Monday, June 7, 2010

"The Gone Dead Train"


It’s time for another edition of the Monday Morning Blues, & today’s featured song is a wild romp even by the standards of old blues. It’s called “The Gone Dead Train,” & it originated with a singer-guitar player who went by the name of King Solomon Hill.

It’s thought that King Solomon Hill was one Joe Holmes, who was born in Mississippi in 1897 & lived much of his life in Louisiana in the Minden area, & specifically in a place called King Solomon Hill Baptist Church. Holmes recorded six songs during his lifetime, tho there are no known copies of two of them. The four that survive are “The Gone Dead Train,” “Whoopee Blues,” “Down On My Bended Knee” & “Tell Me Baby.” A small output, but at his best he was a guitarist & singer with uncanny power & range. He did play slide style—reportedly using a steakbone as a slide—& from what evidence we have in his four surviving songs, he played a spare & highly individual guitar style. King Solomon Hill was apparently was a friend of the great Blind Lemon Jefferson, & like Blind Lemon was probably a street musician.

As per usual, the song is my version, not an imitation; for one thing, King Solomon Hill had an amazing falsetto, which I don’t possess. One of the riffs I use came from his song “Whoopee Blues”—a truly disturbing song about vengeance, but one that contains some interesting guitar work. “The Gone Dead Train,” on the other hand, is a hobo’s story about displacement & alienation & the inherent dangers of a life riding the blinds on freight trains.

Hope you enjoy it!



17 comments:

  1. Love your version, John. King Solomon Hill Baptist Church. Those African American churches have the most wonderful names.

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  2. Hi Willow: Thanks! So glad you liked it.

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  3. Great tune!

    What is it about the old blues singers and falsetto; that seems to be a common thing, and Robert Plant often talked about how it influenced his own singing in the early days of Led Zeppelin. I'm wondering if it's a survival from some African culture.

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  4. Hi Roy: Yes, I believe there's a consensus at this point that the falsetto (octave jumps) are probably a carryover from griot singing. Check out Robert Palmer's fine book "Deep Blues"--he writes about this sort of thing!

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  5. As you know, I love Monday morning blues. Great rendition, yeah!!

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  6. I love to hear you play traditional old timey music. I love the resophonic. I live where they make em in California. Little Black Train is a new trio I like here, and Dorian Michael is a local fave, currently touring in Miss.
    have a good week

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  7. Funny, after a walk along a disused railway yesterday, I'm ticking along on a railway theme this morning, too. Thanks for the song and serendipity this Monday morning.

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  8. Hi Reya, Dianne & Nana Jo

    Reya: Thanks! It means a lot to have the support!

    Dianne: Little Black Train is a great band name--I'll have to check them out. So glad you liked this.

    Nana Jo: Intriguing--I'll be by later to read your train story. I love old trains!

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  9. You are terrific! This is just wonderful, I thoroughly enjoyed.

    Hey, are you a Blind Willie McTell fan? I've been in love with his music, guitar, and haunting falsetto for a couple of decades now. "Mama T'ain't Long For Day" is my favorite of his.

    Do you take requests? ; )

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  10. Hi Leah: Wow, thanks! I like Blind Willie McTell a lot, & I do a few of his songs--Statesboro Blues, Brokedown Engine & Mama Tain't Long Fore Day. In fact I posted a version of that using a cigar box resonator guitar some time ago, & you can see that here. I'm working on it for the guitar used in this video, but I need to slow the song down a bit for it to sound good on the full size guitar.

    Thanks again!

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  11. Oh my gosh, that wasn't even that long ago! I'm hurrying back there again to have a listen--thanks for the link!

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  12. I enjoyed your rendition (along with the background you give - I hadn't heard of King Solomon Hill before this). And the music also brought to mind the Union Pacific poems you posted here recently.

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  13. Hi HKatz: So glad you liked it. King Solomon Hill really is a pretty obscure figure. I think about those Union Pacific poems--need to get back to them & maybe get on a roll!

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  14. Every time I hear your singing voice, John, I am baffled to come up with the voice it evokes for me. I know I once said, "Lou Reed", but that's not it and I'm determined to figure it out.

    I should have been here on Monday—I could have used some sympathetic blues.

    Kat

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  15. Hi Kat: Just think of folks who talked more than they sang! Thanks, tho--I really appreciate your support. Hope you're ok if you needed sympathetic blues a couple of days ago...

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  16. Let's call it Post-Partum, if you get my drift.

    Kat

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  17. Hi Kat: I do know what you mean. We should talk!

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