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Songs to keep the home fires burning; part A.
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Forever on Thanksgiving Day, the heart will find the pathway home.
Wilbur D. Nesbit
As we look forward to that uniquely American tradition of Thanksgiving, remembering the tunes and ballads that celebrate home is as tempting as Aunt Ginny’s cranberries , Cousin Millie’s sauerkraut and Grandma’s homemade apple pie.
As millions of Americans make their way over hill and dale to Grandma's for Thanksgiving, we are reminded that the best part of leaving is coming back home again.
For young men and women leaving home for the first time for military service, college or a faraway career; or for an eighty something year old coming home after an extended time away, the feeling is the same; there is nothing like opening the front door to the open arms of family and loved ones, the aroma of the Thanksgiving feast, and the simple pleasure of a good nights sleep in one’s own bed.
With thanksgiving and honor bestowed to the men and women of our Armed Forces who now are serving overseas in Iraq and Afganistan, unable to enjoy Thanksgiving with family, the notion of home as near sacred has been nurtured and protected by our legal system since our birth as a nation.
Historically, the right of any private citizen to own private property, including their own home, was a cornerstone of our nation’s drive for independence from British sovereignty. Prior to the American Revolution, land was controlled by thirteen governors appointed by the King, and colonists were at the mercy of the governor of their state for the disposition and ownership of land, and by extension their own homes.
Thomas Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration of Independence was written as, “...life, liberty and the pursuit of property”. The word “property” was later changed to “happiness”. This hard fought right to own and enjoy private property received further guarantees in Article VI of the Bill of Rights:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Americans now take Article VI and private property rights for granted, but without these guarantees, the simple act of the quiet enjoyment of one’s own home would be at risk. For perspective, consider and remember the plight of the homeless this season.
With the guarantees of individual rights and the right to own property established once and for all after the War of 1812, citizens and families were free to establish lives for themselves in the towns, farms and frontiers of nineteenth century America.
After a hard week doing the real work of farming, milling or mining; any revelry at all was enjoyed on a Saturday night around a campfire or at a barn dance, or at a town hall or church social. Homegrown music and dance played by the people themselves was the primary means of merriment, social lubrication and entertainment.
The making of music at home or nearby with friends and neighbors continues to strengthen the bonds of home. This longing for the simple pleasures of home have long found a voice though old time tunes, folk ballads, and early country music. Many of these songs became the official, if not popularly recognized anthems of the states of their origin.
Here are just a few of the songs that keep the fires of home burning brightly and remain cornerstones in the song book of American music:
1. “Oh, Shenandoah”. Traditional. The hallmark of a classic song or, to borrow an analogy from sport, a Hall of Fame Song, is that it takes on a life of its own and transcends time, genre , language and nationality. By these criteria, “Oh, Shenandoah” is a standard bearer. The tune of “Oh, Shenandoah” is believed to have originated from Scotch Irish settlers who migrated to the Appalachian region in the eighteenth century. Typical of a traditional folk ballad, the song has no definitive date of publication, but rather multiple versions that change over time and locale. There is a Shenandoah, Iowa near the Missouri River and there is also a Shenandoah river in the state of Virginia. The song is now best known as the unofficial state song of Virginia.
A wide variety of artists around the world from choral, folk, popular and country genres have recorded “Oh, Shenandoah” for nearly a century. Prior to the age of recorded music, Oh, Shenandoah was well known as a folk song . Hear a fine version by Tennessee Ernie Ford from his television show in 1959 that captures the essence of the theme of longing for home.
2. “My Old Kentucky Home”. Stephen Foster. 1853. The official state song of Kentucky, “My Old Kentucky Home” is sung each year by as many as one hundred fifty thousand people minutes prior to the running of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky. Originally entitled “Poor Uncle Tom, Good Night”, the song was written in 1853; at a time of high national uncertainty a few years prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.
The ability of art to prophesize, at least in a general sense, was on full display with the original lyric to “My Old Kentucky Home”. An anthem of the old south, the original lyric included “darky” and “darkies”. It was not until 1986 that this lyric was finally changed to “people” by the Kentucky General Assembly .
3. “The Wreck of the John B”. Traditional. This song was included in a collection of American folk songs entitled “American Song Bag” by poet Carl Sandburg in 1927, and prior to that had its origins as a traditional West Indies folk ballad. Stetson Kennedy and Robert Cook, on a Works Progress Administration assignment in 1940, recorded a version of it by Theodore Rolle in Key West, Fla. entitled “Hoist Up the John B Sail” . This version was dusted off in 1950 by Lee Hays and the Weavers, who counted Pete Seeger as founding member. While red scare politics of the early 1950’s led to the blacklisting of the Weavers by the House Committee on Un-American Affairs; the Kingston Trio, proteges of the Weavers (without the politics) and the most commercially successful folk group of all time, recorded a popular folk version that appearred on their debut album; “The Kingston Trio” in 1958. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys heard the Kingston Trio version and rearranged the century old West Indian folk ballad yet again in 1966 for the Beach Boys critically acclaimed album “Pet Sounds”.
With history as their guide, observers await the next incarnation of “Sloop John B”. 
