"John Henry" by Woody Guthrie

      After listening to “John Henry” performed by Woody Guthrie in 1947, the first thing that strikes me is the simplicity of the melody as well as the rhythm. While the lyrics progress in telling the story of John Henry, from his birth, to his competition with the steam drill to his death, the rhythm remains steady through it all and there is little if any emotion expressed by Guthrie in his singing (his pitch varies very little). I think this way of singing a song allows the lyrics to speak for themselves. Even without Guthrie expressing a great deal of emotion, you can feel the emotion behind the lyrics. For example, the verse in which John Henry tells the captain that he can bring the steam drill ‘round and that he’ll beat it down, you can feel John Henry’s immediate competitiveness with the steam drill. Also, in the last verse that talks about John Henry dying, the lyrics “Every locomotive comes a rollin’ by, hollorin’…Yonder lays a steal-drivin’ man, man, man…Yonder lays a steal-drivin’ man,” the listener cannot help but feel sad and at the same time proud to be associated with this man.  

      Additionally, I see a direct connection between this song, as American folk music, and Irish folk music that we have heard in class. American folk songs and Irish folk songs both appear to have a simple melody and rhythm and both seem to be always telling a story. I think this relates to our discussions in lecture about diaspora and the fact that Irish immigrants were migrating westward into the Appalachian Mountains at the same time that African-American and white settlers were and I think their music merged in many ways. Another similarity I see between Irish folk music and this form of American folk music is the fact that they both seem to express nostalgia and a sense of pride in one’s culture and heritage. Everyone seems to be looking for something to relate to and connect to and these folk songs seem to be a link between the past and the present for everyone, including us listening to them today.

Comments

[mmalouf]

The lyrical differences between the several versions of “Casey Jones” are due to artistic intent by the performers and a product of the environment that they were written in. Lucas Oliver (link:http://tinyurl.com/yk8h4qs) discusses how the Grateful Dead’s version of the song “takes the music of a classic American psychedelic rock band and uses the traditional lyrics as a metaphor to some of their own inside drug problems.” The lyrical retooling of the song to fit the Grateful Dead’s purpose is both understandable and to our own benefit (if lyrical and musical styles had not changed, you’d know Def Leppard as Def Mozart) because it gives us a deeper pool of analysis into the changes and developments of popular music. Lucas Oliver also points out how “the idea of ‘authenticity’ is practiced through a completely different style, and different meaning.” The notion of authenticity is really ambiguous when evaluating Mississippi John Hurt and The Grateful Dead; they’re both undoubtedly “authentic” yet they are separated by 42 years and different in almost every way. The different identities of each Casey Jones, one of an admirable railcar man and another of a cocaine abusing person pushing the limit, define authenticity to a different audience and with a different intent.
The lyrical address and relation of the singer to Casey Jones also changes between Mississippi John Hurt and the Grateful Dead. In Mississippi John Hurt’s version we hear of Casey Jones as a folk hero who died admirably and lives in the psyche of American heroes (this may sound overly dramatic, but this is to characterize that type of folk hero). The Grateful Dead completely alter that relationship and talk about Casey Jones in a more descriptive and foreboding manner. Taylor Fridrich (link: http://tinyurl.com/tayfri)
analyzes the way Jerry Garcia’s delivery as intending to be “talking directly to Casey Jones, Warning him, and trying to grab his attention with intensified volume and instrumentals.” This a really good point, and draw upon the difference in relationship that the performer has to the subject their focusing on.

For your essays, look to draw comparisons of lyrical content in relation to the song as a whole, and maybe the historical context it is in or the particular performer. Look at how the song promotes a message, or and ideal, and think about how that may have changed or stayed the same over the course of history. As you can all imagine, “popular” in popular culture is built upon what preceded it adapted to a particular context, and these songs are no different.

[LaurenSchwahn]

I like what you said about Guthrie not having to express a great deal of emotion because the emotion is already present in the lyrics. I agree that John Henry is proud and competitive and that there is a connection to folk music. I also though there was some connection to the blues. What do you think?

[EmilyCaddick]

Hmm, interesting idea. What about the song makes you feel a connection to the blues? I just listened to it again trying to listen for syncopated singing or blue notes or something, but nothing sticks out to me (not that that means it isn't there, I'm not the best listener). What do you think?