" is a song by James Rowe lyrics, R. H. Cornelius music in 1925. The Carters recorded the song in 1933 and it is one of their popular songs:
GIVE ME THE ROSES WHILE I LIVE- Carter Family
Wonderful things of folks are said
When they have passed away
Roses adorn their narrow bed
Over the sleeping clay
Give me the roses while I live
Trying to cheer me on
Useless are flowers that you give
After the soul is gone
Let us not wait to do good deeds
Till they have passed away
Now is the time to sow good seeds
While here on earth we stay
Give me the roses while I live
Trying to cheer me on
Useless are flowers that you give
After the soul is gone
Kind words are useless when folks lie
Cold in a narrow bed
Don't wait till death to speak kind words
Now should the words be said
Give me the roses while I live
Trying to cheer me on
Useless are flowers that you give
After the soul is gone
Give me the roses while I live
Don't wait until I die
To spread the roses over my grave
To see as you pass it by
Give me the roses while I live
Trying to cheer me on
Useless are flowers that you give
After the soul is gone
"Give Me Your Love" by the Carters is "You Give Me Your Love [And I'll Give You Mine]" by L. A. Davis- lyrics and M. J. Fitzpatrick- music in 1902. Carters made the 4th recording in 1936.
GIVE ME YOUR LOVE AND I'LL GIVE YOU MINE- Carter Family
Just at the close of a bright summer day
Just as the twilight had faded away
Soft on the breeze like the coo of a dove
Someone was singing an old song of love
Tell me you love me and say you'll be true
I love nobody in this world but you
Your heart and my heart in love will entwine
Give me your love and I'll give you mine [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Come along with me to the quiet shady nook
Where flowers bloom at the side of a brook
Nature is sleeping, the birds are at rest
I'll place a wild rose on your beautiful breast
Tell me you love me and say you'll be true
I love nobody in this world but you
Your heart and my heart in love will entwine
Give me your love and I'll give you mine [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I've something to ask you while you're by my side
A question of love, of groom and of bride
And if you refuse me, my heart it will pine
Give me your love and I'll give you mine
Tell me you love me and say you'll be true
I love nobody in this world but you
Your heart and my heart in love will entwine
Give me your love and I'll give you mine.
Glory to the Lamb possibly comes from Elmer Bird and the Kentucky Ramblers version in 1930. The Carters recorded theirs in 1935. It appears in a Hymn Collection titled the New Onward and Upward (Logansport, Indiana; Home Music Co.) around 1900.
GLORY TO THE LAMB- Carter Family
Oh glory oh glory oh glory to the lamb
Hallelujah I am saved and I'm so glad I am
Oh glory oh glory oh glory to the lamb
Hallelujah I am saved and I'm so glad I am
On Monday I am happy on Tuesday full of joy
Wednesday I've got the faith the devil cant destroy
On Thursday and Friday walking in the light
Saturday I've got the victory and Sunday's always bright
I fell in love with Jesus and he fell in love with me
That's the very reason I've got the victory
I'm happy when it's raining I'm happy when it shines
I'm happy now with Jesus I'm happy all the time
God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign: is a traditional African-American Spiritual. Sara Carter Bays in one interview said it came from an African-American source. The song is an old spiritual usually named "I Got A Home the Rock." It reportedly was a slave song though I've not found an early source. It was printed and in circulation in the 1920s and 1930s. "Between Earth and Sky" is another title.
