Lead Belly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?"
Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 12:53 PM Lead Belly’s version of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” has a constant AA melody that gives the song its melancholy, menacing, heavy sound. However, there are moments when Lead Belly changes from singing to speaking, changing his tone to one of a performer, giving encouragement to the audience. He says “shiver for me now” even after one of the most chilling lines in the song and makes the song into more of a performance. His interjections seem out of place amidst the tragic tone of the rest of the song, but it also personalizes him and seems to bring the listener closer, and allows him or her to participate in the music. This call and response method must have sounded to the Lomaxes as “authentic” and perhaps is truly a representation of African American culture. I would imagine that as Lead Belly was hauled around by the Lomaxes to play his “true”, “authentic” folk music to white people, they wouldn’t understand the ‘response’ aspect of the call and response.
Hearing this song, I can imagine this song echoing through a dim jail cell, as Lead Belly “shivers all night through”. The fact that Lead Belly was an actual African American murderer singing this dark, eerie song may have seemed ‘authentic’ to the Lomaxes, but the fact that “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” fits in so seamlessly with Lead Belly’s primitive image as a cruel, murderous ‘negro’ straight from the south, shows the Lomaxes influence on him, and therefore shows a lack of ‘authenticity,’ because the Lomaxes were pulling strings in the background profiting from his so-called ‘authenticity.’
Reader Comments (6)
Samantha - excellent response; your discussion of authenticity is very intelligent. If you choose to write an essay for this unit (and I think you're off to a really good start), definitely expand on your ideas about authenticity, maybe tying them into more parts of the song as well, and listening closely to Bill Monroe (though you could also choose to compare Nirvana & Bill Monroe, but not Lead Belly and Nirvana). Also, make sure you bring up Barker and Taylor in your essay. Not everything has to be cut and dry, inauthentic or authentic. There can be aspects of both. I think you get the idea so I'm not sure if you need much more feedback from me but please ask any specific questions you might have. I'll be keeping an eye on all discussion posts.
I dug your discussion of Leadbelly's image as influential in his popularity and it got me thinking about how thats still relevant today. Thanks.
I agree with your analysis of this song, in that the song does have a very “melancholy” and “heavy sound” to it. Your observation of Led Belly speaking at some points in his song is also something i agree with. In your example of his “speaking” points in this song, what do you mean when you say that he gives “encouragement to the audience”? I am not sure that I feel as if he is giving any kind of encouragement to his audience, I see it more as he is trying to bring attention to this woman who is feeling hurt and alone and that what he is saying to his audience is more along the lines of, be ware that this doesn’t happen to you.
In your second paragraph you say that you could picture this song being sung in a jail cell, which actually could be true since Led Belly was in jail for murder previously. I am confused on how this image shows you that the Lomaxs had any influence on him. Obviously they had some sort of influence on him because they pretty much told him what he could and couldn’t do, but how does this relate to Led Belly’s song?
In your posts, many of you considered the effect Lead Belly’s spoken interjections had on the authenticity or lack thereof in his version of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” Christopher Yoshonis made an interesting point when he noted the Jazz influence in Lead Belly’s interjections, implying that they detracted authenticity. Check out Christopher’s post here: (http://benleedscarson.com/by-banks-in-pines/2009/10/10/lead-bellys-in-the-pines.html). Hannah Sherman, on the other hand, felt that these interjections increased authenticity as they reflected what Lead Belly “felt and experienced.” Take a look at Hannah’s post here: (http://benleedscarson.com/by-banks-in-pines/2009/10/9/where-did-you-sleep-last-night-by-leadbelly.html). Using these examples as a springboard, what effect do you think Lead Belly’s spoken interjections have on the song’s authenticity and on the song in general? Why do you think Lead Belly chose to speak the specific lines that he did, as opposed to any other lines? And looking at the topic in broader terms, what effect do you think spoken interjections have on songs today? Feel free to post youtube links to examples of present-day songs featuring spoken interjections and to discuss these examples with your classmates!
I also found his constant interjections of simple talking really interesting. I agree with you that it adds a chilling factor to the song, because it suggests a casual attitude in such a dark and confusing situation. One thing you mentioned that I did not consider is the connection to jail ("shiver the whole night through"). Leadbelly's personal time in prison must have influenced this tremendously.
You also raise an essential point referring to the Lomaxes and authenticity. Do you think some of the meaning of the song gets lost due to a possible lack of authenticity? I personally do not believe so because the song seems to have refections and parallels of Leadbelly's own life.
To Michelle, to answer your questions.
What I meant about the Lomaxes influencing Leadbelly was that I would imagine they WANTED him to sound as much like a criminal as he was. They wanted to emphasize his identity as a cruel, menacing, prison-dwelling creature. Sure, he had been imprisoned, but according to the readings for this class about it, he was a pretty chill guy most of the time, and I think this song probably built his image as a hardcore, criminal black "primitive" guy.