Click on the title to link to a presentation of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
Remembering The Old Songs:
BANDIT COLE YOUNGER [Laws E3]
by Lyle Lofgren
(Originally published: Inside Bluegrass, September 2007)
The Kansas-Missouri border, the subject of a number of free state vs. slave state compromises that postponed the US Civil War, was a trouble spot even before the war: Kansas was nominally a free state, while Missouri allowed slavery. When Union troops invaded Missouri in 1861, they had to contend with both Confederate troops and a number of guerilla bands, including one formed by William Quantrill. Two of the members of his band were Jesse James's older brother, Frank, and Cole Younger, the son of a slaveholding family. In addition to ambushing Union troops, Quantrill's Raiders terrorized civilians, such as the 1863 massacre of 200 unarmed men and boys in Lawrence, Kansas.
In his 1865 second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln visualized an American future "with malice toward none, with charity for all." It didn't turn out that way. As losers (1865), the South endured a number of humiliations and indignities from the North, and some of the rebels wouldn't quit: after Quantrill was killed, his Raiders continued to harass border states under two other leaders (both also killed) until Frank and Jesse, along with the Younger Brothers (Cole, Jim and Bob), modified their tactics to form the James-Younger gang in 1866. It was successful because it concentrated on two rich entities that common folk perceived as Northern enemies: railroads and banks. They gained a Robin Hood reputation by robbing numerous banks; they didn't rob a train until 1873.
In September, 1876, 8 members of the gang took a train to St. Paul, Minnesota, rented horses, and set out to rob the Northfield bank. They chose it because two retired Union generals, Butler and Ames, owned stock in the bank. The robbery was a fiasco: they killed the cashier, but got no money. Citizens opened fire and killed two of the robbers outside the bank. A large posse trailed the rest, catching the Youngers at Madelia, Minnesota. The James brothers escaped and headed back to Missouri.
The Youngers pled guilty in order to avoid hanging, and were sentenced to life at the state penitentiary at Stillwater. Bob died of TB in 1889 (Jesse had been killed in 1882), while Cole and Jim were paroled in 1901. Jim killed himself a year later, but Cole partnered with Frank James in 1903 to tour as the Cole Younger & Frank James Wild West Company, demonstrating their raids and giving lectures on how crime doesn't pay. Frank died in 1915, and Cole, aged 72, died a year later.
This song is obviously not Cole's composition (although he was a model prisoner), and was probably a poem written for a northern newspaper before 1882, as it says Jesse was still alive. John Lomax collected a version for his 1910 Cowboy Songs. This somewhat different rendition was recorded by Texas cowboy singer Edward L. Crain in 1931, and re-released on the Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music. Dock Boggs recorded a fragmentary version using the Roving Gambler tune (Dock Boggs, The Folkways Years; Smithsonian-Folkways SFW40108), so when in 1965 he performed at St. Olaf College in Northfield, he was visibly excited when he learned you could still see the bullet holes in the wall of the old bank building. We went there after the concert and took a picture of him in front of it as a tribute to tradition and those interested enough to keep it alive.
[CLICK HERE FOR SHEET MUSIC (pdf file)]
Complete Lyrics:
I am a noted highwayman, Cole Younger is my name;
'Tis deeds and desperation that brought my name to shame.
Robbing of the Northfield bank is a thing I'll never deny,
But which I will be sorry of until the day I die.
We started for old Texas, that grand old Lone Star State;
'Twas there on Nebraska prairies the James Boys we did meet.
With knives, gun, and revolvers, we all sit down to play
A game of good old poker to pass the time away.
Across Nebraska prairies a Denver train we spy.
I says to Bob, "We'll rob her as she goes rolling by."
We saddled up our horses, northwestward we did go
To the godforsaken country called Minnie-soh-tee-oh.
I had my eye on the Northfield bank when brother Bob did say,
"Cole, if you under-to-take the job, you'll always curse the day."
We stationed out our pickets, up to the bank did go,
'Twas there upon the counter, boys, we struck our fatal blow.
Saying, "Hand us out your money, sir, and make no long delay.
We are the noted Younger boys, and spend no time in play."
The cashier, being as true as steel, refused our noted band.
'Twas Jesse James that pulled the trigger that killed this noble man.
We run for life, for death was near, four hundred on our trail.
We soon was overtaken and landed safe in jail.
'Twas there in the Stillwater jail we lay, a-wearing our lives away.
Two James boys left to tell the tale of the sad and fateful day.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
*In Folklorist Harry Smith’s House-"My Name Is John Johanna" — Kelly Harrell (1927)
Click on the title to link to a presentation of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
MY NAME IS JOHN JOHANNA
by Kelly Harrell and the Virginia String Band
1) My name is John Johanna, I came from Buffalo town
For 9 long years I’ve travelled this wide wide world around
Through ups and downs and miseries and some good days I saw
But I never knew what misery was ’til I went to Arkansas
2) I went up to the station the operator to find
Told him my situation and where I wanted to ride
Said hand me down 5 dollars, a ticket you shall draw
That’ll land you safely railway in the state of Arkansas
3) I rode up to the station then chanced to meet a friend
Alan Catcher was his name although they called him Cain
His hair hung down in rat tails below his under jaw
He said he run the best hotel in the state of Arkansas
4) I followed my companion to his respected place
Saw pity and starvation was pictured on his face
His bread was old corn dodgers, his beef I could not chaw
He charged me 50 cents a day in the state of Arkansas
5) I got up that next morning to catch that early train
He said "don’t be in a hurry lad, I have some land to drain
You’ll get your 50 cents a day and all that you can chaw
You’ll find yourself a different lad when you leave old Arkansas"
6) I worked 6 weeks for the son of a gun, Alan Catcher was his name
He stood 7 feet 2 inches, as tall as any crane
I got so thin on sassafras tea I could hide behind a straw
You bet I was a different lad when I left old Arkansas
7) Farewell you old swamp rabbits, also you dodger pills
Likewise you walking skeletons, you old sassafras hills
If you ever see my face again I’ll hand you down my paw
I’ll be lookin’ through a telescope from home to Arkansas
Thanks to Catherine Yronwode (see her Blues Lyrics and Hoodoo website) and Stuart Filler for help on the lyrics. Stuart Filler adds: the swamp rabbit is "the largest member of its genus, the cottontail family"—famous for the incident with Jimmy Carter, and "sassafras is used for a tea...The highest concentration [of the plant] occurs in Arkansas and Missouri."
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
MY NAME IS JOHN JOHANNA
by Kelly Harrell and the Virginia String Band
1) My name is John Johanna, I came from Buffalo town
For 9 long years I’ve travelled this wide wide world around
Through ups and downs and miseries and some good days I saw
But I never knew what misery was ’til I went to Arkansas
2) I went up to the station the operator to find
Told him my situation and where I wanted to ride
Said hand me down 5 dollars, a ticket you shall draw
That’ll land you safely railway in the state of Arkansas
3) I rode up to the station then chanced to meet a friend
Alan Catcher was his name although they called him Cain
His hair hung down in rat tails below his under jaw
He said he run the best hotel in the state of Arkansas
4) I followed my companion to his respected place
Saw pity and starvation was pictured on his face
His bread was old corn dodgers, his beef I could not chaw
He charged me 50 cents a day in the state of Arkansas
5) I got up that next morning to catch that early train
He said "don’t be in a hurry lad, I have some land to drain
You’ll get your 50 cents a day and all that you can chaw
You’ll find yourself a different lad when you leave old Arkansas"
6) I worked 6 weeks for the son of a gun, Alan Catcher was his name
He stood 7 feet 2 inches, as tall as any crane
I got so thin on sassafras tea I could hide behind a straw
You bet I was a different lad when I left old Arkansas
7) Farewell you old swamp rabbits, also you dodger pills
Likewise you walking skeletons, you old sassafras hills
If you ever see my face again I’ll hand you down my paw
I’ll be lookin’ through a telescope from home to Arkansas
Thanks to Catherine Yronwode (see her Blues Lyrics and Hoodoo website) and Stuart Filler for help on the lyrics. Stuart Filler adds: the swamp rabbit is "the largest member of its genus, the cottontail family"—famous for the incident with Jimmy Carter, and "sassafras is used for a tea...The highest concentration [of the plant] occurs in Arkansas and Missouri."
*In Folklorist Harry Smith’s House-"Ommie Wise" — G. B. Grayson (1929)
Click on the title to link to a presentation of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
THE OLD, WEIRD AMERICA
My exploration of Harry Smith’s Anthology “Ommie Wise” by G.B. Grayson
Grayson & Whitter’s World
“Ommie Wise” is a solo performance by Gillian Banmon Grayson (1888-1930), a blind fiddler from East Tennessee who sang this murder ballad along with his fiddle and gaves us one of the most haunting song on the Anthology. This is the only track that Grayson recorded alone during his recording career as a duet with Henry Whitter, a guitar player who was one of the first “hillbilly” to record. Together, they recorded many songs that would became “standards” of folk and bluegrass: Handsome Molly, Train 45 (Ruben), Little Maggie, Tom Dooley, Lee Highway, etc…
-On this page, you’ll read the full biography of Grayson & Whitter -I’ve selected 20 sides of the duo, with all their famous songs.
TRACK LIST:
1.Nobody’s darling
2.I’ll never be yours (Banks of the Ohio)
3.Handsome Molly
4.Train 45
5.He’s coming to us dead
6.Rose Conley
7.Sally Gooden
8.My mind is to marry
9.Cluck old hen
10.Old Jimmy Sutton
11.Joking Henry
12.The nine-pound hammer
13.Short life of trouble
14.I’ve always been a rambler
15.Where are you going Alice?
16.Little Maggie
17.On the banks of old Tennessee
18.Tom Dooley
19.Going down the Lee highway
20.I saw a man at the close of day
The Ommie Wise Variations
This american murder ballad was based on true events that happened two centuries ago in North Carolina. A certain Jonathan Lewis was arrested for the murder of Naomi Wise but was acquitted soon after. But everybody was conviced that he did murder her and a folk ballad carried the memory of the event until today. There’s of course a lot of variants from one performer to another in the text of the ballad, from the names of the protagonists to the little details that makes the story.
-Go and read this article, which gives also the lyrics of the song
-There’s also a wikipedia page on the subject
-I’ve compiled 20 performances of the song, some old, some new, as usual. Sometimes the melody is sung in a minor mode, sometimes in a major mode, many sang it unaccompanied and many used the 5-string banjo … “Tragic romance” is a bluegrass variant that takes the story and melody of “Omie Wise” and made a new song out of it.
Hope you enjoy…
TRACK LIST:
1.Ommie Wise, G.B. Grayson, from the Anthology Of American Folk Music
2.Naomi Wise, Clarence “Tom” Ashley, from “Greenback Dollar 1929-1933″
3.Little Norma, Mrs Ben Daugherty, from “Ozark Folksongs”
4.Little Omie, Harrison Burnett, from the Max Hunter Folksong Collection
5.Omie Wise, Paul Clayton, from “Folk Ballads of the English-Speaking World”
6.Little Omie Wise (Live), Doc Watson, from “The Essential Doc Watson”
7.Omie Wise, Doug and Jack Wallin, from “Family Songs and Stories from the North Carolina Mountains”
8.Omie Wise, Pentangle, from “A Maid That’s Deep In Love”
9.Little Lonie, Almeda Riddle, from Ozark Folksongs
10.Omie Wise, Tim Eriksen, from “Every Sound Below”
11.Tragic Romance, Kilby Snow with Hazel Dickens & Mike Seeger , from “Masters of Old-Time Country Autoharp”
12.Tragic Romance, The Lilly Brothers, from “Early Recordings”
13.Omie Wise, Mason Brown, from “When Humans Walked the Earth”
14.Naomia Wise, Bill Baker, from the Max Hunter Folksong Collection
15.Omie Wise, Okkervile River, from “Julie Doiron & Okerville River”
16.Little Omie Wise, Dock Boggs, from “His Folkways Years 1963-1968 “
17.Little Omie Wise, Addie Graham, from the Digital Library of Appalachia
18.Omie Wise, Roscoe Holcomb, from “The High Lonesome Sound”
19.Omie Wise, Dolly Greer, from “The Doc Watson Family Tradition”
20.Omie Wise, Mountain Home, from “Mountain Home”
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
THE OLD, WEIRD AMERICA
My exploration of Harry Smith’s Anthology “Ommie Wise” by G.B. Grayson
Grayson & Whitter’s World
“Ommie Wise” is a solo performance by Gillian Banmon Grayson (1888-1930), a blind fiddler from East Tennessee who sang this murder ballad along with his fiddle and gaves us one of the most haunting song on the Anthology. This is the only track that Grayson recorded alone during his recording career as a duet with Henry Whitter, a guitar player who was one of the first “hillbilly” to record. Together, they recorded many songs that would became “standards” of folk and bluegrass: Handsome Molly, Train 45 (Ruben), Little Maggie, Tom Dooley, Lee Highway, etc…
-On this page, you’ll read the full biography of Grayson & Whitter -I’ve selected 20 sides of the duo, with all their famous songs.
TRACK LIST:
1.Nobody’s darling
2.I’ll never be yours (Banks of the Ohio)
3.Handsome Molly
4.Train 45
5.He’s coming to us dead
6.Rose Conley
7.Sally Gooden
8.My mind is to marry
9.Cluck old hen
10.Old Jimmy Sutton
11.Joking Henry
12.The nine-pound hammer
13.Short life of trouble
14.I’ve always been a rambler
15.Where are you going Alice?
16.Little Maggie
17.On the banks of old Tennessee
18.Tom Dooley
19.Going down the Lee highway
20.I saw a man at the close of day
The Ommie Wise Variations
This american murder ballad was based on true events that happened two centuries ago in North Carolina. A certain Jonathan Lewis was arrested for the murder of Naomi Wise but was acquitted soon after. But everybody was conviced that he did murder her and a folk ballad carried the memory of the event until today. There’s of course a lot of variants from one performer to another in the text of the ballad, from the names of the protagonists to the little details that makes the story.
-Go and read this article, which gives also the lyrics of the song
-There’s also a wikipedia page on the subject
-I’ve compiled 20 performances of the song, some old, some new, as usual. Sometimes the melody is sung in a minor mode, sometimes in a major mode, many sang it unaccompanied and many used the 5-string banjo … “Tragic romance” is a bluegrass variant that takes the story and melody of “Omie Wise” and made a new song out of it.
Hope you enjoy…
TRACK LIST:
1.Ommie Wise, G.B. Grayson, from the Anthology Of American Folk Music
2.Naomi Wise, Clarence “Tom” Ashley, from “Greenback Dollar 1929-1933″
3.Little Norma, Mrs Ben Daugherty, from “Ozark Folksongs”
4.Little Omie, Harrison Burnett, from the Max Hunter Folksong Collection
5.Omie Wise, Paul Clayton, from “Folk Ballads of the English-Speaking World”
6.Little Omie Wise (Live), Doc Watson, from “The Essential Doc Watson”
7.Omie Wise, Doug and Jack Wallin, from “Family Songs and Stories from the North Carolina Mountains”
8.Omie Wise, Pentangle, from “A Maid That’s Deep In Love”
9.Little Lonie, Almeda Riddle, from Ozark Folksongs
10.Omie Wise, Tim Eriksen, from “Every Sound Below”
11.Tragic Romance, Kilby Snow with Hazel Dickens & Mike Seeger , from “Masters of Old-Time Country Autoharp”
12.Tragic Romance, The Lilly Brothers, from “Early Recordings”
13.Omie Wise, Mason Brown, from “When Humans Walked the Earth”
14.Naomia Wise, Bill Baker, from the Max Hunter Folksong Collection
15.Omie Wise, Okkervile River, from “Julie Doiron & Okerville River”
16.Little Omie Wise, Dock Boggs, from “His Folkways Years 1963-1968 “
17.Little Omie Wise, Addie Graham, from the Digital Library of Appalachia
18.Omie Wise, Roscoe Holcomb, from “The High Lonesome Sound”
19.Omie Wise, Dolly Greer, from “The Doc Watson Family Tradition”
20.Omie Wise, Mountain Home, from “Mountain Home”
*In Folklorist Harry Smith’s House-"Peg and Awl" — The Carolina Tar Heels (1929)
Click on the title to link to a presentation of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
Peg and Awl
In the days of eighteen and one, peg and awl
In the days of eighteen and one, peg and awl
In the days of eighteen and one
peggin' shoes was all I done
Hand me down my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
In the days of eighteen and two, peg and awl,... (x2)
In the days of eighteen and two
peggin' shoes is all I'd do
Hand me down my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
In the days of eighteen and three, peg and awl,... (x2)
In the days of eighteen and three
new machine it set me free
Throw away my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
They've invented a new machine, peg and awl,... (x2)
They've invented a new machine
prettiest little thing you've ever seen
Throw away my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
In the days of eighteen and four, peg and awl,... (x2)
In the days of eighteen and four
peggin' shoes I'll do no more
Throw away my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
Makes one hundred compared to my one, peg and awl,... (x2)
Makes one hundred compared to my one
peggin' shoes it ain't no fun
Throw away my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
.Listen to this song
This Song Clip was recorded in the key of E. (Click below to play.)
