Blood, Booze 'n' Bones (1956)

Home  |    |  What's New  |  Contact Us
 

The subject matter of this album—Murder, Drinking and Gambling—has long been part of an intense preoccupation on the part of folksingers (who only mirror the interests of the "folk" generally.) Those who may feel that these songs and ballads reflect an unusually sordid side of life should compare them both with the headline stories in any of our news- papers and with the subject matter of the literary masterpieces from time immemorial. Sordid, they may be—but we must recognize the general interest of people in them.

This is not to say that the singers of these ballads are depraved, debauched and blood- thirsty characters. Theirs may not always be an impersonal telling of the ballad story, for their inclination to take sides in emotional situations is not less than our. own, but rarely will their stand condone crime and sin.

The performers and producers of this recording have tried to present these songs in a straightforward manner, in much the same way that they presented Mr. McCurdy singing SIN SONGS—PRO and CON( EKL-24) in a previously released album. Each of these songs tells its own story. The comments below are for identification purposes only.

In singing these songs, Mr. McCurdy is aided by the sensitive banjo accompaniments of Erik Darling. Guitar accompaniments are by Mr. McCurdy himself.

DARLIN' CORY

This mountain queen of the moonshiners long has been a favorite subject of banjo- playing singers in the Southern Appalachians. In some cases the emphasis is placed more on her gambling activities than on her guzzling. And if she shows a certain degree of infidelity towards gambling men, she at least remains true to the kind of liquor she drinks.

JOSIE

A little drinking, a little gambling, and a great deal of playing the field results in a man's death . . . and who's to say he didn't deserve it. Sometimes the heroine's name is Josie, and at other times it may be Sadie, Julie, or any other name . . . but most people will recognize it as the classic ballad-drama of Frankie and her two-timing man, Johnny.

THE DUBLIN MURDER BALLAD

The infidelity and general rascality of sailors has been well documented, but here's one sailor who went too far. If he doesn't mind the "dark birds" following after him, there's not much reason for remorse on his part. And, of course, there are other ports and other girls. For some undiscovered reason this song is better known in Scotland than in Ireland, whence came our poor Miss Brown.

FOUR NIGHTS DRUNK

Our hero may have been drunk for four nights, but he still seems to have had his wits pretty much about him. Folksingers throughout the English-speaking world have been singing for several centuries this delightful ballad (Child #274) of the husband who refused to be cuckolded, and the American version sung here has the same sharp wit and humorous dialogue as did its Scottish original.

COWBOY'S LAMENT

Back in Ireland, some 150 years ago, they sang about The Unfortunate Rake who died of a social disease. Later on the story was altered and it became known as The Bad Girl's Lament... the cause of demise was little better. Still later, the cowboy's genius for borrow- ing songs resulted in this doleful ballad. Here, however, the means of death is a little more honorable, in keeping with the traditions of the old West.

KENTUCKY MOONSHINER

This desolate and poignant cry of a lonely moonshiner in the southern mountains has been compared in Gaelic "keening" by Carl Sandburg. Here the death is imminent and inevitable, with both life and death directly dependent upon the moonshine about which he sings.

NO MORE BOOZE

Sunday "blue laws" long have been the bane of week-around guzzlers, who find stock- ing-up on Saturday a nuisance. This drunkard's ditty is obviously the most vocal complaint registered by such solid citizens. To "rush the growler" is the vernacular term of these people for carrying draught beer home from the saloon in pitcher, pail, bucket or can.

FAREWELL TO GROG

In pre-Civil War days, American sailors were served a daily ration of Grog. In an attempt to improve the efficiency of the Navy (one suspects other reasons), this custom was done away with in one bold stroke. And on September 1st, 1862, the Yankee Tar was forced to suffer the humility of sobriety during duty hours. This song is said to have been composed by Caspar Schenk, USN, the night before this tragedy took place.

PORTLAND COUNTY JAIL

This "vigorous ballad has been a favorite with hoboes, migratory workers and old "wobblies." George Milburn, in his Hobo's Hornbook, has ventured to guess that this classic bums' ballad "will probably live on as a vagabond vestigial long after hoboes have vanished from the land." In any case, the path from drunkenness to being "a honest workingntan" is not an easy road.

