Man of Constant Sorrow

Man of Constant Sorrow
"Man of Constant Sorrow"
Written by Traditional
Published 1913
Form Ballad
Original artist Dick Burnett
Recorded by Bob Dylan (1961)
Performed by Soggy Bottom Boys
Music sample
"I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow"

"Man of Constant Sorrow" is a traditional American folk song first recorded 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). Public interest in the song was renewed after the release of the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, as it plays a central role in the film's plot. The song was also included in the film's highly successful, multiple-platinum selling soundtrack.

Contents

History

There is some uncertainty whether Dick Burnett himself wrote the song. One claim is that it was sung by the Mackin clan in 1888 in Ireland and that Cameron O'Mackin emigrated to Tennessee, brought the song with him, and performed it. 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 ballad from somebody – I dunno. It may be my song..."[1]

If Burnett wrote the song, the date of its composition, or at least of the editing of certain lyrics by Burnett, can be fixed at about 1913. Since it is known that Burnett was born in 1883, married in 1905, and blinded in 1907, the dating of two of these texts can be made on the basis of internal evidence. The second stanza of "Farewell Song" mentions that the singer has been blind six years, which put the date at 1913. According to the Country Music Annual, Burnett "probably tailored a pre-existing 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 re-writing 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.

On October 13, 2009 on the Diane Rehm Show, Dr. Ralph Stanley of the Stanley Brothers, born in 1927, discussed the song, its origin, and his effort to revive it:[3]

"Man of Constant Sorrow" is probably two or three hundred years old. But the first time I heard it when I was y'know, like a small boy, my daddy – my father – he had some of the words to it, and I heard him sing it, and we – my brother and me – we put a few more words to it, and brought it back in existence. I guess if it hadn't been for that it'd have been gone forever. I'm proud to be the one that brought that song back, because I think it's wonderful."

Stanley's autobiography is titled "Man of Constant Sorrow."[4]

Recordings and cover versions

  • 1928 – The song was recorded in 1928 by Emry Arthur.
  • 1951 – It was popularized by the Stanley Brothers, on Columbia 20816, Recorded: Nov. 3, 1950, Released: May, 1951.
  • 1959 – The Stanley Brothers re-recorded it on King Records 45-5269, Recorded: Sep. 15, 1959, Released: Oct. 1959. This version is probably the first with a very similar vocal arrangement as the one used in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?, where it is performed by the fictitious group Soggy Bottom Boys (recorded by Dan Tyminski, Harley Allen, and Pat Enright).
  • 1960 – A version of the song, "Girl of Constant Sorrow", is included on the remastered version of the album Joan Baez, first released in 1960 on the Vanguard label.[5]
  • 1961 – Recorded by Roscoe Holcomb (Daisy Kentucky) in 1961–1962 with an arrangement more like Dylan's than that of the Stanleys.(Music of Roscoe Holcomb and Wade Ward,Smithsonian Folkways, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.)
  • 1961 – Judy Collins's 1961 debut album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, took its name from a variant of the song that was performed on the album.
  • 1962 – It appears on Bob Dylan's 1962 eponymous debut album and Dylan performed the song during his first national television appearance in 1963.
  • 1962 – In their 1962 self-titled debut album Peter, Paul and Mary recorded another version as "Sorrow."
  • 1966 – It was recorded by Waylon Jennings on his 1966 major-label debut Folk-Country.
  • 1969 – Rod Stewart performed the song on his debut solo album in 1969.
  • 1970 – 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.
  • 1972 – An a cappella version appears on The Dillards' 1972 LP Roots and Branches.
  • 1972 - Some of the lyrics were used verbatim in the Rolling Stones song "Let It Loose" from the 1972 LP Exile on Main St.
  • 1993 – "Man of Constant Sorrow" was one of many songs recorded by Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, and Tony Rice one weekend in February 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 as The Pizza Tapes.[citation needed] Jerry Garcia also sang an a cappella version on June 11, 1962, at the Jewish Community Center in San Carlos, California, with the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers.[citation needed] Though unreleased, it has been widely circulated among traders at least since the 1980s.[citation needed]
  • 2000 – 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.
  • 2000 – 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. The version used in the film is closest in lyrics and singing style to Ralph Stanley's.
  • 2000– The folk group Donna the Buffalo did a reggae-influenced cover on their album Positive Friction.
  • 2001 – A version entitled "Soul of Constant Sorrow" appears on the 2001 album Mountain Soul by country singer Patty Loveless.
  • 2003 – 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.
  • 2006 – Osaka Popstar recorded a punk rock cover of this song for their debut album Osaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk.
  • 2007 – Canadian hard rock group Tin Foil Phoenix released it on their 2007 second album Age of Vipers as a bonus track.
  • 2009 – Norwegian all-girl pop band Katzenjammer covered the song briefly in their 2009 US tour.[citation needed]
  • 2011 – The John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble covered the song at the Newport Jazz Festival[6]

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 features 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.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Man of Constant Sorrow – Richard Burnett's Story," Old Time Music, No. 10 (Autumn 1973), p. 8.
  2. ^ Charles K Wolfe, James E Akenson, Country Music Annual 2002, p.28
  3. ^ Stanley discusses song's origins on Diane Rehm Show (link to audio program's web page)
  4. ^ Article on Stanley's Autobiography
  5. ^ Joan Baez Allmusic link
  6. ^ Newport Jazz 2011: John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, Live in Concert: NPR

External links


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