Trouble In Mind

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This is a traditional blues that I learned in Chicago in the late 1950s.

The arrangement is reminiscent of 1920s New Orleans, Bourbon Street style.

Lyrics:
E E7
Trouble in mind, I'm blue
A F#7
But I won't be blue always,
E C#7
You know the sun's gonna shine
F#7 B7 E
And brighten my backdoor some day.

I'm all alone at midnight
And my lamp is burnin' low
I Ain't never had so much
Trouble in my mind before.

Trouble in mind, it's true
I have almost lost my mind,
When I get a little up front,
I always end up behind.

I'm Goin' down to the river
I'm gonna take my rockin' chair
And if the blues don't leave me
I'm gonna rock away from there.

Oh You, you've been a mean and evil woman
Yeah you, you sure did treat me unkind
Well, I'm gonna be your hard hearted daddy
I'm gonna' make you lose your mind.

Yeah I got trouble, trouble, oh trouble
I got trouble on my weary mind,
When you see me laughin'
I'm laughin' just to keep from cryin'.

Trouble in mind, I'm blue
But I won't be blue always,
Cause you know the sun's gonna shine
And brighten my backdoor
I said the sun's gonna shine
And brighten my backdoor
I said the sun's gonna shine
And brighten my backdoor someday

� 1999 McGuinn Music / Roger McGuinn

Get Along Little Dogies

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During a recent Western concert tour, traveling
through Wyoming, I remembered this song. It’s one that I loved when I
was six years old, and a sidewalk cowboy in Chicago. The recording was
done on location in Wyoming. The picture above is from the grounds of
the original Fort Bridger on the Oregon Trail.
Lyrics:
G D G
As I walked out one morning for pleasure
G D G
I spied a young cowboy a-ridin’ along
G D G
His hat was pulled back and his spurs was a-jinglin’
G D G
And as he approached me a-singin’ this song

D G
Whoopee ti yi yo git along little dogies
D C G
It’s your misfortune and none of my own
D G
Whoopee ti yi yo git along little dogies
D C G
For you know Wyoming will be your new home

It’s whoopin’ and yellin’ and a-drivin’ them dogies
Oh how I wish that you would go on
It’s a-whoopin’ and a-yellin’ and a-punchin’ them dogies
For you know Wyoming will be your new home

Whoopee ti yi yo git along little dogies
It’s your misfortune and none of my own
Whoopee ti yi yo git along little dogies
For you know Wyoming will be your new home

Some boys goes up the trail for pleasure
But that’s where you get it most awfully wrong
For you haven’t any idea the trouble they give us
While we go drivin’ them dogies along

Whoopee ti yi yo git along little dogies
It’s your misfortune and none of my own
Whoopee ti yi yo git along little dogies
For you know Wyoming will be your new home

Your mother she was raised down in Texas
Where the jimson weed and sand-burrs grow
Now we’ll fix you up on prickly pear and cholla
Till your ready for the trail to Idaho

Whoopee ti yi yo git along little dogies
It’s your misfortune and none of my own
Whoopee ti yi yo git along little dogies
For you know Wyoming will be your new home

� 1999 McGuinn Music / Roger McGuinn

Liverpool Gals

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Another song with a warning for for seamen.
Lyrics:
G D G
When I was a youngster I sailed with the rest
G D G
On a Liverpool packet bound out for the West
G D G
We anchored a day in the harbor of Cork
G D G F
Then put out to sea for the port of New York
D
And it’s row, row bullies row
G D G D G
Them Liverpool gals they have got us in tow

For thirty-two days we was hungry and sore
For the wind was agin’ us and the gales they did roar
But at Battery Point we did anchor at last
With the gig-boom hold to and the canvas all fast
And it’s row, row bullies row
Them Liverpool gals they have got us in tow

Them boardinghouse masters was a-boarding us twice
And shouting and promising all that was nice
And one fat old crimp took a fancy to me
And he said I was foolish to follow the sea
And it’s row, row bullies row
Them Liverpool gals they have got us in tow

Then being as a doorman is awaiting for you
With rations of liquor, and nothin’ to do
Now what do you say, what would you jump up to
Says I you won’t linger, and danged if I do
And it’s row, row bullies row
Them Liverpool gals they have got us in tow

