Richard Thompson. Esq., OBE A Songwriterâs Songwriter Youâll likely note that Iâve been reluctant to dive too deeply into a close reading or textual analysis of RTâs four-verse wonder (Iâm still a little intrigued that in the video I linked … Continue reading →
Red Molly and Tenbrooks So, how does a late 20th century English-style ballad about death and motorcycles become the 2002 International Bluegrass Music Association Song of the Year?  This is how. Dick Bowden, a friend of Del McCoury and his … Continue reading →
The Making of a Modern Classic Like Steve Earle said about picking which song to start with on his tribute album to Townes Van Zandt, youâve got to start by fighting the biggest con on the cell block to make … Continue reading →
Before the Battle aka Lady Affixing a Pennant to a Knightâs Spear â Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal, 1858 We started this week on Memorial Day with a great ballad from the Civil War that works in some ways like a murder … Continue reading →
Arthel Lane âDocâ Watson (March 3, 1923 â May 29, 2012) If there are patron saints for this blog, Doc Watson is one of them, at least for me.  With apologies to my dad, who was the acoustic guitar player with … Continue reading →
The Veteran in a New Field â Winslow Homer, 1865 I mentioned in my last week of posts that Iâm preparing to take my 8th grade students to Gettysburg, and that all things Civil War occupy my mind this time … Continue reading →
As we saw earlier in the week, thereâs great controversy about âPowderfingerâ and what story it is trying to tell us. What always gets to me about this song are the two things that I know itâs about for sure. … Continue reading →
As I mentioned in my first post, thereâs no small controversy over what, exactly, âPowderfingerâ is about. Aided by the abundance of specific details in the lyrics, especially about that boat, almost all interpretations nod to Youngâs political sensibilities in … Continue reading →
Neil Young This week we take a look at âPowderfinger,â the classic Neil Young song. Although itâs been discussed ad nauseam by die-hard Young fans and is the subject of no small controversy among them (weâll get to that in … Continue reading →
Study for âThere Were Three Maidens Puâd Flowerâ by Charles H. Mackie Death Before Dishonor?The themes in âBabylonâ pointed me back to reviewing Patâs excellent series of posts on âEdward,â (Child 13), particularly this one, which is a careful, reluctant, … Continue reading →
