I’m a sucker for a good concept album, with albums like Willie Nelson’s Red-Headed Stranger (1975) and Marty Stuart’s The Pilgrim (1999) ranking among my favorite albums of all time. Now, I can add to that list with one of the best albums of 2015, Tom Russell‘s The Rose of Roscrae: A Ballad of the West.
My friend Sid introduced me to Tom Russell’s music many years ago, and while I have been a fan, his new album really blew me away. Spanning 2 CDs, the ambitious project tells the story of the character of Johnny Dutton, tracing his life from his teenage years in Ireland in the 1880s — when he is chased by the father of his love the Rose of Roscrae — through his travels through the American West, where he becomes an outlaw known as “Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce,” and through other parts of the world.
Like Nelson’s Red-Headed Stranger and Stuart’s The Pilgrim, Russell’s Rose of Roscrae features a broken-hearted man through troubled times as he seeks redemption, but the album also gives us the point of view of the central woman too. The title song is a haunting ballad that appears in various forms through the saga.
Russell weaves together an interesting story, including fictional and real-life characters. Although the main character appears to be fictional (even though there was a real-life Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce who inspired a character in a Kevin Costner movie), the story interweaves with real characters, as in the case of Johnny’s redemption through an encounter with Joseph Dutton leading him to a real American Saint, Father Damien.
The story is told with original songs interwoven with other songs you will already know, including contributions from other artists as well as older recordings. Thus, the album features the voices of Joe Ely, Dave Olney, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Gretchen Peters, Eliza Gilkyson, Jimmy LaFave, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Lead Belly, Johnny Cash, and even the actual voice of Walt Whitman. The second CD gives us more of Rose’s view of events through the beautiful voice of Maura O’Connell.
Of course, despite the story and the guests, the album would not work if the music did not rise to the occasion, and it certainly does, covering a broad range of styles — including country, Irish, Mexican, and cowboy songs. As in the case of many other concept albums, certain musical themes are repeated throughout the set, so they need to be strong songs that bear repeated listening. Songs like “The Rose of Roscrae,” “She Talks to God,” and “Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce” carry their weight and hold up well beside classic ballads like “Red River Valley.” Another one of my favorites is “Midnight Wine.”
I first listened to the album on a long car drive, which may be the best way to take in the expanse of the story from beginning to end. I bought it through an Amazon download the day before the trip, but there is a booklet with more about the story that comes with the CD (and unfortunately, unlike other CD’s, there was no digital version of the booklet with the digital purchase).
In a fair and just world, Tom Russell’s The Rose of Roscrae would be played on radio stations, have high sales, and win Grammy and other music awards. For now, those of us lucky enough to discover the album will just have to thank Russell, who, freed from the pop music culture, could aim for something higher. As AllMusic notes, “This is his masterpiece.” Below is a video where Russell discusses the creation of the concept and the making of The Rose of Roscrae.
What do you think of “The Rose of Roscrae”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Texas singer-songwriter Slaid Cleaves is one of those artists I really like but have not always kept up with all of their albums. I first discovered Cleaves with his 2000 release Broke Down, which is an outstanding album with a great title track. I have since kept up with some of his music, but not all of it. Listening today to to a stream of his upcoming Still Fighting the War (2013) reminds me that I need to catch up on the parts of his catalog I have missed.
As Iraq and Afghanistan have drifted off of our front pages, the title track to the new album is a sharp reminder that people will be dealing with the aftershocks of these wars for years and decades to come. The song “Still Fighting the War” was inspired by a powerful Pulitzer Prize-winning series of photos about Iraq War veteran Scott Ostrom who came back from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The song “Still Fighting the War” was co-written by Ron Coy and the album track has Jimmy LaFave on harmony. Check out a live performance of “Still Fighting the War” below.
On the rest of the album, Cleaves continues to reflect on the ups and downs of real life existence. “Welder’s Hands” was inspired by his father, who was a welder. In “Rust Belt Fields,” Cleaves sings about those hard-hit by the economy, and “Hometown USA” touches on broken dreams. Other songs highlight the singer’s aching voice singing about love and love-lost, like “Gone” and “I Bet She Does.”
There are some lighter moments too, and “God’s Own Yodeler” is a touching tribute to Texas singer Don Walser. One of my favorites on the new album is the upbeat “Texas Love Song,” where Cleaves sings about loving his sweetheart even more then he loves Texas. Still Fighting the War was released June 18, and Cleaves made the album available through Pandora. For a limited time, you may order a signed copy of the CD through the Slaid Cleaves website. Cleaves donated some proceeds to Operation Homefront. Good music for a good cause.
What is your favorite Slaid Cleaves song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
“Peace Call” is one of Woody Guthrie’s lesser-known songs, perhaps because it was lost for awhile. I discovered the song not too long ago on the excellent Guthrie tribute CD, Ribbon of Highway Endless Skyway (2008).