A song from the Mountain Music for Everyone Song Collection from the ToneWay Project. Our website has lyrics to nearly 400 traditional songs common in bluegrass and old-time circles. Most songs also include a free MP3 recording that you can listen to. The ToneWay Project also offers songbooks, CDs, and resources for learning to play music by ear. http://ToneWay.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project Background
Our family is working to revive a nearly-lost tradition. Read our story »
The Abbott Family
406 Lincoln Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
music (at) toneway (dot) com
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
Peg and Awl
In the days of eighteen and one, peg and awl
In the days of eighteen and one, peg and awl
In the days of eighteen and one
peggin' shoes was all I done
Hand me down my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
In the days of eighteen and two, peg and awl,... (x2)
In the days of eighteen and two
peggin' shoes is all I'd do
Hand me down my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
In the days of eighteen and three, peg and awl,... (x2)
In the days of eighteen and three
new machine it set me free
Throw away my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
They've invented a new machine, peg and awl,... (x2)
They've invented a new machine
prettiest little thing you've ever seen
Throw away my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
In the days of eighteen and four, peg and awl,... (x2)
In the days of eighteen and four
peggin' shoes I'll do no more
Throw away my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
Makes one hundred compared to my one, peg and awl,... (x2)
Makes one hundred compared to my one
peggin' shoes it ain't no fun
Throw away my pegs, my awl, my peg and awl
.Listen to this song
This Song Clip was recorded in the key of E. (Click below to play.)
A song from the Mountain Music for Everyone Song Collection from the ToneWay Project. Our website has lyrics to nearly 400 traditional songs common in bluegrass and old-time circles. Most songs also include a free MP3 recording that you can listen to. The ToneWay Project also offers songbooks, CDs, and resources for learning to play music by ear. http://ToneWay.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project Background
Our family is working to revive a nearly-lost tradition. Read our story »
The Abbott Family
406 Lincoln Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
music (at) toneway (dot) com
*In Folklorist Harry Smith’s House-"A Lazy Farmer Boy" — Buster Carter and Preston Young (1930)
Click on the title to link to a presentation of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
THE OLD, WEIRD AMERICA
My exploration of Harry Smith’s Anthology
“The Lazy Farmer Boy” by Carter & Young
Carter & Young’s World
Buster Carter and Preston Young were part of an ensemble of old-time musicians that came from the North Carolina region, the most famous being Charley Poole, who recorded at the end of the 1920’s and beginning of the 1930’s. All this musicians had a distinctive “string band” sound that revival groups like the New Lost City Ramblers tried to emulate. Today, Carter & Young are mostly remembered for being the first group to record the bluegrass classic “I’ll roll in my sweet baby’s arms” and their version of “The young man who wouldn’t hoe corn” who was included in the Anthology.
-On this page, you’ll read a biography of Preston Young
-In addition to the sides by Carter and Young, i’ve included sides by another group “The Carolina Buddies” in which they played on some tracks. Posey Rorer, the great fiddler who played with Charley Poole is playing also on most of the tracks.
TRACK LIST:
Buster Carter & Preston Young (with Posey Rorer)
1.It’s Hard To Love And Can’t Be Loved
2.Swinging Down The Lane (I’d Rather Be Rosy Nell)
3.It Won’t Hurt No More
4.A Lazy Farmer Boy
5.What Sugar Head Licker Will Do
6.Bill Morgan And His Gal
7.I’ll Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms
8.She’s A Darn Good Gal
The Carolina Buddies
9.In A Cottage By The Sea
10.Murder Of The Lawson Family
11.Story that the crow told me
12.My sweetheart is a sly miss
13.Work Don’t Bother Me
14.Otto Wood The Bandit
15.He Went In Like A Lion(But Came Out Like A Lamb)
16.My Evolution Gril
17.Mistreated Blues
18.Broken Hearted Lover
The Lazy Farmer Boy Variations
The song, mostly known as “The young man who wouldn’t hoe corn”,makes fun of the misfortunes of a young farmer too lazy to take care of his fields and who stay single because no girl wants to marry him.
The tune of the song is a particulary beautiful one and like many other mountain songs is in a modal mode, neither major or minor, like “Shady Grove” for example.
-The music and the lyrics of the song are on this two pages: Page one and page two
-I’ve included on my “choiced” variations two songs that took the melody and changed the words (“The strange death of John Doe” by The Almanac Singers and “Man on the street” by Bob Dylan) and a “jazz” version by Nat Adderley. And, no, i didn’t include the “famous” version by Alison Kraus and Union Station, simply because i don’t like it!
TRACK LIST:
1.Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, Pete Seeger, from ”American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 2″
2.A Young Man That Wouldn’t Hoe Corn / I Wonder When I Shall Be married, Ritchie Family, from ”The Ritchie Family of Kentucky”
3.The Young Man Who Couldn´t Hoe Corn, Burl Ives, from ”The Golden Vanity”
4.Lazy Farmer Boy,Greg Hooven String Band, from ”The Harry Smith Connection: A Live Tribute to the Anthology”
5.The Lazy Young Man, J.A. Latham, from Ozark Folksongs
6.Counting Rhyme / The Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, Jim Douglas, from ”Peddler’s Pack: A Collection of Early Colonial Songs”
7.Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, Nat Adderley, from ”The Music Of Quincy Jones”
8.The Lazy Farmer, Tom Paley, from ”Old Tom Moore”
9.The Young Man That Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, John Renbourn, from ”So Early In the Spring”
10.The Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, Spider John Koerner, from ”Raised By Humans”
11.The Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn,Richard Greene, from “Duets”
12.The Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, Vern Smelser, from ”Fine Times At Our House”
13.The Strange Death Of John Doe, Almanac Singers feat Woody Guthrie & Pete Seeger, from ”Which Side Are You On? The Best Of The Almanac Singers”
14.Man On The Street, Bob Dylan, from ”The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3 : Rare And Unreleased, 1961-1991″
15.A Lazy Farmer Boy, Robin Holcomb, from “The Big Time”
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
THE OLD, WEIRD AMERICA
My exploration of Harry Smith’s Anthology
“The Lazy Farmer Boy” by Carter & Young
Carter & Young’s World
Buster Carter and Preston Young were part of an ensemble of old-time musicians that came from the North Carolina region, the most famous being Charley Poole, who recorded at the end of the 1920’s and beginning of the 1930’s. All this musicians had a distinctive “string band” sound that revival groups like the New Lost City Ramblers tried to emulate. Today, Carter & Young are mostly remembered for being the first group to record the bluegrass classic “I’ll roll in my sweet baby’s arms” and their version of “The young man who wouldn’t hoe corn” who was included in the Anthology.
-On this page, you’ll read a biography of Preston Young
-In addition to the sides by Carter and Young, i’ve included sides by another group “The Carolina Buddies” in which they played on some tracks. Posey Rorer, the great fiddler who played with Charley Poole is playing also on most of the tracks.
TRACK LIST:
Buster Carter & Preston Young (with Posey Rorer)
1.It’s Hard To Love And Can’t Be Loved
2.Swinging Down The Lane (I’d Rather Be Rosy Nell)
3.It Won’t Hurt No More
4.A Lazy Farmer Boy
5.What Sugar Head Licker Will Do
6.Bill Morgan And His Gal
7.I’ll Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms
8.She’s A Darn Good Gal
The Carolina Buddies
9.In A Cottage By The Sea
10.Murder Of The Lawson Family
11.Story that the crow told me
12.My sweetheart is a sly miss
13.Work Don’t Bother Me
14.Otto Wood The Bandit
15.He Went In Like A Lion(But Came Out Like A Lamb)
16.My Evolution Gril
17.Mistreated Blues
18.Broken Hearted Lover
The Lazy Farmer Boy Variations
The song, mostly known as “The young man who wouldn’t hoe corn”,makes fun of the misfortunes of a young farmer too lazy to take care of his fields and who stay single because no girl wants to marry him.
The tune of the song is a particulary beautiful one and like many other mountain songs is in a modal mode, neither major or minor, like “Shady Grove” for example.
-The music and the lyrics of the song are on this two pages: Page one and page two
-I’ve included on my “choiced” variations two songs that took the melody and changed the words (“The strange death of John Doe” by The Almanac Singers and “Man on the street” by Bob Dylan) and a “jazz” version by Nat Adderley. And, no, i didn’t include the “famous” version by Alison Kraus and Union Station, simply because i don’t like it!
TRACK LIST:
1.Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, Pete Seeger, from ”American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 2″
2.A Young Man That Wouldn’t Hoe Corn / I Wonder When I Shall Be married, Ritchie Family, from ”The Ritchie Family of Kentucky”
3.The Young Man Who Couldn´t Hoe Corn, Burl Ives, from ”The Golden Vanity”
4.Lazy Farmer Boy,Greg Hooven String Band, from ”The Harry Smith Connection: A Live Tribute to the Anthology”
5.The Lazy Young Man, J.A. Latham, from Ozark Folksongs
6.Counting Rhyme / The Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, Jim Douglas, from ”Peddler’s Pack: A Collection of Early Colonial Songs”
7.Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, Nat Adderley, from ”The Music Of Quincy Jones”
8.The Lazy Farmer, Tom Paley, from ”Old Tom Moore”
9.The Young Man That Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, John Renbourn, from ”So Early In the Spring”
10.The Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, Spider John Koerner, from ”Raised By Humans”
11.The Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn,Richard Greene, from “Duets”
12.The Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn, Vern Smelser, from ”Fine Times At Our House”
13.The Strange Death Of John Doe, Almanac Singers feat Woody Guthrie & Pete Seeger, from ”Which Side Are You On? The Best Of The Almanac Singers”
14.Man On The Street, Bob Dylan, from ”The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3 : Rare And Unreleased, 1961-1991″
15.A Lazy Farmer Boy, Robin Holcomb, from “The Big Time”
*In Folklorist Harry Smith’s House-"Willie Moore" — Burnett and Rutherford (1927)
Click on the title to link to a presentation of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
Remembering the Old Songs:
WILLIE MOORE
by Lyle Lofgren
(Originally published: Inside Bluegrass, November 2000)
I've been singing this song for about as long as I've been interested in Appalachian music. I learned it from a Burnett & Rutherford recording (1927) reprinted in Harry Smith's LP Anthology of American Folk Music, itself fortunately reprinted as a boxed CD set in 1997 by Smithsonian Folkways.1 Dick Burnett (1887-1977)2 lived in Monticello, Kentucky, played the banjo and sang. He was blinded by a robber's gunshot in 1907, and (like many blind people in the south) was forced to become an itinerant professional musician. According to the notes of the reissue, he composed Man of Constant Sorrow in 1913, which, by itself should be enough to get him into the Country Music Hall of Fame.3 In 1914, he hooked up with a fellow Monticello native, Leonard Rutherford (then a teenager), who played fiddle. They made numerous recordings for Columbia in the 1920s, including this one. The words were from a printed broadside (called a "ballot" in the mountains), and the music is the fine part (the high part) of an old ballad tune that was floating around Kentucky. For both parts of the tune, check out Jean Ritchie's version of Lady Margaret, which, as I recall, was once published on a Riverside LP. I seem to have lost track of my copy, and I have no idea if it's been reissued on a CD. If I live long enough, maybe I'll write out my recollection of her version of Lady Margaret, and then you'll know both halves of the tune.
Is the story true? Certainly it is, in an emotional sense, the way that Romeo and Juliet is true. In this version, though, only Juliet feels strongly enough about the matter to commit suicide. Maybe that makes the song more realistic.
The penultimate verse given here (in parenthesis) is not in the Burnett & Rutherford version, but was collected by Vance Randolph in Arkansas. I often sing it as part of this song because it helps tie the story together. The last verse would not be out of place in a printed "ballot," but it's unusual that a traditional singer would retain it. I always sing it. Use your own judgement.
Complete lyrics:
Willie Moore was a king, his age twenty-one,
He courted a damsel fair;
O, her eyes was as bright as the diamonds every night,
And wavy black was her hair.
He courted her both night and day,
'Til to marry they did agree;
But when he came to get her parents consent,
They said it could never be.
She threw herself in Willie Moore's arms,
As oftime had done before;
But little did he think when they parted that night,
Sweet Anna he would see no more.
It was about the tenth of May,
The time I remember well;
That very same night, her body disappeared
In a way no tongue could tell.
Sweet Annie was loved both far and near,
Had friends most all around;
And in a little brook before the cottage door,
The body of sweet Anna was found.
She was taken by her weeping friends,
And carried to her parent's room,
And there she was dressed in a gown of snowy white,
And laid her in a lonely tomb.
Her parents now are left all alone,
One mourns while the other one weeps;
And in a grassy mound before the cottage door,
The body of sweet Anna still sleeps.
[Willie Moore never spoke that anyone heard,
And at length from his friends did part,
And the last heard from him, he'd gone to Montreal,
Where he died of a broken heart.]
This song was composed in the flowery West
By a man you may never have seen;
O, I'll tell you his name, but it is not in full,
His initials are J.R.D.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Impertinent editorial footnotes (added by Bob Waltz):
1 Also available on Document Records DOCD-8025, The Complete Works of Burnett & Rutherford. As this record contains their wonderful hit recording of Lost John, I highly recommend it.
2 Charles K. Wolfe gives Burnett's dates as 1883-c. 1975.
3 But just to show you how much such a claim means, Emry Arthur also claimed to have written the song. And there are several versions from tradition.
4 Other authorities give the initials as "J. R. G." It's almost impossible to tell the final letter from the recording.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
Remembering the Old Songs:
WILLIE MOORE
by Lyle Lofgren
(Originally published: Inside Bluegrass, November 2000)
I've been singing this song for about as long as I've been interested in Appalachian music. I learned it from a Burnett & Rutherford recording (1927) reprinted in Harry Smith's LP Anthology of American Folk Music, itself fortunately reprinted as a boxed CD set in 1997 by Smithsonian Folkways.1 Dick Burnett (1887-1977)2 lived in Monticello, Kentucky, played the banjo and sang. He was blinded by a robber's gunshot in 1907, and (like many blind people in the south) was forced to become an itinerant professional musician. According to the notes of the reissue, he composed Man of Constant Sorrow in 1913, which, by itself should be enough to get him into the Country Music Hall of Fame.3 In 1914, he hooked up with a fellow Monticello native, Leonard Rutherford (then a teenager), who played fiddle. They made numerous recordings for Columbia in the 1920s, including this one. The words were from a printed broadside (called a "ballot" in the mountains), and the music is the fine part (the high part) of an old ballad tune that was floating around Kentucky. For both parts of the tune, check out Jean Ritchie's version of Lady Margaret, which, as I recall, was once published on a Riverside LP. I seem to have lost track of my copy, and I have no idea if it's been reissued on a CD. If I live long enough, maybe I'll write out my recollection of her version of Lady Margaret, and then you'll know both halves of the tune.
Is the story true? Certainly it is, in an emotional sense, the way that Romeo and Juliet is true. In this version, though, only Juliet feels strongly enough about the matter to commit suicide. Maybe that makes the song more realistic.
The penultimate verse given here (in parenthesis) is not in the Burnett & Rutherford version, but was collected by Vance Randolph in Arkansas. I often sing it as part of this song because it helps tie the story together. The last verse would not be out of place in a printed "ballot," but it's unusual that a traditional singer would retain it. I always sing it. Use your own judgement.
Complete lyrics:
Willie Moore was a king, his age twenty-one,
He courted a damsel fair;
O, her eyes was as bright as the diamonds every night,
And wavy black was her hair.
He courted her both night and day,
'Til to marry they did agree;
But when he came to get her parents consent,
They said it could never be.
She threw herself in Willie Moore's arms,
As oftime had done before;
But little did he think when they parted that night,
Sweet Anna he would see no more.
It was about the tenth of May,
The time I remember well;
That very same night, her body disappeared
In a way no tongue could tell.
Sweet Annie was loved both far and near,
Had friends most all around;
And in a little brook before the cottage door,
The body of sweet Anna was found.
She was taken by her weeping friends,
And carried to her parent's room,
And there she was dressed in a gown of snowy white,
And laid her in a lonely tomb.
Her parents now are left all alone,
One mourns while the other one weeps;
And in a grassy mound before the cottage door,
The body of sweet Anna still sleeps.
