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Post by Cornflake on Aug 18, 2023 9:01:10 GMT -5
Like many people, I knew this song from the Ernie Ford version, but Merle Travis wrote it. It's a very good song despite the wobbly third verse. Both Ford and Travis did it in an upbeat manner. The lyrics capture the rotten side of being a coal miner but they're recounted with humor and without self-pity.
Travis' version:
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Post by millring on Aug 18, 2023 9:13:06 GMT -5
I've recently been playing this just about every time I sit down with the guitar (which is, every day). I got the idea to pair it with "Song of the Volga Boatmen" as either bridge or intro (currently, I'm leaning toward "intro") -- both because they work in Am and because they are working songs. (Angi also works as a little surprise bridge).
I have noticed that I've naturally started to rephrase lyrics to fit what is my weak singing voice. It's a work-around that seems to suit me. And since I don't play for anyone else, I seem to get away with it.
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Post by John B on Aug 18, 2023 9:22:59 GMT -5
I've recently been playing this just about every time I sit down with the guitar (which is, every day). I got the idea to pair it with "Song of the Volga Boatmen" as either bridge or intro (currently, I'm leaning toward "intro") -- both because they work in Am and because they are working songs. (Angi also works as a little surprise bridge). I have noticed that I've naturally started to rephrase lyrics to fit what is my weak singing voice. It's a work-around that seems to suit me. And since I don't play for anyone else, I seem to get away with it. I think you need to rephrase your approach to your singing voice. Instead of "weak," maybe it's "gentle" or "honest." Or "untrained." Or, if you're like quite a number of artists I listen to, "an acquired taste." |
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Post by Cornflake on Aug 18, 2023 9:53:08 GMT -5
A lot of us are insecure about our singing, guitar playing or both. That's what kept me from playing in public for many years. What changed my mind was a conversation with an old friend named Emily Kaitz. Emily played in public frequently despite having a weak singing voice. She said that if you have good material people won't care about your singing or guitar playing. I think she was basically right. No one's grading you on such things except perhaps for other musicians who think it's some kind of competition, and to heck with them.
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Post by howard lee on Aug 18, 2023 10:00:29 GMT -5
It seems to have worked for Bob Dylan.
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Post by Cornflake on Aug 18, 2023 10:07:15 GMT -5
I like Leonard Cohen's joke that there were only two or three notes he could really call his own.
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Aug 18, 2023 10:40:55 GMT -5
I like Leonard Cohen's joke that there were only two or three notes he could really call his own. I join in whenever B-flat comes around. |
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Dub
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Post by Dub on Aug 18, 2023 12:01:42 GMT -5
This well known tune evolved over time, at least the recorded versions evolved. I don’t know how many verses Travis originally wrote. Like most people, I first heard it on the radio sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Merle Travis was one of the first popular stars to record under contract for the fledgling Capitol Records, the first West Coast record label of note in the U.S. in the mid 1940s, Capitol told Merle they wanted him to record an album of folk songs. Merle explained that he didn’t know any folk songs. “Well then, write some!” was their answer. So Merle wrote several “folk songs” under duress and Sixteen Tons is one of those. Merle said he never cared for the song until Tennessee Ernie Ford sold millions of copies and then he just loved the song. Here is the original recording. Merle changed they way he performed the song after Ford’s hit recording so it aligned more closely with what people were familiar with. Here is what must be the earliest video of Merle doing the song. It’s interesting to us as guitar players because we can see how Merle originally arranged and played it. I’m guessing Merle was embarrassed to be wearing the stupid miners costume. He would never have dressed that way voluntarily. I’m not sure when this video was made. It was probably one of the many soundies Merle made and his Martin guitar still has its original neck, not the Bigsby replacement so it must have been prior to 1948. |
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Dub
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Post by Dub on Aug 18, 2023 12:15:30 GMT -5
Funny story; my youngest brother spent his career as a union organizer and officer including many years as president of the Iowa Postal Workers union. He loved Travis’s songs, Sixteen Tons and Dark as a Dungeon and evidently had the mistaken idea that Travis was some kind of labor poet. When he found there was a VHS tape of Travis’s performances over his long career, he was excited and ordered it right away. When it came, his bubble burst. It was all Western Swing and fancy guitar stuff, strictly commercial music, which is what Merle did throughout his career. It wasn’t my brother’s “peoples music” at all. I don’t think he ever watched the whole thing but, luckily, he passed it on to me and I wore it out. When it was reissued as a DVD, I bought it again. I still love watching it.