The CD is a live recording of performances of Guthrie’s songs and songs in his spirit, inter-cut with some narration of quotes from Guthrie. And all of the performances are great, perhaps because the organizers sought out performers who capture Guthrie’s spirit instead of going for big-name artists, although there are names you may recognize like Pete Seeger, Ellis Paul, and Slaid Cleaves.
One of the many highlights on the CD is singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson‘s performance of “Peace Call.” Guthrie’s lyrics had survived in his archives. But if he wrote music for the song, it was lost when he died.
So Nora Guthrie, Woody Guthrie’s daughter, asked Gilkyson to put music to the words. And Gilkyson did an excellent job. The song contains some of Guthrie’s most beautiful lyrics, reminding us how he was a genius with the language.
I’ll clear my house of the weeds of fear, And turn to the friends around me; With my smile of peace, I’ll greet you one and all; I’ll work, I’ll fight, I’ll sing and dance, Of peace of the youthful spirit; Get ready for my bugle call of peace.
The artists from the Ribbon of Highway CD performed the songs on tour together. So, here is Gilkyson performing the song on December 12, 2008 at the University of Texas’ Union Ballroom in Austin, Texas. Other artists join her, including Joel Rafael, Ray Bonneville, Jimmy LaFave, Slaid Cleaves, Kevin Welch, and Michael Fracasso.
If you do not know this wonderful song, check it out below.
{Woody at 100 is our continuing series celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the birth of American singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie on July 14, 1912. Check out our other posts on Guthrie and the Woody Guthrie Centennial too. }
What do you think of “Peace Call”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Although Bob Dylan originally left “Red River Shore” off of the album “Time Out of Mind,” he eventually released several versions of the song on his “Bootleg” series, to the delight of fans and critics.
When I purchasedTell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol. 8 (2008), the Bob Dylan CD that features unreleased songs from the time period of his more recent albums, the song “Red River Shore” stood out immediately as I played the CD in my car. I kept playing the song over and over again, barely getting to anything else on the CD. It is another example of a great song that Dylan originally decided to leave off an album he was making.
At least, like other gems left off Dylan albums, “Red River Shore” eventually got released. And after this post was originally written, Dylan released additional versions of the song in 2023 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 17: Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996–1997). The music is great, as are the beautiful lyrics of loss.
Now I’m wearing the cloak of misery And I’ve tasted jilted love And the frozen smile upon my face Fits me like a glove But I can’t escape from the memory Of the one that I’ll always adore All those nights when I lay in the arms Of the girl from the Red River shore
Meaning of the Song
Many listeners have speculated on the meaning behind “Red River Shore.” On its face, of course, the narrator sings about woman he once knew. But the lyrics are tied up with the narrator’s feelings of loss and memory, such that a listener may speculate whether the singer’s story is reliable.
The song is rich and open to interpretation. Some writers have wondered if the girl from the Red River shore is the same person who was featured in Dylan’s “Shelter from the Storm,” such as in this piece on Gardener is Gone.
Further, some have speculated that the narrator of the song is a voice from the grave. There are several references in the lyrics that support this theory: The singer notes, “Sometimes I think nobody ever saw me here at all.” And the following verse may indicate the events remembered happened a very long time ago (which may be literal or may just be that the memories seem so long ago):
Well I’m a stranger here in a strange land, But I know this is where I belong; I ramble and gamble for the one I love, And the hills will give me a song; Though nothing looks familiar to me, I know I’ve stayed here before, Once a thousand nights ago, With the girl from the Red River shore.
The above quote about being a “stranger here in a strange land” echoes a line from the Bible in Exodus 2:22, where Moses says, “I have been a stranger in a strange land.” So it might not be surprising that some listeners such as Songs for the Journey have found religious overtones in the song. One has even argued that the entire song is about Dylan’s relationship with Christ.
At first, I was interested that there might be a hidden meaning in the song. Of course, Dylan is Dylan and one may never know his intent, but on further listening I do not the main theme of the song is religious.
The song is what it appears to be: a song about loss and memory. And while the final verse does have a reference to Jesus, it’s a statement that in today’s modern world, we unfortunately cannot count on God to undo what is lost. “He knew how to bring ’em on back to life/ Well, I don’t know what kind of language he used/ Or if they do that kind of thing anymore; /Sometimes I think nobody ever saw me here at all/ ‘Cept the girl from the Red River shore.”
Inspiration for the Song?
Bod Dylan may have been inspired to write the song by a folk song of the same name. One version appears in The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection, a collection of songs recorded by a traveling salesman. The “Red River Shore” there is about a woman waiting for a brave soldier, but the woman’s father puts together an army to prevent the soldier from reaching his daughter.
