HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE “He Was a Friend of Mine” is a traditional folk song in which the singer laments the death of a friend. It has been recorded by Bob Dylan, The Byrd’s, Dave Van Ronk, Bobby Bare, Mercury Rev, The Mitchell Trio, Willie Nelson, Nanci Griffith and Cat Power. The version […]
HESITATION BLUES “Hesitation Blues” is a popular Blues song written by Billy Smythe, Scott Middleton, and Art Gillham. The three men were involved in the music publishing business in St. Louis, Missouri. About 1914 they joined a band and went to Los Angeles. They passed their traveling time making up verses to a traditional tune. […]
THERE’S A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA “Hole in the Bottom of the Sea” is a cumulative song whose verse’s are built from earlier verses, usually by adding a new stanza to the previous verse. A simple cumulative song having many verses is structured as stanza stanza stanza ⋮ stanza1 stanza2 … stanzan […]
There’s a Hole in My Bucket” (or “…in the Bucket”) is a children’s song, along the same lines as “Found a Peanut“. A popular version of the song was recorded by Harry Belafonte and Odetta. The song incorporates an infinite–loop motif. In order to fix the leaky bucket, one needs straw. To cut straw, one […]
“The Holy Ground” is a local place name in the town of Cobh, County Cork, on the southern coast of Ireland. The song “The Holy Ground” is named after this area. The name is ironic, the piece of ground known as the Holy Ground was once the town’s red- light district in the 19th century […]
HOME ON THE RANGE “Home On the Range” is the state song of Kansas. Dr. Brewster M. Higley originally wrote the words in a poem called “My Western Home.” He wrote it in the early 1870s in Smith County, Kansas. The poem was first published in a December 1873 issue of the Smith County Pioneer […]
“Honeysuckle Rose” is a 1928 song composed by Fats Waller, with lyrics written by Andy Razaf. Fats Waller‘s 1934 recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. “Honeysuckle Rose” is a masterpiece as evidenced by the number and quality of musicians who cover the classic. Nell Carter and Andre DeShields won […]
The song written by Irving Berlin and was originally titled “The Near Future” in 1919. It is better known for the small part of its lyric that took on a life of its own: “How Dry I Am”. The term “Dry” in that time period meant abstinence from alcohol, and support of Prohibition. Those who […]
I AINT MARCHING ANYMORE “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” was Phil Ochs‘ second LP, released on Elektra Records in 1965. Of the twelve originals, probably the most noted was the title track, with its distinctive trilling guitar part, that spoke of a soldier sick of fighting. Oh I marched to the battle of New Orleans At […]
I AM THE LIGHT OF THIS WORLD Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was a blues and gospel singer and guitarist. He has influenced the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Wizz Jones, Jorma Kaukonen, Keb Mo, Ollabelle and Resurrection Band. Davis became blind at a very young age. He took to the guitar and assumed […]