Category: Music

World Series Songs: St. Louis Blues (Bessie Smith)

St. Louis Cardinals baseball As we did for the Super Bowl teams from Pittsburgh and Wisconsin, Chimesfreedom continues with songs related to the locales of the two Major League Baseball World Series teams. While the previous post focused on the Texas Rangers, this post considers the home of the St. Louis Cardinals with “St. Louis Blues,” performed by the great Bessie Smith.

In “St. Louis Blues,” by the legendary W.C. Handy, the singer tells about her man leaving her for a woman in St. Louis: “St. Louis woman with her diamond rings / Pulls that man ’round by her apron strings.” As she contemplates her sadness and considers going to the city to try to bring him home, she tells us, “I love that man like a schoolboy loves his pie / Like a Kentucky Colonel loves his mint and rye.”

Bessie Smith (1894-1937) was one of the greatest blues and jazz singers of the 1920s and 1930s, recording several duets with Louis Armstrong. We are fortunate to have her on film because she appeared in the movie, St. Louis Blues in 1929. But by the end of that decade, her career suffered from the Depression and her alcoholism.

Essential Bessie Smith As her career was recovering in the 1930s, through recording with John Hammond and through a return to performances in shows and clubs, she died from injuries in a car accident in 1937. Thousands of mourners came to pay tribute to her coffin in Philadelphia, and thousands more attended her funeral. But there was no money to mark her grave. In 1970, Janis Joplin and Juanita Green, a child of one of Smith’s domestic employees, paid for a tombstone to mark the grave of the great Bessie Smith. Joplin once said, “She showed me the air and taught me how to fill it. She’s the reason I started singing, really.”

The Cardinals hope to find a similar inspiration so they do not end up singing the blues.

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    World Series Songs: That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas)

    Texas Rangers baseball Several years ago, a friend from Iowa and I discussed songs about various states. He proudly noted that Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page” was about his home state of Iowa. “How?” I asked. He noted the opening lyrics are “On a long and lonesome highway east of Omaha.” Then he explained, “The only thing east of Omaha, Nebraska is Iowa.”

    While it is difficult to find songs about some states, like Iowa, other more populous states with a history of a thriving music industry like Texas provide a long list of state songs, including old classics like “Yellow Rose of Texas” and “The Eyes of Texas.” So for this entry on World Series Songs for the Texas Rangers, we have to choose from a number of songs, and that is not even including the reference to the Rangers in the opening line of Bruce Springsteen’s “Jungleland” (The Rangers had a homecoming/ in Harlem late last night.” But it is a great opportunity to finally get around to Lyle Lovett, featuring his song, “That’s Right (You’re Not from Texas).”

    Some people may mainly know Lovett for his hair or his short marriage to Julia Roberts, but he has several wonderful albums. His songs often show a sense of humor, but he has many beautiful heart-felt songs too, like “Road to Ensenada,” which is off the album of the same name that also includes “That’s Right (You’re Not from Texas).”

    “That’s Right” showcases Lovett’s humor and his love of his home state, reflecting the pride that many Texans feel about their state. In the song, the singer repeats the refrain “That’s right you’re not from Texas” in several situations. After his girlfriend asks what is so great about Texas, he tells us, “Oh the road it looked so lovely / As she stood there on the side / And she grew smaller in my mirror.”

    The Rangers should be proud they are the champions of the American League and playing in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Texas has its own history and large size (but not the largest) that make many residents proud, although there are some things of which some Texans may not be so proud.

    Pride is both a good thing and a bad thing. While we are told from a young age that we should be proud of this or that, we are also reminded that pride is a sin. As Proverbs 16:18 warns, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” I have loved my time in the beautiful Lone Star State, but Lovett does an excellent job in capturing both the grandeur and the ridiculousness in such pride. How can it be so bad if “Texas wants you anyway?”