GOD GAVE NOAH THE RAINBOW SIGN Carter Family
I've got a home in that rock
Don't you see (don't you see)
I've got a home in that rock
Don't you see
I've got a home in that rock
Just beyond the mountaintop
Tide me over, Rock of Ages, cleft for me [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
God gave Noah the rainbow sign
Don't you see (don't you see)
God gave Noah the rainbow sign
Don't you see
God gave Noah the rainbow sign
No more water, but the fire next time
Tide me over, Rock of Ages, cleft for me
Old Lazarus, poor as I
Don't you see (don't you see)
Old Lazarus, poor as I
Don't you see
Old Lazarus, poor as I
When he died he had a home on high
Tide me over, Rock of Ages, cleft for me
East and West the fire will roll
Hide thou me (hide thou me)
East and West the fire will roll
Hide thou me
East and West the fire will roll
How will it be with my poor soul
Tide me over, Rock of Ages, cleft for me [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When this world's all on fire
Hide thou me (hide thou me)
When this world's all on fire
Hide thou me
When this world's all on fire
Let thy bosom be my pillow
Tide me over, Rock of Ages, cleft for me
The chorus of "Gold Watch and Chain" is based on the Reuben's Train songs that include Nine Hundred Miles. The verses are based on the 1879 Westendorf song, "Is There No Kiss For Me Tonight, Love." You can see the sheet music at American Memory.
Ephraim Woodie & The Henpecked Husbands 1929 recording of the song titled "Last Gold Dollar" preceeded the Carters by four years. The New Lost City Ramblers also covered the song as "Gold Watch and Chain" (on NLCR13, NLCREP2).
GOLD WATCH AND CHAIN- Carter Family 1933
Darling, how can I stay here without you
I have nothing to cheer my poor heart
This old world would seem sad, love, without you
Tell me now that we're never to part
Oh, I'll pawn you my gold watch and chain, love
And I'll pawn you my gold diamond ring
I will pawn you this heart in my bosom
Only say that you love me again [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Take back all the gifts you have given
But a ring and a lock of your hair
And a card with your picture upon it
It's a face that is false, but it's fair
Oh, I'll pawn you my gold watch and chain, love
And I'll pawn you my gold diamond ring
I will pawn you this heart in my bosom
Only say that you love me again [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Tell me why that you do not love me
Tell me why that your smile is not bright
Tell me why you have grown so coldhearted
Is there no kiss for me, love, tonight
Oh, I'll pawn you my gold watch and chain, love
And I'll pawn you my gold diamond ring
I will pawn you this heart in my bosom
Only say that you love me again [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Goodbye to the Plains is a western song. Tex Owens did a version for Bluebird called "Pals of the Prairie" a year before the Carters but his wasn't released. Pals of the Prairie was also the name of a silent movie western done in 1929.
Alan Lomax collected this song which seems to be the basis:
Good-by to my pals of the prairie,
Good-by to the cattle and the trail,
Good-by to the cards and the drinking,
Good-by to the prairies and the vale.
The original title applied to "Goodbye to the Plains" is "The Dying Cowboy of Rim Rock Ranch."
"The Dying Cowboy of Rim Rock Ranch"- No. 120, pp. 324-325, Austin E. and Alta S. Fife, 1969, "Cowboy and Western Songs, A Comprehensive Anthology." Tune for "The Dying Cowboy of Rim Rock Ranch" is "The Mule Song," a parody, Edward Harrigan and Dave Braham, pub. 1882 in one of their songsters. See Cazden et al., 1982, "Folk Songs of the Catskills," p. 400.
Austin E and Alta S. Fife had this to say about it: "This "Dying Cowboy" is a folkish bending of cowboy imagery to transcendental notions basic to the Christian faith. Life and salvation are for man what the roundup and trail drive are for the dogies. Note how the realistic range images of the first text get molded, in the second one, into the transcendental images of life and death.
Melody and Text A: Library of Congress #856B2, recorded by John A Lomax. Text B: Library of Congress, collected by John A. Lomax. The Carter version changes the chorus (with changes) to last verse, and uses little of the Lomax texts except the first line. The religiosity angle survives, but little else is the same.Probably an early (1920s) product of someone in the fledgling "cowboy church" which holds informal services at rodeos.
