On the Banks of the Ohio (Johnny Cash)
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 12:30 PM In the song “By the Banks” by Johnny Cash, we encounter a couple who we believe to be happily in love. They take a walk, where Willie (Johnny Cash) plans on discussing the couple’s wedding day. At this point in the song, it is impossible to discern from Cash’s somewhat plain tone of voice whether the song will take a sad or happy turn. Eventually, Willie asks his love to marry him, to which she has no response. There is no change in Cash’s tone of voice, and it is not until the line “I plunged a knife into her breast
And told her she was going to rest,” that the song’s sad reality becomes clear.
Aside from Johnny Cash’s unchanging tone, it is also the form of the song which stays consistent. All four verses, and the chorus, appear to have the same A form. Therefore, with no change in the tone or form of the song, it is only the lyrics that progress. I can’t seem to find any instances of diaspora in the song, or any other concepts from the lectures for that matter. All in all, I enjoyed this version of the song more so than the other versions. Despite his matter-of-fact delivery, I feel that Cash’s delivery of the lyrics was more powerful than Monroe and the Kossoy sisters.
Reader Comments (1)
In Johnny Cash’s rendition of On the Banks, many of you commented that Cash’s vocals, instrumentation, and rhythm were monotonous and so interpreted the song as numb and unemotional towards the subject matter of the song. Also, many of your posts related Cash’s steady instrumentation/vocals with surprisingly dark disturbing lyrics to Professor Carson’s definition of folk music as having tension between melody and idea.
Though Cash’s monotony of the song is clear, there are some varied opinions among your posts as to whether or not it contains emotion. Do you think that Cash is expressing a different emotion through his monotony, or is he completely unmoved/unemotional by the female subject and his murder? Perhaps his low monotonous tone ironically serves to greater emphasize his depression, or his inability to cope with what he has done, resulting in a repressing numbness in his tone. Think deeply about Cash’s purpose for his vocal tone and instrumentation manner. Why do you think he chose to sing the way he did? What might he have wanted to convey to his listeners? If he sang with more melodic variation, what effect would this have on the song? Would it feel more/less authentic? Consider a few of your peers’ posts on these issues:
http://benleedscarson.com/by-banks-in-pines/author/hunterswanson
http://benleedscarson.com/by-banks-in-pines/author/navidramirez
http://benleedscarson.com/by-banks-in-pines/author/christopherwichmann
Please do not feel that you have to answer all or be limited to these questions. Comment to each other what you find interesting or how you feel about any of these issues raised. Even if this topic is not relevant to your original post, try to get involved with discussion anyway! I encourage you all to express your opinions to each other, and please, don’t be afraid of a little dispute!