Thursday, October 23, 2014

Week 8: Anthology of American Folk Music

This week, we had no class so we focused on the Anthology of American Folk Music. I was actually pretty surprised to find that I actually knew a lot of these songs from before.

A couple that I really liked: Present Joys, Georgia Stomp, Fifty Miles of Elbow Room, Ommie Wise, Fishing Blues.

Here are a few pamphlet entries about some of the songs.

Fifty Miles of Elbow Room
by Rev. F.W. McGee

"It won't be long until I pass into that city fair with fifty miles of elbow room on either side to spare"

While originally written in a spiritual sense, these lyrics can be taken very literally nowadays. Space is scarcer and scarcer with every decade due to over population. This is particularly noticeable when passing through Sproul Plaza between classes, in a large lecture hall during a midterm, or on any Economy class seat in an airplane.

Ommie Wise
by G.B. Grayson

"I'll tell you all a story about Ommie Wise, how she was deluded by John Lewis' lies."

A prime example of a misnomer. Ommie Wise may have had wisdom in her name, but the naivete in her mind prevailed.


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