Category: History

The Band Played “Night of the Johnstown Flood”

In 1889, a Pennsylvania dam collapsed causing what would be known as the Johnstown Flood, a disaster referenced in a fake song in a real Bruce Springsteen song.

Johnstown Flood

On May 31 in 1889, a western Pennsylvania dam collapsed, flooding the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania and killing more than 2,200 people. Many today know about the flood through a Bruce Springsteen song that references another “song” about the Johnstown flood. But in the late 1800s, people knew about the devastation of the flood and the socio-economic forces behind it.

The Story of The Johnstown Flood

The South Fork Dam was built on the Little Conemaugh River fourteen miles upstream from Johnstown. In the late 1800s, it constituted the largest earth dam in the United States.

Wealthy men from the Pittsburgh area created the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club and owned the dam that created Lake Conemaugh. Rich people from the area enjoyed the fishing lake stocked with black bass. For example, Andrew Carnegie was one of the members of the club.

A steady heavy rain on May 30, 1889, however, weakened the dam. The next morning, the president of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club noticed that the dam was under great pressure from the water.  A number of men rushed to work to try to save the dam.

springsteen nebraska As the water pushed against the dam, an engineer tried to warn the residents of nearby Johnstown, a town of 30,000 people about fourteen miles away. But the message did not get to the town in time.

At 3:10 p.m. on May 31, the dam collapsed and around 20 million tons of water rushed at 40 mph toward the town.  As the water headed toward the town, it picked up debris along the way.

The water crushed buildings, and whirlpools took down some of the taller structures. A bridge captured much of the debris.  Then the debris in the bridge caught fire, causing more casualties (see image above). All together, 2,209 people died.

After the devastation, relief efforts, including one of the first by the Red Cross, came to the town’s aid.  The rebuilding of the town took five years. Below is a documentary about the flood that was created by Charles Guggenheim and introduced by David McCullough.

Several years ago, I visited the Johnstown Flood National Memorial and the Johnstown Flood Museum, and they are worth a visit if you are in the area. I first heard of the Johnstown Flood and became interested in visiting the area because it is mentioned in Bruce Springsteen’s “Highway Patrolman” from the Nebraska (1982) album.

Springsteen and “Night of the Johnstown Flood”

The Highway Patrolman of Springsteen’s song, Joe Roberts, tells how he struggles with his loyalties when his brother Franky breaks the law. In the song, Roberts remembers a carefree time dancing with his future wife Maria to a song about the Johnstown Flood.

Yea we’re laughin’ and drinkin’, nothin’ feels better than blood on blood;
Takin’ turns dancin’ with Maria as the band played “Night of the Johnstown Flood;”
I catch him when he’s strayin’, teach him how to walk that line;
Man turns his back on his family he ain’t no friend of mine.

Although in “Highway Patrolman” Springsteen mentions a song called “Night of the Johnstown Flood,” from what I can tell, there was no song with that title. But eventually, after Springsteen’s song, some bands have performed a song with that name.

Artists who have subsequently recorded songs named “Night of the Johnstown Flood” include The Rock Creek Jug Band (from their CD Simpler Times (2010)), Rustwater, Chicken Little (below and free download on the band’s site), and Pygmylush.  The epic nature of the flood deserves its own song, but it is interesting how Springsteen’s fictional song title inspired other writers.

Legacy of the Johnstown Flood

Some blamed the Johnstown Flood on the wealthy men who used Lake Conemaugh for their recreation. Their lake created a hazard that killed thousands of working people.

The aftermath of the flood led to some early expressions of outrage during the U.S. Industrial Age against corporate powers and the wealthy. We see some of the same concerns being raised today.

Other things stay the same too. Although the 1889 flood is one of the most famous floods in U.S. history, the town of Johnstown again faced deadly floods in 1936 and 1977.

Painting of “The Great Conemaugh Valley Disaster” via public domain. Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Woody Guthrie’s “Pretty Boy Floyd” Was About More Than an Outlaw

    Pretty Boy Floyd Woody Guthrie’s song about the outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd begins with a story of Floyd getting into a fight.  Floyd gets upset that a deputy used vulgar language in front of Floyd’s wife. After Floyd “laid that deputy down,” he fled to the country where every crime was blamed on him. But Guthrie did not write the song to sing about an unfortunate event. He wrote it as a critique of society, not of a man.

    The Underlying Subject of “Pretty Boy Floyd”

    The key part of the song regarding Guthrie’s message is near the end.  Guthrie tells how Floyd helped strangers and gave money to struggling farmers.

    The final verses are the most cutting and still relevant today in light of the worldwide financial problems and concerns raised by people such as within Occupy Wall Street. And the song’s final verse sums up much of Guthrie’s philosophy and his work.

