It is interesting that the same song can completely change over years lyrically, instrumentally, and emotionally. The song ‘On the Banks of the Ohio’, in general, speaks about a man who ends up killing his love because of the fact that she could not be wedded to him. However, within two different artists, Bill Monroe and Johnny Cash, has the meaning of the song differentiated. Although the lyrics are relatively similar between the two versions, the way they are sung and the way the instruments differ have a lot to do with their main contrasts. In Monroe’s version, it is portrayed at the typical American epitome of Folk, telling a simple story of happenings in the countryside. The instruments used are a country banjo and simple guitar picking on the lower strings. The lower strings of the guitar give the melody of this version a percussional feel or a more toe tapping feel. In contrast, Johnny Cash’s version contains only a solo guitar with its own lines and rhythms. Also, in Cash’s version, he enunciates certain figures of phrases to give more depth and emotion to the lyrics to convey a more emotional attachment. For example, during important or stressed parts, such as the line, ”n I there threw her into drown,” Cash uses crescendos to put emphasis on the climax of the verse compared to his mezzo forte at the beginning of the phrase. 

            Something that really caught my attention was the lack of fills needed in Cash’s rendition. He sang through each verse and repeated to the chorus at times, but did not have a break for instrumental fill in comparison to Monroe’s version. In Monroe’s version there were instrumental fills before each verse. The fills give the song an opportunity to unfold the melodic lines. I think the reason Cash did not choose to do the same was because he had a different take on what part of the song should be emphasized. In Cash’s version, it sounded as if he was trying to let the lyrics speak for themselves and produce the song’s melody by just reading themselves out. He phrases certain lines by alternating the volume in which each phrase is being sung. His crescendos and decrescendos allow the lyrics to have shape, and therefore shape the melody.

            I believe that both versions display their own take of authenticity. Monroe displays authenticity by limiting his instrumentation, and grammar/slang to those of early American Folk. However, Cash displays authenticity by restricting the instrumentation to a solo instrument, played in a similar style to American Folk. It is very apparent that times have changed based on what the artists have put out. Most artists cater to popular demand, so their music reflects that of the audience. Billy Monroe probably came from an era where artists make music to make music. The lyrics of the song very well portray a story of some sort, and contain the sounds of classic Folk. It seems that since this version had more instrumental fills than the other, the audience appreciated tap-able melodies rather than lyrical meaning. The audience of Cash’s time, however, differs in that Cash takes a more slower approach to the song and tries to bring out it’s initial feel of eeriness. He accomplishes this by extending lines and bringing out certain words of the lyrics to put a stress on the words between the lines.

            This particular song has a huge dividing boundary in that its lyrics do not match the feel of the melody. In general, it has a fairly bouncy, upbeat tune as the melodic line, but a dark and murder-filled tale behind the lyrics. This generalization is perfectly portrayed by the rendition by Billy Monroe in that even the perky yodels aid to keep the mood light, despite the words being yodeled out. However in Cash’s, he tries to bring down the mood by toning down the melody by providing only one source of melody, and taking out the yodel effect and replacing it with a more sorrowful extensive hum. With that, the vision of rural America can apply to the older version of the song in that the audience seemed to enjoy the lively like melody paired with the dark lyrics. Johnny Cash’s version opens up that once seen vision of rural America by trying to emit a different kind of reaction throughout the new audience.