Inspired States

Norm wants the names of your favourite US states. I’m not sure why. Here are my five, based on the criterion that they are in song titles by six great singers who are unjustly neglected. You might not learn much about economics here at S&M, but your musical horizons should expand. In no order:

1. Iowa – Dar Williams. I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it until it sinks in – Dar Williams is a genius. Here are the first lines of Iowa:

I've never had a way with women

But the hills of Iowa make me wish that I could

And I've never found a way to say I love you

But if the chance came by, oh I, I would

But way back where I come from, we never mean to bother

We never make our passions other people's concern

2. (South to) Louisiana – Johnnie Allan. Not merely a wrongly neglected singer, but a forgotten genre – swamp pop, a mix of Cajun, rock n’ roll and blue-eyed soul. Get this album, and if you can keep still during the first track, declare yourself deaf and claim disability benefit.

3. Mississippi (and Me) – Kate Campbell. The thinking man’s Emmylou Harris. This track comes from this album. But no post about songs containing states’ names would be adequate without mention of Bud’s Sea-Mint Boat, on Moonpie Dreams. It’s about a concrete boat.

4. (Goodbye) California – Jolie Holland. The ex-Be Good Tanya has been likened to Billie Holliday; that’s the sort of superlative she inspires. Goodbye California is unrepresentative of her work – too much electric guitar and drums – and it’s on the lesser of her two albums. But it’s the most cheerful song about suicide I know.

5. Kentucky – The Blue Sky Boys. One of the great losses in western culture is the decline of the male brother duet; no, Journey South do not count. The best of them were Bill and Earl Bolick, who recorded in the 1930s but got together again in the 60s. You can sample a bit of Kentucky from their later period here. Listen also to Are You From Dixie? Conversion guaranteed. Be warned though - there are a lot of songs about murder and religion, and the comedy skits haven't aged well.

Here’s what they wrote in the liner notes to a long-deleted album in the 1950s:

We wouldn’t care to express our views on present folk artists or Country & Western artists as they’re now called. Probably the reader would think we were practicing the doctrine of sour grapes or being eccentric. However, as far as we’re concerned, true folk music is a thing of the past. The simplicity that made folk music great is no longer there: the distinctive styles of singing and instrumentation are a lost art. Individualism has been replaced by conformity.

Now, what was I saying about deskilling?

Comments

[dearieme]

The real American folk song is a rag.