    But as through your life you travel,
    Yes, as through your life you roam,
    You won’t never see an outlaw
    Drive a family from their home.

    As Woody’s son Arlo Guthrie sings in this performance of his father’s song, “Some will rob you with a six gun / And some with a fountain pen.”

    At another time, Woody Guthrie explained, “[Y]ou know — a policeman will jest stand there an let a banker rob a farmer, or a finance man rob a workin’ man. But if a farmer robs a banker — you would have a hole dern army of cops out a shooting at him. Robbery is a chapter in etiquette.” (Joe Klein, Woody Guthrie: A Life, p. 128)

    Guthrie wrote “Pretty Boy Floyd” in March 1939, and many consider it among his finest songs. While it is not covered as often as some of Guthrie’s other songs, “Pretty Boy Floyd” has been played by Roger McGuinn, Kinky Friedman, Melanie (Safka), and others.

    The Real Pretty Boy Floyd

    When Guthrie wrote “Pretty Boy Floyd,” only five years had passed since Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd had died. The real Floyd was born on February 3, 1904.  And he was first arrested at the age of 18 for stealing money from a post office.

    FLoyd later graduated to bigger crimes in several states.  He earned his nickname from the way a bank robbery witness described him. Although Floyd committed a number of crimes, Guthrie’s song correctly notes that Floyd probably was blamed for more than he did, including killings during a 1933 gunfight that became known as the “Kansas City Massacre.”

    On October 22, 1934, as law enforcement officers pursued Floyd, he was killed in an apple orchard near East Liverpool, Ohio. Approximately 20,000 to 40,000 people attended Floyd’s funeral in Oklahoma.

    Like all great folk songs, “Pretty Boy Floyd” has lived on as more than just a story about one person. And that is why we are celebrating Woody Guthrie.

    {Woody at 100 is our continuing series celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Woody Guthrie in 1912. Check out our other posts on Guthrie too. }

    What do you think of “Pretty Boy Floyd”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Unanswered Questions: Four Dead in Ohio

    neil young ohio kent state On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of demonstrators at Kent State University.  The shots killed Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder.

    Nine other students were wounded, and those who were shot included students on their way to class. The exact events of that date are still in dispute, with some of those involved still seeking answers.

    Events Leading to the Kent State Shootings

    The anti-war demonstrations began days earlier after President Nixon announced on television on April 30 that U.S. forces had invaded Cambodia. Pres. Nixon presented the invasion as a defensive response meant to help end the Vietnam War. But students and demonstrators believed the announcement revealed the war was escalating and expanding.

    Watch Pres. Nixon’s address in the video below.

    The day after Nixon’s address, on May 1 students began demonstrating at Kent State University. After some confrontations between local police and demonstrators, Ohio Governor James Rhodes called out the National Guard.

    On May 4, members of the Guard used tear gas to disperse protesters. And while the protesters were in retreat, suddenly over the course of 13 seconds, 67 bullets were fired, resulting in the deaths and injuries.

    Questions About the Shootings

    A big question remaining is whether or not someone gave an order to fire on the demonstrators. At a 2012 news conference, seven of the people who were wounded that day announced a campaign to convince officials to hold hearings on the question. They claimed that analysis of audio recordings shed new light on the question, apparently revealing that there was an order to fire.

    The group sought public support for the government inquiries.  They said they did not seek individual prosecutions. Instead, they sought answers.   Those questions and answers are still relevant today, as addressed in an excellent essay by Jesse Kornbluth at Huffington Post.

    But subsequently in 2012, the FBI concluded the new tapes were inconclusive.  The Department of Justice decided not to re-open the case. [2015 Update] Having failed to get the review they wanted in the U.S., the Kent State Truth Tribunal subsequently requested a review by the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

    Neil Young’s “Ohio”

    In 1970, the Kent State shootings became national news, affecting everyone who read about it, including a young songwriter. After seeing photos in Life magazine, Neil Young wrote the song “Ohio.”

    Then, Young’s group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded the song only 11 days after the tragedy and then quickly released it as a single. Young later noted that David Crosby broke down and cried after the recording.

    The video below for “Ohio” was put together by a talented YouTuber. Check it out.

    “Ohio,” which first appeared on an album as a live song on Four Way Street (1971), stirred up some controversy for its criticism of Pres. Nixon.  But the song went on to become a classic. It has been covered by a number of artists, including the Isley Brothers on Givin’ It Back (1971).

