That’s All, Folk!
Background: Don’t worry by looking at that title — this is not my last blog. But in this one, we are going to talk about folk songs that have inspired other hit songs over the years. In my blog about cover songs, I mentioned how Dylan went back to songs like “Froggy Went a Courtin’” in the early 90s for two albums, then about 4 years later, released one of his best albums, Time Out of Mind. We’re going to take a slightly different approach to this blog, and talk about these folk songs, as well as the songs they later inspired.
“The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond” A Scottish folk song that later inspired “Red is the Rose,” an Irish folk song.
Lyrically: Both of these songs have a very similar feel to them, discussing a lost love, to the backdrop of the Scottish countryside, in the case of “The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond” and the Irish countryside in the case of “Red is the Rose.” In the case of the latter song, they parted “On yon shady glen, on the steep steep side of Ben Lomond,” then paints an even more vivid picture adding, “Where in the soft purple hue, the highland hills we view, and the moon comin’ out in the gloamin’” while in the Irish tune, “‘Twas down by Killarney’s green woods that we strayed, where the moon and the stars they were shining. The moon shown its rays on her locks of golden hair, and she swore she’d be my love forever.” At the end of the Scottish tune, it says, “But the broken heart it kens, nae second spring again, though the woeful may cease from their grieving,” while the Irish tune says, in the last verse, “It’s not for the parting that my sister pains, it’s not for the grief of my mother, ‘tis all for the loss of me bonnie Irish lass that my heart is breaking forever.” In other words, the Irish tune sees no end to the grief while the Scottish tune does. The chorus to the Scottish tune says, “You take the high road and I’ll take the low road, and I’ll be in Scotland afore ye. But me and my true love will never meet again, on the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond,” while the Irish song’s chorus says, “Red is the rose that on yonder garden grows, and pure is the lily of the valley. Clear is the water that flows from the boyne, but my love is purer than any.” There’s a sense of longing and denial in the Irish tune and a sense of acceptance in the Scottish one.
Melodically: “The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond,” in a version by Ella Roberts, uses strings, acoustic guitar, flute, bagpipes, and drums. Chord-wise, E, A, E, A, B, C#m, E, F#m, A, E, C#m, B, and E in the verses. With the song written in E major, this is a I, IV, I, IV, V, vi, I, ii, IV, I vi, V progression. The chorus uses the same chords in almost the exact same order, but the F#m and the A are played in reverse (making it a IV, ii progression, rather than a ii, IV), and instead of going to the C#m in the last line, an A is played (which is the IV chord, rather than the vi). The instrumental interlude is played over the chorus. It’s a beautiful arrangement, but if you don’t have all those instruments at your disposal, it sounds good a cappella too. In fact, the High King’s version of “Red is the Rose” (sung to the same tune of “Bonnie Banks”) is completely a cappella.
Structurally: “The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond” uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, instrumental, verse, chorus format. Though like I said the song can be sung a cappella, the instrumental interlude is a very effective choice with all the other instruments in there, because, like any good story, you always want to put your dagger in last, and building up that tension with the interlude before that dagger is an excellent choice. With that said, “Red is the Rose” uses the same structure, and at that point, it all comes down to vocal delivery–in other words, rather than making the tension with the instruments and your vocal delivery, you give a heartfelt performance (in this case with some phenomenal harmonies) and that’s what sells your retelling, along with the structure of the tune.
You can listen to “The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond” and “Red is the Rose” below.
2. “Who’s Gonna Buy Your Ribbons When I’m Gone?” by Paul Clayton and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” by Bob Dylan
Lyrically: Paul Clayton’s song was actually in and of itself based on a tune called “Who’s Gonna Buy Your Chickens When I’m Gone?” but I’ve been unable to find a version of that. I can only imagine that when someone buys a chicken, it’s at the break of dawn when the rooster crows. The similarities are there between Dylan’s version and Clayton’s version, such as the opening line, which begins with “It ain’t no use to sit,” but instead of “It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why,” Clayton says, “Ain’t no use to sit around and sigh,” as well as “Sit and cry.” Clayton also references “Walkin’ down that lonesome road,” which comes up a few different times in Dylan’s tune: first with the theme of “You’re the reason I’m a travelin’ on” and later with, “I’m ‘a thinkin’ and a wonderin’ walkin’ down the road,” which he later expands upon saying, “I once loved a woman, a child I am told. I gave her my heart, but she wanted my soul.” Dylan made it a practice in his early days to expand upon old folk songs to make them his own, and interestingly enough, Johnny Cash wrote a song called “Understand Your Man” that was similarly inspired by “Don’t Think Twice”, and he revealed this inspiration when they played together on The Johnny Cash Show. You can hear that recording on Dylan’s Travelin’ Through bootleg.
Melodically: “Who’s Gonna Buy Your Ribbons When I’m Gone?” is written in C major, and uses C, E, C, and G in the intro. This is a I, III, I, V pattern followed by C, E, Am, D, G, E, Am, F, C, G, and C in the chorus, which is a I, III, vi, II, V, III, vi, IV, I, V, I pattern. The verses then use C, E, Am, D, G, F, and C, which is a VII, II, v, I, IV, III, VII pattern.
