Saturday, October 26, 2019

*Once More Into The Time Capsule, Part Two- The New York Folk Revival Scene in the Early 1960’s-Tom Paxton

Happy Birthday To You-

By Lester Lannon

I am devoted to a local folk station WUMB which is run out of the campus of U/Mass-Boston over near Boston Harbor. At one time this station was an independent one based in Cambridge but went under when their significant demographic base deserted or just passed on once the remnant of the folk minute really did sink below the horizon.

So much for radio folk history except to say that the DJs on many of the programs go out of their ways to commemorate or celebrate the birthdays of many folk, rock, blues and related genre artists. So many and so often that I have had a hard time keeping up with noting those occurrences in this space which after all is dedicated to such happening along the historical continuum.

To “solve” this problem I have decided to send birthday to that grouping of musicians on an arbitrary basis as I come across their names in other contents or as someone here has written about them and we have them in the archives. This may not be the best way to acknowledge them, but it does do so in a respectful manner.   



Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of Tom Paxton performing "Buy A Gun For Your Son" on Pete Seeger's 1960's television show "Rainbow Quest"

CD Review

Washington Square Memoirs: The Great Urban Folk Revival Boom, 1950-1970, various artists, 3CD set, Rhino Records, 2001


Except for the reference to the origins of the talent brought to the city the same comments apply for this CD. Rather than repeat information that is readily available in the booklet and on the discs I’ll finish up here with some recommendations of songs that I believe that you should be sure to listen to:

Disc Two: Dave Van Ronk on “He Was A Friend Of Mine” and You’se A Viper”, The Chad Mitchell Trio on “Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream”, Hedy West on “500 Miles”, Ian &Sylvia on “Four Strong Winds”, Tom Paxton on “I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound”, Peter, Paul And Mary on “Blowin’ In The Wind”, Bob Dylan on “Boots Of Spanish Leather”, Jesse Colin Young on “Four In The Morning”, Joan Baez on “There But For Fortune”, Judy Roderick on “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?”, Bonnie Dobson on “Morning Dew”, Buffy Sainte-Marie on “Cod’ine” and Eric Von Schmidt on “ Joshua Gone Barbados”.


Tom Paxton on “I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound”. I made mention earlier about Dave Van Ronk’s friendship with Tom Paxton so we need not go into that here. What is interesting about Tom is that unlike a comment I made about Ian&Sylvania and their body of work his stuff still, for the most part, sounds good. The title of this song (and the lyrics contained in it) is a good approximation of the confusions that we were trying to work out as we traveled physically, mentally, and spiritually back in those heady times. A couple of other Paxton songs that are worthy of inclusion in your modern American folk songbook are “The Last Thing On My Mind” about the ever-changing vagaries of...love. I need say no more. Also about the rigors of the old hobo road and friendship, “Ramblin’ Boy”.

I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER WHERE I'M BOUND
(Tom Paxton)


It's a long and a dusty road
It's a hot and a heavy load
And the folks that I meet ain't always kind
So are bad, some are good
Some have done the best they could
Some have tried to ease my troubling mind

And I can't help but wonder where I'm bound
Where I'm bound
And I can't help but wonder where I'm bound

I have wandered thru this land
Just a doing the best I can
Tryin to find what I was meant to do
And the people that I see
Look as worried as can be
And it looks like they are a wondering too

I had a little girl one time
She had lips like Sherry wine
I loved her til my head went plumb insane
But I was too blind to see
She was drifting away from me
And my good gal went off on the morning train

And I had a buddy back home
But he started out to roam
I hear he's out by Frisco Bay
And sometimes when I've had a few
His old voice comes a ringing thru
And I'm going out to see him some old day

If you see me passing by
And you sit and you wonder why
And if you wish that you were a rambling too
Nail your shoes to the kitchen floor
Lace them up and bat the door
Thank your stars for the roof that over you

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