But the best of intentions they never goes far
After thirty-two days at the door of a bar
I dust off me liquor and what do you think
That rotten old skipper he’s doctored me drink
And it’s row, row bullies row
Them Liverpool gals they have got us in tow

The next I remember I awoke in the morn
On a three-sky-sailed yarder bound south round the horn
We ‘ad no suit of oilskins and two pairs of socks
And an IOU nailed to the lid of me box
And it’s row, row bullies row
Them Liverpool gals they have got us in tow

Now all you young seamen take a warning by me
Keep an eye on your drink, when the liquor is free
And pay no attention to Reniour the whore
When you’ve had some, you’ll lose all you owned on the shore
And it’s row, row bullies row
Them Liverpool gals they have got us in tow

� 1999 McGuinn Music / Roger McGuinn

Alabama Bound

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The Lomaxes called this song a traditional levee-camp song (Lomax 1940). Collectors working for the Library of Congress recorded versions all over the South, including one by pianist Jelly Roll Morton (1885-1941). 'Ragtime' Henry Thomas (1874- ?), another blues singer working the area around Texas at the same time as Lead Belly, recorded a very similar version entitled 'Don't You Leave Me Here.'

I've recorded this on the 12-string in 'drop D' tuning, that is with the low E string tuned down to D.

Lyrics:
[A] I'm Alabama bound
I'm [D] Alabama bound
And if the [A] train don't stop and turn around
I'm Alabama bound

Oh, don't you leave me here (2x)
But if you mus go anyhow
Just leave a dime for beer.
Oh don't you be like me (2x)
Drink your good sweet cherry wine
And let that whiskey be.
Oh well the bread is gone
Oh well the gravy's gone
And they're still standin' in that line
With their long clothes on

Blood Red Roses

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The chanteyman often used improvisation and parody in his solo lines to the advantage and amusement of the crew, but the chorus lines, on which the work action was based, were repetitive and changeless. For example, in using Blood Red Roses to raise the top-sails, top gallant sails (t'ga'n's'ls), or sky-s'ls, the chanteyman, who on some ships also put his back to the task, would have sung:

Chanteyman: Our boots and clothes are all in pawn

Crew: Go down Ye blood red roses. Go down

Chanteyman: And its flamin' drafty 'round Cape Horn

Crew: Go down Ye blood red roses. Go down

The word Go, was the signal for the men to haul back on the halyards.

Lyrics:
Our boots and clothes are all in pawn
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down.
And its flamin' drafty 'round Cape Horn,
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down.
cho: Oh, you pinks and posies,
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down.
My dear old mother said to me,
My dearest son, come home from sea.
It's 'round Cape Horn we all must go
'Round Cape Horn in the frost and snow.
You've got your advance, and to sea you'll go
To chase them whales through the frost and snow.
It's 'round Cape Horn you've got to go,
For that is where them whalefish blow.
It's growl you may, but go you must,
If you growl too much your head they'll bust.
Just one more pull and that will do
For we're the boys to kick her through.

Old Texas

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I first heard this song at the Latin School of
Chicago. It was an autumn afternoon and my music teacher, Ms. Ganter and
I were discussing folk music. She had her guitar with her and showed me
this simple but lovely chord pattern. It’s in the key of F, but is
played in the D position with a capo on the third fret. The D chord is a
D6 with the open B string and the A7 is played with the open G string.
Lyrics:
D6
I’m going to leave Old Texas now
A7 D6
They got no place for the long horned cow

They’ve roped and fenced all over the range
A7 D6
And the people there are all so strange

I’ll take my horse and I’ll take my rope
I’ll hit the trail upon a lope
I’ll bid adios to the Alamo
I’ll turn my face down to Mexico

I’m going to leave Old Texas now
They got no place for the long horned cow
They’ve roped and fenced all over the range
And the people there are all so strange

� 1999 McGuinn Music – Roger McGuinn

900 Miles

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This is a song that I used to hear around the folk circles of Chicago. It has been recorded by numerous artists, including Woody Guthrie.

I'm using my new Martin D12-42RM signature model 12-string.

Lyrics:
Em

Well I'm walkin' down the track, I got tears in my eyes

Tryin' to read a letter from my home

cho: If that train runs me right, I'll be home tomorrow night

G D Em

'Cause it's nine hundred miles where I'm goin'.

G D Em

And I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow

G D Em

'Cause I'm nine hundred miles from my home.

