Ain't No More Cain (sic) on the Brazos

I was listening to the Band's recording of "Ain't No More Cane" this morning. When it comes to traditional material, you can't do much better than the band. They do my favorite versions of both this and "Long Black Veil," which actually sounds much older than it really is. Today was the first time I'd really noticed the line "don't you rise up 'til it's judgment day for sure," though, and it struck me at once that Cane may be working dually here.

I knew "Ain't No More Cane" was an old work song, probably dating back to the early twenties or maybe a little further back. I had always assumed it was a migrant farmer song about the ending of the sugar season ("Ain't no more cane on the [banks of the] Brazos [river.] It's all been ground down to molasses" wails the song's speaker. What I didn't know is that it is also a prison song. After hearing it with fresh ears, I went to The Band's unofficial website where Erin Sebo expertly points out that nearly all of the prisons in Texas are along the Brazos and that the song also uses prison slang, like "bully" and "captain."

Another word that is slang is "Hannah," meaning the sun. It is Hannah who is told not to rise until judgment day is certain, i.e., after the anti-Christ, who may claim that (s)he will bring judgment. Sun here may double as Son -- the speaker could be asking Christ to rise up. In the literal context of the song, though, the speaker is asking the sun not to rise because the day means work, often in the hot fields. And though the sugar is all harvested, some other crop's season may be just around the corner.

All of this seems to beg the question, why sugar cane? It may simply be that "cane" is a literal detail from an autobiographical songwriter. It may be that cane fit the meter best. It may also be because cane carries resonances of Cain. Prisoners are outcasts; they bear the same burden as Cain. It could be that they are identifying with him. "Ain't no more Cain" because they have escaped, but then if they "all got ground down to molasses" they may be dead. This is particularly interesting as molasses is the same color as the tar baby. One may think of Jean Toomer's "Cane" or of the white supremacist belief that black skin is the physical mark of Cain (interestingly enough, racists used this as proof of blacks inferiority and then proceeded to lynch blacks, although God marks Cain as a proscription of vengeance, saying that no one can kill Cain because of his mark).

Whatever associations we may make with cane/Cain, its purpose in the song is to represent labor. The sun also represents labor, as the prison work is done beneath the sun's intense heat. The two are equated. When the speaker tells Old Hannah, or the sun, not to rise until judgment day, the speaker is also telling Cain not to rise until judgment day. I don't have the whole thing worked out yet, but there may indeed be something interesting going on there.

Women's History Month: Malvina Reynolds

You have to love Malvina Reynolds if for no other reason than she is eating the ultimate foo in the picture above. Luckily, though, there is an abundance of other reasons to love her as well. An old folky, Reynolds was a writer of political anthems. Her two most notbale compositions are "What Have They Done To the Rain, Ma?" and "Little Boxes." The former is about the effects of nuclear bomb testing on the environment and was made popular by artists including the Seekers and Joan Baez. "Little Boxes" is a song about the boringness of conformity. It has recieved increased popularity in recent years after appearing as the theme song to the comedy Weeds. "What Have They Done To the Rain?" is ripe for an even larger resurgence.

Its a shame Malvina's not still around. I bet she'd have a whole lot of praise toe the country in electing its new president, and a whole lot to say about how most of us could still be living our lives quiet a bit differently.

Women's History Month: Joan Baez

Joan Baez began her career as an interpreter of traditional song. Her first albums are a treasure trove of obscure, ancient balladry. Slowly, Bob Dylan songs started to creep on, and by the fifth album the majority of her albums were made up of covers of Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, etc. They were important songs for the time, but Baez didn't really come into her own as a singer of popular songwriting until Diamonds and Rust, an album which she wrote much of herself. The title track chronicles her relationship with Bob Dylan and how it has evolved over time, taking him to task for psuedo-deep vagueness and crescendos to its peak with a moving description of the lovers in Washington Square.

Black History Month: Leadbelly

If for nothing else, Huddie Ledbetter should be recognized for bringing the 12-string guitar to prominence. He was so skilled with the instrument that he was able to play his way out of prison twice. Not bad for a Southern black who had been imprisoned first for killing a black man and then for stabbing a white man. Signature songs include "Goodnight Irene," "Rock Island Line," and "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" -- a powerful ballad that will stop you in your tracks. A personal favorite of mine is his recording of the gospel tune "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen."

It has been suggested in some circles, apocryphal or not, that Leadbelly may have been involved in Kurt Cobain's suicide. As the story goes, after Nirvana recorded "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" on MTV Unplugged, Leadbelly's family offered to sell Leadbelly's guitar to Cobain. With his contract up for renewal, Cobain supposedly asked his record label to buy him the guitar as a signing bonus. When they refused, Cobain realized that the corporate suits in charge of the musical industry, like much of the public, didn't give a shit about the artistry of authentic, gutteral expression, and that this realization is what drove him to suicide. If the story is true, its a damn shame that they didn't realize the beauty of Leadbelly's Ovation.

Folk Song Revisited! -- The Riddle Song

I take my folk music very seriously. Folk music is a strange tradition filled with magical wonder. I love the old songs. Still, a lot of people limit folk music to the narrow definition of topical songs, those that deal with current events. So, "Folk Song Revisited!," a new and possibly recurring segment, will refigure an old classic with new, topical lyrics. This time out we will look at "The Riddle Song." Many of you will remember this from a delightlfully crappy version by Stephen Bishop in the film Animal House. He was the pretty boy on the staircase whose guitar got bashed to shreds by John Belushi doing his best Pete Townsend impersonation. Bishop actually is much better then that segment suggested. He added two songs to the soundtrack, one of which "Dream Girl," was a fabulous send up of late fifties love pop.

Anyway, here are the original lyrics:

I gave my love a cherry that had no stone.
I gave my love a chicken without no bone.
I gave my love a story that had no end.
I gave my love a baby with no cryin'.

How can there be a cherry that has no stone?
How can there be a chicken that has no bone?
How can there be a story that has no end?
How can there be a baby with no cryin'?

A cherry when it's bloomin', it has no stone.
A chicken when it's in the egg, it has no bone.
The story of I love you, it has no end
A baby when it's sleepin, it's no cryin'

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This little ditty was rather easy to revise. I just changed the last verse. Here it is, new and improved for these modern times:

A cherry has no stone when its genetically modified.
A chicken has no bone when shaped into nuggets and deep fried.
The story got made into a movie; they'll make part duex.
The baby won't be cryin' if it wants to live til' two.

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(On an ethical side note, I fretted heavily over the last line. Its so mean. And I love children. But then I realized that this was satire and that I don't like genetic modification, reconfigured meat (though I do have a miniscule soft spot for chicken nuggets), or needless sequels either. Still, I'm not sure that child abuse cases are worse than before, though perhaps more publicized.