With only changing a few words in Paul Simon’s “American Tune,” Rhiannon Giddens made the song even more timely.
In 2022, as part of a Grammy salute to Paul Simon, Rhiannon Giddens joined Simon on stage to sing his song, “American Tune.” Besides the great artist tribute and the wonderful performance by Giddens, a significant aspect of this performance was a change in lyrics that further broadened the meaning of the song.
When they taught us as kids in the early 1960s about the United States, we may have learned with a less critical eye than what we understand about history today. Still, one thing that always stands out is that the country thrives when it moves forward to become broader, more accepting, and more loving.
Many of our leaders have understood this truth about our history, perhaps nobody more than Abraham Lincoln, when after a contentious reelection in 1864 during the midst of a Civil War, America did the right thing in choosing the best person for President. He spoke at his inauguration, while the war continued, of having “malice toward none with charity toward all.”
Simon’s “American Tune” has always connected the conflicting views of America as one of both hope and loss. We’ve previously written in another post about the song and its musical origins by composer Johann Sebastian Bach. We noted there are beautiful covers of “American Tune” by artists like Eva Cassidy and Willie Nelson.
Giddens’ version makes the song even more relevant for today. As sung by a woman with African-American and Native American ancestry, her moving performance further reminds us of America’s complicated history, while still maintaining the hope for tomorrow.
The lyric change appears across two lines near the end of the song, a change approved by Simon. In Simon’s original 1973 version, with the nation’s Bicentennial approaching, Simon sang about arriving aboard a certain ship we learned about as kids: “We come on the ship they call The Mayflower/ We come on the ship that sailed the moon.”
But in Giddens’s retelling, she reminds us that not everyone came on the Mayflower. Importantly, though, the lyrics also remind us that those who did not come on the Mayflower play an essential part of singing our American Tune.
And high up above my eyes could clearly see, The Statue of Liberty, Sailing away to sea; And I dreamed I was flying. We didn’t come here on The Mayflower; We came on a ship in a blood red moon; We come in the age’s most uncertain hours, And sing an American tune.
Leave your two cents in the comments. Images via YouTube and Wikipedia.
What is the song “Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair),” which has been recoreded by many artists, really about? While appearing to be a religious song, the message tells us something about parenthood and childhood.
A number of famous artists have recorded the song “Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair).” Although Jo Stafford first had some success with a recording of the song in 1949, one of the most popular versions is Harry Belafonte’s version, first released in 1956. Because of Belafonte’s recording and performances of the song, it has continued on as a classic of sorts, having been covered by Roy Orbison, The Cats, Dinah Shore, Jim Reeves, Gene Vincent, Joan Baez, the Kingston Trio, and in more recent years by artists like Sinéad O’Connor (one of my favorite), Cliff Richard, and Willie Nelson. Perry Como called it “perhaps the most beautiful tune I ever sang.”
But what is the song about? The song is in the voice of a parent, who is looking in on their daughter at bedtime. The daughter is in prayer and asks “for me some scarlet ribbons,/scarlet ribbons for my hair.” The parent then recounts how all of the stores in town were closed and they could not find any scarlet ribbons for the child that night.
In the morning, though, the parent again looks into the child’s room and sees in her room, “In gay profusion lying there,/ Lovely ribbons, scarlet ribbons.” The singer ends, amazed at the mystery.
If I live to be a hundred, I will never know from where, Came those lovely scarlet ribbons; Scarlet ribbons for her hair.
On his Stardust album bonus track, Willie Nelson changed the line about living to “a hundred” to “two hundred.”
Evelyn Danzig wrote the music for the song, and then in 1949, during a party at her home, Jack Segal filled in the lyrics. The song, however, sounds like a timeless folk tale, complete with a mysterious ending that seems fitting of many old folk songs. But what is the song really about?
The Writing of “Scarlett Ribbons”
The song’s lyricist, Jack Segal, has explained that he was visiting the home of composer Evelyn Danzig on Long Island, NY and heard her play some music. She played a piano exercise she wrote that intrigued him, sounding to him like a child’s lullaby. Right there, after he was left alone in the room, he sat down and composed the lyrics in fifteen minutes.
Although the song was soon recorded by several artists, it was not until Belafonte recorded a stripped down version on his second album that the song started to resonate into the classic it has become.
