Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLXXXI--The Notting Hillbillies: Railroad Worksong

 Unbeknown to me before I did my weekly half-assed research, this week's tune is actually well over a hundred years old, and originally began as a song sung by railroad workers and road gangs (among others) as they toiled.  It's been recorded by dozens of artists through the years, with differing lyrics (many featuring America folk hero John Henry), and often under the title "Take This Hammer" or "Nine Pound Hammer."  Oh, the places you'll go on Friday Night Jukebox!

The Notting Hillbillies were formed in 1986 by Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler.  The band recorded their first, and only, LP in 1990, before embarking on periodic tours through 1993 (they were also the music guest on a Saturday Night Live episode), at which time the various members returned to their previous projects.  They reunited in 1997 for a short tour and in 2002 for a performance for charity.  They released three singles from their one album, none of which charted in the U.S. or the U.K.

"Railroad Worksong" was on their sole album noted above, the rather cleverly (really!) titled Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time.  The song was not released as a single by the Notting Hillbillies, and the album did not chart in America or Great Britain but did reach #6 in Australia (so many cool kids in Australia!).

Every now and again a song comes along that reminds you of why you have always loved a certain genre of music, and when it was first released "Railroad Worksong" did that for me as an exemplar of folk/Americana music.  Steve Phillips lead vocals capture well the hope inherent in the song, and Mark Knopfler's guitar (elegantly understated) underscores the resolve of the protagonist as he makes his way in the world.  Extra props for the "good buddy" thrown in at intervals throughout the song bringing it ever closer to home.  A nice reminder of how beautiful simplicity in music can be.

Lyric Sheet:  "If he asks you was I running/If he asks you was I running/If he asks you, good buddy, was I running/Tell him I was flying, tell him I was flying..."

Enjoy:

Republican = Traitor

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXLVI--Mark Knopfler: True Love Will Never Fade

Another week, another song discovered by listening to Pandora's folk channel when I worked at the thrift shop....

I wrote about Mark Knopfler's song "Sultans of Swing" with Dire Straits way back when, so there's little need to rehash their history, though I can now add that they have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Knopfler has grown embarrassed through the years by the mega success of Dire Straits and was not present at the band's induction ceremony and has said it is very unlikely the band will ever reunite).  Since his time with Dire Straits came to an end, Knopfler has kept busy with a solo career that now features ten studio albums, a few more soundtrack albums, a couple of collaborative affairs with Emmylou Harris, and some production efforts.  While (much to Knopfler's relief, I'm sure) his solo career has not seen the frenzy that his stint with Dire Straits had, all but two of his albums have hit the top ten in his native U.K. (and the two that didn't were top 20), and he's had three of his solo efforts hit the top 20 of the Billboard 200 here in the States.  And through it all, the man still plays one hell of a guitar...

"True Love Will Never Fade" was released in 2007 on Knopfler's album Kill to Get Crimson.  It was released as a single in Europe without much commercial success, but was not released in the U.S.  The album reached #9 on the U.K. charts and #26 here in America.

Fans of Friday Night Jukebox (both of you) know that I really enjoy listening to acoustic guitar, so they wouldn't be surprised that the first time I heard "True Love Will Never Fade" it took all of two seconds after hearing the opening acoustic guitar licks for me to make a beeline to the office computer at the thrift shop so I could find out who was behind this piece of music.  I've actually put this write-up off for a bit because I wanted to make sure I did this song justice (which I probably won't, but what the hell, someday I'm bound to "fail better" as Samuel Beckett has suggested), because it's truly one of the best songs I've heard this century.  Knopfler weaves the tale of an aging  tattoo artist remembering a tattoo he put on a woman once (while I think the tattoo artist and the woman had a romance, I'm not entirely sure she isn't just a beautiful memory of one of his customers).  The song has a poignant acceptance of the hands we are dealt in life, and reminded me of some of the excellent work Lou Reed, Neil Young, and Bruce Springsteen did in their later years, where the passion was just as rich as when they were younger, but much more measured.  There's a quiet dignity to the portrait that Knopfler creates, and his understated vocals and the bands thoughtful playing makes for a mini masterpiece that truth be told, I enjoy more with each listen and is another reason I put off this post--so I could listen to it just a few more times.

Lyric Sheet:  "These days I get to where I'm going/Make it there eventually/Follow the trail of breadcrumbs/To where I'm meant to be..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee