John Carson- John Henry

In Fiddlin’ John Carson’s recording of John Henry, there is a short filddle intro at the opening of the song. Each stanza is five lines, the first two being part A, while the last three are A¹. The difference between the two parts is that in A¹, the last line is a repetition of the previous line sung. This is the form for every stanza, and the melody repeats itself for each one. In terms of form and melody, the song does not change, while the tempo, however, does. At the start of the song, the tempo is slow to moderately paced. Throughout the tune, the speed picks up, until the end is played at a tempo much quicker than what it was at the beginning. This change in speed could be symbolic of a train, like one in the song, which gets faster once it gains momentum.

The recording is old and raw. The only instrument accompanying John Carson’s voice is that of a violin or ‘fiddle.’ Carson’s voice is rugged, rough, and sometimes off-count with the fiddle playing. This, along with the simple instrumentation, contributes to the authentic tone of the song.

Comments

[mmalouf]

Rhythmic and Stylistic Change:

Rhythm and style evolution seem to be an important point of analysis for Casey Jones and John Henry because it represents a relationship to both the lyrical intent and the time period in which the rendition was performed. In several of your discussion posts there was talk about how the tone and tempo increased towards the end of the song (for both the Grateful Dead and John Hurt versions), which is important to note as a stylistic holdover through the evolution of this song. Tiffany Sun’s post (link: http://www.tinyurl.com/tiffanysun) points out that “the absence of the drums in the last line stresses the last few words of the song.” This is an interesting observation because other bands and other songs have made use of this technique, and the Grateful Dead I think made use of it in line with the theme of the song. It could be said that this drumless ending is done by Jerry Garcia to emphasize a point, which in this case may be the overdose and/or death of Casey Jones, yet this technique was not used in either Fiddlin’ John Carson or Mississippi John Hurt’s versions. This rhythmic and instrumental retooling of the song to fit the lyrical changes is an important phenomenon in studying the evolution of American pop culture. Ryan Atchley’s analysis (link: http://www.tinyurl.com/RyanA) of Mississippi John Hurt’s rhythmic change is to show that:

”the death of Jones as something that would affect the family but in the end, as the song repeats its beginning, shows that Jones will be missed but never forgotten.”

These connections of analysis to lyrical content are the next step in fully analyzing songs for your essays. The relationship between the structural and lyrical characteristics of the song is how we ultimately determine the <u>feeling</u> of the song. Drawing on the song as a story will allow you to understand the context and the message, and the instrumental will allow you to gauge how those lyrics should be interpreted and the mood that is trying to be transmitted from performer to audience.

To develop your essays further, which are due on October 15th, make sure to draw connections in the evolution of rhythm/tempo/speed/beat (or any other musical factor) and the lyrical or situational character of the song itself. These connections, especially ones that focus on historical premise and interpretation, will help reinforce your essays and intended point by incorporating themes and topics that Professor Carson has been discussing in class.

If there are any questions, points of analysis, or something you’d like to talk about, feel free to email or post on the website.

-Matt