Los Country Gentlemen en 1957-1962

La creacion deu grop The Country Gentlemen que’s hasó per accident, au sens pròpi com au figurat.
Qu’èm a la debuta de julhet de 1957. A l’Admiral Grill, un clubet situat a Bailey’s Crossroad, Virgina, au ras de Washington DC, lo banjoista Bill Emerson qu’a un problèma. Qu’ei encargat d’organizar las seradas . Qu’avèva contractat la banda deus Bayou Boys dirigida per Buzz Busby. Malaüradament tà los Bayou boys, qu'estón victimas d'un maishant accident de vèitura que’us deishè herits e totaument incapables de jogar. A Bill Emerson, que’u cau trobar rapidament musicaires navèths capables de remplaçar los Bayou Boys.
Que'n trobè dus : Charlie Waller e John Duffey. Lo guitarrista e cantaire Charlie Waller qu'èra originari de Texas mès que vadó gran en Loisiana. Lo mandolinista John Duffey que neishó a Washington DC e qu'estó neurit a Bethesda en l'estat vesin de Maryland, eth qu'èra un gojat de la vila. L'alquimia enter Walley, Duffey e Emerson que foncionè de tira e que decidín de contunhar a hèr ensems devath lo nom de "Country Gentlemen". A la tardor de 1957, que grabèn un prumèr disc, un 45 torns. Un an après, Bill Emerson que quitè lo grop e qu'estó remplaçat per lo banjoista Pete Kuykendall, alias Pete Roberts. Pete Kuykendall que joguè un paper màger dens l'evolucion deu grop, peu son tribalh de composicion e de produccion, enqüèra que n'i demorè pas guaire de temps. Qu'estó remplaçat per Eddie Adcock, lo quau, ironicament, hasèva part deus herits de l'accident de vèitura a l'origina de la creacion deus Country Gentlemen. Eddie Adcock qu'èra de Scottsville (Virginia). Adcock qu'avèva esitat longtemps abans d'acceptar de juntà's aus Country Gentlemen, la condicion estant que lo grop hasosse un tribalh d'innovacion. Que's trobèn un excellent contrabaishista anomenat Charles Gray
Doncas, tà los trocets qui segueishen, gravats durant un concèrt dat en 1962, lo grop qu'ei compausat de Charlie Waller (Guitarra, lead), John Duffey (Mandolina, tenor), Eddie Adcock (Banjo, baritone) e Charles Gray (Contrabaisha).


Handsome Molly
Aquesta canta qu'ei un tradicionau de las montanhas Appalachas, dab arradics britanicas. Lo violonaire cèc G.B. Grayson, de Tennessee, e Henry Miller, un cantaire e molièr de Fries, Virginia, que'n hason la prumèra gravacion en 1927. Los Gentlemen la van apréner d'un enregistrament de los hrairs Stanley.

M'a semblat interessant de comparar la version deus hrairs Stanley dab la deus Country Gentlemen, aquera darrèra hèra mes sofisticada vocaument. S'i destaca hèra plan lo duo deus cantaires d'excepcion qui son Charles Walley (lead) e de John Duffey (tenor). En çò deus Duffeys, cantar qu'ei ua tradicion familiau, lo pair de John Duffey qu'èra cantaire d'Opera e qu'avèva cantat au Metropolitan Opera de la ciutat de New York durant annadas.

Tà començar, la version deus hrairs Stanley:



Dens la version deus Country Gentlemen, la mandolina de John Duffey que remplaça lo violon:




I wish I was in London or some other seaport town,
I'd set my foot on a steamboat and sail the ocean 'round

Arrepic
Sailing around the ocean, sailing around the sea
I think of Handsome Molly wherever she may be.

