GALVESTON FLOOD (WASN’T THAT A MIGHTY STORM) This song tells the story of the September 8, 1900, hurricane that topped the seawall at Galveston and killed more than 6,000 people; perhaps as many as 12,000. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is to date the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States. By contrast, […]
GENTLE ON MY MIND “Gentle On My Mind” is a song written by John Hartford, which won two 1968 Grammy Awards. Hartford himself won the award for Best Folk Performance. The other award, Best Country & Western Solo Vocal Performance, Male, went to Glen Campbell for his version of Hartford’s song. Hartford said that he […]
“Georgia On My Mind” is a song written in 1930 by Stuart Gorrell (lyrics) and Hoagy Carmichael (music). It is the official state song of the U.S. state of Georgia. Gorrell wrote the lyrics for Hoagy’s sister, Georgia Carmichael. However, the lyrics of the song are ambiguous enough to be referring either to the state […]
GET ALONG LITTLE DOGIES A “Doggie” is a motherless calf, this expression came to be in the old west of the USA. The reason that there were so many motherless calves was that the Mexican longhorn cattle then raised in Texas were not “milkers”, and therefore were allowed to roam outdoors for months at a […]
GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN “Get Thee Behind Me Satan” is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1936 film “Follow the Fleet”, where it was introduced by Harriet Hilliard. It was originally written for Ginger Rogers in “Top Hat” (1935). It was the reply of Jesus when Satan offered him all the […]
GET TOGETHER “Get Together,” also known as “Let’s Get Together,” is a song written in the early 1960s by American singer–songwriter Chet Powers (aka Dino Valente).The song is an appeal for peace and brotherhood, presenting the polarity of love versus fear, and the choice to be made between them. The song was originally recorded as […]
GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend” is a country and cowboy–style song. It was written on June 5, 1948 by Stan Jones. A number of versions were also crossover hits on the pop charts in 1949. The song is about a cowboy who has a vision of red-eyed, […]
GINSENG SULLIVAN Norman Blake first made me aware of the ginseng root, via his masterful recording of the tune “Ginseng Sullivan”. He released the song in 1972 on the “Back Home in Sulphur Springs” album. Tony Rice also cut the tune on the “Manzanita” album that has come to be such a revered classic. “Manzanita” […]
GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY “Girl from the North Country” (also known as “Girl of the North Country” is a song written by Bob Dylan. It was first released in 1963 as the second track on Dylan’s second studio album, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”. The song was written following his first trip to England in […]
GO DOWN MOSES “Go Down Moses” is an American Negro spiritual. It describes events in the Old Testament of the Bible, specifically Exodus 5:1. Although usually thought of as a spiritual, the earliest recorded use of the song was as a rallying anthem for the Contrabands at Fort Monroe sometime before July of 1862. The […]