[Willie Moore never spoke that anyone heard,
And at length from his friends did part,
And the last heard from him, he'd gone to Montreal,
Where he died of a broken heart.]
This song was composed in the flowery West
By a man you may never have seen;
O, I'll tell you his name, but it is not in full,
His initials are J.R.D.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Impertinent editorial footnotes (added by Bob Waltz):
1 Also available on Document Records DOCD-8025, The Complete Works of Burnett & Rutherford. As this record contains their wonderful hit recording of Lost John, I highly recommend it.
2 Charles K. Wolfe gives Burnett's dates as 1883-c. 1975.
3 But just to show you how much such a claim means, Emry Arthur also claimed to have written the song. And there are several versions from tradition.
4 Other authorities give the initials as "J. R. G." It's almost impossible to tell the final letter from the recording.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*In Folklorist Harry Smith’s House-"Old Shoes And Leggins" — Uncle Eck Dunford (1929)
Click on the title to link to a presentation of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
Remembering The Old Songs:
OLD SHOES AND LEGGINGS
by Lyle Lofgren
(Originally published: Inside Bluegrass, July 2007)
There are a number of obvious reasons why an old man who has accumulated worldly power would want to possess a beautiful young lady. Literature is full of such stories, often involving forced marriages and tragic endings. But when the old man has no money, tragedy turns to farce, and it's a rich vein to mine. Songs on the subject have been around a very long time. An example from Scotland is An Old Man Come a-Courtin' Me which has an adult theme, and in fact sounds like a pub song. Robert Burns's What Can a Young Lassie Do With An Old Man strikes me as a publishable re-writing of that older song. Even Tin Pan Alley got into the act, with Get Away, Old Man, Get Away, composed and popularized in 1926 by Frank Crumit. It made its way into tradition when J.E. Mainer recorded a hillbilly version.
This month's song perhaps originated in Scotland. It first appeared in print in the early 1700s, and has remained popular in British oral tradition under such titles as An Old Man Came O'er The Lea or With His Grey Beard Newly Shaven. American versions tend to emphasize foot and leg wear. If you want to see classic leggings, look at a photo of WWI soldiers. The long cloth strips wrapped around their lower legs protected pants from mud and burrs. The old man in the song has overshoes and leggings because he has to walk through the mud and brush, being too poor to ride. His clothes and shoes are protected. The only problem is that he doesn't bother to take them off when he's in the house.
Alan Lomax once pointed out that a traditional song has to have something that appeals to young people, or it will die out after only one generation. In typical Lomax fashion, he extended this axiom into a hypothesis that all folk songs are children's songs. I won't go that far, but it does seem that the staying power of this song has to do with some juvenile aspects: it ridicules old men, people of one's parents' generation; and the repetitive format and rhyme scheme are like some other children's songs.
I think of this one as being sung by teenaged girls. To hear it that way, you need to find an obscure field recording, My Mother Told Me, (Gant Family, Austin TX, 1936; Library of Congress Archive of Folk Song 645B4). You can listen to the version given here on Smithsonian-Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music. (Eck Dunford of Galax, VA; recorded 1928; originally released as Victor V40060). The record label said Old Shoes and Leggins, but Eck clearly sings "overshoes." The song structure encourages invention, even of the unconscious type. For example, I've sung a "I hung up his coat and it smelled like a goat" verse for many years, and I was surprised when I listened to the song and found it isn't on the record.
The old man acts the fool, particularly in his inappropriate use of work implements. Give him a hoe and he Jumps Jim Crow. "Jim Crow" nowadays refers to 20th century segregation laws, but the original came from Daddy Rice (1808-1860), the stage name of a popular Broadway blackface minstrel. He performed a ridiculous dance called "Jump Jim Crow." Instead of cutting wood with a saw, the old man uses it as a musical instrument, playing Rye Straw. That's a well-known fiddle tune (sometimes called Joke on the Puppy), but its only verse is scatological and not suitable for polite company. Neither is the old man.
Complete Lyrics:
A man that was old came a-courting one day,
And the girls wouldn't have him.
He come down the lane on his walking cane
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to give him a chair,
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I give him a chair and he looked mighty queer,
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to hang up his hat,
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I hung up his hat and he kicked at the cat
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to give him some meat
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I give him some meat, and oh how he did eat
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to give him the hoe
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I give him the hoe and he jumped Jim Crow
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to give him the saw
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I give him the saw and he played "Rye Straw,"
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to put him to bed
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I put him to bed and he stood on his head
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to send him away
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I sent him away and he left Christmas Day
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
Remembering The Old Songs:
OLD SHOES AND LEGGINGS
by Lyle Lofgren
(Originally published: Inside Bluegrass, July 2007)
There are a number of obvious reasons why an old man who has accumulated worldly power would want to possess a beautiful young lady. Literature is full of such stories, often involving forced marriages and tragic endings. But when the old man has no money, tragedy turns to farce, and it's a rich vein to mine. Songs on the subject have been around a very long time. An example from Scotland is An Old Man Come a-Courtin' Me which has an adult theme, and in fact sounds like a pub song. Robert Burns's What Can a Young Lassie Do With An Old Man strikes me as a publishable re-writing of that older song. Even Tin Pan Alley got into the act, with Get Away, Old Man, Get Away, composed and popularized in 1926 by Frank Crumit. It made its way into tradition when J.E. Mainer recorded a hillbilly version.
This month's song perhaps originated in Scotland. It first appeared in print in the early 1700s, and has remained popular in British oral tradition under such titles as An Old Man Came O'er The Lea or With His Grey Beard Newly Shaven. American versions tend to emphasize foot and leg wear. If you want to see classic leggings, look at a photo of WWI soldiers. The long cloth strips wrapped around their lower legs protected pants from mud and burrs. The old man in the song has overshoes and leggings because he has to walk through the mud and brush, being too poor to ride. His clothes and shoes are protected. The only problem is that he doesn't bother to take them off when he's in the house.
Alan Lomax once pointed out that a traditional song has to have something that appeals to young people, or it will die out after only one generation. In typical Lomax fashion, he extended this axiom into a hypothesis that all folk songs are children's songs. I won't go that far, but it does seem that the staying power of this song has to do with some juvenile aspects: it ridicules old men, people of one's parents' generation; and the repetitive format and rhyme scheme are like some other children's songs.
I think of this one as being sung by teenaged girls. To hear it that way, you need to find an obscure field recording, My Mother Told Me, (Gant Family, Austin TX, 1936; Library of Congress Archive of Folk Song 645B4). You can listen to the version given here on Smithsonian-Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music. (Eck Dunford of Galax, VA; recorded 1928; originally released as Victor V40060). The record label said Old Shoes and Leggins, but Eck clearly sings "overshoes." The song structure encourages invention, even of the unconscious type. For example, I've sung a "I hung up his coat and it smelled like a goat" verse for many years, and I was surprised when I listened to the song and found it isn't on the record.
The old man acts the fool, particularly in his inappropriate use of work implements. Give him a hoe and he Jumps Jim Crow. "Jim Crow" nowadays refers to 20th century segregation laws, but the original came from Daddy Rice (1808-1860), the stage name of a popular Broadway blackface minstrel. He performed a ridiculous dance called "Jump Jim Crow." Instead of cutting wood with a saw, the old man uses it as a musical instrument, playing Rye Straw. That's a well-known fiddle tune (sometimes called Joke on the Puppy), but its only verse is scatological and not suitable for polite company. Neither is the old man.
Complete Lyrics:
A man that was old came a-courting one day,
And the girls wouldn't have him.
He come down the lane on his walking cane
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to give him a chair,
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I give him a chair and he looked mighty queer,
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to hang up his hat,
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I hung up his hat and he kicked at the cat
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to give him some meat
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I give him some meat, and oh how he did eat
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to give him the hoe
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I give him the hoe and he jumped Jim Crow
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to give him the saw
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I give him the saw and he played "Rye Straw,"
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to put him to bed
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I put him to bed and he stood on his head
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
My mother she told me to send him away
For the girls wouldn't have him.
I sent him away and he left Christmas Day
With his overshoes on and his leggings.
*In Folklorist Harry Smith’s House-"King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O" — "Chubby" Parker (1928)
Click on the title to link to a presentation of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
“King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O” by Chubby Parker
Chubby Parker’s World
We have no idea how an artist that we don’t know much about today, could have been so popular in a certain time and place.In the 1920’s, for listeners of WLS, the Chicago-based radio station, Chubby Parker and his old-time banjo was a very popular act, entertaining the audience with his repertoire of funny songs, country songs and “negro” songs. Singing, strumming his five-string banjo, blowing his harmonica, whistling a bit, he was a much loved figure before going to oblivion in the depression era, like many others.
-On the last issue of The Old-Time Herald, there’s an article by Ken Russell. There’s a short excerpt on line here.
-Here’s 21 sides for your delight of Chubby Parker, old-time troubadour and clown, that will put a big smile on your face and move your feet (I hope…).
TRACK LIST
1.The Year Of jubilo
2.In Kansas
3.Get Away Old Maids Get Away
4.Bingo Was His Name O
5.Drill Ye Tarriers Drill
6.Grandfather’s Clock
7.I’m A Stern Old Bachelor
8.The Old Wooden Rocker
9.A Rovin Little Darkey
10.Whoa Mule Whoa
11.You’ll Hear The Bells In The Morning
12.Nickety Nackety Now Now Now
13.Davey Crockett
14.Kissing Song
15.Bib-A-Lollie-Boo
16.King King Kitchie Kitchie Ki Me O
17.And That Was Irish Too
18.The Irish Christening
19.See The Black Clouds A Breakin’ Over Yonder
20.Oh Susanna
21.Oh Dem Golden Slippers
The King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O Variations
Known better under the title “Frog went a-courtin”, this is a variant of one of the oldest and more popular british folk song of all times. It tells of the courtship that leads to the wedding between a frog and a mouse,the folk process adding along time many words and funny twists to it, like a non-sense chorus that changes depending on the traditions. Today, it’s still one of the most famous children song of the english-speaking world and it has been recorded a lot during this last century.
To go deeper in the study of this song and its many variants, i’ve found a few interesting links:
-First of all, this website is devoted to track down all the variants of the song. An impressive work
-On the Folk Den page, you have the lyrics of the Chubby Parker’s version and the Roger Mc Guinn performance of the song
-On this page, there’s many good informations
There’s so many good performances of this song that i decided to offer you two compilations of the ones that i like the best, a total of 32 tracks divided in two parts.
I always try to find some unusual versions to be included with my favorite ones, so here you’ll have, for example, a punk-rockabilly version by The Flat Duo Jets, a gospel one by The Golden gate Quartet, a blues one by Doctor Oakroot and an acapella version by Jim Nollman who made a very unusal record of music played with animals (issued in 1982 by Folkways records). Here, he’s singing the song with 300 turkeys!!
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
“King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O” by Chubby Parker
Chubby Parker’s World
We have no idea how an artist that we don’t know much about today, could have been so popular in a certain time and place.In the 1920’s, for listeners of WLS, the Chicago-based radio station, Chubby Parker and his old-time banjo was a very popular act, entertaining the audience with his repertoire of funny songs, country songs and “negro” songs. Singing, strumming his five-string banjo, blowing his harmonica, whistling a bit, he was a much loved figure before going to oblivion in the depression era, like many others.
-On the last issue of The Old-Time Herald, there’s an article by Ken Russell. There’s a short excerpt on line here.
-Here’s 21 sides for your delight of Chubby Parker, old-time troubadour and clown, that will put a big smile on your face and move your feet (I hope…).
TRACK LIST
1.The Year Of jubilo
2.In Kansas
3.Get Away Old Maids Get Away
4.Bingo Was His Name O
5.Drill Ye Tarriers Drill
6.Grandfather’s Clock
7.I’m A Stern Old Bachelor
8.The Old Wooden Rocker
9.A Rovin Little Darkey
10.Whoa Mule Whoa
11.You’ll Hear The Bells In The Morning
12.Nickety Nackety Now Now Now
13.Davey Crockett
14.Kissing Song
15.Bib-A-Lollie-Boo
16.King King Kitchie Kitchie Ki Me O
17.And That Was Irish Too
18.The Irish Christening
19.See The Black Clouds A Breakin’ Over Yonder
20.Oh Susanna
21.Oh Dem Golden Slippers
The King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O Variations
Known better under the title “Frog went a-courtin”, this is a variant of one of the oldest and more popular british folk song of all times. It tells of the courtship that leads to the wedding between a frog and a mouse,the folk process adding along time many words and funny twists to it, like a non-sense chorus that changes depending on the traditions. Today, it’s still one of the most famous children song of the english-speaking world and it has been recorded a lot during this last century.
To go deeper in the study of this song and its many variants, i’ve found a few interesting links:
-First of all, this website is devoted to track down all the variants of the song. An impressive work
-On the Folk Den page, you have the lyrics of the Chubby Parker’s version and the Roger Mc Guinn performance of the song
-On this page, there’s many good informations
There’s so many good performances of this song that i decided to offer you two compilations of the ones that i like the best, a total of 32 tracks divided in two parts.
I always try to find some unusual versions to be included with my favorite ones, so here you’ll have, for example, a punk-rockabilly version by The Flat Duo Jets, a gospel one by The Golden gate Quartet, a blues one by Doctor Oakroot and an acapella version by Jim Nollman who made a very unusal record of music played with animals (issued in 1982 by Folkways records). Here, he’s singing the song with 300 turkeys!!
*In Folklorist Harry Smith’s House-"The Waggoner's Lad" — Buell Kazee (1928)
Click on the title to link to a presentation of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
The Wagoner's Lad
Oh hard is the fortune of all womankind
They're always controlled, they're always confined
Confined by their parents until they are wives
Then slaves to their husbands for the rest of their lives
Oh I am a poor girl, my fortune is sad
I've always been courted by the Wagoner's Lad
He's courted me daily, by night and by day
And now he is loaded and going away
"Your parents don't like me because I am poor
They say I'm not worthy of entering your door
But I work for a living, my money's my own
And if they don't like it, they can leave me alone"
"Your horses are hungry, go feed them some hay
Come sit down beside me as long as you stay"
"My horses ain't hungry, they won't eat your hay
So fare thee well darling I'll be on my way"
Oh hard is the fortune of all womankind
They're always controlled, they're always confined
Confined by their parents until they are wives
Then slaves to their husbands for the rest of their lives
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
The Wagoner's Lad
Oh hard is the fortune of all womankind
They're always controlled, they're always confined
Confined by their parents until they are wives
Then slaves to their husbands for the rest of their lives
Oh I am a poor girl, my fortune is sad
I've always been courted by the Wagoner's Lad
He's courted me daily, by night and by day
And now he is loaded and going away
"Your parents don't like me because I am poor
They say I'm not worthy of entering your door
But I work for a living, my money's my own
And if they don't like it, they can leave me alone"
"Your horses are hungry, go feed them some hay
Come sit down beside me as long as you stay"
"My horses ain't hungry, they won't eat your hay
So fare thee well darling I'll be on my way"
Oh hard is the fortune of all womankind
They're always controlled, they're always confined
Confined by their parents until they are wives
Then slaves to their husbands for the rest of their lives
*In Folklorist Harry Smith’s House-"Old Lady and the Devil" — Bill & Belle Reed (1928)
Click on the title to link to a presentation by the artist or of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
5 “Old lady & the devil” by Bill & Belle Reed
Bill & Belle Reed’s world
The 17th of October 1928, in Johnston City, Tennessee, Mr and Mrs Reed recorded one session for Columbia. They were probably coming from the nearby regions of Virginia or Kentucky along with other people coming to record this day. Like many before and after them, they would go back to their regulary life, after having fixed their home-made folk music on disc for posterity…
-Apart from their version of “The old lady and the devil” that was included on the Anthology, i know of only one other side from them. It’s called “You shall be free” , which will become “We shall be free” interpreted by Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly and “I shall be free” with Bob Dylan’s version…
So, here they are:
1.You Shall be free by Bill & Belle Reed MP3
2.We shall be free by Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly (from ”The Original Vision” on Folkways) MP3
3.I shall be free by Bob Dylan (from “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan) MP3
Listening to this three tracks side by side , it revealed before me the great picture of american folk music on record, the three generations that shaped its tradition. First, you have the “real folks”, people that were recorded in the twenties and thirties, but carried with them a long oral tradition that predates the recording industry. Then came Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly, the two greatest figures of the folk movement of the forties, that was more involved with social issues and politics, already on the marge of the recording industry and “popular music”. And finally, you have Bob Dylan and the “folk revival” of the fifties and sixties, that reflects the heritage of what came before him and represented the new conscience of young people in America and all over the world in search of an alternative to the mass-entertainement culture and an authentic tradition to hang on to.