BANKS OF THE OHIO

Most indigenous American murder ballads can be traced back to some actual murder as a source for inspiration. The history of this quiet but gory ballad, however, has never been ascertained. Unlike the sailor in The Dublin Murder Ballad, our murderer indicates some degree of remorse, but not until our heroine has gone down for the third time.

JOHN HARDY

Here's a badman-murder ballad about a real-life killer. Hardy was sentenced to be hanged in 1894 for having wantonly killed a man whom he had accused of stealing 25 cents. Some versions of the ballad cite gambling and drinking as the cause for the crime . . . our version, however, is content to pass over this point completely.

THE PIG AND THE INEBRIATE

While we may excuse the singer for his actions and his "tipsy pride," it is difficult to rationalize the pig's obvious lack of discrimination in choosing his curb companion. This drunken ditty has been for many years a favorite student and camp song.

STACKERLEE

A favorite with Southern Negro roustabouts, Stackerlee is a gambling and murder ballad with a moral (listen to the refrain). Unlike a movie production with its moralistic code, however, our badman-hero is never brought to account for his crime. We wonder where he went after being kicked out of Heaven and being objected to in Hell.

LAMKINS

This Canadian Maritimes version of an old Scottish ballad (Child #93) is not content to detail the murder of a mother but also recites a gory tale of infanticide. Other versions tell us Lamkin was a mason who committed the crime to avenge his not being paid for work he performed. Certainly the decoration job (in blood) was a most artistic piece of craftsmanship.

YO HO HO (The Derelict)

This shuddering description of wholesale murder was undoubtedly inspired by Billy Bones' lines in Stevenson's Treasure Island, Several theories exist as to the meaning of the reference "dead man's chest," with most interested parties preferring to believe it was a euphemistic designation for an island rendevous for smugglers and pirates someplace in the Caribbean Sea.

LULU

As in the case of Darlin' Cory, the heroine of this galloping banjo tune has shown her partiality for liquor and gambling men. And the singer is jealous enough to carve you or shoot you if you mess with her, despite her shortcomings. In conjunction with the honey bees, he apparently sees more in Lulu than he has told us.

THE DRUNKARD'S DOOM

The cause of temperance in this country almost always has utilized song as one of its major weapons in the campaign against drink (second only to the effects of drink itself). There are those who find it almost impossible to sing such a song seriously, and who soon make it part of their own attack against the piety of the movement. Our own feeling is that any man who can still take his liquor straight after listening to this song ... is a mighty thirsty fellow.

KENNETH S. GOLDSTEIN

 

An Autobiographical Note by ED McCURDY

I was born in Willow Hill, Pennsylvania, and, at time of writing, I am thirty-seven years old, married, with three children.

My professional life started in 1937 as a Gospel Singer at WKY, Oklahoma City. Since then, I have worked as a baritone in theatres and clubs (including a short run in burlesque), and as a radio announcer.

In 1946, I started actively singing folk songs over the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio system. In 1952, I began writing and performing for children in radio and television in Canada. Since late 1954, I have been living in New York City, working on television, and appearing frequently in folk song doings around town.

I have led a rather varied and active life, and for various reasons consider myself well qualified to sing about BLOOD, BOOZE 'n BONES.

May, 1956

Production Supervisor: JAC HOLZMAN
Tape Engineer: LEONARD RIPLEY

Copyright 1956
by The Elektra Corporation
361 Bleecker St., New York City

ELEKTRA RECORDS
116 WEST 14th STREET 
NEW YORK

 

TECHNICAL DATA

These recordings were made on Ampex tape equipment employing a spe- cial Telefunken M-221 condenser microphone, built to ELEKTRA specifica- tions, and a selected Telefunken U-47 microphone. The tapes were edited in the New York studios of ELEKTRA and were subsequently mastered on a modified Presto 8DG lathe (Bartok Studios) with fully automatic margin control, Grampian Cutterhead and a Capps ANM cutting stylus equipped with heat. This record conforms to the RIAA curve.


Copyright © 2001-2020 by The Jack Horntip Collection.  Conditions of Use.