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” is in E major is played by Dylan with the capo on the 4th fret and uses the chords C, G/B, Am, F, G for VI, III, iv, II, III for the first part of the verse, them plays C, G/B, Am, D7, G for VI, III, iv, VIIb, III for the second part. The chord changes in the second part of the verse have a similar effect to the second part of “Tangled Up in Blue,” in that there’s tension without having to go into a booming chorus, like he does in “Like a Rolling Stone.” Except to leave the listeners slightly uncomfortable with the situation, the III chord in the verse acts as a weak predominant chord and a tonic prolongation, meaning its first use transitions into something else, but that something else is a VI chord, which creates more tension. The last chord of each verse ends on the III chord, and provides a contrast with what he says: “Don’t think twice, it’s alright,” is his rallying cry, but the III chord tension tells us it’s not really alright.
Structurally: Here’s where things get really fun. “Who’s Gonna Buy Your Ribbons When I’m Gone?” begins with the chorus. First of all, I usually associate that structure with modern-day pop songs, so that’s a unique choice, but it works very well. It’s then followed by a verse, a chorus, another verse, and another chorus. But here’s where it gets even more fun: if you listen to the chorus, it sounds very similar to the verses of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”. So not only did Bob expand upon some of the themes in Paul Clayton’s original, he also took something that was a chorus and made it into a verse–in fact, there is no chorus in the Dylan tune–just four verses. Both “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” and “Who’s Gonna Buy Your Ribbons When I’m Gone?” are embedded below.
3. “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye” by Joseph B. Geohaegen
Lyrically: “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye” was written by English songwriter, Joseph B. Geohaegen circa 1867, and was based on the 1863 tune, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”. The latter song was written by Irish-American bandleader, Patrick Gilmore during the American Civil War, and both reflect this period. However, “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya” takes on a more somber tone, as it deals with Johnny’s death, whereas “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” deals with how joyous it will be when he returns. The former song was covered by, among others, Pete Seeger, and has many times been used to protest the horrors of war, while the latter has more of a prodigal son feel to it (and I even saw some similarities in the way they promise to celebrate when Johnny comes home to some lines from Steely Dan’s “Josie”). You may also recognize the tune and some of the lyrics from “The Ants Go Marching.”
Melodically: Both songs use Em, Bm, Em, G, and D, played twice, before ending on Em, B7, and Em in the verses, which gets repeated throughout. A version by The Dropkick Murphys uses a Bm instead of a B7, but either way, the song is written in E minor, which makes the progression a i, V7, i, III, VII pattern. Due to the song being a marching tune, they are both snare drum heavy, but also utilize flutes and fiddles.
Structurally: The songs contain all verses. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” contains five verses, sung consecutively, and “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye” has the same structure, except it has nine verses, instead of five. Since there’s anticipation in Johnny’s return and stress about his passing, the simple hooks of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye” are fitting, without having to have a chorus–enough details are given out in the verses to make that unnecessary, and the repetitive nature of the verses allow for people to get hooked without having to wait for a chorus.
Both “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye” and “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” are embedded below. Hurrah!
4. “Folk Bloodbath” by Josh Ritter
Lyrically: “Folk Bloodbath” is based on a Mississippi John Hurt song called “Louis Collins” and borrows some lyrics from the latter song, including the hook at the end of each verse, “The angels laid him away” and the expansion of that in the chorus, “The angels laid him away, laid him six feet under the clay, the angels laid him away.” In addition, the mourners are dressed in red in both songs. The biggest difference between the original and the Josh Ritter update is that in the original (spoiler), Louis Collins is the one who died. His “trip” in the Mississippi John Hurt tune is to the afterlife, whereas in the Josh Ritter song, it seems like a literal trip. When Louis returns from that trip, he finds out that Delia, his significant other, has died, and as a result, Stacker Lee kills Louis Collins so he can be with Delia for eternity. Stacker Lee then gets jailed and eventually killed, so then all three of them are laid away to spend eternity together. Finally, the narrator begins questioning whether God would let that happen to him if he let it happen to them.
Melodically: “Folk Bloodbath” is drum-heavy, but also adds in a guitar and a pad of some sort, utilizing G, C, G, and F throughout the song. Written in the key of C major, this is a V, I, V, IV pattern. “Louis Collins” uses almost the exact same pattern, but throws in a C7, in addition to the C major, and only utilizes guitar.
Structurally: “Folk Bloodbath” uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus format. One pattern I’ve noticed, at least in a lot of the folk songs I listen to, is that many of them only contain verses, rather than big, booming choruses. It’s hard to call this chorus a booming one, but it’s definitely an extension of the hook at the end of the verses, “The angels laid him away.” It works tremendously well, but there’s no need to have a long chorus, since so much of the information you need is in the verses. “Louis Collins” follows the same structure, but the verses are shorter, and there are five of them instead of four, like in the Josh Ritter song.
Both “Folk Bloodbath” and “Louis Collins” are embedded below.
