#cisco houston

[philgbtqochs]

woke folk music be like :

woody GAYthrie

TRANSco houston

bob dylan

PRONOUNS seeger

[pierrotsoup]

Modern americans can make yearnful music all we want but no one is doin it like an Appalachian or new englander balladeer recorded in the early revival and that's just a fact of life #sorry

[02nique02]

cowboy ballads

[folk-enjoyer]

Song of the day

(do you want the history of your favorite folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do a full rundown)

"The Dying Cowboy" Cisco Houston, 1952

"The Dying Cowboy " or "Cowboys Lament" is based on an old sailors poem, written by Edwin Hubbell Chapin and published in 1839, "The Ocean Burial"

Edgar Allan Poe's "Southern Literary Messenger" vol V, pp.6l5-6l6, 1839

here's an example of the traditional song put to music by Eugene Jemison in 1954

by the 1880s, the lyrics had morphed into the famous cowboy song we all know and love, but it wasn't until 1910 that it was pared with its well-known melody by John Lomax in the album, "Cowboy Songs And Other Frontier Ballads" here (recorded 1942)

by far, the most interesting thing that happened to the song is that its meaning was reversed. in 1934, Carson Robison changed the lyrics and the song and titled it "Carry Me Back to The Lone Prairie" (recorded 1941) and several other contemporary famous country artists

like Sons of the Pioneers,

Riders in the Sky,

Gene Autry,

Johnny Bond,

and Roy Rogers.

covered this song.

this more Hollywood country version of the song changed the story away from the bitter toiling of cowhand workers and towards nostalgia for the West that fit right in with other popular country music of the 40s and 50s. At the same time, the song was covered by Cisco Houston, a leftwing activist and official Union Boy, among other progressives, as a criticism of working class conditions. This song is so utterly fascinating to me and the best way to visually and auditorially explain the historical split manufactured between folk and country.

[ominous-synths-records]

A Group Of Childrens Songs (Pick It Up, Take Me Riding In My Car, Why Oh Why, Ship In The Sky, Grassey Grass Grass) - The Babysitters, Cisco Houston, Woody Guthrie

View our full out of print music library

[slowtraincumming]

This book has been teaching me to listen to Cisco always

[fiarill]

Streets Of Laredo (Cowboy's Lament) - Cisco Houston

[joemayo65]

Cisco Houston Passing Through

[wooodyguthrie]

I saw Jesus on that cross

On a hill called Calvary

"Do you hate mankind for what they did to you?"

He said, "Speak of love not hate

There's things to do, it's growing late

I've so little time and I'm just passing through."

[protoslacker]

Picture From Life's Other Side

Ramblin' Jack Elliot Topic

I was searching around for Cisco Houston and really enjoyed hearing the story Rablin' Jack tells in introduction to this song.

A Bounus track: Cisco Houston singing Trouble in Mind

[upperswampmonkey]

Soup Song - Cisco Houston

[pierrotsoup]

Also here is my top 100 year albums 🐦‍⬛☄️☄️lowkey lot going on here

[aeaeaexxzd]

[folk-enjoyer]

Song of the Day

do you want to know the history of a folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll cover it

"Passing Through" Pete Seeger, 1956

the song was originally written in 1948 by Dick Blakeslee for the People's Songs bulletin and newsletter.

the organization and newsletter were started by Pete Seeger and Alan Lomax in NYC in 1946 and were published between 1946-50

the first recording of the song is the one featured here, done in 1956. but others have covered it, including

cisco houston 1965

Leonard Cohen 1972

Joan Baez 1975

I love this song, but I've always thought it'd be cool if the verse about George Washington was replaced with john brown.

[ninetimesbluedemo]

33, 66, 99!

[slowtraincumming]

Hi....