Hoping that one day, You, We, I shall be free…
The old lady and the devil Variations
After “The Drunkard’s Special”,and to stay in the comic register, Harry Smith put another americanized verison of a “Child Ballad” called “The Farmer’s Curst Wife”. Here, a bad lady is taken to hell by the devil but she’s so mean that the devil take her back to her husband. Child noticed that you can find similar songs all over the world… All the versions seems to share a nonsense refrain or a whistling part.
-Go here for the lyrics of Bill & Belle Reed’s version
-My compilation of twenty variations includes lots of traditionnal american and english versions but i managed to find unusual ones like the psychadelic folk of Gryphon and the punk-rock of The Mules. My personnal favorites are Terry Callier’s ,Texas Gladden with her brother Hobart Smith on guitar and as usual, the John Jacob Niles version is terrific…
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
5 “Old lady & the devil” by Bill & Belle Reed
Bill & Belle Reed’s world
The 17th of October 1928, in Johnston City, Tennessee, Mr and Mrs Reed recorded one session for Columbia. They were probably coming from the nearby regions of Virginia or Kentucky along with other people coming to record this day. Like many before and after them, they would go back to their regulary life, after having fixed their home-made folk music on disc for posterity…
-Apart from their version of “The old lady and the devil” that was included on the Anthology, i know of only one other side from them. It’s called “You shall be free” , which will become “We shall be free” interpreted by Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly and “I shall be free” with Bob Dylan’s version…
So, here they are:
1.You Shall be free by Bill & Belle Reed MP3
2.We shall be free by Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly (from ”The Original Vision” on Folkways) MP3
3.I shall be free by Bob Dylan (from “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan) MP3
Listening to this three tracks side by side , it revealed before me the great picture of american folk music on record, the three generations that shaped its tradition. First, you have the “real folks”, people that were recorded in the twenties and thirties, but carried with them a long oral tradition that predates the recording industry. Then came Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly, the two greatest figures of the folk movement of the forties, that was more involved with social issues and politics, already on the marge of the recording industry and “popular music”. And finally, you have Bob Dylan and the “folk revival” of the fifties and sixties, that reflects the heritage of what came before him and represented the new conscience of young people in America and all over the world in search of an alternative to the mass-entertainement culture and an authentic tradition to hang on to.
Hoping that one day, You, We, I shall be free…
The old lady and the devil Variations
After “The Drunkard’s Special”,and to stay in the comic register, Harry Smith put another americanized verison of a “Child Ballad” called “The Farmer’s Curst Wife”. Here, a bad lady is taken to hell by the devil but she’s so mean that the devil take her back to her husband. Child noticed that you can find similar songs all over the world… All the versions seems to share a nonsense refrain or a whistling part.
-Go here for the lyrics of Bill & Belle Reed’s version
-My compilation of twenty variations includes lots of traditionnal american and english versions but i managed to find unusual ones like the psychadelic folk of Gryphon and the punk-rock of The Mules. My personnal favorites are Terry Callier’s ,Texas Gladden with her brother Hobart Smith on guitar and as usual, the John Jacob Niles version is terrific…
*In Folklorist Harry Smith’s House-"Drunkard's Special" — Coley Jones (1929)
Click on the title to link to a presentation of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
4 “The Drunkard’s Special” by Coley Jones
Coley Jones’s World
One of the interesting aspect of Harry Smith’s Anthology is that it didn’t classified the perfomers in terms of race or ethnic groups. Before that, the recording industry always made really distinct catalogues, each one destinate to a particular ethnic group. You had “race records” for african-americans, “hilbilly” for whites of the southern mountains, italian, jewish, irish catalogues, etc… In their efforts to sell records to every american citizen, they documented for posterity really diverse ethnic musical traditions that were sometimes dying out in their own countries (Ireland,for example, where the revival of irish music was strongly influenced by the recordings of irish musicians in the 20’s and 30’s in America).
So, in 1952, when the Anthology came out, there was no information in the handbook to tell the listener if the musicians were black or white (apart from the cajun tracks, Harry Smith didn’t include any other ethnic groups). And then, for many years, as Smith pointed out, people were conviced that Mississippi John Hurt was a hillbilly! I admit myself that it took me a while to realise that Coley Jones was a black musician… When we look at his repertoire, we can see he was more of a songster than a bluesman. He performed songs and tunes from the ministrel show tradition, and his band, the Dallas String Band, played many popular tunes of the day.
-You can go here for more informations about Coley Jones and The Dallas String Band.
-I’ve compiled all the tracks that i have by Coley Jones, his duets with Bobbie Cadillac and the superb ones by the Dallas String Band.
COLEY JONES
1.Drunkard’s Special
2.Army man in no man’s land
3.Travelling Man
4.Drunkard’s Special
5.The Elder is my man
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
4 “The Drunkard’s Special” by Coley Jones
Coley Jones’s World
One of the interesting aspect of Harry Smith’s Anthology is that it didn’t classified the perfomers in terms of race or ethnic groups. Before that, the recording industry always made really distinct catalogues, each one destinate to a particular ethnic group. You had “race records” for african-americans, “hilbilly” for whites of the southern mountains, italian, jewish, irish catalogues, etc… In their efforts to sell records to every american citizen, they documented for posterity really diverse ethnic musical traditions that were sometimes dying out in their own countries (Ireland,for example, where the revival of irish music was strongly influenced by the recordings of irish musicians in the 20’s and 30’s in America).
So, in 1952, when the Anthology came out, there was no information in the handbook to tell the listener if the musicians were black or white (apart from the cajun tracks, Harry Smith didn’t include any other ethnic groups). And then, for many years, as Smith pointed out, people were conviced that Mississippi John Hurt was a hillbilly! I admit myself that it took me a while to realise that Coley Jones was a black musician… When we look at his repertoire, we can see he was more of a songster than a bluesman. He performed songs and tunes from the ministrel show tradition, and his band, the Dallas String Band, played many popular tunes of the day.
-You can go here for more informations about Coley Jones and The Dallas String Band.
-I’ve compiled all the tracks that i have by Coley Jones, his duets with Bobbie Cadillac and the superb ones by the Dallas String Band.
COLEY JONES
1.Drunkard’s Special
2.Army man in no man’s land
3.Travelling Man
4.Drunkard’s Special
5.The Elder is my man
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
***Sagas Of The Irish-American Diaspora- Albany-Style- William Kennedy's Ode To The Fixer Man- "Roscoe"
Click on the title to link to a "Wikipedia" entry for the doings of Albany-cycle author William Kennedy.
Book Review
Roscoe, William Kennedy, Viking Press, New York, 2002
Recently, in reviewing an early William Kennedy Albany-cycle novel, “Ironweed” I mentioned that he was my kind of writer. I will let what I stated there stand on that score here. Here is what I said:
“William Kennedy is, at least in his Albany stories, my kind of writer. He writes about the trials and tribulations of the Irish diaspora as it penetrated the rough and tumble of American urban WASP-run society, for good or evil. I know these people, my people, their follies and foibles like the back of my hand. Check. Kennedy writes, as here with the main characters Fran Phelan and Helen Archer two down at the heels sorts, about that pervasive hold that Catholicism has even on its most debased sons and daughters, saint and sinner alike. I know those characteristics all too well. Check. He writes about that place in class society where the working class meets the lumpen-proletariat-the thieves, grifters, drifters and con men- the human dust. I know that place well, much better than I would ever let on. Check. He writes about the sorrows and dangers of the effects alcohol on working class families. I know that place too. Check. And so on. Oh, by the way, did I mention that he also, at some point, was an editor of some sort associated with the late Hunter S. Thompson down in Puerto Rico. I know that mad man’s work well. He remains something of a muse for me. Check.”
That said, this little novel from a time that somewhat overlaps "Ironweed", the period between World War I and the the end of World War II, the heyday for retail print and radio-driven politics, and of the vote by bought vote, in the American cities, especially in the Northeast and especially among the rough and ready, up and coming Irish who took over administration of the lower levels of the bourgeois state from its traditional guardians, the WASPs, in this period. Needless to say, any Irish kid, even today, can read this thing without a decoder and without blinking an eye as to what is going on at the street level of politics.
The plot itself is fairly familiar now- a loose configuration of up and coming Irish and others, glued together by fix-it man (essential to all politics, including revolutionary politics) Roscoe, who solves the underlying mystery caused by the apparent suicide of the token WASP in the crowd (a Fitzgibbon, as in previous writings, of course). That put a dent in the key link in the chain that ran the political machine in Albany at that time. Add in the usually obligatory thwarted, distorted love interest for the now rotund, but still sexually active, Roscoe, (here she is half-Jewish, although that is not mandatory with Kennedy as he seems to favor the elusive WASP princesses for the love interest to set the snare for the up and coming Irish)), the usual low-rent shenanigans of bourgeois politics, democratic or republican, a long look at the seamy side of the gambling-driven chicken fights (a description of which you will get more than you ever needed to know) and you have another nice Kennedy piece. As good as "Ironweed"? No, that is the standard by which to judge a Kennedy work and still the number one contender from this reviewer's vantage point.
Book Review
Roscoe, William Kennedy, Viking Press, New York, 2002
Recently, in reviewing an early William Kennedy Albany-cycle novel, “Ironweed” I mentioned that he was my kind of writer. I will let what I stated there stand on that score here. Here is what I said:
“William Kennedy is, at least in his Albany stories, my kind of writer. He writes about the trials and tribulations of the Irish diaspora as it penetrated the rough and tumble of American urban WASP-run society, for good or evil. I know these people, my people, their follies and foibles like the back of my hand. Check. Kennedy writes, as here with the main characters Fran Phelan and Helen Archer two down at the heels sorts, about that pervasive hold that Catholicism has even on its most debased sons and daughters, saint and sinner alike. I know those characteristics all too well. Check. He writes about that place in class society where the working class meets the lumpen-proletariat-the thieves, grifters, drifters and con men- the human dust. I know that place well, much better than I would ever let on. Check. He writes about the sorrows and dangers of the effects alcohol on working class families. I know that place too. Check. And so on. Oh, by the way, did I mention that he also, at some point, was an editor of some sort associated with the late Hunter S. Thompson down in Puerto Rico. I know that mad man’s work well. He remains something of a muse for me. Check.”
That said, this little novel from a time that somewhat overlaps "Ironweed", the period between World War I and the the end of World War II, the heyday for retail print and radio-driven politics, and of the vote by bought vote, in the American cities, especially in the Northeast and especially among the rough and ready, up and coming Irish who took over administration of the lower levels of the bourgeois state from its traditional guardians, the WASPs, in this period. Needless to say, any Irish kid, even today, can read this thing without a decoder and without blinking an eye as to what is going on at the street level of politics.
The plot itself is fairly familiar now- a loose configuration of up and coming Irish and others, glued together by fix-it man (essential to all politics, including revolutionary politics) Roscoe, who solves the underlying mystery caused by the apparent suicide of the token WASP in the crowd (a Fitzgibbon, as in previous writings, of course). That put a dent in the key link in the chain that ran the political machine in Albany at that time. Add in the usually obligatory thwarted, distorted love interest for the now rotund, but still sexually active, Roscoe, (here she is half-Jewish, although that is not mandatory with Kennedy as he seems to favor the elusive WASP princesses for the love interest to set the snare for the up and coming Irish)), the usual low-rent shenanigans of bourgeois politics, democratic or republican, a long look at the seamy side of the gambling-driven chicken fights (a description of which you will get more than you ever needed to know) and you have another nice Kennedy piece. As good as "Ironweed"? No, that is the standard by which to judge a Kennedy work and still the number one contender from this reviewer's vantage point.
*Free Lynne Stewart, Mohamed Yousry and Ahmed Abdel Sattar!- A Guest Commentary
Click on the title to link to the Lynne Stewart Defense Committee Web site.
Workers Vanguard No. 948
4 December 2009
Court Imprisons Leftist Attorney
Free Lynne Stewart, Mohamed Yousry and Ahmed Abdel Sattar!
NEW YORK CITY—In a blow against the rights of the entire population, leftist attorney Lynne Stewart was hauled off to prison on November 19 on bogus charges of conspiracy to provide “material support” to terrorism and to “defraud” the U.S. government. An outspoken courtroom advocate for black activists and the poor, the 70-year-old Stewart was convicted in 2005 along with translator Mohamed Yousry and paralegal Ahmed Abdel Sattar on charges stemming from her ardent legal defense of Islamic fundamentalist Egyptian cleric Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, who is serving a life sentence for an alleged plot to blow up NYC landmarks in the early 1990s. Reporting to prison two days after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals turned down the appeal of her conviction, Stewart told her supporters that the government was warning lawyers: “Don’t advocate for your clients in a vigorous, strong way or you will end up” like her, “disbarred and in jail.”
The victimization of Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar has been a key cog in the government’s drive to eviscerate civil liberties in the domestic “war on terror.” From beginning to end, the Feds’ case was a fabrication. The government admitted that not a single act of violence resulted from the alleged “terror conspiracy.” Unable to get Stewart for breaking any law, the government invoked the spectre of “conspiracy” and nailed her for violating Special Administrative Measures that drastically restrict a prisoner’s right to communicate with the outside world. Stewart was “guilty” of conveying Abdel Rahman’s thoughts about a cease-fire between his Islamic Group and the Egyptian government to a Reuters journalist. The government declared this was tantamount to a terrorist “jailbreak.”
In a November 21 protest letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Partisan Defense Committee—a class-struggle, non-sectarian legal and social defense organization associated with the Spartacist League—stated that Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar “should not have spent a single day in jail! Their frame-up prosecution gives the government a green light to prosecute lawyers for the alleged crimes of their clients, ripping the Sixth Amendment right to counsel to shreds.” Pointing out that the jailing came in the immediate aftermath of the Justice Department’s announcement of plans for a show-trial prosecution of Guantánamo detainees, to be held within a mile of the World Trade Center site, the letter stressed that “the message is clear: any determined defense of those the government deems an enemy can mean a prison sentence for ‘material support’ to terrorism.”
The Second Circuit’s 125-page decision against Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar made no bones about its effect on restricting the right to legal counsel, declaring that it was now “less likely that other incarcerated persons will have the same level of access to counsel that [Stewart’s] client was given.” The court ordered not only that bail be revoked immediately but that a new hearing be held by the trial judge, John G. Koeltl, to increase the sentences of all three defendants. In 2006, Federal prosecutors who had demanded a 30-year sentence reacted in outrage when Koeltl, citing Stewart’s efforts on behalf of “the poor, the disadvantaged and the unpopular,” set her sentence at 28 months. Yousry got 20 months while Abdel Sattar, a former postal worker, was given 24 years.
The higher court, which includes two Clinton appointees, outrageously denounced Koeltl for failing to consider whether Stewart committed perjury at trial by maintaining that she believed she did nothing illegal. Describing her sentence as “breathtakingly low,” one of the appellate judges all but explicitly called for Stewart, who suffers from breast cancer, to be locked away for life. The New York Post (17 November) cheered, “Finally: Jihadist-Enabling Lawyer Lynne Stewart Ordered to Jail,” while the New York Daily News (19 November) headlined: “Terror Moll Gets Hers.”
Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar were convicted after a seven-month trial fraught with prosecutorial misconduct. Prosecutors pandered to public fear in the post-September 11 climate, even introducing videotapes of Osama bin Laden as evidence! The evidence against Yousry, a doctoral candidate in Middle Eastern Studies at New York University and an opponent of Islamic fundamentalism, consisted of notebooks of his discussions with Sheik Abdel Rahman for use in his dissertation. Yousry now faces possibly two decades in prison for doing his job as an interpreter. Ahmed Abdel Sattar is an Islamic fundamentalist whose only “crime” was to rack up large phone bills talking to other fundamentalists. At bottom, they were convicted of being Arab in post-September 11 America.
Though the prosecution was carried out under the Republican Bush administration, this mugging of constitutional rights has the fingerprints of the Democratic Clinton White House all over it. The Special Administrative Measures Stewart purportedly violated were enacted by the Clinton administration. For years, the Feds under Clinton secretly recorded the supposedly privileged attorney-client discussions between Stewart, her aides and Abdel Rahman. Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar were indicted under the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, one of several measures that have been escalated under the “war on terror” to attack fundamental rights.
After eight years of chanting “Anybody but Bush,” the liberals and reformist left hailed the election of Barack Obama and his promises of “change,” not least in regard to the “war on terror.” But as we have always stressed, the “war on terror” has the stamp of both parties of U.S. imperialism. Despite Obama’s campaign pledge to close Guantánamo and end torture, his administration has endorsed indefinite detention, a hallmark of police-state dictatorships and a centerpiece of Bush’s war on democratic rights. Many Guantánamo detainees will be transferred to detention centers in Bagram, Afghanistan, which has become synonymous with torture and all-around imperialist savagery, and elsewhere. And as the death toll of Afghans mounts ever higher in the U.S./NATO occupation of that country, the announced show trial of Guantánamo prisoners like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed demonstrates the Obama administration’s commitment to continuing the assault on democratic rights at home.