The song, which appears to be in the folk tradition of a tragic love affair, takes a turn in the last verse. There, the singer, who had spied the young damsel and the brave soldier, leaves the listener with a warning:
Love, love is the great fortune, For all of mankind; The woman controlled, They’re always confined; They’re controlled by their parents, Until they are wise; Then slaves for their husbands, The rest of their lives.
On July 5, 1960, Lulu Davis of Fayetteville, Arkansas made a recording of the folk song, available at this link.
The Kingston Trio recorded a version of this “Red River Shore” with slightly different lyrics. The Kingston Trio version is in the voice of the brave soldier. In this version, the brave soldier dies at the hand of the father’s army before reaching his true love (whereas in the Max Hunter collection version, it appears the soldier survives the attack of the father’s men).
I grabbed my six-shooter, spun round and around, Till six men were wounded and seven were down; I can’t fight an army of twenty and four, When I’m bound for my true love on the Red River shore.
At the foot of yon mountain where the big river flows, There’s a fond creation and a soft wind that blows, There lives a fair maiden, she’s the one I adore. But never will marry on the Red River shore.
Like Dylan’s “Red River Shore,” the earlier folk song is about a lost love, though at least in the Kingston Trio version, with the loss clearly centered around the death of the soldier.
Another more well-known folk song with a similar title about lost love, of course, is “Red River Valley.” At least the title of the lament might have been on Dylan’s mind while crafting his song (with “Shore” echoing the “r” in the the previous two words, while “Valley” echoes the “v” in “River”). In “Red River Valley,” the singer asks the lover leaving him to remember the Red River Valley and their love.
But except for the names of these songs and the themes of loss, Dylan’s “Red River Shore” ultimately is very different from those other Red River songs.
Versions of Dylan’s “Red River Shore”
As noted above, Dylan eventually released several versions of “Red River Shore” on his “Bootleg” series of albums, even if it was originally left off Time Out of Mind. Reportedly, the reason for the initial omission resulted from some tension between Dylan and producer Daniel Lanois on how to approach the song.
Musician and producer Jim Dickinson, who was eventually brought on to play over a ten-day period on the Time Out of Mind sessions, later explained that when he heard “Red River Shore,” he recognized it as a great song. But Dylan seemed frustrated with the attempts to get a final cut, telling Dickinson, “Well, we’ve done everything on that one except call the symphony orchestra.”
Whichever Dylan version you choose, though, they all are lovely.
Covers of “Red River Shore”
For whatever reason Dylan did not put “Red River Shore” on Time Out of Mind (unsatisfied with the takes, the belief that did not fit thematically on the album, etc.), once the outtakes were released, critics and fans recognized “Red River Shore” as one of Dylan’s late-career classics.
Although covers rarely match the original, I am intrigued by the number of people who have the guts to play a song and post it on YouTube. There are some nice covers of this song on YouTube. [2024 Update: Some of the ones mentioned below are no longer on YouTube.]
For example, there’s a good one by a German band called CCC Inc. A video of Henry Lim looks very professional, and it has nice instrumentation. Lim is the technical services assistant for the UCLA Music Library, and he has a busy extracurricular life. He has covered other artists like Radiohead with his string quartet, and he is an artist with Legos.
There are some good versions in the “dude with a guitar” category, such as a nice one by Kevin Magoon, who also adds a little electronic drum. C22romero does a nice job on the song too, but maybe he should turn down the reverb a little. I wish Chris Pap would focus the camera, but he does a nice quiet version of the song.
Perhaps because of the viewpoint of the lyrics, almost all of the covers are by men. But Linda Kosut performs the song in California.
After this post was initially published, singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave covered “Red River Shore” on his album, Depending on the Distance (2012). LaFave, who in addition to writing his own songs was a wonderful interpreter of several Dylan songs, is one of the rare established acts to tackle the epic length of “Red River Shore.” But he does an outstanding interpretation. Below is the excellent version from that album.
In another video after this post’s original publication, an artist named Kape does a nice version too. I cannot find much about him from the Internet, but he appears to be from Sweden.
Finally, one of my favorite covers is this version of “Red River Shore” by “lornisply.” The video features a guy playing an electric piano in his home. He has a good voice and seems to connect to the song.
And there is something about the simple weariness of the performance of the melancholy song that makes it believable, like he is thinking of someone he knew from long ago.
I know nobody matches the Bob Dylan version, but which cover version do you like best? Leave a comment.
(2008), the Bob Dylan CD that features unreleased songs from the time period of his more recent albums, the song “Red River Shore” stood out immediately as I played the CD in my car. I kept playing the song over and over again, barely getting to anything else on the CD. It is another example of a great song that Dylan originally decided to leave off an album he was making.