tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post8256987156500616895..comments2024-01-06T05:34:00.027-06:00Comments on Blog Meridian: Rhymes and reasons: Some general observations on "John Henry"John B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06358811061653958120noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-58983334866346021972012-07-15T05:33:33.068-05:002012-07-15T05:33:33.068-05:00Anon., I don't know if you'll see this, bu...Anon., I don't know if you'll see this, but thanks for dropping by and for the thoughtful comment. I'm certain Cash's version works for many; it obviously did for him, or it wouldn't be on the record. Another clear advantage, which both you and I mention in our own ways, is that it does delve more deeply into the world of the song--and, now that I think about it, it may be John B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06358811061653958120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-90262311055395955262012-07-14T11:04:56.446-05:002012-07-14T11:04:56.446-05:00Came across this post in looking for commentary on...Came across this post in looking for commentary on the arrangement of the 8+ minute Cash version of JH. I find that arrangement, for all the reasons it does not "work for" you, to be enormously appealing on several levels to me; hence wanted to know something more of it. Elements of the appeal include the baleful Cash voice - which has taken me more than 50 years to begin to appreciate Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-68058362161708042172010-06-28T13:19:12.729-05:002010-06-28T13:19:12.729-05:00More (disjointed)thoughts in search of a post.
Pe...More (disjointed)thoughts in search of a post.<br /><br />Perhaps race isn't the key focus, because all of us, regardless of race had to deal with the social transition from an agrarian based society and ethos to one based upon urban industrialization. John Henry is at the pointy end of that spear and transcends it. His spirit tells us that we can transcend the dehumanization of these changesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-31312523991908081852010-06-28T09:05:25.117-05:002010-06-28T09:05:25.117-05:00Thanks, Randall. I think your thesis is pretty mu...Thanks, Randall. I think your thesis is pretty much on the money. <br /><br />Something I didn't get into in the post but gesture in the direction of is that one reason the versions by black performers tend to focus on "labor relations" is that black workers were more vulnerable than white workers: more likely to be displaced by machinery (or other white workers); almost certainlyJohn B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06358811061653958120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-76869537166657619732010-06-28T07:00:14.204-05:002010-06-28T07:00:14.204-05:00Thanks for the update/additional thoughts.
I'...Thanks for the update/additional thoughts. <br /><br />I'm not well-versed on working your side of the street, given your professional interests, but since your first post on the topic, I've been toying with some thoughts on race and the reason this song resonates so much with all of us. Working thesis: the song is the "most American" song there is.<br /><br />Cheers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com