At the onset of the prosecution of Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar, we pointed to the urgent need for leftists, trade unionists and defenders of democratic rights to defend them against a government intent on tearing up the rights of all of us. SL and PDC supporters have repeatedly turned out to express our support at court hearings and protests, and in recent years Stewart has been a regular invited speaker at the PDC’s Holiday Appeal benefits for class-war prisoners. Based on the principle of non-sectarian, class-struggle defense, we have also stressed that defense of Stewart is inseparable from that of Yousry and Abdel Sattar. Not so the reformist left, which disappeared any mention of Yousry and Abdel Sattar long ago. Recent articles protesting Stewart’s incarceration in Workers World, the International Socialist Organization’s Socialist Worker and the Revolutionary Communist Party’s Revolution don’t even mention their names.
Stewart and Yousry’s jailing reveals yet again the workings of the courts as an integral part of the repressive machinery of the “democratic” capitalist state, which masks the class dictatorship of the bourgeoisie with a veneer of equality before the law. But there can be no equality between the exploited and their exploiters, between the oppressed and their oppressors. We fight to win those outraged at the legal persecution of Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar to a perspective of proletarian revolution to abolish the capitalist system, sweeping away the capitalist state and establishing a workers state, where those who labor rule. Then, and only then, will we see justice for all the victims of imperialist barbarism, at home and abroad.
Workers Vanguard No. 948
4 December 2009
Court Imprisons Leftist Attorney
Free Lynne Stewart, Mohamed Yousry and Ahmed Abdel Sattar!
NEW YORK CITY—In a blow against the rights of the entire population, leftist attorney Lynne Stewart was hauled off to prison on November 19 on bogus charges of conspiracy to provide “material support” to terrorism and to “defraud” the U.S. government. An outspoken courtroom advocate for black activists and the poor, the 70-year-old Stewart was convicted in 2005 along with translator Mohamed Yousry and paralegal Ahmed Abdel Sattar on charges stemming from her ardent legal defense of Islamic fundamentalist Egyptian cleric Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, who is serving a life sentence for an alleged plot to blow up NYC landmarks in the early 1990s. Reporting to prison two days after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals turned down the appeal of her conviction, Stewart told her supporters that the government was warning lawyers: “Don’t advocate for your clients in a vigorous, strong way or you will end up” like her, “disbarred and in jail.”
The victimization of Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar has been a key cog in the government’s drive to eviscerate civil liberties in the domestic “war on terror.” From beginning to end, the Feds’ case was a fabrication. The government admitted that not a single act of violence resulted from the alleged “terror conspiracy.” Unable to get Stewart for breaking any law, the government invoked the spectre of “conspiracy” and nailed her for violating Special Administrative Measures that drastically restrict a prisoner’s right to communicate with the outside world. Stewart was “guilty” of conveying Abdel Rahman’s thoughts about a cease-fire between his Islamic Group and the Egyptian government to a Reuters journalist. The government declared this was tantamount to a terrorist “jailbreak.”
In a November 21 protest letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Partisan Defense Committee—a class-struggle, non-sectarian legal and social defense organization associated with the Spartacist League—stated that Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar “should not have spent a single day in jail! Their frame-up prosecution gives the government a green light to prosecute lawyers for the alleged crimes of their clients, ripping the Sixth Amendment right to counsel to shreds.” Pointing out that the jailing came in the immediate aftermath of the Justice Department’s announcement of plans for a show-trial prosecution of Guantánamo detainees, to be held within a mile of the World Trade Center site, the letter stressed that “the message is clear: any determined defense of those the government deems an enemy can mean a prison sentence for ‘material support’ to terrorism.”
The Second Circuit’s 125-page decision against Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar made no bones about its effect on restricting the right to legal counsel, declaring that it was now “less likely that other incarcerated persons will have the same level of access to counsel that [Stewart’s] client was given.” The court ordered not only that bail be revoked immediately but that a new hearing be held by the trial judge, John G. Koeltl, to increase the sentences of all three defendants. In 2006, Federal prosecutors who had demanded a 30-year sentence reacted in outrage when Koeltl, citing Stewart’s efforts on behalf of “the poor, the disadvantaged and the unpopular,” set her sentence at 28 months. Yousry got 20 months while Abdel Sattar, a former postal worker, was given 24 years.
The higher court, which includes two Clinton appointees, outrageously denounced Koeltl for failing to consider whether Stewart committed perjury at trial by maintaining that she believed she did nothing illegal. Describing her sentence as “breathtakingly low,” one of the appellate judges all but explicitly called for Stewart, who suffers from breast cancer, to be locked away for life. The New York Post (17 November) cheered, “Finally: Jihadist-Enabling Lawyer Lynne Stewart Ordered to Jail,” while the New York Daily News (19 November) headlined: “Terror Moll Gets Hers.”
Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar were convicted after a seven-month trial fraught with prosecutorial misconduct. Prosecutors pandered to public fear in the post-September 11 climate, even introducing videotapes of Osama bin Laden as evidence! The evidence against Yousry, a doctoral candidate in Middle Eastern Studies at New York University and an opponent of Islamic fundamentalism, consisted of notebooks of his discussions with Sheik Abdel Rahman for use in his dissertation. Yousry now faces possibly two decades in prison for doing his job as an interpreter. Ahmed Abdel Sattar is an Islamic fundamentalist whose only “crime” was to rack up large phone bills talking to other fundamentalists. At bottom, they were convicted of being Arab in post-September 11 America.
Though the prosecution was carried out under the Republican Bush administration, this mugging of constitutional rights has the fingerprints of the Democratic Clinton White House all over it. The Special Administrative Measures Stewart purportedly violated were enacted by the Clinton administration. For years, the Feds under Clinton secretly recorded the supposedly privileged attorney-client discussions between Stewart, her aides and Abdel Rahman. Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar were indicted under the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, one of several measures that have been escalated under the “war on terror” to attack fundamental rights.
After eight years of chanting “Anybody but Bush,” the liberals and reformist left hailed the election of Barack Obama and his promises of “change,” not least in regard to the “war on terror.” But as we have always stressed, the “war on terror” has the stamp of both parties of U.S. imperialism. Despite Obama’s campaign pledge to close Guantánamo and end torture, his administration has endorsed indefinite detention, a hallmark of police-state dictatorships and a centerpiece of Bush’s war on democratic rights. Many Guantánamo detainees will be transferred to detention centers in Bagram, Afghanistan, which has become synonymous with torture and all-around imperialist savagery, and elsewhere. And as the death toll of Afghans mounts ever higher in the U.S./NATO occupation of that country, the announced show trial of Guantánamo prisoners like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed demonstrates the Obama administration’s commitment to continuing the assault on democratic rights at home.
At the onset of the prosecution of Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar, we pointed to the urgent need for leftists, trade unionists and defenders of democratic rights to defend them against a government intent on tearing up the rights of all of us. SL and PDC supporters have repeatedly turned out to express our support at court hearings and protests, and in recent years Stewart has been a regular invited speaker at the PDC’s Holiday Appeal benefits for class-war prisoners. Based on the principle of non-sectarian, class-struggle defense, we have also stressed that defense of Stewart is inseparable from that of Yousry and Abdel Sattar. Not so the reformist left, which disappeared any mention of Yousry and Abdel Sattar long ago. Recent articles protesting Stewart’s incarceration in Workers World, the International Socialist Organization’s Socialist Worker and the Revolutionary Communist Party’s Revolution don’t even mention their names.
Stewart and Yousry’s jailing reveals yet again the workings of the courts as an integral part of the repressive machinery of the “democratic” capitalist state, which masks the class dictatorship of the bourgeoisie with a veneer of equality before the law. But there can be no equality between the exploited and their exploiters, between the oppressed and their oppressors. We fight to win those outraged at the legal persecution of Stewart, Yousry and Abdel Sattar to a perspective of proletarian revolution to abolish the capitalist system, sweeping away the capitalist state and establishing a workers state, where those who labor rule. Then, and only then, will we see justice for all the victims of imperialist barbarism, at home and abroad.
* A Ohio 7 Update-Protest Gag Order Against Ray Luc Levasseur- A Guest Commentary
Click on the title to link to "Wikipedia"'s entry for the Ohio 7. As always with this source and its collective editorial policy, especially with controversial political groups like the Ohio 7, be careful checking the accuracy of the information provided at any given time.
Markin comment:
Below is further information about the continuing attempts to deny a member of the Ohio 7, who has done his time, the right to speak his mind in public. As always- Free The Last Of The Ohio 7, Jaan laaman and Tom Manning- The Must Not Die In Jail.
Workers Vanguard No. 948
4 December 2009
Protest Gag Order Against Ray Luc Levasseur
Last month, former Ohio 7 political prisoner Ray Luc Levasseur was vindictively barred from speaking at an event at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, about the notorious 1989 sedition frame-up trial in which he was a defendant. The university library’s invitation to Levasseur was met with a vile slander campaign by the cops and bourgeois press, which tarred Levasseur as “bloodthirsty” and a “terrorist,” while the state senate passed a resolution “roundly condemning” that this opponent of U.S. imperialist terror had been invited to speak.
Bowing to pressure from Massachusetts Democratic governor Deval Patrick and the state Fraternal Order of Police, the university administration canceled Levasseur’s invitation. In response, the Social Thought and Political Economy Program and several academic departments took over sponsorship of the event and reinvited Levasseur. UMass president Jack Wilson admitted he had “no way of preventing a speaking appearance, based on free speech and free assembly rights” (Boston Herald, 11 November). But Levasseur’s parole officer did, denying him permission to leave Maine. Arnie Larson, president of the Massachusetts Fraternal Order of Police, boasted, “We reached out to people in the Justice Department and educated them about our passion here…and they followed through on it” (Boston Globe, 12 November).
When former political prisoner and sedition trial co-defendant Pat Levasseur (Ray’s former wife) spoke in Ray Luc Levasseur’s place, she was met by an ominous display of police bonapartism. An army of over 200 cops from New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts protested the event on the campus with signs reading, “There Is No Such Thing as a Former Terrorist.” This was an echo of the government’s 1987 frame-up of two other Ohio 7 defendants for the killing of a New Jersey state trooper.
Pat and Ray Luc Levasseur were part of the Ohio 7, convicted for their roles in a radical group that took credit for bank “expropriations” and bombings against symbols of U.S. imperialism such as military and corporate offices. Before their arrests in the mid 1980s, the Ohio 7 were targets of massive manhunts and their children were kidnapped at gunpoint by the Feds and interrogated. Having already convicted and sentenced them to decades behind bars, in 1989 the Justice Department spent nearly $10 million to vindictively prosecute them again for the same alleged crimes, as part of an effort to rehabilitate discredited “thought crime” sedition laws. Pat and Ray Luc Levasseur as well as another member of the Ohio 7, Richard Williams, were dragged through a ten-month trial for conspiring to overthrow the U.S. government. The defendants were acquitted, though this did not put an end to the government vendetta. Richard Williams died in prison in December 2005 due to medical neglect and abuse during his solitary confinement. Two other members of the Ohio 7, Tom Manning and Jaan Laaman, still languish behind bars. Free Manning and Laaman now!
From the standpoint of the working class, the actions of the Ohio 7 against U.S. imperialism and racist injustice are not crimes, and these courageous activists should not have served a day in prison. Although we do not share their political perspective, we have been outspoken in the defense of the Ohio 7, several of whom have been longtime recipients of the Partisan Defense Committee’s monthly stipend program for class-war prisoners. We noted in “RICO Witchhunt Targets Ohio 7” (WV No. 476, 28 April 1989), “with the seditious conspiracy case of the Ohio 7 this dangerous government is trying to move a big step closer to its police-state dreams of outlawing leftist political views.” Likewise, the censorship of Ray Luc Levasseur and the massive cop mobilization at UMass are intended as a threat to all who would speak out against the ravages of the racist American ruling class. An injury to one is an injury to all!
Markin comment:
Below is further information about the continuing attempts to deny a member of the Ohio 7, who has done his time, the right to speak his mind in public. As always- Free The Last Of The Ohio 7, Jaan laaman and Tom Manning- The Must Not Die In Jail.
Workers Vanguard No. 948
4 December 2009
Protest Gag Order Against Ray Luc Levasseur
Last month, former Ohio 7 political prisoner Ray Luc Levasseur was vindictively barred from speaking at an event at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, about the notorious 1989 sedition frame-up trial in which he was a defendant. The university library’s invitation to Levasseur was met with a vile slander campaign by the cops and bourgeois press, which tarred Levasseur as “bloodthirsty” and a “terrorist,” while the state senate passed a resolution “roundly condemning” that this opponent of U.S. imperialist terror had been invited to speak.
Bowing to pressure from Massachusetts Democratic governor Deval Patrick and the state Fraternal Order of Police, the university administration canceled Levasseur’s invitation. In response, the Social Thought and Political Economy Program and several academic departments took over sponsorship of the event and reinvited Levasseur. UMass president Jack Wilson admitted he had “no way of preventing a speaking appearance, based on free speech and free assembly rights” (Boston Herald, 11 November). But Levasseur’s parole officer did, denying him permission to leave Maine. Arnie Larson, president of the Massachusetts Fraternal Order of Police, boasted, “We reached out to people in the Justice Department and educated them about our passion here…and they followed through on it” (Boston Globe, 12 November).
When former political prisoner and sedition trial co-defendant Pat Levasseur (Ray’s former wife) spoke in Ray Luc Levasseur’s place, she was met by an ominous display of police bonapartism. An army of over 200 cops from New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts protested the event on the campus with signs reading, “There Is No Such Thing as a Former Terrorist.” This was an echo of the government’s 1987 frame-up of two other Ohio 7 defendants for the killing of a New Jersey state trooper.
Pat and Ray Luc Levasseur were part of the Ohio 7, convicted for their roles in a radical group that took credit for bank “expropriations” and bombings against symbols of U.S. imperialism such as military and corporate offices. Before their arrests in the mid 1980s, the Ohio 7 were targets of massive manhunts and their children were kidnapped at gunpoint by the Feds and interrogated. Having already convicted and sentenced them to decades behind bars, in 1989 the Justice Department spent nearly $10 million to vindictively prosecute them again for the same alleged crimes, as part of an effort to rehabilitate discredited “thought crime” sedition laws. Pat and Ray Luc Levasseur as well as another member of the Ohio 7, Richard Williams, were dragged through a ten-month trial for conspiring to overthrow the U.S. government. The defendants were acquitted, though this did not put an end to the government vendetta. Richard Williams died in prison in December 2005 due to medical neglect and abuse during his solitary confinement. Two other members of the Ohio 7, Tom Manning and Jaan Laaman, still languish behind bars. Free Manning and Laaman now!
From the standpoint of the working class, the actions of the Ohio 7 against U.S. imperialism and racist injustice are not crimes, and these courageous activists should not have served a day in prison. Although we do not share their political perspective, we have been outspoken in the defense of the Ohio 7, several of whom have been longtime recipients of the Partisan Defense Committee’s monthly stipend program for class-war prisoners. We noted in “RICO Witchhunt Targets Ohio 7” (WV No. 476, 28 April 1989), “with the seditious conspiracy case of the Ohio 7 this dangerous government is trying to move a big step closer to its police-state dreams of outlawing leftist political views.” Likewise, the censorship of Ray Luc Levasseur and the massive cop mobilization at UMass are intended as a threat to all who would speak out against the ravages of the racist American ruling class. An injury to one is an injury to all!
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Writer’s Corner- William Kennedy’s “Ironweed”- A Film Review
Click on title to link to "Wikipedia"'s entry for William Kennedy, author of "Ironweed".
Film Review
Ironweed, based on the book by William Kennedy, The Viking Press, New York, 1983, starring Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, with Tom Waits, 1987
The paragraphs below were used to review the book that this film is based on. Since the film very closely follows the story line of the book the comments there can, for the most part, stand here. I would only add that Jack Nicholson’s role as ex- baseball player, hard guy, and hobo alkie Fran is probably more understated that the book character (and more understated for him, given some of his more in-your-face roles). Meryl Streep, well, is Merlyn Streep, and plays the role of Helen, Fran’s street companion/lover, to a tee (although she might be a tad bit more beautiful that your average "bag lady"). The surprise treat is the secondary role played by raspy-voiced singer-songwriter Tom Waits as Fran’s sidekick, Rudy. On reflection though, for those, like me, who know Waits’ later musical work his role should not be surprised. Who else, lately, could fill that kind of ‘lost soul’ hobo role so naturally?