What is the Meaning Behind “Scarlet Ribbons”?
The simple explanation behind the song is that it is about a girl’s faith in God being rewarded. Her prayer for the scarlet ribbons is miraculously answered. The proof of the miracle is provided by the parent. The parent had confirmed there was no other way that the little girl could have obtained the ribbons that night, as all of the stores were closed.
The interpretatin of the song as one about God and faith is consistent with the way many have used the song. For example, after Jim Reeves’ death, his record company included the song on the Jim Reeves gospel collection, A Beautiful Life: Songs of Inspiration (2014) (even though he originally included it on the partly religious album Songs to Warm the Heart (1959)).
While we often should defer to the simplest explanation of something, I think regardless of the songwriter’s intent, there is another reason the haunting song has resonated through the years. The reason is not that people were looking for a song about God providing a girl with ribbons for her hair. At least for me, there is another way that the song has meaning for me. And this interpretation is reflected in the video that Jim Reeves made for the song, where the focus is on the father overlooking his sleeping child. Maybe the song is about parenthood and childhood.
Like many fathers of a young child, I worry about her constantly. What will life bring for her? What can I do to protect her? How do I make sure she has what she needs and learns what she needs to know?
So, when I hear “Scarlet Ribbons,” the lyrics provide the viewpoint of the parent. The parent worries that they cannot provide the daughter with the scarlet ribbons she prays for. Wanting to help the daughter find what she wants, and perhaps also to maintain the child’s belief in miracles for a little while longer, the parent searches the town for the ribbons even though it is late.
So, I relate to the parent’s anxiety. But what about the miracle of the ribbons appearing in the morning? As most parents know, the lives of our children are filled with small miracles every day. Every morning when I wake up, I see my daughter growing in new ways. And each day, she is capable of something new, with or without my help.
And like the miracle of the ribbons, these little miracles appear and bring me great joy. They also reassure me that something more powerful than me is looking after my daughter, whether that something be what we call “God” or nature or years of evolution or growing up or whatever. And whatever it is called, it is still a miracle.
One may ask why did the author chose “scarlet ribbons” to reflect the child’s growth? Of course, it could just that Segal in writing lyrics for Danzig’s music found the four-syllable phrase fitted the music. But if the “scarlet ribbons” were selected for a specific meaning, the most obvious one might be that the red ribbons reflect a symbol of a girl growing up and changing, i.e., getting her first period. That of course is not to argue that he song is about menstruation, but such a symbol would tie into one of the ways children change and grow.
Whether or not the choice of “scarlet ribbons” was made for a reason, the song still seems to be about a parent’s anxiety and faith in a child’s growth. Ribbons may seem silly or insignificant. But in the song they remind us that the little miracles surrounding our children are sometimes more powerful than the parting of the Red Sea.
Kris Kristofferson got his big break with “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” which may be the greatest song ever written about loneliness.
Kris Kristofferson passed away on Saturday, September 28, 2024. As many of the obituaries point out, he had an amazing career, songwriter, actor, singer, Rhodes scholar, army helicopter pilot, and so much more. I was lucky while visiting a childhood friend to see Kristofferson in Houston back in March 1990 as he started the first Highwaymen tour with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings. But if you ask me the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Kristofferson, it is the song “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down.”
Kristofferson may have had greater songs, and you can easily make the case for “Me and Bobby McGee” or “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” among others. But “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” may be the greatest song ever written about loneliness.
On the Sunday morning sidewalks, Wishing, Lord, that I was stoned; Cause there’s something in a Sunday, That makes a body feel alone; And there’s nothin’ short of dyin’, Half as lonesome as the sound, On the sleepin’ city sidewalks, Sunday mornin’ comin’ down.
Johnny Cash first recorded the song. In 1969, Kristofferson was working sweeping floors at Columbia studios and hoping to be a songwriter. You can hear this part of Kristofferson’s life in “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” where he had moved to Nashville, alone, alienated from his family, and struggling to get by.
Kristofferson famously flew a helicopter to Johnny Cash’s house to get Cash’s attention and give the singer a tape of his songs that included “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.” Cash subsequently played the song on his weekly television show, telling the audience about the up-and-coming songwriter. Cash released the song on record, and his version became the one that most people remember hearing first.