    One thing we can be sure of, though, is that if the Texas Rangers win the World Series, there will be a lot of Texas pride to go around. Fans may even sing Lovett’s song to their St. Louis, Missouri opponents:

    Lyle Lovett Road to Ensenada They’re OK in Oklahoma;
    Up in Arkansas they’re fair;
    But those old folks in Missouri,
    They don’t even know you’re there;
    But at a dance hall down in Texas,
    That’s the finest place to be.

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    New Music from Ryan Adams and The Jayhawks

    When I read that the Americana Music Association recently gave the Artist of the Year Award to Buddy Miller, I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I love Buddy Miller’s work as well as his new CD, so I am always glad to see him get the recognition he deserves. On the other hand, I did not even know there were Americana Music Association Awards, and I wondered what is the status of Americana music — or alt-country — two decades after writers started using the terminology to describe a type of music. There is a lot that may be said, and Chimesfreedom may revisit the topic in the future. For now, one answer is provided in new releases by two giants of the field, Ryan Adams and The Jayhawks.

    Jayhawks Mockingbird Time Mockingbird Time (2011) by The Jayhawks: The new CD by the Jayhawks created much excitement with the return of Mark Olson to the band for the first recording since the classic Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995). I was excited too, but in looking through my CD collection, I was surprised to learn that I had not missed a CD from the band’s catalog, and that I do love all of the albums, including the ones without Olson where Gary Louris continued to lead the band in interesting directions.

    I have been listening to the new CD for several weeks because it often takes many listens before I know how much I like a new album. The new CD does capture some of the magic of Tomorrow the Green Grass, although I have yet to fall in love with the new music as much as I did with some of the songs on the 1995 album. For me, the new album does not exceed the Olson-less Smile and Sound Of Lies, but I realize that many fans prefer this version of the band. Give it a chance. “Closer to Your Side” is one of the highlights of the new album:

    Ashes & Fire by Ryan Adams: Like The Jayhawks CD, a new Ryan Adams CD has to compete with a back catalog of great albums and music. When I first heard Heartbreaker (2000) and Gold (2001), I immediately fell in love with the albums and could not stop hitting the replay button. I had a similar reaction to his work with Whiskeytown. Ashes & Fire, Adams’s latest effort, did not immediately grab me like those albums, but it is a solid effort with some great (“Lucky Now”) and almost-great (“Ashes & Fire”) songs.

    Ryan Adams Ashes & Fire The opening lines of the first song on Ashes & Fire, “Dirty Rain” (““Last time I was here it was raining / It isn’t raining anymore”) even evoke the opening cadence of the superior classic “Oh My Sweet Carolina” from Heartbreaker. I have always been more of a fan of Adams’s country-ish and upbeat songs over his contemplative slow songs (or his digressions into other genres). This new album stays close to alt-country but delves into his slower folk side too. But it continues to grow on me like some of his other albums that started out okay for me but that I later came to love, like Jacksonville City Nights (2005). So I am reserving judgment and plan to enjoy the CD many more times.

    Conclusion? Many of the great “alt-country” artists of the last few decades continue to record great work (even if one may classify the music in different categories). If you are a fan of Ryan Adams and/or The Jayhawks, you will like the return to form on their new CDs, which are both solid enjoyable efforts. If you are not familiar with their work, though, you might want to start with some of their other albums. But either way, these new CDs are a fine addition to already fantastic catalogs. For Ryan Adams, who was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease five years ago, the return is especially triumphant.

    Bonus Reviews, Because Why Should You Trust Me?: For a detailed mixed review of Ryan Adams’s Ashes & Fire, check out Pitchfork. For a positive review, check out Popmatters. By contrast, Popmatters gave a mixed review to Mockingbird Time by The Jayhawks. Consequence of Sound argues that The Jayhawks almost get it right.

    What do you think of the new music from Ryan Adams and The Jayhawks? Leave a comment.