********
William Kennedy is, at least in his Albany stories, my kind of writer. He writes about the trials and tribulations of the Irish diaspora as it penetrated the rough and tumble of American urban WASP-run society, for good or evil. I know these people, my people, their follies and foibles like the back of my hand. Check. Kennedy writes, as here with the main characters Fran Phelan and Helen Archer two down at the heels sorts, about that pervasive hold that Catholicism has even on its most debased sons and daughters, saint and sinner alike. I know those characteristics all too well. Check. He writes about that place in class society where the working class meets the lumpen-proletariat-the thieves, grifters, drifters and con men- the human dust. I know that place well, much better than I would ever let on. Check. He writes about the sorrows and dangers of the effects alcohol on working class families. I know that place too. Check. And so on. Oh, by the way, did I mention that he also, at some point, was an editor of some sort associated with the late Hunter S. Thompson down in Puerto Rico. I know that mad man’s work well. He remains something of a muse for me. Check
The above, in a tangential way, gets you pretty much all you need to know about the why of reading this book (and other stories by Kennedy), except a little something about the plot line. Well, that is fairly simple. Old time baseball star Fran and his erstwhile companion, a gifted singer, Helen are drunks working their way through the edges between skid row and respectability. And, mainly, losing to the lure of the bottle and to the hard, hard struggle that it takes just to get through the day when your options are limited. Put that task together with trying to survive in the jungles, with its endless twisted characters, of the Great Depression (that other one in the 1930s) Albany, trying to figure out when life went wrong and trying to figure out why it all went wrong- while fighting a losing battle against society’s expectations- and one’s family’s. This will provide enough dramatic tension to keep you interested.
Oh did I mention that Kennedy writes with verve, with an uncanny understanding of his characters (although only Fran and Helen get the full treatment here)and with no holds barred, or punches pulled down there on cheap street. See, that is why Kennedy and Thompson connected in the literary world. They KNOW the under side of life. Read this thing, please.
Film Review
Ironweed, based on the book by William Kennedy, The Viking Press, New York, 1983, starring Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, with Tom Waits, 1987
The paragraphs below were used to review the book that this film is based on. Since the film very closely follows the story line of the book the comments there can, for the most part, stand here. I would only add that Jack Nicholson’s role as ex- baseball player, hard guy, and hobo alkie Fran is probably more understated that the book character (and more understated for him, given some of his more in-your-face roles). Meryl Streep, well, is Merlyn Streep, and plays the role of Helen, Fran’s street companion/lover, to a tee (although she might be a tad bit more beautiful that your average "bag lady"). The surprise treat is the secondary role played by raspy-voiced singer-songwriter Tom Waits as Fran’s sidekick, Rudy. On reflection though, for those, like me, who know Waits’ later musical work his role should not be surprised. Who else, lately, could fill that kind of ‘lost soul’ hobo role so naturally?
********
William Kennedy is, at least in his Albany stories, my kind of writer. He writes about the trials and tribulations of the Irish diaspora as it penetrated the rough and tumble of American urban WASP-run society, for good or evil. I know these people, my people, their follies and foibles like the back of my hand. Check. Kennedy writes, as here with the main characters Fran Phelan and Helen Archer two down at the heels sorts, about that pervasive hold that Catholicism has even on its most debased sons and daughters, saint and sinner alike. I know those characteristics all too well. Check. He writes about that place in class society where the working class meets the lumpen-proletariat-the thieves, grifters, drifters and con men- the human dust. I know that place well, much better than I would ever let on. Check. He writes about the sorrows and dangers of the effects alcohol on working class families. I know that place too. Check. And so on. Oh, by the way, did I mention that he also, at some point, was an editor of some sort associated with the late Hunter S. Thompson down in Puerto Rico. I know that mad man’s work well. He remains something of a muse for me. Check
The above, in a tangential way, gets you pretty much all you need to know about the why of reading this book (and other stories by Kennedy), except a little something about the plot line. Well, that is fairly simple. Old time baseball star Fran and his erstwhile companion, a gifted singer, Helen are drunks working their way through the edges between skid row and respectability. And, mainly, losing to the lure of the bottle and to the hard, hard struggle that it takes just to get through the day when your options are limited. Put that task together with trying to survive in the jungles, with its endless twisted characters, of the Great Depression (that other one in the 1930s) Albany, trying to figure out when life went wrong and trying to figure out why it all went wrong- while fighting a losing battle against society’s expectations- and one’s family’s. This will provide enough dramatic tension to keep you interested.
Oh did I mention that Kennedy writes with verve, with an uncanny understanding of his characters (although only Fran and Helen get the full treatment here)and with no holds barred, or punches pulled down there on cheap street. See, that is why Kennedy and Thompson connected in the literary world. They KNOW the under side of life. Read this thing, please.
*Writer's Corner- William Kennedy's "Ironweed"- A Book Review
Click on title to link to "Wikipedia"'s entry for the writer William Kennedy
Book Review
Ironweed, William Kennedy, The Viking Press, New York, 1983
William Kennedy is, at least in his Albany stories, my kind of writer. He writes about the trials and tribulations of the Irish diaspora as it penetrated the rough and tumble of American urban WASP-run society, for good or evil. I know these people, my people, their follies and foibles like the back of my hand. Check. Kennedy writes, as here with the main characters Fran Phelan and Helen Archer two down at the heels sorts, about that pervasive hold that Catholicism has even on its most debased sons and daughters, saint and sinner alike. I know those characteristics all too well. Check. He writes about that place in class society where the working class meets the lumpen-proletariat-the thieves, grifters, drifters and con men- the human dust. I know that place well, much better than I would ever let on. Check. He writes about the sorrows and dangers of the effects alcohol on working class families. I know that place too. Check. And so on. Oh, by the way, did I mention that he also, at some point, was an editor of some sort associated with the late Hunter S. Thompson down in Puerto Rico. I know that mad man’s work well. He remains something of a muse for me. Check.
The above, in a tangential way, gets you pretty much all you need to know about the why of reading this book (and other stories by Kennedy), except a little something about the plot line. Well, that is fairly simple. Old time baseball star Fran and his erstwhile companion, a gifted singer, Helen are drunks working their way through the edges between skid row and respectability. And, mainly, losing to the lure of the bottle and to the hard, hard struggle that it takes just to get through the day when your options are limited. Put that task together with trying to survive in the jungles, with its endless twisted characters, of the Great Depression (that other one in the 1930s) Albany, trying to figure out when life went wrong and trying to figure out why it all went wrong- while fighting a losing battle against society’s expectations- and one’s family’s. This will provide enough dramatic tension to keep you interested.
Oh did I mention that Kennedy writes with verve, with an uncanny understanding of his characters (although only Fran and Helen get the full treatment here)and with no holds barred, or punches pulled down there on cheap street. See, that is why Kennedy and Thompson connected in the literary world. They KNOW the underside of life. Read this thing, please.
Book Review
Ironweed, William Kennedy, The Viking Press, New York, 1983
William Kennedy is, at least in his Albany stories, my kind of writer. He writes about the trials and tribulations of the Irish diaspora as it penetrated the rough and tumble of American urban WASP-run society, for good or evil. I know these people, my people, their follies and foibles like the back of my hand. Check. Kennedy writes, as here with the main characters Fran Phelan and Helen Archer two down at the heels sorts, about that pervasive hold that Catholicism has even on its most debased sons and daughters, saint and sinner alike. I know those characteristics all too well. Check. He writes about that place in class society where the working class meets the lumpen-proletariat-the thieves, grifters, drifters and con men- the human dust. I know that place well, much better than I would ever let on. Check. He writes about the sorrows and dangers of the effects alcohol on working class families. I know that place too. Check. And so on. Oh, by the way, did I mention that he also, at some point, was an editor of some sort associated with the late Hunter S. Thompson down in Puerto Rico. I know that mad man’s work well. He remains something of a muse for me. Check.
The above, in a tangential way, gets you pretty much all you need to know about the why of reading this book (and other stories by Kennedy), except a little something about the plot line. Well, that is fairly simple. Old time baseball star Fran and his erstwhile companion, a gifted singer, Helen are drunks working their way through the edges between skid row and respectability. And, mainly, losing to the lure of the bottle and to the hard, hard struggle that it takes just to get through the day when your options are limited. Put that task together with trying to survive in the jungles, with its endless twisted characters, of the Great Depression (that other one in the 1930s) Albany, trying to figure out when life went wrong and trying to figure out why it all went wrong- while fighting a losing battle against society’s expectations- and one’s family’s. This will provide enough dramatic tension to keep you interested.
Oh did I mention that Kennedy writes with verve, with an uncanny understanding of his characters (although only Fran and Helen get the full treatment here)and with no holds barred, or punches pulled down there on cheap street. See, that is why Kennedy and Thompson connected in the literary world. They KNOW the underside of life. Read this thing, please.
Monday, December 07, 2009
* From The Front Lines Of The Anti-Afghan War Struggle- The Tasks Of Radicals-The Impotence Of A “Family Of The Left” Strategy.
Click on the title to link to the "Boston IndyMedia" Web site for an article on their coverage of a recently United For Justice With Peace (UJP)-sponsored anti-Afghan war event.
From The Front Lines of the Anti- Afghan War Struggle, Such As It Is.
Markin comment:
Recently, as the previously moribund opposition to the Obama Afghan war policy, with its potentially endless troop escalations, got back into action, I was approached, sincerely I believe, by a prominent local peace organization to add my signature to their call on President Obama to reverse his course on Afghanistan. If I can find the document in question on line I will reproduce it here, these things these days usually wind up on the Internet at some point.
For now though, the reader should know that this petition was couched in very respectful terms (Dear Mr. President, our leader, our troops, etc.) and did not once call for the minimum required of any self-respecting anti-war document- the call for immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan (and Iraq, etc., I might add). Its main slogan- “Stop The War Now”. Needless to say I, respectfully, refused to add my signature to that petition. That brings us to the question that I posed in the headline. What are the few radicals who are around to do in alliance with the few, mainly pacifist or parliamentary politics-oriented peace organizations (like UJP, Move On.com, etc.) that now lead, if that is the right word, the current phase of the anti-Afghan war movement?
Obviously, pro- working class militants are not going to sit at home and pout over the fact that we have been heard by neither the Obama government (fat chance of that) nor by the anti-war movement as it now exists. But neither are we going to be held hostage by demands like the one mentioned above that do not point the way forward. We will go to the demonstrations with contingents of people that we can gather with us. We will fight for our perspective at planning meetings, if they let us. Hell, if we can get some supportable demands we will build a united front with these groups, as long as we can criticize and put out our own perspective.
What we will not, or should not do, is, in the interest of some mistaken idea that we are all in this together, cede our political perspective to some “family of the left” or "family of peaceniks" notion and take a dive on the politics. That approach has, seemingly endlessly, been tried before (most notably in this country by the American Communist party and by the Socialist Workers Party in earlier times) and all it got us was a good laugh (or a boot out the door) by those so-called peaceniks. More later.
A Very Short Comment On The Tasks Of Radicals In The Afghan Anti-war Movement- The Impotence Of A “Family Of The Left” Strategy.
Markin comment:
A Very Short Comment On The Tasks Of Radicals In The Afghan Anti-War Movement- The Impotence Of A “Family Of The Left” Strategy.
Recently, as opposition to the Obama Afghan war policy with its potentially endless troops escalations got back into action, I was approached, sincerely I believe, by a prominent local peace organization to add my signature to their call on President Obama to reverse his course on Afghanistan. If I can find the document in question on line I will reproduce it here. For now though, the reader should know that this petition was couched in very respectful terms (Dear Mr. President, our leader, etc.) and did not once call for the minimum required of any self-respecting anti-war document- the call for immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from. Its main slogan- “Stop The War Now”. Needless to say I, respectfully, refused to add my signature to that petition. That brings us to the question that I posed in the headline. What are the few radicals to do in alliance with the few, mainly pacifist or parliamentary-oriented peace organizations that now lead, if that is the right word, the current phase of the anti-Afghan war movement.
Obviously, we working class militants are not going to sit at home and pout over the fact that we have been heard by neither the Obama government (fat chance of that) or by the anti-war movement as it now exists. But neither are we going to be held hostage by demands like the one mentioned above that do not point the way forward. We will go to the demonstrations with the people that we can gather with us. We will fight for our perspective at planning meetings. Hell, if we can get some supportable demands we will build a united front, as long as we can criticize and put out our own perspective. What we will not, or should not do, is in the interest of some idea that we are all in this together cede our political perspective to some “family of the left” of family of peaceniks notion. That has been tried before (most notably in this country by the Communist party and the Socialist Workers Party in earlier times) and all it got us was a good laugh at by those so called peaceniks. More later.
From The Front Lines of the Anti- Afghan War Struggle, Such As It Is.
Markin comment:
Recently, as the previously moribund opposition to the Obama Afghan war policy, with its potentially endless troop escalations, got back into action, I was approached, sincerely I believe, by a prominent local peace organization to add my signature to their call on President Obama to reverse his course on Afghanistan. If I can find the document in question on line I will reproduce it here, these things these days usually wind up on the Internet at some point.
For now though, the reader should know that this petition was couched in very respectful terms (Dear Mr. President, our leader, our troops, etc.) and did not once call for the minimum required of any self-respecting anti-war document- the call for immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan (and Iraq, etc., I might add). Its main slogan- “Stop The War Now”. Needless to say I, respectfully, refused to add my signature to that petition. That brings us to the question that I posed in the headline. What are the few radicals who are around to do in alliance with the few, mainly pacifist or parliamentary politics-oriented peace organizations (like UJP, Move On.com, etc.) that now lead, if that is the right word, the current phase of the anti-Afghan war movement?
Obviously, pro- working class militants are not going to sit at home and pout over the fact that we have been heard by neither the Obama government (fat chance of that) nor by the anti-war movement as it now exists. But neither are we going to be held hostage by demands like the one mentioned above that do not point the way forward. We will go to the demonstrations with contingents of people that we can gather with us. We will fight for our perspective at planning meetings, if they let us. Hell, if we can get some supportable demands we will build a united front with these groups, as long as we can criticize and put out our own perspective.
What we will not, or should not do, is, in the interest of some mistaken idea that we are all in this together, cede our political perspective to some “family of the left” or "family of peaceniks" notion and take a dive on the politics. That approach has, seemingly endlessly, been tried before (most notably in this country by the American Communist party and by the Socialist Workers Party in earlier times) and all it got us was a good laugh (or a boot out the door) by those so-called peaceniks. More later.
A Very Short Comment On The Tasks Of Radicals In The Afghan Anti-war Movement- The Impotence Of A “Family Of The Left” Strategy.
Markin comment:
A Very Short Comment On The Tasks Of Radicals In The Afghan Anti-War Movement- The Impotence Of A “Family Of The Left” Strategy.
Recently, as opposition to the Obama Afghan war policy with its potentially endless troops escalations got back into action, I was approached, sincerely I believe, by a prominent local peace organization to add my signature to their call on President Obama to reverse his course on Afghanistan. If I can find the document in question on line I will reproduce it here. For now though, the reader should know that this petition was couched in very respectful terms (Dear Mr. President, our leader, etc.) and did not once call for the minimum required of any self-respecting anti-war document- the call for immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from. Its main slogan- “Stop The War Now”. Needless to say I, respectfully, refused to add my signature to that petition. That brings us to the question that I posed in the headline. What are the few radicals to do in alliance with the few, mainly pacifist or parliamentary-oriented peace organizations that now lead, if that is the right word, the current phase of the anti-Afghan war movement.
Obviously, we working class militants are not going to sit at home and pout over the fact that we have been heard by neither the Obama government (fat chance of that) or by the anti-war movement as it now exists. But neither are we going to be held hostage by demands like the one mentioned above that do not point the way forward. We will go to the demonstrations with the people that we can gather with us. We will fight for our perspective at planning meetings. Hell, if we can get some supportable demands we will build a united front, as long as we can criticize and put out our own perspective. What we will not, or should not do, is in the interest of some idea that we are all in this together cede our political perspective to some “family of the left” of family of peaceniks notion. That has been tried before (most notably in this country by the Communist party and the Socialist Workers Party in earlier times) and all it got us was a good laugh at by those so called peaceniks. More later.
*From The Partisan Defense Committee- 24th Annual Holiday Appeal- Honor Class War Prisoners Lynne Stewart, Mohamed Yousry And Ahmed Abdel Sattar
Click on title to link to the Partisan Defense Committee Web site. The following is passed on from the PDC concerning the 24th Annual Holiday Appeal
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!
Free All Class-War Prisoners!