Lyrics and Johnny Cash’s Changes
Johnny Cash did tweak a few of the words in “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.” In his version, he refers to “Then I washed my face and combed my hair / And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.” But in Kristofferson’s original version, he sings about shaving instead of washing, “And I shaved my face and combed my hair / And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.”
Also, Kristofferson’s original describes the kid differently than Cash: “But I lit my first and watched a small kid / Cussin’ at a can that he was kickin’.” Cash took out the referencing to cussing: “But I lit my first and watched a small kid / Playin’ with a can that he was kickin’.”
Why did Cash change a few words? Some have speculated Cash’s version is a little more optimistic, with the singer washing off his sins and seeing kids playing instead of cussing. I have not seen Cash or Kristofferson explain the small changes, but my theory is a little different.
Recall that when Cash first recorded the song, Kristofferson was not the established songwriter we know. He was new to the business and was the annoying guy trying to get his songs heard. So, Cash, even while recognizing a great song, did not approach it with reverence. So, he might have just thought the word changes sounded better. Regarding the kid kicking the can, Cash’s change got rid of the more blatant alliteration “cussin’ at a can” and stretched it out more, tying together the “w” in the first phrase (“watched”) to two more “w” words in the next phrase (“with”/”was”). Regarding the other change, he may have just liked the elongated sound of “washed” over “shaved.”
Cash’s tweaks were small, and he left most of the song alone, including what I consider the most heartbreaking line in the song, about smelling frying chicken. Most folks who have moved away from home can relate to recalling family dinners on Sundays and what it means to now be on your own.
Then I crossed the empty street, And caught the Sunday smell of someone fryin’ chicken; And it took me back to somethin’, That I’d lost somehow, somewhere along the way.
We lost something else when we lost Kris Kristofferson, but we still have his music to lift us up and to comfort us when we are down and alone.
Mickey Newbury’s song “33rd of August” had a special connection for singers like David Allan Coe. But what is the song really about?
Mickey Newbury’s 1969 album Looks Like Rain is one of the rare albums where every song is great. Newbury, who John Prine called “probably the best songwriter ever,” hits you in the guts with every song. Upon repeated listens, each song on Looks Like Rain grows deeper. And one song in particular that stands out is “33rd of August” (paired on the track with “When the Baby in My Lady Gets the Blues”).
Mickey Newbury was born in Houston on May 19, 1940 and died in Oregon on September 29, 2002. During his lifetime, he became well-respected by his songwriting peers, even if huge commercial success eluded him.
Newbury’s song “33rd of August” has been covered by artists such as Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Joan Baez. One of the more famous versions is by David Allan Coe. Coe released the song on his third album The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy (1974), which was also his first album devoted entirely to country music. Coe, an outstanding songwriter himself, recognized songwriting talent, also including a song by Guy Clark on the album.
David Allan Coe Sings “33rd of August” from a Cell
But Newbury and his song “33rd of August,” obviously touched a special chord with Coe. Coe dedicated his album The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy to Newbury. On the album, he even included a letter he had written Newbury, including the line: “Freedom is knowing how to remember the weight of your chains once they’ve been removed, for each man feels his own pain in prison and each man must pull his own time.”
Coe’s references to “freedom” and “prison” were hard won. Coe was sent to reform school at age nine, and subsequently spent a number of years in correctional facilities, including three years serving time at the Ohio Penitentiary.
Around the time he released The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy (in 1974 or 1975), he sang “33rd of August” from one of the cells where he had spent time.
When is the 33rd of August?
When a song has a specific date in the title (such as Matthew Ryan’s “3rd of October“), it is logical to ask about the significance of that date to the song. Here, the song is not clear about the meaning behind the made-up date of August 33. So, one might also wonder when is the thirty-third of August since the month only has thirty-one days?
The logical answer, would be that it must be September 2, or two days after August 31. But of course, the song is not really about September 2 or the events of a specific date.
The song opens, apparently, at a train station with a reference to a typical train station welcoming party from film. There is a crowd there, but the band has left. The only remaining musician is a singer who cannot see. The person narrating the song came to town seeking salvation on the thirty-third of August.
Well, today there’s no salvation; The band’s packed up and gone; Left me standin’ with my penny in my hand; There’s a big crowd at the station, Where a blind man sings his songs; He can see what I can’t understand, It’s the thirty-third of August . . .