Goodbye To The Plains- Carter Family 1937
Goodbye to the pals of the prairie
Goodbye to the pals of the plains
Goodbye to the dash and the danger
Goodbye to the heartaches and pains [Instrumental]
Goodbye to my faithful old pony
Take care of him, boys, when I go
I'm riding away on life's roundup
Away to where the sun sinks low [Instrumental]
Goodbye to the hoof-rushing cattle
Goodbye to the clanking of spurs
Goodbye to the laugh and the chatter
Goodbye to the wildlife and steers
Goodbye to the dawning's first blushes
That spare in the east faintly glow
I'm riding away on life's roundup
Away to where the sun sinks low [Instrumental]
Goodbye to the girls and the boys
Goodbye to all of my friends
Goodbye to the dear girl, my sweetheart
For I know this is my end
For the pale rider comes with his summons
And I'm willing and ready to go
For I'm riding away on life's roundup
Away where the sun sinks low
Gospel Ship is a song done by the Carters in 1935 and later by the Monroes as "Old Gospel Ship." It is similar to "Have a Feast Tonight" in form and melody. Myron LeFerve's uncle Vestal was listed as the arranger of the first published versions of the song in 1939. According to the Leferve family the song had been sung for at least one generation and no one knew the authorship.
In the book "Turn Your Radio On" Vestal agreed to deed the song to The Happy Goodman's. The author says the song is a slave song brought from Africa (with no documentation). Since the Carters recording preceeded this the whole basis for the article, claims by the Vestals etc. seem meritless. The point is: the song was an old song known for many years (that was in the late 1930s). Alan Lomax collected the Old Gosel Ship in the 1930s (pub. in 1942). The problem is there are several spirituals and gospel songs called Gospel Ship.
THE OLD GOSPEL SHIP Sung by Ruby Vass, Hillsville, VA, coll. A. Lomax
Chorus: I'm goin' ta take a trip on that old gospel ship,
I am going far beyond the sky,
I'm goin' ta shout and sing till heavens ring,
Till I bid the world goodbye.
1) I have good news to bring and that is why I sing,
My joy with you I'll share.
I'm goin' ta take a trip in that old gospel ship
And go sailing through the air.
2) I can scarcely wait, I know I won't be late,
I'll spend my time in prayer,
And when the ship comes in, I'll leave this world of sin,
And go sailing through the air."
A gospel song of the type that became popular around the turn of the century. It's earliest copyright claimant is Stamps/Baxter. The image of religion as a vessel sailing to heaven with a cargo of the faithful is a perennial favorite, occurring in old carols and modern songs alike." Notes to "The Gospel Ship Baptist Hymns & White Spirituals from the Southern Mountains," Alan Lomax, New World Records 80294.
GOSPEL SHIP- Carter Family 1935
I'm going to take a trip in that old gospel ship
I'm a-going far beyond the sky
I'm gonna shout and sing 'til heaven rings
When I bid this world goodbye
I have good news to bring, and that is why I sing
All my joys with you I'll share
I'm going to take a trip in that old gospel ship
And go sailing through the air
I can scarcely wait, I know I won't be late
I'll spend my time in prayer
And when the ship comes in, I'll leave this world of sin
And go sailing through the air
If you are ashamed of me, you ought not to be
Yes, you'd better have a care
If too much fault you find, you will sure be left behind
While I'm sailing through the air
Grave on the Green Hillside is a song by Aldine Kieffer in 1875, published in the "New Starry Crown For The Sabbath School"(Singer's Glen, Virginia:Ruebush, Kieffer & Co. 1872); "Royal Proclamation" (Dayton, VA: A.S. Kieffer 1896); "Star of Bethlehem (Dayton, VA: Ruebush-Kieffer Co. 1889).
Aldine Silliman Kieffer (August 1, 1840 – November 30, 1904) was a leading 19th century proponent of shape note musical notation, music teacher and publisher. Kieffer was born near Miami, Saline County, Missouri. He died in Dayton, Virginia, and is buried there.
Kieffer was the grandson of Calstock musician Joseph Funk. After Funk's death, he and Ephraim Ruebush took over Funk's publishing company. With Ruebush and John W. Howe, Kieffer founded the Kieffer, Ruebush, & Company music company circa 1873, which was moved from Singer's Glen to Dayton in 1878. Kieffer was editor of the Musical Million and Fireside Friend periodical. The Musical Million, published from 1870 until 1914, was one of the leading tools promoting shape note music for almost a half century. One of Kieffer's most popular song books was The Temple Star, published at Singer's Glen in 1877. One of his most popular songs was his poem Twilight is Stealing, set to music by B. C. Unseld in 1877 and published in the Temple Star.
