*A Folksinger (Oops) Jazz Vocalist Struts His Stuff- A Dave Van Ronk Encore

Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of Dave Van Ronk performing "Hesitation Blues"

CD REVIEW

Somebody Else, Not Me, Dave Van Ronk, 1970

If I were to ask someone, in the year 2008, to name a male folk singer from the 1960’s I would assume that if I were to get an answer to that question that the name would be Bob Dylan. And that would be a good and appropriate choice. One can endlessly dispute whether or not Dylan was (or wanted to be) the voice of the Generation of ’68 but in terms of longevity and productivity he fits the bill as a known quality. However, there were a slew of other male folk singers who tried to find their niche in the folk milieu and who, like Dylan, today continue to produce work and to perform. The artist under review Dave Van Ronk is one such singer/songwriter.

The following is a question that I have been posing in reviewing the work of a number of male folk singers from the 1960’s and it is certainly an appropriate question to ask of Dave Van Ronk as well. I do not know if Dave Van Ronk, like his near contemporary Bob Dylan, started out wanting to be the king of the hill among male folk singers but he certainly had some things going for him. A decent acoustic guitar but a very interesting (and strong baritone) voice to fit the lyrics of love, hope, longing and sheer whimsy as he barreled through the traditional folk catalogue he was singing about at the time. I would venture however, given what I know of his politics and the probably influence that his deep sense of folk history had on him (as well as other musical influences), that the answer above is probably no.

As for the songs themselves. "Oh, Hannah" (which I believe he wrote) stands out as a tribute to traditional shout and response music. His friend Tom Paxton’s "Did You Hear John Hurt?" about that legendary country blues singer is another stand out. His voice carries the "Casey Jones" tune with gusto. "Sportin’ Life" is his little tip of the hat to his jazz roots. And "Pastures of Plenty" a tip to Woody Guthrie (as well as Bob Dylan's "Song to Woody"). Just a nice selection that will have you screaming for more. Do it.


"Cocaine Blues"

Every time my baby and me we go uptown
Police come and they knock me down
Cocaine, all around my brain

Hey baby, you better come here quick
This old cocaine's about to make
Cocaine, all around my brain

Yonder come my baby she's dressed in red
She's got a shotgun, says she's gonna kill me dead
Cocaine, all around my brain

Hey baby, you better come here quick
This old cocaine's about to make me sick
Cocaine, all around my brain

You take Sally and I'll take Sue
Ain't no difference between the two
Cocaine, all around my brain

Hey baby, you better come here quick
This old cocaine's about to make me sick
Cocaine, all around my brain

Cocaine's for horses and it's not for men
Doctor says it kill you but it doesn't say when
Cocaine, all around my brain

Hey baby, you better come here quick
This old cocaine's about to make me sick
Cocaine, all around my brain

Hey baby, you better come here quick
This old cocaine's about to make me sick
Cocaine, all around my brain




COME ALL YE FAIR AND TENDER LADIES
(A.P. Carter)


The Carter Family - 1932
The Kingston Trio - 1961
Osborne Brothers - 1962
Anita Carter - 1963
Glen Campbell - 1963
The Browns - 1964
George Hamilton IV - 1964
Makem & Clancy - 1964
Clive Palmer - 1967
The Manhattan Transfer - 1969
Dave Van Ronk - 1969
The Hillmen - 1970
Herb Pedersen - 1977
Charlie McCoy - 1978
Mary McCaslin - 1981
Gene Clark & Carla Olson - 1987
The Rankin Family - 1992
The Whites - 2000

Also recorded by: June Carter; Rosanne Cash; Merle Travis;
Bread & Bones; Cherish The Ladies; Golden Delicious; Danú;
Murray Head; Country Gentlemen; Pete Seeger; Ian & Sylvia;
George Elliott; Black Twigs; Craig Herbertson; Tim O'Brien;
The Peasall Sisters:........and others.


Come all ye fair and tender ladies
Take warning how you court young men
They're like a bright star on a cloudy morning
They will first appear and then they're gone

They'll tell to you some loving story
To make you think that they love you true
Straightway they'll go and court some other
Oh that's the love that they have for you

Do you remember our days of courting
When your head lay upon my breast
You could make me believe with the falling of your arm
That the sun rose in the West

I wish I were some little sparrow
And I had wings and I could fly
I would fly away to my false true lover
And while he'll talk I would sit and cry

But I am not some little sparrow
I have no wings nor can I fly
So I'll sit down here in grief and sorrow
And try to pass my troubles by

I wish I had known before I courted
That love had been so hard to gain
I'd of locked my heart in a box of golden
And fastened it down with a silver chain

Young men never cast your eye on beauty
For beauty is a thing that will decay
For the prettiest flowers that grow in the garden
How soon they'll wither, will wither and fade away


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ALTERNATE VERSION:


Come all ye fair and tender ladies
Take warning how you court young men
They're like a star on summer morning
They first appear and then they're gone

They'll tell to you some loving story
And make you think they love you so well
Then away they'll go and court some other
And leave you there in grief to dwell

I wish I was on some tall mountain
Where the ivy rocks are black as ink
I'd write a letter to my lost true lover
Whose cheeks are like the morning pink

For love is handsome, love is charming
And love is pretty while it's new
But love grows cold as love grows old
And fades away like the mornin' dew
And fades away like the mornin' dew