The singer is troubled, possibly addicted to drugs (with references to “I am finally touchin’ down” and “a thousand voices screamin’ through my brain”). The singer tells us he was once busted for vagrancy and spent time in jail. He has angry thoughts and demons dancing and singing inside his “fevered brain.”
It’s the thirty-third of August, And I am finally touchin’ down; Eight days from Sunday, Lord, Saturday bound.
So what is the significance of the “thirty-third of August” reference? Maybe the singer is trying to beat his addiction. But the day of redemption (Sunday) is farther away than the seven days of a week — it is eight days away. The singer cannot get to Sunday, instead bound for the day traditionally reserved for sinning, “Saturday bound.” And, if you count, “eight days from Sunday” if you are counting from today’s date, it would mean today is also Saturday.
So the singer is stuck on Saturday, trying to get to a Sunday that is out of reach. Similarly, like Sunday’s redemption, the thirty-third of August is a day that never comes.
So the singer is struggling for the salvation mentioned in the first line of the song, trying to get to the day traditionally associated with redemption, Sunday. But the singer remains locked in a cycle of Saturday nights, the traditional night of sin.
One line near the end of the song, though, provides a little hope for the singer, who declares, “Not all my God-like thoughts, Lord, are defiled.” In other words, the singer still has some good thoughts and is still struggling for salvation and has not given up. But that leaves us with the question of whether he would be better off if he had given up and was not reaching for something out of reach, like salvation, or the 33rd of August.
Of course, everyone is entitled to interpret a song in whatever way has meaning for them. Others have found other meaning in “33rd of August.” One commenter has explained, that the lyrics “capture a feeling of disorientation, despair, and resilience in the face of adversity. The lyrics paint a picture of a person trying to make sense of a confusing world while also finding inner strength and resilience.”
Others have found more specific meaning. Another writer has emphasized the religious connections in the song, going so far as to cite other references to the number “33” in the Bible. That author finds the rain the prisoner sees coming from his cell as the rain of redemption and cleansing.
Another website, lists “33rd of August” as an anti-war song, although it does not explain how it came to that conclusion. It does make sense that the narrator in the song might be a veteran of the Vietnam War. Traditionally, it is soldiers who might expect a band welcoming them at a train station. Many vets of that war also battled drug addiction and would have faced violent thoughts from their service.
And in the late 1960s, when the song was released, the war was on everyone’s minds, and so likely the songwriter Mickey Newbury might have placed the song in the voice of a veteran.
I haven’t found any interviews or performances where Newbury talks about the inspiration for “33rd of August.” Of course, listeners can hear whatever they hear. But the song of course had meaning for the songwriter Mickey Newbury. On his album Looks Like Rain, he a line of “33rd of August”(“And outside my cell it sure as hell / It looks like rain”) as the title for the wonderful album that features the song. Below is Newbury’s version of his song with the lyrics.
What do you think “33rd of August” is about? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In 2017, Glen Hansard sang “Falling Slowly,” from the movie “Once,” with a new partner, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder.
One of my favorite songs from a movie was when Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová sang “Falling Slowly” in the 2007 film Once. In a Dublin music instrument shop, Irglová sat at the piano and Hansard played guitar as their voices and the song beautifully revealed two people connecting deeply.
Hansard and Irglová wrote the song together during the production of the movie. It was released and performed during the time leading up to the film’s release, giving it a familiarity that helped carry the scene when I first watched the movie. The song went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Hansard and Irglová gave such a powerful performance of the song in Once, that it is hard to imagine another duo singing the song. That image is further burnished knowing that the two fell in love during the making of the movie, although the relationship only lasted a few years.
So, when I saw there was a clip with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder singing “Falling Slowly” with Glen Hansard, I was not sure what to expect. But of course, Vedder and Hansard are great singers and performers, so it pretty amazing to hear what their voices can do with the song too.
So, in this performance, Eddie Vedder and Glen Hansard perform “Falling Slowly” at the Ohana Fest in Dana Point California on September 9, 2017. The video begins with some discussion of their friendship and they get to the song around the 2:17 mark. Check it out. Make sure to stay for where Vedder’s voice rises and helps bring the song home starting around the 4:40 mark.
