#sing out!

[1976desire]

bob dylan autographed october-november 1962 sing out magazine, signed december 1962. text reads: there are many roads to choose from. may you pick the one that will lead to answers straight and true!!

x

[folk-enjoyer]

Sing Out! Poster from 1968, signed by various folk singers

[lisamarie-vee]

[broadsidemagazine]

"I Ain't Marching Any More" - Phil Ochs (sheet music & guitar chords)

Oh, I marched to the battle of New Orleans At the end of the early British wars The young land started growing The young blood started flowing But I ain't marching anymore For I've killed my share of Indians In a thousand different fights I was there at the Little Big Horn I heard many men lying, I saw many more dying But I ain't marching anymore It's always the old to lead us to the wars It's always the young to fall Now look at all we've won with the saber and the gun Tell me, is it worth it all? For I stole California from the Mexican land Fought in the bloody Civil War Yes, I even killed my brothers And so many others But I ain't marching anymore For I marched to the battles of the German trench In a war that was bound to end all wars Oh, I must have killed a million men And now they want me back again But I ain't marching anymore It's always the old to lead us to the wars Always the young to fall Now look at all we've won with the saber and the gun Tell me, is it worth it all? For I flew the final mission in the Japanese skies Set off the mighty mushroom roar When I saw the cities burning I knew that I was learning That I ain't marching anymore Now the labor leader's screamin' When they close the missile plants United Fruit screams at the Cuban shore Call it peace or call it treason Call it love or call it reason But I ain't marching anymore No, I ain't marching anymore

[doctorsiren]

Oh Dipper, you would LOVE Chappell Roan

[hellenhighwater]

Whereabouts do you live, roughly speaking, and what drew you to that place in particular?

I'm in Michigan, and that's as specifically as I will answer that question! We have really lethal lakes.

[sing-you-fools]

me: this is a background character who's in one scene, has two lines, and is completely irrelevant to the rest of the story. i am going to stop obsessing over what to name him and use the random name generator on behindthename.com. i am going to accept the first thing it gives me and move the fuck on.

behindthename.com:

[hinamie]

I don't want to regret the way I lived

[diabolicjoy]

you can start learning anything you always wanted at any point in your life. & how nice it is to remember that

[pinkmoonmp3]

i miss when singers didn't have to be the most beautiful person you had ever seen

[inkpotsprite]

Jason (buried underground): *panic, clawing, digging, catatonia*

Dick: *sings the beatles*

[1976desire]

bob dylan on the cover of sing out magazine, october-november, 1962. cover photo by john cohen

[folk-enjoyer]

Suggested Song

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

"Plastic Jesus" Tia Blake, 1971

Plastic Jesus was originally written by George Cromarty and Ed Rush in 1957 and performed live in 1962 at the San Francisco State College Folk Festival, where it was recorded and released later that year in their duo band The GoldcoastSingers.

the back of their debut Album reads

"On a foggy Sunday afternoon in March of 1962, THE GOLDCOAST SINGERS clambered on stage at San Francisco State College before an unsuspecting audience of 1,000 or so. After they were introduced as the final performers at the San Francisco State Folk Festival, people in the audience mumbled, "Who?". This query was followed by shouts of "More!". The reaction was, to say the least, wild. After five encores, breathless and perspiring like pigs, they came on for one last "song," entitled "Plastic Jesus." This ode flattened the audience. All through the performance people had been walking out of the auditorium grumbling, "Mis-guided youth" and "Whippersnappers," but the finale was too much for those whose soft spots had not yet been touched. A dozen (actually twelve) marched up the aisles in righteous indignation. The remaining nine hundred some odd rose in a tremendous ovation. Fortunately that concert was taped, and this record is the product"

I think that the truth is stretched here a bit, and like with the song "Plastic Jesus," it is meant to be comedic.

This is the only album produced by The Goldcoast Singers, but George Cromarty would continue to produce music as a solo artist.

later, in 1964, the song was recorded and performed by Ernie Marrs and was mentioned in Vol. 14, no. 2 in "Sing Out! Magazine.

with Ernie Marrs being credited with writing the lyrics.

Later, in 1967, the song was featured in the movie "Cool Hand Luke", performed by Paul Newman. Interesting for taking the satirical and comedic song and reimagining it as somber. this movie is likely what popularized the song in addition to its feature in the magazine.

in 1971, Tia Blake released what is effectively her only album in France, which led to it being mostly forgotten until it was re-released in 2011. Since then, it has become more well-known. This makes me very happy because i love this album! i think all the songs on it are beautiful and wonderfully made. It's a shame she didn't record more.

I think something very interesting happened with the song, and these 4 covers effectively tell a story with how they each re-imagine it.

the original lyrics by The Goldcoast Singers are biting with satire and are funny if not a bit mean-spirited. We, as the audience, are not meant to relate with the person with the plastic Jesus bobblehead.

then, ernie marrs' version doesn't have the intro of the original duo, and shortens the lyrics a bit, but like other works that Ernie Marrs helped write like "The People are Scratching" and "What a Friend we have in Congress" (1966) and (1963)

the humor and satire are a bit more gentle and more subtle. To me, it feels like if you aren't really paying attention, you could miss it. it's comedic, but it could pretty easily be remembered as a charming fun folk song rather than a satire on Christian commercialism and a way of making fun of rednecks.

the movie version song is completely different. I'll be honest, i have not seen this movie, but it seems like this song is 1. completely genuine and devoid of sarcasm, and 2. very, very sad. the song morphs into bitter melonchy. it is the farthest thing from funny.

Tia Blake's version returns the song to its roots. kind of. Her version is certainly happy, but it's also painfully genuine. It is also the only song in her 1971 album that i would describe as happy, the rest being mournful, spooky, or full of longing. plastic Jesus is an odd choice. AND, her cover is my favorite. I think there is something beautiful and whimsical about the story presented in the song, about having so much joy come from a mundane object. Its a cheerful and hopeful song in an otherwise tragic album.

the first time i heard the song by tia blake was in a folk punk playlist. i didn't understand why it was on there at first, but i do now. there is a sort of revolutionary optimism in finding hope from the mundane in the midst of hopeless circumstances.

for @ruzqtx

[lisamarie-vee]

[broadsidemagazine]

There ain't too much I can say about this song except that the answer is blowing in the wind. It ain't in no book or movie or TV show or discussion group. Man, it's in the wind – and it's blowing in the wind. Too many of these hip people are telling me where the answer is but oh I won't believe that. I still say it's in the wind and just like a restless piece of paper it's got to come down some ... But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know ... and then it flies away. I still say that some of the biggest criminals are those that turn their heads away when they see wrong and know it's wrong. I'm only 21 years old and I know that there's been too many wars ... You people over 21, you're older and smarter.

bob dylan on "blowin' in the wind", sing out, june 1962

[crimsonconstl]

happy (late) Keith day!!