GRAVE ON THE GREEN HILLSIDE- Carter Family 1929
There's a little grave on the green hillside
That lies to the morning sun
And the wayworn feet often wander there
When the cares of the day are done
We sometimes sit in the twilight fall
And talk of a far off land
And I sometimes feel in the twilight there
The touch of a vanished hand
Grave on the green hillside
Grave on the green hillside
In the years to come we will calmly sleep
In a grave on the green hillside
And this land is full of these little graves
In the valleys, plains, and hills
There's an angel, too, for each little grave
An angel procession fills.
I know not how, but I sometimes think
That they lead us with gentle hands
And a whisper falls on a willing ear
From the shore of a far off land
Grave on the green hillside
Grave on the green hillside
In the years to come we will calmly sleep
In a grave on the green hillside [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
And these little graves are but wayside marks
That point to a far off land
And they speak to the soul of a better day
Of a day that's near at hand
Though we first must walk through this darksome veil
Yet Christ will be our guide
We will reach the shore of a far off land
Through a grave on a green hillside
Grave on the green hillside
Grave on the green hillside
In the years to come we will calmly sleep
In a grave on the green hillside
Back to the Carters songs!
Here are the 11 original Carter Family songs title with G: Gathering Flowers from the Hillside; Girl on the Greenbrier Shore; Give Him One More as He Goes; Give Me Roses While I Live; Give Me Your Love and I'll Give You Mine; Glory to the Lamb; God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign; Gold Watch and Chain; Goodbye to the Plains; Gospel Ship; Grave on the Green Hillside;
Gathering Flowers from the Hillside is another song collected by Belden before the Carters 1935 recording. Some lyrics from Belden are:
"I've been gathering wild flowers on the hillside
To wreathe upon your brow.
But so long you've kept me waiting
They are dead and faded now."
Did A.P. Carter have access to published folk song collections? We may never know. The Carters traveled to NJ and NY and Peer probably knew about folk collections.
Gathering Flowers appears in the 1945 JOAFL as collected by Crabtree. The 1962 JOAFL says "Gathering Flowers from the Hillside" and "Charlie Brooks and Nellie Adair," are traditional.
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside- Carter Family
I've been gathering flowers from the hillside
To wreath around your brow
But you've kept me a-waitin' so long, dear
The flowers have all withered now
I know that you have seen trouble
But never hang down your head
Your love for me is like the flowers
Your love for me is dead
It was on one bright June morning
The roses were in bloom
I shot and killed my darling
And what will be my doom?
Closed eyes cannot see these roses
Closed hands cannot hold them, you know
And these lips that still cannot kiss me
Have gone from me forever more
"Girl on the Greenbrier Shore" is another traditional ballad arranged by the Carter Family. The Greenbrier River flows through the Cumberland area in Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia. It is sometimes called 'The Greenbrier Shore,' 'The Red River Shore,' 'New River Shore.' Note that "The Red River Shore" is an American cowboy variant of this ballad.
I'm not sure which version is the oldest but the ballad is probably derived from an English source. Dylan did the song 'The Greenbrier Shore' then changed it to 'The Red River Shore.' The Greenbriar Boys [Greenbriar Boys version is on Vanguard VRS-9104, LP (1962), trk# A.05] named their group after this song.The earliest reference I found was "Greenbrier Shore" in the 1910 "A Syllabus of Kentucky Folk-songs" By Hubert Gibson Shearin, Josiah Henry Combs.
Here's the lyrics from English Folk Songs in the Southern Appalachians, by Cecil Sharp. Some of teh lyrics are also found in other songs like The Wagoner's Lad. It was collected from Mrs. William C. Wooton, KY, 1917:
The Green Brier Shore
I am a lovely laddie and I can love long
I can love an old sweetheart till another one comes on;
I'll hug them and kiss them and keep them at ease
I'll turn my back upon them and court who I please.
At the foot of yon mountain, where fountains do flow,
Where green and wild lilies forever do grow,
I spied a fair damsel and her I adore;
I was forced to go and see her on the green brier shore.