4. “My Clinch Mountain Home”. @ 1915. A.P. Carter. The patriarch of the Carter Family, known as "The First Family of Country Music", A.P. Carter wrote this song as a down and out young man on his way back home to Maces Springs in southwest Virginia, following a failed attempt at railroad work in Indiana. “My Clinch Mountain Home” was one of the few songs that A.P. Carter actually wrote himself. Carter was primarily a collector and arranger of traditional folk ballads that had been in the public domain. His association with Ralph Peer, a music publisher and record company executive with the Okeh Record Company, provided for a flat payment per recorded song, regardless of sales. A.P. Carter and occasionally his wife Sara and cousin Maybelle retained credit to over three hundred songs in name only, while Peer retained the publishing royalties for his Peer Music and Southern Music Publishing Company.
The catalog of copyrights from the Original Carter Family include the classics “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”, “Wildwood Flower”, “Wabash Cannonball”, and “Keep On the Sunny Side”. The publishing rights of the entire Carter Family catalog, numbering over three hundred songs, remain some of the most valuable in the history of music publishing.
5. “That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine”. 1932. Gene Autry. This song was Autry’s breakthrough that lead to a celebrated career in music, film, radio, television and business spanning sixty years, culminating with his ownership of major league baseball’s California Angels, from 1961 until 1996. “That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine” was an affectionate tribute to Autrey’s father, a Methodist preacher from Ravia, Oklahoma. The tune to the song was borrowed somewhat from “Red River Valley”, another classic nineteenth century folk song.
6. “Cotton Fields ". @1940. Arthur “Hudie” Ledbetter , a.k.a. Leadbelly, was a major figure in the American folk revival that started in the mid 1930’s. Leadbelly was at least partially credited (along with John and his son, Alan Lomax) with the mainstreaming of folk classics such as “Midnight Special”, “Good Night, Irene”, Rock Island Line”, “Gallis Pole” (re--arranged by Led Zeppeln as "Gallows Pole") and “Cotton Fields”. Born @ 1889, on a Texas plantation, Leadbelly grew up in Shreveport, La. and started performing on the streets for change in his early teens. In and out of prison most of his life for serious crimes including second degree and attempted murder, Leadbelly was discovered by John and Alan Lomax at the Angola Prison Farm in Louisiana in 1933. As legend would have it it, Leadbelly sang his way out of prison; earning a commutation of his sentence from then Governor Oskar K. Allen in 1935, who had heard a recorded version of "Good Night, Irene". "Cotton Fields" was covered by a variety of artists including The Beach Boys and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
7. “Come in Stranger”. 1958. Johnny Cash wrote this song from the point of view of the woman at home who welcomes a returning loved one. At heart, Cash was a folk singer and balladeer whose larger than life persona created a one man genre; appealing and accessible to listeners who did not necessarily consider themselves fans of country music. One of Cash’s underappreciated songs, “Come in Stranger” was one of the last singles he released on the regional Sun record label in Memphis just prior to his contracting with the mainstream Columbia Records label and its international reach. The Canadian country and folk duo, Ian and Sylvia also recorded "Come in Stranger" .
Historians have proclaimed the nineteenth century as the golden age of American music. In the age prior to mass media, music was by necessity a live and local affair. Everyone played music or sang because they had to. The lack of musical talent was not a barrier to participation and instruments like the auto harp, dulcimer, mandolin and later the ukulele were popular because they were accessible and relatively easy to learn to play. 
The tools of mass media, such as Edison’s invention of the phonograph in 1878, now include television and the internet. These tools are swords that cut deeply both ways. While these advances enabled the mass distribution of music and created entire industries, they also changed the person in society from an active and independent producer of music at home; to a passive, detached and disengaged person ,more dependent on sources outside the home for art and entertainment.
Parents, educators, administrators and school boards may reason that this transition from active music producer to passive music consumer continues an unhealthy trend of information overload, diminished engagement and a decrease in creativity in people of all ages.
The end result may be the loss of people with the ability to think and act creatively and independently. The consequences of this long developing, imperceptible and insidious shift to consumerism continues its far reaching effects and deserves further discussion.
This concludes Part A of “Songs to keep the home fires burning”. Part B will put another log on the fire by recounting an additional eight songs beginning with the turbulent decade of the 1960’s.
Stay warm.
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- Rams Head on Stage - Annapolis; National and local acts; check their schedule.
- Cancun Cantina - Hanover, Md. (near BWI airport). Live country and rock on two stages. Check site for local & national acts.
- Remington's of Laurel - Sunday nites, open mic. with a fine country band. Live music in the Beer Garden, weather permitting.
- Tiffany Tavern - Alexandria, Va. (bluegrass, fri. & sat., open mike mon.-thurs.)
- JV's of Falls Church- Old style honky tonk friendly to veterans and country music.
- The Friendly Inn - Ellicott City
- American Legion Post locator - Legions frequently host country music bands - generally open to the public. Call each Post during business hours
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Post locator- also frequently host local country & bluegrass music. Call each Post for details.
- Sunset Concerts at National Harbor. Outdoor concerts closed until Spring
- Madam's Organ in D.C. Wed. Nite, Bob Perilla and BHBG.
- Institute of Musical Traditions - Folk and Old Time Concerts
- Lisa Rollins; National Country Music Examiner
- National Public Radio - Music. New music from all genres; archived interviews and access to many stations nationwide
- Listen To New Music From New Artists - From Ourstage
- Twang Nation; Americana Music Round-Up & Blog
- The Boot; a good source of current country news and tunes.
- Live 365 - internet radio
- Pandora radio; create your own preferences
