Man of Constant Sorrow
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"Man of Constant Sorrow" is a traditional American folk song first performed by Dick Burnett, a partially blind fiddler from Kentucky. The song was originally recorded by Burnett as "Farewell Song" printed in a Richard Burnett songbook, c. 1913. An early version was recorded by Emry Arthur in 1928 (Vocalion Vo 5208).
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[edit] History
There is some uncertainty whether Dick Burnett himself wrote the song. In an interview he gave toward the end of his life Burnett himself indicated that he could not remember:
CHARLES WOLFE: What about this "Farewell Song" -- "I am a man of constant sorrow" -- did you write it?'
RICHARD BURNETT: No, I think I got the ballet [sic (ballad)] from somebody -- I dunno. It may be my song...[1]
If Burnett wrote the song, we can date the writing of the song, or perhaps the editing of certain lyrics by Burnett, to about 1913. Since we know Burnett was born in 1883, married in 1905, and blinded in 1907, we can date two of these texts on the basis of internal evidence. The second stanza of "Farewell Song" mentions the singer has been blind six years, which would date it at 1913.
According to the Country Music Annual, Burnett "probably tailored a prexisting song to fit his blindness" and may have adapted a hymn. Charles Wolfe argues that "Burnett probably based his melody on an old baptist hymn called Wandering Boy"[2]
During 1918, Cecil Sharp collected the song and published it as "In Old Virginny" (Sharp II, 233).
Sarah Ogan Gunning's recomposition of the traditional "Man" into a more personal "Girl" took place about 1936 in New York, where her first husband, Andrew Ogan, was fatally ill. The text was descriptive of loneliness away from home and anticipated her bereavement; the melody she remembered from a 78 rpm hillbilly record (Emry Arthur, probably Vocalion Vo 5208, 1928) she had heard some years before in the mountains.
[edit] Recordings and cover versions
- The song was first made famous by the Stanley Brothers.
- It appears on Bob Dylan's 1962 eponymous debut album and Dylan performed the song during his first national television appearance in 1963.
- Recorded by Waylon Jennings on his 1966 major-label debut Folk-Country.
- In their 1962 self-titled debut album Peter, Paul and Mary recorded another version as "Sorrow."
- Judy Collins's 1961 debut album, Maid of Constant Sorrow, took its name from a variant of the song that was performed on the album.
- Rod Stewart performed the song on his debut solo album in 1969.
- It was also recorded by Ginger Baker's Air Force on their eponymous debut album in 1970, sung by Air Force guitarist and vocalist (and former Moody Blues, future Wings member) Denny Laine. The band used the same melody, and for the most part the same lyrics (but substituted 'Birmingham' for 'Colorado'). The arrangement differed, though, as this was a loosely improvised live version, with violin and saxophones, that stays very much in the major scales of A, D and E, unlike its future bluesier brethren. It was the only band single; it charted #36 on the U.S. country charts and #86 in UK.
- "Man of Constant Sorrow" was one of many songs recorded by Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, and Tony Rice one weekend in February of 1993. Jerry's taped copy of the session was later stolen by his pizza delivery man, eventually became an underground classic, and finally edited and released in 2000.[3] Jerry Garcia also sang an a capello version on June 11, 1962, at the Jewish Community Center in San Carlos, California, with the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers with his bluegrass band The Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers, whom Garcia 'renamed' throughout the perfomance several times, including calling them "The Slugs." Though unreleased, it has been widely circulated among 'traders' at least since the 1980s.
- Jackson Browne and Irish accordionist Sharon Shannon recorded their version of the song in 2000. It also appeared in Shannon's album The Diamond Mountain Sessions.
- The song appears in the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, under the title "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow." Performed by the fictitious Soggy Bottom Boys in the movie, it was recorded by Dan Tyminski, Harley Allen, and Pat Enright. It was a hit in the movie for the Soggy Bottom Boys and later became a hit single in real life. It received a CMA for "Single of the Year" and a Grammy for "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals" and it peaked at #35 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Dan Tyminski performed this song at the Crossroads Guitar Festival with Ron Block and live with Alison Krauss & Union Station.
The versions by Dylan and Soggy Bottom Boys use somewhat different arrangements and while the lyrics have many similarities, they are by no means identical. The Soggy Bottom Boys said goodbye to "old Kentucky," as the original versions do, while in Dylan's version the singer said goodbye to "Colorado."
| “Man of Constant Sorrow” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by Ginger Baker's Air Force from the album Ginger Baker's Air Force |
||
| B-side | Man of Constant Sorrow (Live) (Atco) Doin' It (Polydor) |
|
| Released | 1970 | |
| Format | 7' | |
| Recorded | 10-15 February 1970 | |
| Genre | Jazz fusion | |
| Length | 3:35 | |
| Label | Atco/Polydor | |
| Writer(s) | Traditional (arr. Denny Laine) | |
| Producer | Ginger Baker & Jimmy Miller | |
- Canadian hard rock group Tin Foil Phoenix reimagined the song into a more rock based style. It was later released on their 2007 second album Age of Vipers as a bonus track.
- In 2003, musicians Skeewiff remixed "Man of Constant Sorrow." The song was so popular in Australia that it featured at #96 in the Triple J's hottest 100 songs of 2003. That same year, the O Brother Where Art Thou? version of the song ranked #20 in CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music.
- The Brooklyn-based country-hip-hop band Battlestar recorded a version of the song on their 2002 album Above Market Value.
- Osaka Popstar recorded a punk rock cover of this song for their debut album Osaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk.
- Demented Scumcats - english psychobilly band in their album called Splatter Baby released in 2005.
- Chris Daughtry's band Absent Element performed a rock version live during Chris's homecoming in Greensboro, North Carolina on June 3, 2006.
- In 2007, artists Kraak and Smaak included a remix of "Man of Constant Sorrow" originally recorded by Skeewiff, on their album "The Remix Sessions."
- In Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, Susannah Dean sings the song (replacing 'man' with 'maid') during their visit to the Calla in Wolves of the Calla.
[edit] Parodies
- Filk performer Luke Ski recorded a parody of the Tyminski/Allen/Enright recording of "Man of Constant Sorrow" for his 2002 album, Uber Geek, titled "I Am a Vamp of Constant Sorrow," about Angel, a vampire from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series.
- American country music parodist Cledus T. Judd recorded a parody of the song, called "Man of Constant Borrow" (about a man who never returns what he borrows from his neighbors) on his 2002 album Cledus Envy. Judd's version featured hip-hop instrumentation, and background vocals from country group Diamond Rio.
- In 2007, the greeting cards website AmericanGreetings.com released a Thanksgiving eCard called Bird with No Tomorrow. The parody feature turkeys dancing in the exact style as O Brother, Where Art Thou?, with the lead turkey singing of his escape from his "native farmland" in order to survive.
[edit] References
- ^ "Man of Constant Sorrow -- Richard Burnett's Story," Old Time Music, No. 10 (Autumn 1973), p. 8.
- ^ Charles K Wolfe, James E Akenson, Country Music Annual 2002, p.28
- ^ Amazon.com: The Pizza Tapes: Music: Jerry Garcia,David Grisman,Tony Rice
