Week 9: Leadbelly

There was a lot of information for this week in terms of reading and in terms of listening and video. However, all of this information gave me a deeper look into Leadbelly's life and how Lomax fit into that life. One part of the reading that stuck out to me was Alan's introduction into the song collecting line of work that his father was in. He realized that by collecting these songs, he wasn't just a folk song collector, but he was a messenger for the masses. He helped these tenant farmers (a great visual that was offered in Chapter 2: Road Scholars) communicate to the broader world. They were not longer the unheard majority, but they now had a voice. In this spirit, Alan didn't stop when he hit barriers. When he couldn't get into the first prison he wanted to visit to find songsters, he tried again and again. He wrote letters beforehand to guarantee prison entry, instead of being shut down when he got to the gate.

Huddie Ledbetter was described as the King of the 12 String; the name Leadbelly came from his life of toughness, his confidence, pride and intelligence. Just like Mississippi John Hurt, he learned instruments as a child. Similarly, he worked on farms and in the industry, doing odd jobs and performing here and there. However, Leadbelly wanted to get paroled to work for Lomax; Lomax was hesitant to take on a challenge such as Leadbelly, and he didn't have the means to help Leadbelly get out of jail.

The one part I didn't like about Leadbelly's story was how he was described in the media. They called him the "Murderous Minstrel" and he was skilled with the "knife and guitar." I did not appreciate these descriptions because it highlighted his past rather than what he was doing at the time. Sure, those headlines serve as a more hard-hitting story, but it sells Leadbelly short. People focus on the fact that he was a violent man, that he committed crimes, but that is not why people are fascinated by him -- they should be focusing more on his craft than the fact that he had been in jail. I suppose these are opinions of the modern time; Leadbelly seemed to be pleased by all the headlines.

Lyrics:

Yonder comes Miss Rosie. How in the world do you know?
Well, I know her by the apron and the dress she wore.
Umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand,
Well, I'm callin' that Captain, "Turn a-loose my man."

Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me.
Oh let the Midnight Special shine her ever-lovin' light on me.

When you gets up in the morning, when that big bell ring.
You go marching to the table, you meet the same old thing.
Knife and fork are on the table, ain't nothing in my pan.
And if you say a thing about it, you have a trouble with the man.

Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me.
Oh let the Midnight Special shine her ever-lovin' light on me.

If you ever go to Houston, boy, you better walk right,
And you better not squabble and you better not fight.
Benson Crocker will arrest you, Jimmy Boone will take you down.
You can bet your bottom dollar that you're penitentary bound.

Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me.
Oh let the Midnight Special shine her ever-lovin' light on me.

Well, jumping Little Judy, she was a mighty fine girl.
She brought jumping to this whole round world.
Well, she brought it in the morning just a while before day.
Well, she brought me the news that my wife was dead.
That started me to grieving, whooping, hollering, and crying.
And I began to worry about my very long time.

Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me.
Oh let the Midnight Special shine her ever-lovin' light on me.

For this week's project, I decided on Midnight Special. I believe the song refers to a passenger train. This passenger train is a symbol of the hope for escape -- when a train passes by, it may spark the thought of it as a way to go home. In the song, every day is the same: everything is in the same place, same routine, no food in the pan. But he can't complain about it, or there would be consequences. It's a life of following the rules, where the law stares a man down to be on his best behavior. I liked the reference to Jumping (little) Judy in the song -- how she gave sad news; she is also an "evil" character in Leadbelly's "Jumpin' Judy," where she treats him bad as well.

I enjoy the lyric "Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me/Oh let the Midnight Special shine her ever-lovin' light on me." It suggests an imagery of a train passing by. That light is consistently there; reliable at a certain time -- "ever-lovin'" light, particularly. Light is also a symbol of hope, the future, something good. Light gives brightness to the dark, hope in a sad place.