SLS: Seen Trouble All My Days

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For the next few weeks Jim is running a series for Song Lyric Sunday of award winners, starting today with his invitation to play a song from an album that won a Grammy Award for Album Of The Year – his post Most Prestigious Award Category tells us about it. Not being either American or a fan of musical awards – unless they actually go to someone I like! – this necessitated a trip to Wikipedia, which has a page for this award, listing every winner and the others that were nominated but lost out, going right back to the very first set in 1959. There are some notable names on that list, plus quite a few of whom I have never heard, but there were still plenty for me from which I could take my pick.

I finally settled on the 2002 winner, which was actually a compilation album: the soundtrack to the fabulous movie O Brother Where Art Thou? And there could really only be one song I could start with. This is the first time it appears in the movie, though it does return later:

And if you feel like singing along, here are the lyrics

I am a man of constant sorrow
I’ve seen trouble all my days
I bid farewell to old Kentucky
The place where I was borned and raised
(The place where he was borned and raised)

For six long years I’ve been in trouble
No pleasure here on earth I find
For in this world I’m bound to ramble
I have no friends to help me now
(He has no friends to help him now)

It’s fare thee well my own true lover
I never expect to see you again
For I’m bound to ride that northern railroad
Perhaps I’ll die upon this train
(Perhaps he’ll die upon this train)

You can bury me in some deep valley
For many years where I may lay
Then you may learn to love another
While I am sleeping in my grave
(While he is sleeping in his grave)

Maybe your friends think I’m just a stranger
My face you’ll never will see no more
But there is one promise that is given
I’ll meet you on God’s golden shore
(He’ll meet you on God’s golden shore)

I haven’t attributed any credits to those, as their origin is a little unclear. The website Genius.com explains why

“Man of Constant Sorrow is a traditional American folk song first recorded by Dick Burnett in 1913. It remains uncertain whether Burnett actually wrote the song. One claim is that an earlier version came from Ireland in the late 19th century. Burnett gave an interview near the end of his life and in it he said he really couldn’t remember if he wrote it or heard it and took in on as his own.”

So now you know. Or don’t know. The album credited Burnett as being the writer, but if he didn’t know, how could they? I’m guessing that his apparent memory loss is actually just a way of covering up for the fact that he ‘borrowed’ the lyrics from an earlier version, but who am I to cast aspersions? He died in 1977 so wouldn’t have been around to be a party to any discussions anyway. Let’s forget that and just enjoy the music: the movie is great, very entertaining with an amazing soundtrack. It was released in 2000 and the album came out in December of that year: it went to #1 in the US and has sold more than 8m copies there, going 8x Platinum. It didn’t make the main UK Albums chart, but did well in the separate listing for compilations, in which it spent a total of 109 weeks, peaking at #20, and selling over 300k copies to go Platinum. I bought both the movie DVD and the soundtrack CD, and have played them often since then – I count them as favourites of mine. And a footnote on this: I may be about to spoil any illusions you may have about George Clooney’s singing, but all three of the actors were miming on this. The voices of the Soggy Bottom Boys were provided by Dan Tyminski, of the band Union Station (lead vocal), Nashville songwriter Harley Allen, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band’s Pat Enright. Sorry, and all that, but there is a reason I mention it, which will shortly become apparent.

I thought I’d play you another song from the movie to back that one up. I bet you can’t guess why I chose this one:

Didn’t Leave Nobody But The Baby is a traditional American song. The ‘Sirens’ in this scene were played by Mia Tate, Musetta Vander, and Christy Taylor, and the singers are Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, and Alison Krauss, who regularly plays and records with Union Station. Both she and Dan, and the other members of the band, feature a lot on the soundtrack , hence my comment about a connection.

One final note about the movie: it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 13 2000, the UK on September 15 2000 and the US on December 22 2000, and grossed $71,868,327 worldwide on a $26 million budget. (Thank you Wikipedia for that incredibly accurate figure).

This is one of those weeks where I’m playing you a third song. Whilst I was scrolling down the Wikipedia page I was struck by mention of the 2009 winner, which was Raising Sand by Robert Plant and, yes, you guessed it, Alison Krauss. This was too much of an opportunity to pass up, so I’m closing today with a track from that album, the one you may probably know:

Raising Sand was released in October 2007, and in addition to its Grammy it also won Record Of The Year at the 2008 Americana Music Honors (sic) & Awards. It was also a commercial success, peaking at #2 in both the UK and US, selling over a million in the US and 600k in the UK, as well as enjoying good sales in many other countries. Please Read The Letter was a collaborative songwriting effort by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, formerly of Led Zeppelin, with Charlie Jones and Michael Lee, two musicians they also worked with. The first version of it was on the 1998 Page & Plant album Walking Into Clarksdale, but I have to say that I prefer this one: the addition of Alison’s lovely voice makes a real difference.
That’s my lot for today. I’ve had fun with these and I hope you have too. Enjoy the rest of your day and I’ll see you again for Tuesday Tunes 🎶

 

50 thoughts on “SLS: Seen Trouble All My Days”

  1. Great flick, great sound track, wonderful song selections. I believe this post is outta the ball park!

    Reckon a man’s sorrow ain’t constant if he can sing it so sweet. Seems to me this fella’s troubles got a tune that wanders the hills and hollers just fine, like they might up and leave him if the banjo keeps hummin’. Or maybe he’s just foolin’ his woes into thinking he’s fine and dandy. Either way, it’s the kind of sadness I’m tapping my toe to.

    Now ya done it, I’m watching this movie all over again.

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  5. I love the music from O Brother Where Art Thou? Nice mix which includes bluegrass. I found Billy Strings two years ago and can’t stop listening to him. Allison Krauss has always been a favorite. She has such a pretty voice.

    Nice post, Clive!

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    • Thank you, Marina, I’m pleased you enjoyed them all. Sorry about George – I’ve had conversations with people who were convinced that was him singing, and had to point them in the direction of the Alison Krauss and Union Station album their version is on as proof it was Dan Tyminski 🤣

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  14. Gee, Clive, I can’t possibly imagine what it was about that clip that attracted you to it. Perhaps you can enlighten me. Possibly the stunning woodlands scenery or the lulling trickle of water or a quiet morning drive down a sun-dappled road. ☀️
    Of maybe it was the tight, close, sensual, come hither, undulating flow and sway of the three … um … part harmony of Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, and Alison Krauss. Of course, that must be it! From my vantage point, there was one shot of Clooney mesmerized by the tantalizing sight before him, the look on that chiseled, award-winning face enough to melt the mozzarella off this Siciliana’s pizza! 🍕 😂
    Seriously, this is a classic movie, one of my favorite, go-to films. I love it; the acting is wonderful and the music, as you have shown today, is fabulous … an excellent response to Jim’s challenge. Well done, and thanks for icing my cake with the gorgeous Please Read the Letter. The pairing of Plant and Krauss is as close to perfection as you can get. 🤩
    Thank you, Clive. This has been a beautiful way to start my Sunday morning. 😊 🎶

    Wishing you a peaceful Remembrance Day, my friend. 🌺🕊️

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