There but for God go I

Marine Cpl. Travis John Bradach-Nall (1982-2003)

If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ve noticed that we rarely track holidays and anniversaries in determining what we post and when. The main exception has been Memorial Day (which is the U.S. version of Remembrance Day, and today).

If I had to venture a guess as to why we’ve made an exception for this day, it would be that songs of soldiers’ deaths are ones that hold us accountable. Their deaths come not only at the hands of enemies, but also because we sent them into the battle. It may be that killing in war is particularly accessible to our imaginations, as something we can more easily imagine than criminal violence. But primarily, I think it’s because these soldiers’ deaths make us question the values we suppose them to be fighting and dying for, and make us reflect on our relation to them–our responsibility to them–as members of our community.

Pat, who is our expert in American Civil War history, wrote our first two Memorial Day installments, on “Two Soldiers” (with a follow up of “I Wish the Wars Were All Over“) and “The Southern Girl’s Reply.” This week, as with Richard Thompson’s “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me” a few weeks ago, we explore a song from the U.S. war in Iraq: “Travis John,” by Kate Power. This song is newer, obviously, and hasn’t been groomed by generations of “folk process,” but I think it’s a good candidate for that process, and a song that through its beauty sparks sober reflection on the soldier’s sacrifice and what it means for us. You only know that the song is based in a recent war if you know the back story.

The song “speaks” in the voice of Marine Corporal Travis John Bradach-Nall, a neighbor of Power’s in Portland, Oregon. Bradach-Nall was killed by a landmine in Iraq in July, 2003 at the age of 21, shortly after volunteering to return there after his first tour had ended.

Kate Power and Steve Einhorn

My mother looked to me, her fine, strong son

I first heard Power’s recording of the song, from her 2003 album Pearls, on a collection from Sing Out! magazine. I remember driving to a meeting in rural Wisconsin a few years ago. I kept pushing repeat on this track–caught, in part, by something happening with the lyrics and the minor chords in the second half of the verses. As I listened and drove, my eyes took in the rolling hills of southern Wisconsin, dotted with small towns that doubtless have sent their share of young men off to war.

It’s well worth starting with the particular recording I listened to in the car. It’s not on Spotify, but is available for free download on Power and Einhorn’s web site.

“Travis John” by Kate Power (with Steve Einhorn)

Power explains the song’s origins in a video on their site. Unfortunately, I’m having technical difficulties with embedding the video here, so you’ll need to check it out the through the link below. You can also find a full copy of the lyrics and chords there, as well as further background on the song. I won’t fully reprise that content here.

Kate Power and Steve Einhorn at Quality Folk: Harmonizing Community 

Power adds a haunting touch to the story by telling how she discovered that Bradach-Nall had worked on the construction crew that built the studio where the song was recorded. Although she apparently didn’t know him, her sense of personal connection with him and their shared community is clear. She speaks in mystical terms of the song taking hold of her imagination and coming through her rather than from her.

As reluctant as I usually am to take the artist’s word for it, I think Power gets a lot right in several things she says about the song–both the deeply affecting nature of the story itself as told in the first person, and the effective counterpoint the banjo makes in her arrangement. The song is moving, and the tempo and banjo keep us from descending too far into the sadness. I also think the song’s lyrical content favors a woman’s voice. The song breaks perspective at times to express a parental care for its protagonist, and the mother-son tie feels most salient.

Full of promise, full of freedom

Einhorn and Power also recorded the song with Einhorn on the lead, and with guitar as the lead instrument. It was recorded on their 2008 album Brick and Mortar. The pace is slower and the song more mournful still than the first version.

“Travis John” by Steve Einhorn (with Kate Power)

Power mentions in an eloquent 2011 posting for her blog that “Travis John” took flight in folk circles as a sort of musical beacon for the peace movement. Her post is well worth the read.

Tracy Grammer

She mentions our friend Tracy Grammer, who along with Pete Seeger became a champion for the song. Grammer’s version also puts the guitar in the lead, but keeps the tempo of the Power-led original. She included the song on her 2007 EP Book of Sparrows. Jim Henry accompanies her on vocals and some of the instruments. If I’m hearing it correctly, each musician is playing more than one instrument on the studio recording.

Here’s a clip of Grammer and Henry performing the song live (only one stringed instrument a piece here). Grammer repeats some of the story that Power tells, but adds more detail about song’s background and subsequent path. The audio’s a little blippy in places, but the performance is excellent.

Despite its recent origin, this song’s spirit is fundamentally no different than “I Wish the Wars Were All Over,” which Pat used to conclude his first Memorial Day week posts on “Blue Eyed Boston Boy”–a wish for peace framed in the context of a deeply felt personal loss. It transcends the particular circumstances of its origin, and has the potential to serve as an enduring musical resource to the kinds of reflections we are led to on this particular holiday. It is a memorial, a musical elegy, to the legacy of Travis John Bradach-Nall, and a reminder to hold dear the promise and freedom of those young men and women who would follow him.