Build PDC Holiday Appeal
“The path to freedom leads through a prison. The door swings in and out and through that door passes a steady procession of ‘those fools too stubborn-willed to bend,’ who will not turn aside from the path because prisons obstruct it here and there.”
—James P. Cannon, “The Cause that Passes Through a Prison,” Labor Defender, September 1926
Twenty-four years ago, the Partisan Defense Committee—a class-struggle, non-sectarian legal and social defense organization associated with the Spartacist League—revived a key tradition of the International Labor Defense under James P. Cannon, its founder and first secretary: sending monthly stipends to those “stubborn-willed” class-war prisoners condemned to capitalism’s dungeons for standing up against racist capitalist repression. We are again holding Holiday Appeal benefits to raise funds for this unique program, calling particular attention to the fight to free America’s foremost class-war prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who remains on death row in Pennsylvania.
Our forebear, Cannon, also affirmed a basic principle that should be no less applicable today: “The class-conscious worker accords to the class-war prisoners a place of singular honor and esteem…. The victory of the class-war prisoners is possible only when they are inseparably united with the living labor movement and when that movement claims them for its own, takes up their battle cry and carries on their work.”
The PDC calls on labor activists, fighters for black and immigrant rights and defenders of civil liberties to join us in donating to and building the annual Holiday Appeal. An injury to one is an injury to all! We print below brief descriptions of the 16 class-war prisoners who receive monthly stipends from the PDC, many of whom were denied parole over the last year for refusing to express “remorse” for acts they did not commit!
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a former Black Panther Party spokesman, a well-known supporter of the MOVE organization and an award-winning journalist known as “the voice of the voiceless.” This past April, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily threw out Mumia’s efforts to overturn his frame-up conviction based on the racist exclusion of black jurors from his 1982 trial. Ominously, this same court has yet to rule on the prosecution’s petition to reinstate the death penalty. The Philadelphia district attorney’s office states that, whatever the Supreme Court decides, it will continue to push for Mumia’s execution.
December 9 is the 28th anniversary of Mumia’s arrest for a killing that the cops know he did not commit. Mumia was framed up for the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death explicitly for his political views. Mountains of evidence proving Mumia’s innocence, including the sworn confession of Arnold Beverly that he, not Mumia, shot and killed Faulkner, have been submitted to the courts. But to the racists in black robes, a court of law is no place for evidence of the innocence of this fighter for the oppressed.
While others plead with the current U.S. president and his attorney general to “investigate” violations of Mumia’s “civil rights,” the PDC says that Mumia’s fate cannot be left in the hands of the government of the capitalists. The racist rulers hate Mumia because they see in him the spectre of black revolt. The stakes are high and the situation is grim, but any real fight for Mumia’s freedom must be based on a class-struggle opposition to the capitalist rulers, who have entombed this innocent black man for more than half his life.
Leonard Peltier is an internationally renowned class-war prisoner. Peltier’s incarceration for his activism in the American Indian Movement has come to symbolize this country’s racist repression of its native peoples, the survivors of centuries of genocidal oppression. Peltier’s frame-up trial, for the 1975 deaths of two marauding FBI agents in what had become a war zone on the South Dakota Pine Ridge Reservation, shows what capitalist “justice” is all about. Although the lead government attorney has admitted “We can’t prove who shot those agents” and the courts have acknowledged blatant prosecutorial misconduct, the 65-year-old Peltier is still locked away. Outrageously, in August, the U.S. Parole Commission again turned down Peltier’s parole request and coldbloodedly declared they would not reconsider his case for another 15 years.
Eight MOVE members—Chuck Africa, Michael Africa, Debbie Africa, Janet Africa, Janine Africa, Delbert Africa, Eddie Africa and Phil Africa—are in their 32nd year of prison. They were sentenced to 30-100 years after the 8 August 1978 siege of their Philadelphia home by over 600 heavily armed cops, having been falsely convicted of killing a police officer who died in the cops’ own cross fire. In 1985, eleven of their MOVE family members, including five children, were massacred by Philly cops. This year, again, after more than three decades of unjust incarceration, nearly all of these innocent prisoners had parole hearings, but none were released.
Jaan Laaman and Thomas Manning are the two remaining anti-imperialist activists known as the Ohio 7 still in prison. They were convicted for their roles in a radical group that took credit for bank “expropriations” and bombings of symbols of U.S. imperialism, such as military and corporate offices, in the late 1970s and ’80s. Before their arrests in 1984 and 1985, the Ohio 7 were targets of massive manhunts. Their children were kidnapped at gunpoint by the Feds.
The Ohio 7’s politics were once shared by thousands of radicals during the Vietnam antiwar movement and by New Leftists who wrote off the possibility of winning the working class to a revolutionary program and saw themselves as an auxiliary of Third World liberation movements. But, like the Weathermen before them, the Ohio 7 were spurned by the “respectable” left. From a proletarian standpoint, the actions of these leftist activists against imperialism and racist injustice are not a crime. They should not have served a day in prison.
Ed Poindexter and Wopashitwe Mondo Eyen we Langa are former Black Panther supporters and leaders of the Omaha, Nebraska, National Committee to Combat Fascism. They were victims of the FBI’s deadly COINTELPRO operation under which 38 Black Panther Party members were killed and hundreds more imprisoned on frame-up charges. Poindexter and Mondo were railroaded to prison and sentenced to life for a 1970 explosion that killed a cop, and they have now served more than 37 years in jail. This year, the Nebraska Supreme Court denied Poindexter a new trial despite the fact that a crucial piece of evidence excluded from the original trial, a long-suppressed 911 audio tape, proved that testimony of the state’s key witness was perjured.
Hugo Pinell is the last of the San Quentin 6 still in prison. He was a militant anti-racist leader of prison rights organizing along with George Jackson, his comrade and mentor, who was gunned down by prison guards in 1971. Despite numerous letters of support and no disciplinary write-ups for over 28 years, Pinell was again denied parole this year. Now in his 60s, Pinell continues to serve a life sentence at the notorious Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit in California.
Jamal Hart, Mumia’s son, was sentenced in 1998 to 15 1/2 years without parole on bogus firearms possession charges. Hart was targeted for his prominent activism in the campaign to free his father. Although Hart was initially charged under Pennsylvania law, which would have meant a probationary sentence, Clinton’s Justice Department intervened to have Hart thrown into prison under federal law. The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals has turned down Hart’s habeas corpus petition, and he has faced myriad bureaucratic obstacles and racist targeting throughout his incarceration.
Contribute now! All proceeds from the Holiday Appeal will go to the Class-War Prisoners Stipend Fund. Send your contributions to: PDC, P.O. Box 99, Canal Street Station, New York, NY 10013; (212) 406-4252.
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!
Free All Class-War Prisoners!
Build PDC Holiday Appeal
“The path to freedom leads through a prison. The door swings in and out and through that door passes a steady procession of ‘those fools too stubborn-willed to bend,’ who will not turn aside from the path because prisons obstruct it here and there.”
—James P. Cannon, “The Cause that Passes Through a Prison,” Labor Defender, September 1926
Twenty-four years ago, the Partisan Defense Committee—a class-struggle, non-sectarian legal and social defense organization associated with the Spartacist League—revived a key tradition of the International Labor Defense under James P. Cannon, its founder and first secretary: sending monthly stipends to those “stubborn-willed” class-war prisoners condemned to capitalism’s dungeons for standing up against racist capitalist repression. We are again holding Holiday Appeal benefits to raise funds for this unique program, calling particular attention to the fight to free America’s foremost class-war prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who remains on death row in Pennsylvania.
Our forebear, Cannon, also affirmed a basic principle that should be no less applicable today: “The class-conscious worker accords to the class-war prisoners a place of singular honor and esteem…. The victory of the class-war prisoners is possible only when they are inseparably united with the living labor movement and when that movement claims them for its own, takes up their battle cry and carries on their work.”
The PDC calls on labor activists, fighters for black and immigrant rights and defenders of civil liberties to join us in donating to and building the annual Holiday Appeal. An injury to one is an injury to all! We print below brief descriptions of the 16 class-war prisoners who receive monthly stipends from the PDC, many of whom were denied parole over the last year for refusing to express “remorse” for acts they did not commit!
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a former Black Panther Party spokesman, a well-known supporter of the MOVE organization and an award-winning journalist known as “the voice of the voiceless.” This past April, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily threw out Mumia’s efforts to overturn his frame-up conviction based on the racist exclusion of black jurors from his 1982 trial. Ominously, this same court has yet to rule on the prosecution’s petition to reinstate the death penalty. The Philadelphia district attorney’s office states that, whatever the Supreme Court decides, it will continue to push for Mumia’s execution.
December 9 is the 28th anniversary of Mumia’s arrest for a killing that the cops know he did not commit. Mumia was framed up for the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death explicitly for his political views. Mountains of evidence proving Mumia’s innocence, including the sworn confession of Arnold Beverly that he, not Mumia, shot and killed Faulkner, have been submitted to the courts. But to the racists in black robes, a court of law is no place for evidence of the innocence of this fighter for the oppressed.
While others plead with the current U.S. president and his attorney general to “investigate” violations of Mumia’s “civil rights,” the PDC says that Mumia’s fate cannot be left in the hands of the government of the capitalists. The racist rulers hate Mumia because they see in him the spectre of black revolt. The stakes are high and the situation is grim, but any real fight for Mumia’s freedom must be based on a class-struggle opposition to the capitalist rulers, who have entombed this innocent black man for more than half his life.
Leonard Peltier is an internationally renowned class-war prisoner. Peltier’s incarceration for his activism in the American Indian Movement has come to symbolize this country’s racist repression of its native peoples, the survivors of centuries of genocidal oppression. Peltier’s frame-up trial, for the 1975 deaths of two marauding FBI agents in what had become a war zone on the South Dakota Pine Ridge Reservation, shows what capitalist “justice” is all about. Although the lead government attorney has admitted “We can’t prove who shot those agents” and the courts have acknowledged blatant prosecutorial misconduct, the 65-year-old Peltier is still locked away. Outrageously, in August, the U.S. Parole Commission again turned down Peltier’s parole request and coldbloodedly declared they would not reconsider his case for another 15 years.
Eight MOVE members—Chuck Africa, Michael Africa, Debbie Africa, Janet Africa, Janine Africa, Delbert Africa, Eddie Africa and Phil Africa—are in their 32nd year of prison. They were sentenced to 30-100 years after the 8 August 1978 siege of their Philadelphia home by over 600 heavily armed cops, having been falsely convicted of killing a police officer who died in the cops’ own cross fire. In 1985, eleven of their MOVE family members, including five children, were massacred by Philly cops. This year, again, after more than three decades of unjust incarceration, nearly all of these innocent prisoners had parole hearings, but none were released.
Jaan Laaman and Thomas Manning are the two remaining anti-imperialist activists known as the Ohio 7 still in prison. They were convicted for their roles in a radical group that took credit for bank “expropriations” and bombings of symbols of U.S. imperialism, such as military and corporate offices, in the late 1970s and ’80s. Before their arrests in 1984 and 1985, the Ohio 7 were targets of massive manhunts. Their children were kidnapped at gunpoint by the Feds.
The Ohio 7’s politics were once shared by thousands of radicals during the Vietnam antiwar movement and by New Leftists who wrote off the possibility of winning the working class to a revolutionary program and saw themselves as an auxiliary of Third World liberation movements. But, like the Weathermen before them, the Ohio 7 were spurned by the “respectable” left. From a proletarian standpoint, the actions of these leftist activists against imperialism and racist injustice are not a crime. They should not have served a day in prison.
Ed Poindexter and Wopashitwe Mondo Eyen we Langa are former Black Panther supporters and leaders of the Omaha, Nebraska, National Committee to Combat Fascism. They were victims of the FBI’s deadly COINTELPRO operation under which 38 Black Panther Party members were killed and hundreds more imprisoned on frame-up charges. Poindexter and Mondo were railroaded to prison and sentenced to life for a 1970 explosion that killed a cop, and they have now served more than 37 years in jail. This year, the Nebraska Supreme Court denied Poindexter a new trial despite the fact that a crucial piece of evidence excluded from the original trial, a long-suppressed 911 audio tape, proved that testimony of the state’s key witness was perjured.
Hugo Pinell is the last of the San Quentin 6 still in prison. He was a militant anti-racist leader of prison rights organizing along with George Jackson, his comrade and mentor, who was gunned down by prison guards in 1971. Despite numerous letters of support and no disciplinary write-ups for over 28 years, Pinell was again denied parole this year. Now in his 60s, Pinell continues to serve a life sentence at the notorious Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit in California.
Jamal Hart, Mumia’s son, was sentenced in 1998 to 15 1/2 years without parole on bogus firearms possession charges. Hart was targeted for his prominent activism in the campaign to free his father. Although Hart was initially charged under Pennsylvania law, which would have meant a probationary sentence, Clinton’s Justice Department intervened to have Hart thrown into prison under federal law. The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals has turned down Hart’s habeas corpus petition, and he has faced myriad bureaucratic obstacles and racist targeting throughout his incarceration.
Contribute now! All proceeds from the Holiday Appeal will go to the Class-War Prisoners Stipend Fund. Send your contributions to: PDC, P.O. Box 99, Canal Street Station, New York, NY 10013; (212) 406-4252.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
*From The Front Lines Of The Anti-Afghan War Struggle - A Comment On The Lessons Of The Political Struggle Of Trotsky Against Stalin
Click on the title to link to link to the Karl Liebknecht Internet Archive’s copy of his famous 1916 anti-war speech, “The Main Enemy Is At Home”.
From the front lines of the anti-Afghan war struggle, such as it is.
Markin comment:
After some months of very little to discuss, practically speaking, concerning the struggle against American imperialism and its war machine as we have waited for President Obama to make good on his campaign promise to, in effect, stake his presidency on “winning” (or at least not losing) Afghanistan I now find myself with plenty of commentary to make. At least with plenty of comments, painfully learned, concerning the way forward for the seemingly moribund American anti-war movement. Those days, however, with President Obama’s recent announcement of troop level increases are over. What I want to comment on briefly today though is the general question of where the international socialist movement, historically, the strongest and best organized component of any anti-war movement, is going and where it has been historically.
This entry, strangely as will become apparent, is motivated by a comment from a young militant who recently attended one of the sessions of an occasional Marxist study circle that I attend, and sometimes lead. Obviously, given the furor over the seemingly irrational Obama decision on troop levels, the talk among attendees centered on the fight against escalation and how to make America a “peaceful” nation. This study circle is advertised as, and understood to be presented from a socialist perspective, for those who wish to find out something about the mysteries of radical politics. Previous subjects have dealt with basic Marxist texts and struggles led by those who claimed to adhere to a Marxist perspective. Thus, I was rather surprised when this young militant, rather abruptly, blurred out the following- “What the heck does the Bolshevik anti-war policy in World War I have to do with us?” (Exact quote), “What does the controversy between Stalin and Trotsky over international communist policy in the fight against the imperialists have to do with us?” (My paraphrase of his remarks).
Obviously, for old time militants from the 1960s (especially the late 1960s when the turn to the working class and thus classic Marxism hit full stride) this kind of questioning would be almost unthinkable, if not embarrassingly naïve. This, my friends, is what we are up against as we try to impart some lessons from our history. I have already related a separate story about a young women militant that I ran into at a recent anti-war demonstration (see “On The Slogan- Down With The Obama Government”, December, 2009). I am ready to make her a bloody Bolshevik organizer right now compared to the gist of where that attendee's comments were leading.
However, I did not leave that young brother’s question unanswered, nor would that have been appropriate. I pointed out two things to him- for starters. First, Bolshevik anti-war policy in World War I, the successful anti-war policy I might add although that Peace of Brest-Litovsk with the Germans was a hard pill to swallow, was the only time, at least to my knowledge, in modern history that an anti-war movement was successful on its own terms. The only time that “the guns were turned the other way” on one’s own ruling class in war time.
Secondly, the fierce, if unequal, political struggles between the forces led by Stalin and Trotsky over, ultimately, communist war policy toward the international bourgeoisie and international imperialism manifested itself out, in the end, with the defeat of the international socialist movement. And that defeat is a direct contributing cause of why guys like Obama can turn the American war machine on and off as their leisure. If the actions of the majority of the international social democracy in support of their own governments at the start of World War I meant, practically, that that movement was a spent force for socialist solutions to modern society’s problems then the defeat of the Trotsky-led forces after the Russian revolution and the “victory” of Stalinism had the same effect, an effect that we are still struggling against. That, my friends, is the short answer. More, on both these subjects, later.
From the front lines of the anti-Afghan war struggle, such as it is.