    Rolling Stone lists “Ohio” as the 365th greatest rock song of all time. The song deserves a spot in the rankings as there are few songs that were so immediate about a current event.  And there are few songs with such unanswered questions four decades after the song’s release.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Arbor Day & The Giving Tree

    the giving tree shel silverstein arbor day National Arbor Day is this week in the U.S. According to the Arbor Day website, Arbor Day has its seeds in the work of J. Sterling Morton.  He was a Nebraska journalist and later Nebraska territory secretary who advocated for the planting of trees.

    After Nebraska made the day an official holiday in the late 1800’s, the state eventually selected April 22 as the date because it was Morton’s birthday. Other states also began celebrating Arbor Day in the 1870s.

    Today, National Arbor Day always falls on the last Friday of April.  But some states celebrate Arbor Day on different dates depending on the planting season. Meanwhile, the holiday celebrating the planting of trees has spread around the world.

    The Giving Tree

    Planting trees is a nice thing to do for the earth for several reasons.  And we humans benefit from trees in numerous ways too. Perhaps the best illustration of our love and destruction of trees is in Shel Silverstein‘s great children’s book, The Giving Tree.

    In the 1973 animated video below, Silverstein narrates the book for viewers.

    The late Shel Silverstein is also known for many other works, including books and songs recorded by Johnny Cash. Yet, he may be most famous for The Giving Tree, a book that many children grew up reading.  For some reason, The Giving Tree was not a book in my childhood home so I came to it many years later as an adult.

    I always find it interesting how different people react to the story. Some have very fond memories of the story and see it as a story of a loving tree who gives away everything it has.  But others get angry when they think of the tale, seeing it as a story about a selfish boy taking everything from the tree.

    Is it a story of love and charity? Or is it a story of selfishness and domination? What does the last line — “And the tree was happy” — signify? One may come up with several theories about the book’s meaning, but the ambiguity is why the book has become a classic.  The book allows each of us to see different things, perhaps even understanding the story differently at different stages of our own lives.

    No matter what you think of The Giving Tree, let’s take a moment to thank all of our tree friends this Arbor Day.

    What do you think is the message of The Giving Tree? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    American Revolution Begins: Don’t You Know It’s Gonna Be All Right?

    american revolution flag betsy ross At around 5 a.m. on April 19, 1775, approximately 700 British troops marched toward Lexington, Massachusetts.  Their plan was to seize weapons and Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock.

    As the soldiers approached Lexington, they encountered 77 minutemen with arms. During the encounter, “the shot heard ’round the world” was fired by an unidentified musket, and the Patriots were routed. Eight Colonists died from the battle.  Ten more were wounded, with one British solder injured.

    But that as not the end of the fight. Due to warnings by Patriots Paul Revere and William Dawes, the British encountered more Patriots on their journey through Lexington and Concord.  The result was 300 British casualties by the time they returned to Boston. The American Revolution had begun, and the world would never be the same.

    The Beatles’ “Revolution”

    Another revolution with both American and British connections is the song, “Revolution,” written by John Lennon and performed by the Beatles. The song was a reaction to political protests occurring in early 1968.

    The Beatles released the rock version of the song that you usually hear as a B-side to “Hey Jude” on August 26, 1968.  That version, which Rolling Stone ranks as the thirteenth greatest Beatles song, appears at the end of this post.

    The Beatles recorded another slower version of the song first. They called this slower version “Revolution 1.” That version appeared on the 1968 double album The Beatles (aka “The White Album“).   The band recorded “Revolution 1” before “Revolution,” remaking the song for the single release.  Below is the original slow “Revolution 1.”

    The White Album also included the experimental “Revolution 9.”  The Beatles created this song out of parts of what was originally in “Revolution 1.”

    Although the rock “Revolution” did not have quite the same impact as the American Revolution, it did cause some controversy. Many focused on the line, “But when you talk about destruction / Don’t you know that you can count me out.” Some on the far left saw the “out” as a betrayal.  And those on the other end questioned the ambiguity of the “Revolution 1” version which stated the line as “count me out . . . in.”

    Most agree though that “Revolution” preached a different kind of revolution than the violent American Revolution. The song was still causing controversy in 1987.  That year, many Beatles fans hated to see the music they loved being commercialized when “Revolution become the first Beatles song licensed for a commercial (for Nike).

    But the legacy of the song is that it will come up anytime someone talks about a revolution.  It is the first song you think of when you think about revolutionary changes.

    The opening scream of “Revolution” is the revolution heard round the world.

    BONUS TRIVIA: The live television performance above appears to be from  The Smothers Brothers Show in 1968.  Although you see Paul McCartney doing the scream at the beginning of the performance above, on the record  Lennon’s voice does the scream. McCartney does the scream in the live video because Lennon could not do the scream and be ready to sing the first line. Finally, do you know how many times does the word “revolution” appear in “Revolution”? Answer will appear in the comments.

    What do you think of “Revolution”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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