Well the train I ride on is a hundred coaches long

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.

I will pawn you my watch, I will pawn you my chain

Pawn you my gold diamond ring.

Well if you say so, I will railroad no more

Sidetrack my train and come home.

The Brazos River,

Frank Hamilton, and his wife Mary stopped by the house to say hello. I hadn’t seen Frank since the mid 60’s in Los Angeles, and we had a great time catching up, although we barely scratched the surface.

Frank had taught me to play guitar, and banjo at the Old Town School of Folk Music, in Chicago, from 1957 to 1960.

He showed me a song that he’d performed with the Weavers, and said that Pete Seeger had bemoaned the fact that this song hadn’t been published in Singout, and that it was in danger of getting lost. That makes it an ideal candidate for the Folk Den.

Here are Frank and Mary Hamilton singing The Brazos River, with me playing 12-string and banjo backup.

Lyrics:
A D A
The cool Angelina runs lofty and gliding
A F#m B7 E
The crooked Colorado runs weaving and winding
A F#m D A
The Red River runs rusty, the Wichita clear
A F#m E A
But Down by the Brazos, I courted my dear

A D A E
I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
A D A E A
I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
A D A E
I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
A D E A
There’s many a river that waters the land

She hugged me and she kissed me
And she called me her dandy
The Brazos is muddy,
And sometimes quick sandy

She hugged me and she kissed me
And called me her own
But down by the Brazos
She left me alone

Now the girls of them rivers
They’re plump and they’re pretty
The Supine and the Sulfur
Have many a beauty

I may wander the rivers
And many a shore,
But down by the Brazos
I’ll wander no more

I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
There’s many a river that waters the land X2

Bonny Ship the Diamond, The

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This is another fine example of a joyous departure
song. The whalers would bolster their spirits before departing on an
ocean voyage that might take years. The thought of young women waiting
for them, and of new conquests, gave them the courage to continue.
Lyrics:
[Dm] The Diamond is a [C] ship, my lads, for the [Dm] Davis Strait she’s [C] bound,
And the [Dm] quay it is all [C] garnished with [Am] bonny lasses [Dm] ’round;
[Dm] Captain Thompson gives the [C] order to [Dm] sail the ocean [C] wide,
Where the [Dm] sun it never [C] sets, my lads, no [Am] darkness dims the [Dm] sky,

cho: So it’s [Dm] cheer [C] up my [Dm] lads, let your hearts never fail,
While the bonny [C] ship, the [Dm] Diamond, [C] goes [Dm] a-fishing for the whale.

Along the quay at Peterhead, the lasses stand aroon,
Wi’ their shawls all pulled around them and the saut tears runnin’ doon;
Don’t you weep, my bonny lass, though you be left behind,
For the rose will grow on Greenland’s ice before we change our mind.

cho:

Here’s a health to the Resolution, likewise the Eliza Swan,
Here’s a health to the Battler of Montrose and the Diamond, ship of fame;
We wear the trouser o’ the white and the jackets o’ the blue,
When we return to Peterhead, we’ll hae sweethearts anoo,

cho:

It’ll be bricht both day and nicht when the Greenland lads come hame,
Wi’ a ship that’s fu’ of oil, my lads, and money to our name;
We’ll make the cradles for to rock and the blankets for to tear,
And every lass in Peterhead sing ‘Hushabye, my dear’

cho:

� 1998 McGuinn Music – Roger McGuinn

John The Revelator

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This song was recorded originally in 1930 by Blind
Willie Johnson. He was one of the foremost African American singers of
religious songs, with thirty records to his credit. On his recording of
this song, his wife, Angeline sang the answer back part.

I have tried to keep as close to the original sound as possible, but
the person who sang the answer back part on this recording would prefer
to remain anonymous.

Lyrics:
D

Well who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

Tell me what’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

Now who art worthy, crucified and holy
Bound up for some, Son of our God
Daughter of Zion, Judea’s Lion
He redeemed us, Jesus bought us with his blood

Now tell me who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

Well what’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

Well Moses to Moses, Watching the flock
Saw the bush where they had to stop
God told Moses pull off your shoes
Out of the flock, a well a you I choose

Now tell me who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
Who’s that a writing? John The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

Well what’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
What’s John a writing? Ask The Revelator
A book of the seven seals.

� McGuinn Music 1998 Roger McGuinn