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Post by Jim Boylston on Nov 22, 2007 19:53:52 GMT -5
In the main thread we were discussing the origins of SJI, and Tom mentioned it's genesis as "The Unfortunate Rake". IT seems that this song provided the basis for another song as well, "Streets of Laredo". I've only heard "The Unfortunate Rake" once, and that was on one of the season finales of "Deadwood", where Al Swearingen sings the song alone in the saloon at closing time. The tune was very similar to the "Streets of Laredo" song with which I'm familiar (there are any number of versions, but for clarity's sake, the version by Riders in the Sky is the melody I know). Has anyone heard SJI sung to a melody similar to "Streets of Laredo"? I'm just very curious which route old song would take in order to spin off two tunes that sound completely different to my ears. Jim
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Post by TRK on Nov 23, 2007 8:25:02 GMT -5
I haven't heard a version of "St. James Infirmary" sung to a melody akin to "Streets of Laredo." There may be such versions out there, but they would be pretty radical, since the melody of SJI we all know so well is a doom & gloom minor key, while SOL is a perky major. Plus, given the meter of SJI, I don't know any way you could sing it to the tune of SOL.
No, I think the school of thought that "St. James Infirmary" and, for that matter, "Streets of Laredo" were derived from "The Unfortunate Rake" is based on the theme of the lyrics: a tragic death, and a litany of funerary preferences as expressed by the one who is about to die (or, in SJI, one who is contemplating death).
I like the version of St. James Infirmary on the Tarbox Ramblers' eponymous album; they have a way of getting to the heart of things.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Nov 23, 2007 9:37:10 GMT -5
Regarding SOL, isn't the original title (or perhaps an alternate or sub-title) "The Cowboy's Lament"?
Do you recall the version performed in the film "Bang the Drum Slowly"? I think the lyrics were altered for that to match the film's title. No doubt we've all heard multiple versions of this one. I even recall a very, very old woman on a 1950s TV show (maybe Groucho Marx's show) actually singing a version from memory that sounded different, like a folk version that may have been passed down to her.
I like a lot of Rex Allen's versions of cowboy songs, particularly "When the Work's All Done this Fall" (a song I find myself singing to myself a lot at this time of year!).
I can't help you on SJI; never heard that done to the SOL.
AW
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Post by Jim Boylston on Nov 23, 2007 15:32:42 GMT -5
I have their "Fix Back East" album, which I bought on the strength of the Dock Boggs covers. I'll keep an eye out for their first. Jim
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Post by TRK on Nov 23, 2007 15:43:34 GMT -5
Earlier this year I caught a show by the Tarbox Ramblers, and they did "St. James Infirmary." The entire performance was pretty intense.
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Post by bobdurham on Dec 8, 2007 7:25:38 GMT -5
Just wondering how Blind Willie McTell's "Dying Crapshooter's Blues" fits into the St. James Infirmary school of songs. Clearly taken from it but with a little different tune, I think.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Dec 8, 2007 11:27:03 GMT -5
Check out the many versions of SJI on iTunes. An eclectic assortment of artists from Pete Seeger to Louis Armstrong. Looks like Sachmo recorded several versions.
AW
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Post by Jim Boylston on Dec 8, 2007 11:28:19 GMT -5
I'll have to pull the McTell song and give it another listen. On a related note, I heard (or read) recently that the lyrics to Jimmie Rodgers' "Gamblers Blues" (also a SJI knock off) were actually written on the reverse of a lyric page for SJI. Rodgers apparently rewrote the lyrics in order to make the song his own and get some publishing out of it. Jim
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Post by TRK on Dec 8, 2007 11:53:47 GMT -5
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Post by TRK on Dec 10, 2007 13:31:20 GMT -5
Just pulled my JSP box set on Blind Willie McTell, and the melody of "Dying Crapshooter Blues" is fairly similar, but not identical, to that of "St. James Infirmary." The main similarity is that they're both in a minor key.
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