I courted that damsel through love and good-will,
I courted that damsel, it witnessed to kill;
I courted that damsel full six months or more;
I was forced to go leave her on the green brier shore.
I had not been gone long till a letter was sent;
In the midst of that letter these few words were spelled:
Come back my own true love, it's you I adore,
And I will go with you from the green brier shore.
And when her old parents came this for to hear,
They swore they'd deprive her of her own dearest dear.
They selected an army, full twenty or more,
To fight her own true love on the green brier shore.
He drew his sword and pistol, they glistened around;
In a short length of time they fell to the ground.
Some he killed dead, and he wounded a score,
And he gained his own true love on the green brier shore.
So hard is the fortune of poor womankind;
They are always subjected and always confined,
And controlled by their parents till they are made wives,
Then they slave for their husbands all the rest of their lives.
GIRL ON THE GREENBRIAR SHORE Carter Family 1941 on Bluebird:
'Twas in the year of '92,
In the merry month of June,
I left my mother and a home so dear
For the girl I loved on the greenbriar shore.
My mother dear, she came to me
And said "Oh son, don't go, "
"Don't leave your mother and a home so dear
To trust a girl on the greenbriar shore.
"But I was young and reckless too,
And I craved a reckless life-
I left my mother with a broken heart
And I choosed that girl to be my wife
Her hair was dark and curly too
And her loving eyes were blue;
Her cheeks were like the red red rose
The girl I loved on the greenbriar shore.
The years rolled on and the months rolled by
She left me all alone
Now I remember what mother said
Never trust a girl on the greenbriar shore.
The Carter's 1940 song "Give Him One More as He Goes" comes from Ike Brown's "I'll give you One More as you go" in 1884. It was recorded as "My Sweetheart is A Sly Little Miss" by Walter Smith in 1930.
Give Him One More As He Goes- Carter Family
My sweetheart is a shy little miss
And one I fondly adore
And when you ask her for a kiss
She'll give you just one and no more
She'll give you just one and no more
She'll give you just one and no more
And when you ask her for a kiss
She'll give you just one and no more
Her dad was feelin old man
He always had a feelin for me
I can tell you when this feelin began
When his daughter I first went to see
I was bidding my sweetheart good night
In the usual manner you know
When a voice from the house said sic him Touse
And give him one more as he goes
And give him one more as he goes
And give him one more as he goes
When a voice from the house said sic him Touse
And give him one more as he goes
It was over the garden wall
In a manner I'll tell you not slow
He exclaimed with a swear and his foot smote the air
And I'll give him one more as he goes
And I'll give him one more as he goes
And I'll give him one more as he goes
He exclaimed with a swear and his foot smote the air
And I'll give him one more as he goes
"Give Me Roses While I Live" is a song by James Rowe lyrics, R. H. Cornelius music in 1925. The Carters recorded the song in 1933 and it is one of their popular songs:
GIVE ME THE ROSES WHILE I LIVE- Carter Family
Wonderful things of folks are said
When they have passed away
Roses adorn their narrow bed
Over the sleeping clay
Give me the roses while I live
Trying to cheer me on
Useless are flowers that you give
After the soul is gone
Let us not wait to do good deeds
Till they have passed away
Now is the time to sow good seeds
While here on earth we stay
Give me the roses while I live
Trying to cheer me on
Useless are flowers that you give
After the soul is gone
Kind words are useless when folks lie
Cold in a narrow bed
Don't wait till death to speak kind words
Now should the words be said
Give me the roses while I live
Trying to cheer me on
Useless are flowers that you give
After the soul is gone
Give me the roses while I live
Don't wait until I die
To spread the roses over my grave
To see as you pass it by
Give me the roses while I live
Trying to cheer me on
Useless are flowers that you give
After the soul is gone
"Give Me Your Love" by the Carters is "You Give Me Your Love [And I'll Give You Mine]" by L. A. Davis- lyrics and M. J. Fitzpatrick- music in 1902. Carters made the 4th recording in 1936.