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Post by Russell Letson on Aug 18, 2023 12:31:45 GMT -5
Given what sounds like live-audience applause, that's probably not a Soundie, though apparently Merle did make several before the company stopped producing them in 1947. I found a link to one dated 1949--with Merle and the entire band apparently playing left-handed: archive.org/details/soundie-merle-travis-carolina-cotton-texas-homeThen there's this one of Merle and a mid-1940s cowboy band (string band plus accordion and clarinet). Production is pretty standard for Soundies. Googling around revealed several more mid-40s Soundies with Merle. There's a Facebook account maintained by a guy who has recently released a big history of Soundies--he posts examples every week, along with as much personnel information as he can find. It's a real time-machine view of all kinds of popular music from the period. |
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Post by Russell Letson on Aug 18, 2023 12:51:58 GMT -5
Here's a later (1951) Soundie, though I wonder whether it's from the same company, since the production values are quite a bit better than the mid-40s examples--looks like more takes, and the synching/miming of the pre-recorded music is much better, and almost certainly performed by the actual musicians. And Merle's picking is clearly the real thing. Come to think of it, the byplay between Merle and Judy Hayden looks and sounds real-time. Also note the shoutout to Dave Barbour and Peggy Lee at the end.
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Dub
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Post by Dub on Aug 18, 2023 13:05:22 GMT -5
Here's a later (1951) Soundie, … There are several done in that studio with that ensemble. The band is Eddie Kirk’s band and features Speedy West on steel guitar. Judy Hayden was married to Eddie Kirk and then married Merle. I don’t know which of them she was married to when this film was made. |
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Post by RickW on Aug 19, 2023 10:09:19 GMT -5
I like Leonard Cohen's joke that there were only two or three notes he could really call his own. The Canadian music awards are called Junos. Leonard won best vocal one year. He said, (paraphrasing), “only in Canada would this happen…..” |
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Post by RickW on Aug 19, 2023 10:16:15 GMT -5
I do a version of 16 Tons at my acoustic jam. I also thought of it as a protest song, and the chorus definitely is — it was apparently almost verbatim from a family member or friend who was a miner, talking about what it was like. I loved the line about the company store. Talk about your unfair labor practices.
The first verse is pretty good, the second one starts to fall off, and then it’s just kind of macho BS, which is disappointing. Still, a classic song.
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Post by Hobson on Aug 19, 2023 10:28:03 GMT -5
I always liked this song, even remember as a kid watching Tennessee Ernie Ford doing it on TV.
I'm a reasonably strong singer with what I've been told by many is a good voice. But as a first soprano, I don't think I'll be adding this one to my repertoire.
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Dub
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Post by Dub on Aug 19, 2023 10:40:48 GMT -5
I do a version of 16 Tons at my acoustic jam. I also thought of it as a protest song, and the chorus definitely is — it was apparently almost verbatim from a family member or friend who was a miner, talking about what it was like. I loved the line about the company store. Talk about your unfair labor practices. The first verse is pretty good, the second one starts to fall off, and then it’s just kind of macho BS, which is disappointing. Still, a classic song. The “high-toned woman” lyric wasn’t intended as macho or sexist, it was just what passed for humor at the time. We don’t see it that way today but Merle didn’t mean to offend anyone with that lyric. Believe it or not, he didn’t mean to offend people with this one either. |
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Aug 19, 2023 10:47:47 GMT -5
I do a version of 16 Tons at my acoustic jam. I also thought of it as a protest song, and the chorus definitely is — it was apparently almost verbatim from a family member or friend who was a miner, talking about what it was like. I loved the line about the company store. Talk about your unfair labor practices. The first verse is pretty good, the second one starts to fall off, and then it’s just kind of macho BS, which is disappointing. Still, a classic song. The “high-toned woman” lyric wasn’t intended as macho or sexist, it was just what passed for humor at the time. We don’t see it that way today but Merle didn’t mean to offend anyone with that lyric. Believe it or not, he didn’t mean to offend people with this one either. I would have thought Rick was referring to "If you see me coming, better step aside..." as a macho verse. |
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Post by John B on Aug 19, 2023 13:05:06 GMT -5
Some more size-related songs not intended to offend:
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Dub
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Post by Dub on Aug 19, 2023 14:53:44 GMT -5
I would have thought Rick was referring to "If you see me coming, better step aside..." as a macho verse. I’m not sure what Rick meant. What he said was “The first verse is pretty good, the second one starts to fall off, and then it’s just kind of macho BS, which is disappointing. Still, a classic song.” so I assumed he was referring to the third verse. But Travis’s Fat Gal is really over the top with a lyric like “… I could render my gal and sell the lard.” |
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Aug 19, 2023 18:07:36 GMT -5
And another:
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