Ain’t it a Shame (Traditional)

 

This is a traditional song that goes by many names. Like a lot of old songs, some of the original lyrics might not be so suitable for a modern world, but the nice thing about folk songs is that they can be updated, changed, manipulated, reimagined, reinvented, and so on. Fiddlin’ John Carson recorded this song but called it “Ain’t it a Shame to Work on Sunday”. I got it from Leadbelly, and changed it a little bit. 

 

Recorded on my 1996 Martin D-18S Vintage Series

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Thea is a Light Blue (Martin Gilmore)

 

There is a great painter in Boulder, Colorado named William Stoehr. He paints wonderful portraits that focus “on substance use disorder with its associated mental health issues and the stigma that surrounds it. It is never just one person that is impacted, and so the faces I paint reflect the faces of all those affected - victims, witnesses, survivors.” Here's a link to his website: www.williamstoehrart.com

 

I saw his paintings hanging in a gallery in Denver many years ago and never forgot them. They are so striking, and very large. I would think about them from time to time. 

 

Occasionally I give myself songwriting assignments, and since his paintings have been on my mind for so long I decided I would try to write a song about one of his pieces, or the subject. As I was writing the song though, I realized it was about me. I have an inner voice that often isn’t very nice. I’ve come to realize that is somewhat common amongst people. So this song ended up being about finding a kinder inner-voice. 

 

Recorded on my 1996 Martin D-18S Vintage Series

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I’ve Been Riding Fences (Martin Gilmore)

 

I read an article a while back about the loneliness epidemic in America. It was especially focused on older men and how, after their spouse dies, they often lose their only social group because it was often only maintained by their wife. 

 

I grew up in Wyoming and knew a lot of stoic cowboys who would never share their feelings about anything. Reading that article made me think of them, and I wrote this song. 

 

Recorded on my 1996 Martin D-18S Vintage Series

 

Cincinnati's Going Home (Martin Gilmore)

 

Over the last several years I have embarked on reading a biography of every American president. George Washington was widely admired because, after they offered for him to be the monarch of America, he declined and went back to his home in Virginia. He was likened to Cincinnatus from Roman history who commanded the armies of Rome to victory and then returned to farming, leaving glory behind him. I got the kernel for this song after reading that book and it stuck with me. 

 

In 2023, my dad and I took a trip to France and went to see several battlefields from WWI and WWII. After that I was listening to several interviews with WWI veterans about their experiences. One particularly striking interview featured a British soldier talking about how proud he was of his service, and how just he thought their cause was.At the end of the interview they asked the soldier if he thought it was worth it. He quickly answered “no, it certainly was not.” 

 

Recorded on my 1996 Martin D-18S Vintage Series

 

Just a Put On (Martin Gilmore)

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I wrote this song several years ago when I was playing in a rock band. It's a caution about getting to riled up about things.

 

Recorded on my 1996 Martin D-18S Vintage Series

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Old King John (Martin Gilmore)

 

I started this song while I was living in Egypt in 2016. I was listening to an audio lecture about the kings of England and was inspired after hearing the entry on King John, who is widely regarded as one of the worst monarchs in history. He was supposedly corrupt, greedy, cruel, and incompetent. He lost several territories, diminished the prestige of the throne, fought with the church, and so on. Egypt has its own history of corrupt and incompetent leaders, as do many countries. I wrote this song about King John, but it isn't specifically about him. It’s about any leader with those qualities, so substitute the name of any leader who suits you. It pretty much always turns out the same for all of them. Incidentally, King John was made more famous in the story of Robin Hood. 

 

Recorded on my 1996 Martin D-18S Vintage Series

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Mississippi Mama (Martin Gilmore)

 

I taught a class on the history of Victor Records’ recording sessions in Bristol, Tennessee in 1927. They called that session the “Big Bang of Country Music” because the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers both recorded for the first time for Ralph Peer there in the warehouse. Both of those acts became incredibly famous, and even more, they became enmeshed in American musical history with influences reaching into bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, jazz, and more. It was an incredibly important cultural moment for the country, but likely didn’t feel that way at the time. 

 

During the course of the class I learned a bunch of Jimmie Rodgers songs and while I was playing those, this one popped into my head. I suppose I was trying to write a song that he might have liked to have sung. 

 

Recorded on my 1996 Martin D-18S Vintage Series

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Orphan Train (Martin Gilmore)

 

Immigrants to the United States from foreign countries often received cold receptions when they landed in the ports of America. There weren’t jobs for them, housing was often restricted, and opportunities were scarce. After desperately searching for some way of surviving, maybe they would move on to a different city, or join the army and move west. Many parents would come over searching for a new life and leave their children back in the old countries, perhaps to follow later. Sometimes parents in the old countries would put their children on the ships and send them to America because there was no opportunity at home. 

 

Often this meant that the children’s parents would not be there to meet them when they stepped off the ships, or the children were left to fend for themselves in the new world. Compounded on top of that were all the children who were orphaned from their parents dying from accidents or diseases. This meant that the cities were full of homeless orphans, and as the situation grew worse it was clear a solution was needed. 

 

As the west started to be settled more and more after the close of the frontier in 1890, and with the rise of farms in the west, the idea came to send these orphans on trains to places where there was a need for population. They would ride in a special car, and at every stop they would stand out on the platform, folks would come by and check to see if there were any children on the train who would be well suited to their farm or their lifestyle. I’m sure many of them ended up in terrible indentured servitude, or worse. Some of them found families and happy homes. They tried to keep siblings together if they could, but that wasn’t always possible. It was theoretically noble, but also realistically flawed.

 

The trains ran into the 1920s and were replaced by the modern foster care system, which also has its flaws and virtues. 

 

Recorded on my 1996 Martin D-18S Vintage Series

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Babylon’s Falling (Traditional)

 

I got this note from the Sacred Harp shape note hymnal and made it my own. 

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Recorded on my 1996 Martin D-18S Vintage Series

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Lonesome Whistle (Hank Williams Sr. & Jimmy Davis)

 

What can I say? I love Hank Williams Sr. He was one of the best songwriters ever. I worked out this guitar part years ago and it was time to record it. 

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Recorded on my 1996 Martin D-18S Vintage Series

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Towboat Blues (Martin Gilmore)

 

When I first moved to Denver I rented a room in a house near where I was working and the other guy who lived there had worked on a tug boat on the Tombigbee River in Alabama. He told me all sorts of crazy stories about working on the river. 

I think about him from time to time and this song crept in.

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Recorded on my 1938 Martin 000-18