GIVE ME YOUR LOVE AND I'LL GIVE YOU MINE- Carter Family
Just at the close of a bright summer day
Just as the twilight had faded away
Soft on the breeze like the coo of a dove
Someone was singing an old song of love
Tell me you love me and say you'll be true
I love nobody in this world but you
Your heart and my heart in love will entwine
Give me your love and I'll give you mine [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Come along with me to the quiet shady nook
Where flowers bloom at the side of a brook
Nature is sleeping, the birds are at rest
I'll place a wild rose on your beautiful breast
Tell me you love me and say you'll be true
I love nobody in this world but you
Your heart and my heart in love will entwine
Give me your love and I'll give you mine [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I've something to ask you while you're by my side
A question of love, of groom and of bride
And if you refuse me, my heart it will pine
Give me your love and I'll give you mine
Tell me you love me and say you'll be true
I love nobody in this world but you
Your heart and my heart in love will entwine
Give me your love and I'll give you mine.
Glory to the Lamb possibly comes from Elmer Bird and the Kentucky Ramblers version in 1930. The Carters recorded theirs in 1935. It appears in a Hymn Collection titled the New Onward and Upward (Logansport, Indiana; Home Music Co.) around 1900.
GLORY TO THE LAMB- Carter Family
Oh glory oh glory oh glory to the lamb
Hallelujah I am saved and I'm so glad I am
Oh glory oh glory oh glory to the lamb
Hallelujah I am saved and I'm so glad I am
On Monday I am happy on Tuesday full of joy
Wednesday I've got the faith the devil cant destroy
On Thursday and Friday walking in the light
Saturday I've got the victory and Sunday's always bright
I fell in love with Jesus and he fell in love with me
That's the very reason I've got the victory
I'm happy when it's raining I'm happy when it shines
I'm happy now with Jesus I'm happy all the time
God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign: is a traditional African-American Spiritual. Sara Carter Bays in one interview said it came from an African-American source. The song is an old spiritual usually named "I Got A Home the Rock." It reportedly was a slave song though I've not found an early source. It was printed and in circulation in the 1920s and 1930s. "Between Earth and Sky" is another title.
GOD GAVE NOAH THE RAINBOW SIGN Carter Family
I've got a home in that rock
Don't you see (don't you see)
I've got a home in that rock
Don't you see
I've got a home in that rock
Just beyond the mountaintop
Tide me over, Rock of Ages, cleft for me [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
God gave Noah the rainbow sign
Don't you see (don't you see)
God gave Noah the rainbow sign
Don't you see
God gave Noah the rainbow sign
No more water, but the fire next time
Tide me over, Rock of Ages, cleft for me
Old Lazarus, poor as I
Don't you see (don't you see)
Old Lazarus, poor as I
Don't you see
Old Lazarus, poor as I
When he died he had a home on high
Tide me over, Rock of Ages, cleft for me
East and West the fire will roll
Hide thou me (hide thou me)
East and West the fire will roll
Hide thou me
East and West the fire will roll
How will it be with my poor soul
Tide me over, Rock of Ages, cleft for me [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When this world's all on fire
Hide thou me (hide thou me)
When this world's all on fire
Hide thou me
When this world's all on fire
Let thy bosom be my pillow
Tide me over, Rock of Ages, cleft for me
The chorus of "Gold Watch and Chain" is based on the Reuben's Train songs that include Nine Hundred Miles. The verses are based on the 1879 Westendorf song, "Is There No Kiss For Me Tonight, Love." You can see the sheet music at American Memory.
Ephraim Woodie & The Henpecked Husbands 1929 recording of the song titled "Last Gold Dollar" preceeded the Carters by four years. The New Lost City Ramblers also covered the song as "Gold Watch and Chain" (on NLCR13, NLCREP2).