Her hair was black as a raven's, her eyes were bright as coal
Her teeth shone like lilies out in the morning cold

Arrepic

Oh don't you remember, Molly, when you gave me your right hand
you said if you ever married that I would be your man.
I saw her in church last Sunday, she passed me on by
I know a mind was changing by the roving of her eye

Arrepic


E podossi estar a Londres o quinsevolh aute pòrt,
Hicarí lo pè en un vaishèth de vapor e naularí l'ocean arron

Naulant arron l'ocean, naulant arron la mar
Que'm pensi a Molly Beròja, on que podosse estar

Que s'a lo peu negre com lo d'un corbaish, los uelhs lusents coma carbon
Sas dents que brilhàvan coma lilis au hred deu matin

Oh no't brembas pas, Molly, de quan e'm balhàvas la man dreta
Que'm disós jamès e't maridèsses dab nat aute que jo?
La vedói a la glèisa dimenge passat, que passè auprés de jo
Que vedói a la soa mirada qu'avèva cambiat d'idèa

The sunny side of life. Aquesta canta provien deu repertòri de Bill and Earl Bolick (the Blue Sky Boys). Qu'estó compausada per Bill Bolick e los hrairs Bolick la van enregistrar lo 16 de junh de 1936.



There's a sunny side where no ills betide/ On the road that we must go
There are pleasant vales, fertile hills and dales/where flowers ever grow

Arrepic
On the happy and sunny, pretty rolling dales,
Where the sweetest joy and gladness ever there prevails,
Where the sunshine ever lingers on the grand majestic hills, on the sunny of life

There's shady dales where no gladness dwells/and the clouds obstruct the view
But a brighter way like the light of day/ is awaiting now for you

Arrepic

Let us sing a song as we go along/ Let us banish care and strife
Let the whole world know as we onward go/There's sunny side of life

E tres autes trocets mei, duas cançons e un instrumentau:

Poor Ellen Smith:
Aquera canta qu'ei basada sus ua hèita qui's debanè en 1892 a Forsyth County, North Carolina. Ellen Smith qu'estó assessinada. Lo son nòvi, Peter DeGraffe que's huejó a Roanoke, Virginia, puish a Nau México. En tornar de cap tà la Carolina deu Nòrd, qu'estó arrestat, jutjat e condemnat peu murtre. La legenda ditz que la canta aquera qu'estó compausada per Peter DeGraffe assedut suu son tahuc en aténder l'execucion. Totun, la culpabilitat deu nòvi que semblava luenh d'estar provada e durant annadas, qu'èra prohibit de cantar aquera cançon pr'amor que provocava susmautas de las violentas.

Poor Ellen Smith, how she was found / Shot through the heart lying cold on the ground
Her clothes were all scattered and thrown on the ground / the blood marks the spot where poor Ellen was found
They picked up their rifles and hunted me down / They found me a-loafing in Mount Airy town.
They picked up her body and carried it away / The flowers on her grave have all faded away
Someday I'll go home, and say when I go /On poor Ellen's grave pretty flowers I'll stow.
I've been in this prison for twenty long years / Each night I see Ellen through my bitter tears.
The warden just told me that soon I'll be free/ To go for her grave 'neath that old willow tree
My days in this prison is ending at last / I'll never be free of my sins in the past.
Poor Ellen Smith, how she was found / Shot through the heart lying cold on the ground




The Long Black Veil qu'ei ua cançon qui sembla tradicionau mès qui ne n'èi pas. Qu'estó compausada a Nashville per Danny Hill e Marijohn Wilkin en 1959.


Ten years ago on a cold dark night / There was someone killed 'neath the town hall light.
The people that saw, they all agreed/ That the slayer who run looked a lot like me.
The judge said "Son, what is your alibi? If you were somewhere else then you won't have to die."
I spoke not a word though it meant my life / For I had been in the arms of my best friend's wife.

Chorus
She walks these hills in a long black veil / She visits my grave when the night winds wail
Nobody knows, nobody sees / nobody knows but me

The scaffold was high and eternity near/ She stood in the crowd and shed not a tear
And sometimes at night when the cold wind moan / In a long black veil she cries o'er my bones

Grandfather's clock


E tà acabar, ua lista de 19 trocets deus Country Gentlemen, enregistrats en las annadas 1962-1963, incluant los 5 qu'avetz ací-dessús.