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    Alaska Bought Today: Anchored in Anchorage

    alaska compared to u.s.
    “But you know you’re in the largest state in the Union / When you’re anchored down in Anchorage”

    On October 18 in 1867, just a little more than two years after the nation ended a Civil War, the United States took control of Alaska. The U.S. had bought the land for 2 cents an acre for a total of $7.2 million.

    Seward’s Folly

    Secretary of State William Henry Seward pushed for the controversial purchase, so critics dubbed the purchase “Seward’s Folly.” Seward and President Andrew Johnson, who would be impeached a year later, were eventually vindicated in the Alaska deal.

    Gold was discovered in Alaska in 1896.  And today, after the territory became a state in 1959, the state is a treasure of oil and other natural resources. One other benefit is my favorite song about the state, Michelle Shocked’s “Anchorage,” off her debut album Short Sharp Shocked (1988).

    Michelle Shocked’s “Anchorage”

    In the song “Anchorage,” a singer who lives in New York City describes how she wrote a letter to her friend in Dallas, but the reply came back from Anchorage, Alaska. The rest of the song recites the letter from Alaska.

    In the letter, the friend does not complain about her life in Alaska.  Butut in her description, you sense some longing for the life of her big city singer friend.

    Leroy got a better job so we moved;
    Kevin lost a tooth, he’s started school;
    I’ve got a brand new eight month old baby girl;
    I sound like a housewife;
    Hey ‘Shelle, I think I’m a housewife.

    “Anchorage” is a beautiful song about friends and how we end up in places with our lives where we may not have planned. One senses the singer also may think the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence.

    Yet, the words and the way the song is sung reflect affection, not envy. If Michelle Shocked, who grew up in East Texas, wrote another song in the form of a letter from New York City back to her old friend in Anchorage, I wonder what she would say.

    Michelle Shocked

    Shocked’s song gives a voice to someone you might not think about. In the history-book version about adding all that beautiful land to the United States, we often hear about the later gold rush and the building of a new state.  But one should not forget the role of all of the regular people, especially including the overlooked women and natives, just getting by day-to-day.

    As we have been reminded with events around the world, society is not just the Andrew Johnsons and other politicians.  It is also made up of the rockers and the anchored-down folks.

    Map illustration via Eric Gaba.

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    • The Head and the Heart: Sounds Like Hallelujah

    head and the heart At the recent Emmy Awards, someone came up with the idea to sing Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah” while they showed images of the stars who died during the past year. It was an odd choice, showing that the producers had only listened to the single word of the title without listening to the words of the lyrics. People often comment that Cohen’s song is overplayed. While I have yet to grow tired of it, if you are looking for another outstanding song with “Hallelujah” in the title — or if you are just looking for a great catchy pop song — check out “Sounds Like Hallelujah” by The Head and the Heart.

    “Sounds Like Hallelujah” has been on my iPod repeat playlist for more than a year, but I recently noticed that a local station, WFUV, has been playing it fairly often lately. It is a great song, and I cannot get it out of my head. So if your local radio station has not yet played it, give the song a listen.

    Like the Leonard Cohen song, “Sounds Like Hallelujah” is not open to simple straightforward interpretation. While the sound is joyous, the lyrics reveal something more complex. One commentator has argued that the song is best understood in the context of the themes of the entire CD, providing an epiphany toward the end of the album.

    Momma don’t put no gun in my hand
    I don’t wanna end up like these men

    I’m not walking away
    I’m just hearing what you’re saying
    For the first time
    Sounds like hallelujah for the first time

    “Sounds Like Hallelujah” is off of the band’s self-titled self-released first CD. The band re-recorded the song for a remastered release of the CD this year, which partly explains the increase in airplay. Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell formed The Head and the Heart in 2009. The band, which is based in Seattle, includes Charity Rose Thielen, Chris Zasche, Kenny Hensley, and Tyler Williams.

    What do you think of The Head and the Heart and “Sounds Like Hallelujah”? What do you think it means? Leave a comment.

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