GOLD WATCH AND CHAIN- Carter Family 1933
Darling, how can I stay here without you
I have nothing to cheer my poor heart
This old world would seem sad, love, without you
Tell me now that we're never to part
Oh, I'll pawn you my gold watch and chain, love
And I'll pawn you my gold diamond ring
I will pawn you this heart in my bosom
Only say that you love me again [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Take back all the gifts you have given
But a ring and a lock of your hair
And a card with your picture upon it
It's a face that is false, but it's fair
Oh, I'll pawn you my gold watch and chain, love
And I'll pawn you my gold diamond ring
I will pawn you this heart in my bosom
Only say that you love me again [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Tell me why that you do not love me
Tell me why that your smile is not bright
Tell me why you have grown so coldhearted
Is there no kiss for me, love, tonight
Oh, I'll pawn you my gold watch and chain, love
And I'll pawn you my gold diamond ring
I will pawn you this heart in my bosom
Only say that you love me again [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Goodbye to the Plains is a western song. Tex Owens did a version for Bluebird called "Pals of the Prairie" a year before the Carters but his wasn't released. Pals of the Prairie was also the name of a silent movie western done in 1929.
Alan Lomax collected this song which seems to be the basis:
Good-by to my pals of the prairie,
Good-by to the cattle and the trail,
Good-by to the cards and the drinking,
Good-by to the prairies and the vale.
The original title applied to "Goodbye to the Plains" is "The Dying Cowboy of Rim Rock Ranch."
"The Dying Cowboy of Rim Rock Ranch"- No. 120, pp. 324-325, Austin E. and Alta S. Fife, 1969, "Cowboy and Western Songs, A Comprehensive Anthology." Tune for "The Dying Cowboy of Rim Rock Ranch" is "The Mule Song," a parody, Edward Harrigan and Dave Braham, pub. 1882 in one of their songsters. See Cazden et al., 1982, "Folk Songs of the Catskills," p. 400.
Austin E and Alta S. Fife had this to say about it: "This "Dying Cowboy" is a folkish bending of cowboy imagery to transcendental notions basic to the Christian faith. Life and salvation are for man what the roundup and trail drive are for the dogies. Note how the realistic range images of the first text get molded, in the second one, into the transcendental images of life and death.
Melody and Text A: Library of Congress #856B2, recorded by John A Lomax. Text B: Library of Congress, collected by John A. Lomax. The Carter version changes the chorus (with changes) to last verse, and uses little of the Lomax texts except the first line. The religiosity angle survives, but little else is the same.Probably an early (1920s) product of someone in the fledgling "cowboy church" which holds informal services at rodeos.
Goodbye To The Plains- Carter Family 1937
Goodbye to the pals of the prairie
Goodbye to the pals of the plains
Goodbye to the dash and the danger
Goodbye to the heartaches and pains [Instrumental]
Goodbye to my faithful old pony
Take care of him, boys, when I go
I'm riding away on life's roundup
Away to where the sun sinks low [Instrumental]
Goodbye to the hoof-rushing cattle
Goodbye to the clanking of spurs
Goodbye to the laugh and the chatter
Goodbye to the wildlife and steers
Goodbye to the dawning's first blushes
That spare in the east faintly glow
I'm riding away on life's roundup
Away to where the sun sinks low [Instrumental]
Goodbye to the girls and the boys
Goodbye to all of my friends
Goodbye to the dear girl, my sweetheart
For I know this is my end
For the pale rider comes with his summons
And I'm willing and ready to go
For I'm riding away on life's roundup
Away where the sun sinks low
Gospel Ship is a song done by the Carters in 1935 and later by the Monroes as "Old Gospel Ship." It is similar to "Have a Feast Tonight" in form and melody. Myron LeFerve's uncle Vestal was listed as the arranger of the first published versions of the song in 1939. According to the Leferve family the song had been sung for at least one generation and no one knew the authorship.
In the book "Turn Your Radio On" Vestal agreed to deed the song to The Happy Goodman's. The author says the song is a slave song brought from Africa (with no documentation). Since the Carters recording preceeded this the whole basis for the article, claims by the Vestals etc. seem meritless. The point is: the song was an old song known for many years (that was in the late 1930s). Alan Lomax collected the Old Gosel Ship in the 1930s (pub. in 1942). The problem is there are several spirituals and gospel songs called Gospel Ship.
