Blank and Blues: White House Blues

John Renbourn: White House Blues

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It's the anniversary of President William McKinley's death, so forgive me if I cannot help but post a favorite version of White House Blues which I had kickin' round the ol' hard drive. The tune has been covered plenty, with classic versions by Charlie Poole and others on the list of greats, but I've always liked Pentangle founder and acoustic stringmaster John Renbourn's take, with it's slightly jarring harmony vocals rising like a ghost to haunt the otherwise gentle folk performance from Faro Annie, the British guitar wizard's 1971 LP of mostly traditional folk tunes.

For comparison's sake, fellow folkblogger Matt of A Truer Sound has three more great versions from Bill Monroe, Muleskinner, and Scott H Biram, plus a much more cohesive look at both the history of the song and the unfortunate events surrounding McKinley's assassination.

April Fools: Ship of Fools

John Renbourn: Ship of Fools

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Grateful Dead: Ship of Fools

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World Party: Ship of Fools

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John Cale: Ship of Fools

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Ship of Fools. Just three words. But these words have multiple associations.

In 1494, Sebastian Brant published a book called Das Narrenschiff, which translates as “Ship of Fools”. In the book, a fleet of ships sets of for the paradise of fools. Each ship contains people who commit a particular sin, or folly, hence the term fool as used here. In the end, only one ship reaches its destination.

Michael Foucalt used the term “Ship of Fools” to describe the practice of place insane people in a ship, and banishing them to sea. Here the fools were the insane people, who were thought to have an affinity with the sea and with mariners.

And of course, Katherine Anne Porter used Foucalt’s idea in her famous novel as a metaphor for the world as it slid towards the madness of World War II. Porter was also aware of Brant’s work.

All of this his been a huge influence on songwriters. I have chosen four songs called Ship of Fools, and each is a different song. We could do an entire week of such songs here and never repeat ourselves; there are that many more that I chose not to include.

John Renbourn points out that love can sometimes be madness, by having his protagonist board a ship captained by a beautiful woman. By the time he realizes his mistake, he finds that the ship is doomed to never see land again.

In the Grateful Dead song, a man has apparently become stuck aboard the ship, having not realized its true nature in time. Now he would rather sink the ship with him on it, than continue with things as they are.
Both John Renbourn and the Grateful Dead sail the ship of madness. But, I think the ship in World Party’s song belongs to Porter. This ship is the world, and none of us can disembark.

John Cale is very much his own man. His song is furthest removed from any of the inspirations I cited. His “ship” journeys over land. If there is a literary model for Cale’s song, it would seem to be the American South of William Faulkner. But, by telling his tale as a trip by ship, Cale also brings the ship of madmen into play as a metaphor.

So, if you are an aspiring songwriter in search of inspiration, learn all you can about the phrase “ship of fools”. It is a well that has inspired many of the finest, and will continue to do so.

Johns: John Renbourn

John Renbourn: The Pelican

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Digging up those covers of John Henry last week for Darius reminded me of my long-standing admiration for acoustic guitar wizard John Renbourn, who made his name in the seminal britfolk scene of the sixties as a founding member of Pentangle, and remains one of the most respected fathers of the contemporary british folk movement.

As a seventies child, I grew up with John Renbourn's instrumental folk record The Black Balloon as a household deep cut, something which seemed well-worn but which I never heard my father actually spin; I had to dig it out on my own, and when I did, I was hooked, and permanently haunted. The record was one of the first I purchased for my own collection when I left his albums behind with my childhood. Even today, in my quietest, stillest hours, Renbourn's utterly peaceful The Pelican plays in my mind.

Work: John Henry

In the 1880s, large numbers of newly freed slaves were hired to help build the railroads. In this period, the legend of John Henry was born.

One of the most important jobs at that time was cutting blasting holes into the sides of mountains; explosives were than placed in these holes to make tunnels. These blasting holes were originally cut by hand by men like John Henry, who wielded large hammers to accomplish the task. In time, technological advances brought the steam drill, and threatened these men’s jobs. The legend and the song tell of how John Henry had a contest against a steam drill to prove that he could perform as well as the machine that sought to replace him. The specifics of the contest are long outdated, but the theme of man versus technology is universal, and still very much with us today.

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee: John Henry

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Maybe that is why their are so many versions of the song. Here I am featuring the first version of John Henry I ever heard, by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Their music springs from blues, but swells to encompass spirituals. It could be argued that their performance of John Henry is a secular spiritual.

When planning this post, I asked Boyhowdy to collaborate with me on it, by contributing cover versions and additional commentary. As some of you may be aware, his new job has him too busy this week to do so. But he did send me a truckload of versions to use as I saw fit. Here are a few of my favorites.

Woody Guthrie: John Henry

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In Woody Guthrie’s hands, John Henry becomes a heroic tale of the working man. Guthrie has the listener believing that this is a Depression-era tale, when it is actually much older.

John Renbourn: John Henry

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John Renbourn is a British folk artist and founding member of Pentangle. He reminds us that the British had their own railroad boom. Remember that Thomas the Tank Engine was originally British.

The Mammals: John Henry

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The Mammals prove that John Henry works very well as a bluegrass number.