Markin comment:
After some months of very little to discuss, practically speaking, concerning the struggle against American imperialism and its war machine as we have waited for President Obama to make good on his campaign promise to, in effect, stake his presidency on “winning” (or at least not losing) Afghanistan I now find myself with plenty of commentary to make. At least with plenty of comments, painfully learned, concerning the way forward for the seemingly moribund American anti-war movement. Those days, however, with President Obama’s recent announcement of troop level increases are over. What I want to comment on briefly today though is the general question of where the international socialist movement, historically, the strongest and best organized component of any anti-war movement, is going and where it has been historically.
This entry, strangely as will become apparent, is motivated by a comment from a young militant who recently attended one of the sessions of an occasional Marxist study circle that I attend, and sometimes lead. Obviously, given the furor over the seemingly irrational Obama decision on troop levels, the talk among attendees centered on the fight against escalation and how to make America a “peaceful” nation. This study circle is advertised as, and understood to be presented from a socialist perspective, for those who wish to find out something about the mysteries of radical politics. Previous subjects have dealt with basic Marxist texts and struggles led by those who claimed to adhere to a Marxist perspective. Thus, I was rather surprised when this young militant, rather abruptly, blurred out the following- “What the heck does the Bolshevik anti-war policy in World War I have to do with us?” (Exact quote), “What does the controversy between Stalin and Trotsky over international communist policy in the fight against the imperialists have to do with us?” (My paraphrase of his remarks).
Obviously, for old time militants from the 1960s (especially the late 1960s when the turn to the working class and thus classic Marxism hit full stride) this kind of questioning would be almost unthinkable, if not embarrassingly naïve. This, my friends, is what we are up against as we try to impart some lessons from our history. I have already related a separate story about a young women militant that I ran into at a recent anti-war demonstration (see “On The Slogan- Down With The Obama Government”, December, 2009). I am ready to make her a bloody Bolshevik organizer right now compared to the gist of where that attendee's comments were leading.
However, I did not leave that young brother’s question unanswered, nor would that have been appropriate. I pointed out two things to him- for starters. First, Bolshevik anti-war policy in World War I, the successful anti-war policy I might add although that Peace of Brest-Litovsk with the Germans was a hard pill to swallow, was the only time, at least to my knowledge, in modern history that an anti-war movement was successful on its own terms. The only time that “the guns were turned the other way” on one’s own ruling class in war time.
Secondly, the fierce, if unequal, political struggles between the forces led by Stalin and Trotsky over, ultimately, communist war policy toward the international bourgeoisie and international imperialism manifested itself out, in the end, with the defeat of the international socialist movement. And that defeat is a direct contributing cause of why guys like Obama can turn the American war machine on and off as their leisure. If the actions of the majority of the international social democracy in support of their own governments at the start of World War I meant, practically, that that movement was a spent force for socialist solutions to modern society’s problems then the defeat of the Trotsky-led forces after the Russian revolution and the “victory” of Stalinism had the same effect, an effect that we are still struggling against. That, my friends, is the short answer. More, on both these subjects, later.
*From The Partisan Defense Committee- 24th Annual Holiday Appeal- Honor Class War Prisoners Lynne Stewart, Mohamed Yousry And Ahmed Abdel Sattar
Click on title to link to the Partisan Defense Committee Web site. The following is passed on from the PDC concerning the 24th Annual Holiday Appeal
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!
Free All Class-War Prisoners!
Build PDC Holiday Appeal
“The path to freedom leads through a prison. The door swings in and out and through that door passes a steady procession of ‘those fools too stubborn-willed to bend,’ who will not turn aside from the path because prisons obstruct it here and there.”
—James P. Cannon, “The Cause that Passes Through a Prison,” Labor Defender, September 1926
Twenty-four years ago, the Partisan Defense Committee—a class-struggle, non-sectarian legal and social defense organization associated with the Spartacist League—revived a key tradition of the International Labor Defense under James P. Cannon, its founder and first secretary: sending monthly stipends to those “stubborn-willed” class-war prisoners condemned to capitalism’s dungeons for standing up against racist capitalist repression. We are again holding Holiday Appeal benefits to raise funds for this unique program, calling particular attention to the fight to free America’s foremost class-war prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who remains on death row in Pennsylvania.
Our forebear, Cannon, also affirmed a basic principle that should be no less applicable today: “The class-conscious worker accords to the class-war prisoners a place of singular honor and esteem…. The victory of the class-war prisoners is possible only when they are inseparably united with the living labor movement and when that movement claims them for its own, takes up their battle cry and carries on their work.”
The PDC calls on labor activists, fighters for black and immigrant rights and defenders of civil liberties to join us in donating to and building the annual Holiday Appeal. An injury to one is an injury to all! We print below brief descriptions of the 16 class-war prisoners who receive monthly stipends from the PDC, many of whom were denied parole over the last year for refusing to express “remorse” for acts they did not commit!
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a former Black Panther Party spokesman, a well-known supporter of the MOVE organization and an award-winning journalist known as “the voice of the voiceless.” This past April, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily threw out Mumia’s efforts to overturn his frame-up conviction based on the racist exclusion of black jurors from his 1982 trial. Ominously, this same court has yet to rule on the prosecution’s petition to reinstate the death penalty. The Philadelphia district attorney’s office states that, whatever the Supreme Court decides, it will continue to push for Mumia’s execution.
December 9 is the 28th anniversary of Mumia’s arrest for a killing that the cops know he did not commit. Mumia was framed up for the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death explicitly for his political views. Mountains of evidence proving Mumia’s innocence, including the sworn confession of Arnold Beverly that he, not Mumia, shot and killed Faulkner, have been submitted to the courts. But to the racists in black robes, a court of law is no place for evidence of the innocence of this fighter for the oppressed.
While others plead with the current U.S. president and his attorney general to “investigate” violations of Mumia’s “civil rights,” the PDC says that Mumia’s fate cannot be left in the hands of the government of the capitalists. The racist rulers hate Mumia because they see in him the spectre of black revolt. The stakes are high and the situation is grim, but any real fight for Mumia’s freedom must be based on a class-struggle opposition to the capitalist rulers, who have entombed this innocent black man for more than half his life.
Leonard Peltier is an internationally renowned class-war prisoner. Peltier’s incarceration for his activism in the American Indian Movement has come to symbolize this country’s racist repression of its native peoples, the survivors of centuries of genocidal oppression. Peltier’s frame-up trial, for the 1975 deaths of two marauding FBI agents in what had become a war zone on the South Dakota Pine Ridge Reservation, shows what capitalist “justice” is all about. Although the lead government attorney has admitted “We can’t prove who shot those agents” and the courts have acknowledged blatant prosecutorial misconduct, the 65-year-old Peltier is still locked away. Outrageously, in August, the U.S. Parole Commission again turned down Peltier’s parole request and coldbloodedly declared they would not reconsider his case for another 15 years.
Eight MOVE members—Chuck Africa, Michael Africa, Debbie Africa, Janet Africa, Janine Africa, Delbert Africa, Eddie Africa and Phil Africa—are in their 32nd year of prison. They were sentenced to 30-100 years after the 8 August 1978 siege of their Philadelphia home by over 600 heavily armed cops, having been falsely convicted of killing a police officer who died in the cops’ own cross fire. In 1985, eleven of their MOVE family members, including five children, were massacred by Philly cops. This year, again, after more than three decades of unjust incarceration, nearly all of these innocent prisoners had parole hearings, but none were released.
Jaan Laaman and Thomas Manning are the two remaining anti-imperialist activists known as the Ohio 7 still in prison. They were convicted for their roles in a radical group that took credit for bank “expropriations” and bombings of symbols of U.S. imperialism, such as military and corporate offices, in the late 1970s and ’80s. Before their arrests in 1984 and 1985, the Ohio 7 were targets of massive manhunts. Their children were kidnapped at gunpoint by the Feds.
The Ohio 7’s politics were once shared by thousands of radicals during the Vietnam antiwar movement and by New Leftists who wrote off the possibility of winning the working class to a revolutionary program and saw themselves as an auxiliary of Third World liberation movements. But, like the Weathermen before them, the Ohio 7 were spurned by the “respectable” left. From a proletarian standpoint, the actions of these leftist activists against imperialism and racist injustice are not a crime. They should not have served a day in prison.
Ed Poindexter and Wopashitwe Mondo Eyen we Langa are former Black Panther supporters and leaders of the Omaha, Nebraska, National Committee to Combat Fascism. They were victims of the FBI’s deadly COINTELPRO operation under which 38 Black Panther Party members were killed and hundreds more imprisoned on frame-up charges. Poindexter and Mondo were railroaded to prison and sentenced to life for a 1970 explosion that killed a cop, and they have now served more than 37 years in jail. This year, the Nebraska Supreme Court denied Poindexter a new trial despite the fact that a crucial piece of evidence excluded from the original trial, a long-suppressed 911 audio tape, proved that testimony of the state’s key witness was perjured.
Hugo Pinell is the last of the San Quentin 6 still in prison. He was a militant anti-racist leader of prison rights organizing along with George Jackson, his comrade and mentor, who was gunned down by prison guards in 1971. Despite numerous letters of support and no disciplinary write-ups for over 28 years, Pinell was again denied parole this year. Now in his 60s, Pinell continues to serve a life sentence at the notorious Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit in California.
Jamal Hart, Mumia’s son, was sentenced in 1998 to 15 1/2 years without parole on bogus firearms possession charges. Hart was targeted for his prominent activism in the campaign to free his father. Although Hart was initially charged under Pennsylvania law, which would have meant a probationary sentence, Clinton’s Justice Department intervened to have Hart thrown into prison under federal law. The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals has turned down Hart’s habeas corpus petition, and he has faced myriad bureaucratic obstacles and racist targeting throughout his incarceration.
Contribute now! All proceeds from the Holiday Appeal will go to the Class-War Prisoners Stipend Fund. Send your contributions to: PDC, P.O. Box 99, Canal Street Station, New York, NY 10013; (212) 406-4252.
Labels: class war prisoners, international labor defense, james p. cannon, LYNNE STEWART DEFENSE COMMITTEE, ohio 7, PARTISAN DEFENSE COMMITTEE
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!
Free All Class-War Prisoners!
Build PDC Holiday Appeal
“The path to freedom leads through a prison. The door swings in and out and through that door passes a steady procession of ‘those fools too stubborn-willed to bend,’ who will not turn aside from the path because prisons obstruct it here and there.”
—James P. Cannon, “The Cause that Passes Through a Prison,” Labor Defender, September 1926
Twenty-four years ago, the Partisan Defense Committee—a class-struggle, non-sectarian legal and social defense organization associated with the Spartacist League—revived a key tradition of the International Labor Defense under James P. Cannon, its founder and first secretary: sending monthly stipends to those “stubborn-willed” class-war prisoners condemned to capitalism’s dungeons for standing up against racist capitalist repression. We are again holding Holiday Appeal benefits to raise funds for this unique program, calling particular attention to the fight to free America’s foremost class-war prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who remains on death row in Pennsylvania.
Our forebear, Cannon, also affirmed a basic principle that should be no less applicable today: “The class-conscious worker accords to the class-war prisoners a place of singular honor and esteem…. The victory of the class-war prisoners is possible only when they are inseparably united with the living labor movement and when that movement claims them for its own, takes up their battle cry and carries on their work.”
The PDC calls on labor activists, fighters for black and immigrant rights and defenders of civil liberties to join us in donating to and building the annual Holiday Appeal. An injury to one is an injury to all! We print below brief descriptions of the 16 class-war prisoners who receive monthly stipends from the PDC, many of whom were denied parole over the last year for refusing to express “remorse” for acts they did not commit!
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a former Black Panther Party spokesman, a well-known supporter of the MOVE organization and an award-winning journalist known as “the voice of the voiceless.” This past April, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily threw out Mumia’s efforts to overturn his frame-up conviction based on the racist exclusion of black jurors from his 1982 trial. Ominously, this same court has yet to rule on the prosecution’s petition to reinstate the death penalty. The Philadelphia district attorney’s office states that, whatever the Supreme Court decides, it will continue to push for Mumia’s execution.
December 9 is the 28th anniversary of Mumia’s arrest for a killing that the cops know he did not commit. Mumia was framed up for the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death explicitly for his political views. Mountains of evidence proving Mumia’s innocence, including the sworn confession of Arnold Beverly that he, not Mumia, shot and killed Faulkner, have been submitted to the courts. But to the racists in black robes, a court of law is no place for evidence of the innocence of this fighter for the oppressed.
While others plead with the current U.S. president and his attorney general to “investigate” violations of Mumia’s “civil rights,” the PDC says that Mumia’s fate cannot be left in the hands of the government of the capitalists. The racist rulers hate Mumia because they see in him the spectre of black revolt. The stakes are high and the situation is grim, but any real fight for Mumia’s freedom must be based on a class-struggle opposition to the capitalist rulers, who have entombed this innocent black man for more than half his life.
Leonard Peltier is an internationally renowned class-war prisoner. Peltier’s incarceration for his activism in the American Indian Movement has come to symbolize this country’s racist repression of its native peoples, the survivors of centuries of genocidal oppression. Peltier’s frame-up trial, for the 1975 deaths of two marauding FBI agents in what had become a war zone on the South Dakota Pine Ridge Reservation, shows what capitalist “justice” is all about. Although the lead government attorney has admitted “We can’t prove who shot those agents” and the courts have acknowledged blatant prosecutorial misconduct, the 65-year-old Peltier is still locked away. Outrageously, in August, the U.S. Parole Commission again turned down Peltier’s parole request and coldbloodedly declared they would not reconsider his case for another 15 years.
Eight MOVE members—Chuck Africa, Michael Africa, Debbie Africa, Janet Africa, Janine Africa, Delbert Africa, Eddie Africa and Phil Africa—are in their 32nd year of prison. They were sentenced to 30-100 years after the 8 August 1978 siege of their Philadelphia home by over 600 heavily armed cops, having been falsely convicted of killing a police officer who died in the cops’ own cross fire. In 1985, eleven of their MOVE family members, including five children, were massacred by Philly cops. This year, again, after more than three decades of unjust incarceration, nearly all of these innocent prisoners had parole hearings, but none were released.
Jaan Laaman and Thomas Manning are the two remaining anti-imperialist activists known as the Ohio 7 still in prison. They were convicted for their roles in a radical group that took credit for bank “expropriations” and bombings of symbols of U.S. imperialism, such as military and corporate offices, in the late 1970s and ’80s. Before their arrests in 1984 and 1985, the Ohio 7 were targets of massive manhunts. Their children were kidnapped at gunpoint by the Feds.
The Ohio 7’s politics were once shared by thousands of radicals during the Vietnam antiwar movement and by New Leftists who wrote off the possibility of winning the working class to a revolutionary program and saw themselves as an auxiliary of Third World liberation movements. But, like the Weathermen before them, the Ohio 7 were spurned by the “respectable” left. From a proletarian standpoint, the actions of these leftist activists against imperialism and racist injustice are not a crime. They should not have served a day in prison.
Ed Poindexter and Wopashitwe Mondo Eyen we Langa are former Black Panther supporters and leaders of the Omaha, Nebraska, National Committee to Combat Fascism. They were victims of the FBI’s deadly COINTELPRO operation under which 38 Black Panther Party members were killed and hundreds more imprisoned on frame-up charges. Poindexter and Mondo were railroaded to prison and sentenced to life for a 1970 explosion that killed a cop, and they have now served more than 37 years in jail. This year, the Nebraska Supreme Court denied Poindexter a new trial despite the fact that a crucial piece of evidence excluded from the original trial, a long-suppressed 911 audio tape, proved that testimony of the state’s key witness was perjured.
Hugo Pinell is the last of the San Quentin 6 still in prison. He was a militant anti-racist leader of prison rights organizing along with George Jackson, his comrade and mentor, who was gunned down by prison guards in 1971. Despite numerous letters of support and no disciplinary write-ups for over 28 years, Pinell was again denied parole this year. Now in his 60s, Pinell continues to serve a life sentence at the notorious Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit in California.
Jamal Hart, Mumia’s son, was sentenced in 1998 to 15 1/2 years without parole on bogus firearms possession charges. Hart was targeted for his prominent activism in the campaign to free his father. Although Hart was initially charged under Pennsylvania law, which would have meant a probationary sentence, Clinton’s Justice Department intervened to have Hart thrown into prison under federal law. The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals has turned down Hart’s habeas corpus petition, and he has faced myriad bureaucratic obstacles and racist targeting throughout his incarceration.
Contribute now! All proceeds from the Holiday Appeal will go to the Class-War Prisoners Stipend Fund. Send your contributions to: PDC, P.O. Box 99, Canal Street Station, New York, NY 10013; (212) 406-4252.
Labels: class war prisoners, international labor defense, james p. cannon, LYNNE STEWART DEFENSE COMMITTEE, ohio 7, PARTISAN DEFENSE COMMITTEE
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