THE OLD GOSPEL SHIP Sung by Ruby Vass, Hillsville, VA, coll. A. Lomax
Chorus: I'm goin' ta take a trip on that old gospel ship,
I am going far beyond the sky,
I'm goin' ta shout and sing till heavens ring,
Till I bid the world goodbye.
1) I have good news to bring and that is why I sing,
My joy with you I'll share.
I'm goin' ta take a trip in that old gospel ship
And go sailing through the air.
2) I can scarcely wait, I know I won't be late,
I'll spend my time in prayer,
And when the ship comes in, I'll leave this world of sin,
And go sailing through the air."
A gospel song of the type that became popular around the turn of the century. It's earliest copyright claimant is Stamps/Baxter. The image of religion as a vessel sailing to heaven with a cargo of the faithful is a perennial favorite, occurring in old carols and modern songs alike." Notes to "The Gospel Ship Baptist Hymns & White Spirituals from the Southern Mountains," Alan Lomax, New World Records 80294.
GOSPEL SHIP- Carter Family 1935
I'm going to take a trip in that old gospel ship
I'm a-going far beyond the sky
I'm gonna shout and sing 'til heaven rings
When I bid this world goodbye
I have good news to bring, and that is why I sing
All my joys with you I'll share
I'm going to take a trip in that old gospel ship
And go sailing through the air
I can scarcely wait, I know I won't be late
I'll spend my time in prayer
And when the ship comes in, I'll leave this world of sin
And go sailing through the air
If you are ashamed of me, you ought not to be
Yes, you'd better have a care
If too much fault you find, you will sure be left behind
While I'm sailing through the air
Grave on the Green Hillside is a song by Aldine Kieffer in 1875, published in the "New Starry Crown For The Sabbath School"(Singer's Glen, Virginia:Ruebush, Kieffer & Co. 1872); "Royal Proclamation" (Dayton, VA: A.S. Kieffer 1896); "Star of Bethlehem (Dayton, VA: Ruebush-Kieffer Co. 1889).
Aldine Silliman Kieffer (August 1, 1840 – November 30, 1904) was a leading 19th century proponent of shape note musical notation, music teacher and publisher. Kieffer was born near Miami, Saline County, Missouri. He died in Dayton, Virginia, and is buried there.
Kieffer was the grandson of Calstock musician Joseph Funk. After Funk's death, he and Ephraim Ruebush took over Funk's publishing company. With Ruebush and John W. Howe, Kieffer founded the Kieffer, Ruebush, & Company music company circa 1873, which was moved from Singer's Glen to Dayton in 1878. Kieffer was editor of the Musical Million and Fireside Friend periodical. The Musical Million, published from 1870 until 1914, was one of the leading tools promoting shape note music for almost a half century. One of Kieffer's most popular song books was The Temple Star, published at Singer's Glen in 1877. One of his most popular songs was his poem Twilight is Stealing, set to music by B. C. Unseld in 1877 and published in the Temple Star.
GRAVE ON THE GREEN HILLSIDE- Carter Family 1929
There's a little grave on the green hillside
That lies to the morning sun
And the wayworn feet often wander there
When the cares of the day are done
We sometimes sit in the twilight fall
And talk of a far off land
And I sometimes feel in the twilight there
The touch of a vanished hand
Grave on the green hillside
Grave on the green hillside
In the years to come we will calmly sleep
In a grave on the green hillside
And this land is full of these little graves
In the valleys, plains, and hills
There's an angel, too, for each little grave
An angel procession fills.
I know not how, but I sometimes think
That they lead us with gentle hands
And a whisper falls on a willing ear
From the shore of a far off land
Grave on the green hillside
Grave on the green hillside
In the years to come we will calmly sleep
In a grave on the green hillside [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
And these little graves are but wayside marks
That point to a far off land
And they speak to the soul of a better day
Of a day that's near at hand
Though we first must walk through this darksome veil
Yet Christ will be our guide
We will reach the shore of a far off land
Through a grave on a green hillside
Grave on the green hillside
Grave on the green hillside
In the years to come we will calmly sleep
In a grave on the green hillside
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