Appalachia

When I went to google the word "Appalachia," I didn't expect the image and feeling of it to be so desolate. Perhaps it is just the selection of images that Google decided to display, but it's painted a strong image of poverty and dreariness in my head. But I also wanted to look at pictures of people, not just places, and seeing images of the inhabitants and their culture and lifestyle reminded me that what constitutes a good life for somebody is always subjective and relative. I might imagine life in Appalachia as unfavorable and unbearable, but the people who were born there, grew up there, and knew of nowhere else but there, may very well be completely satisfied. And maybe in that environment is what people need to find the purest forms of joy, like creating folk music that is so renowned in the cultural world today.

Will the Circle Be Unbroken is meant to be an uplifting song, whereas The Banks of the Ohio is disturbing and morally perturbing. When I first heard the latter, I didn't pay close attention to the lyrics; it wasn't until I was listening to Ollie Gilbert's raw voice, unembellished by instruments, that I fully registered the narrative of that song. I was first pretty aghast at the lyrics depicting a man pushing his girl into the river and watching her drown. When I took a closer look at the context and chorus, it actually reminded me a little of You Are My Sunshine; both songs have this quality of possessiveness over the subject, the significant other. A twisted show of love, or maybe infatuation, all the way to the point of psychotic. So like how Lida pointed out a couple weeks ago that there is a tone of senselessness and ignorance in You Are My Sunshine, The Banks of Ohio seems to take it further many notches and delivers a full blown account of demented passion and disturbing shows of love. Yet, I found it so fascinating listening to all the different versions and the different feelings they elicited. Johnny Cash's voice really brought out the remorseful tone of the song, while Dolly Parton gave a more catchy performance of the narrative. The one line, "my love don't murder me, I'm not prepared for eternity" really gives me the chills. Will the Circle Be Unbroken by the Carter family sounds more upbeat and lighthearted while Clarence Ashley and Doc Watson's sounds more melancholy and longing. The Carter family version is singsong and I can imagine the family sitting around singing this as a bonding song while everyone is happily playing their instruments and singing together. Ashley and Watson's version sounds like the singer is singing about a remorseful past, reminiscent, and heartfelt. This version sounds more like a front porch performance- authentic and sentimental. Carter family's version sounds more like a singalong stage performance, one that invites audiences to chime along. 

Ollie Gilbert definitely epitomizes the 'front porch' sound. She is completely unedited and her voice is so candid and unaffected. Somehow, that also translates to a feeling of irreverence from her, like she really couldn't care less about how she sounds or what others think of her. While I can more or less bear Ollie Gilbert's crude-ish voice, I found it harder to sit through Jean Ritchie's "Cuckoo." I guess something about her voice is a little too shrill for my ears, but that's just my personal opinion. I like how she looks like she's lost in song while she sings and plays though.