Greetings everyone--Happy Chinese New Year!
I had many grandiose plans for this week's tune, but I had a wrench thrown into my plans:
Don't shake hands with table saws, friends. Luckily (very, very luckily), no tendons were severed and I should make a 100% recovery. I am a lucky guy & grateful. This injury did, however, influence the songs I could comfortably perform with corndog fingers.
Me and my girlfriend went to a record store last weekend, and she picked out a Doc & Merle album ("Lonesome Road"). On one side was "Look Up, Look Down That Lonesome Road"--one of my favorites. A few days later when she put it on for me to listen to, I had heard that Pete Seeger had died. Listening to this song and reading an article about the passing of such a musical giant created a very beautiful, very bittersweet experience.
Seeing me a bit blue, my girlfriend asked me if I'd teach her a new song on the banjo. I asked if she wanted to learn the one that was playing, and she said sure. Sitting down with her, I realized I could play a simple arrangement using just ring finger of my left hand and 2-finger thumb-lead with the right. It was good therapy. Cathartic. And happily no one else has done this song for TOTW thus far.
The earliest version I know of comes from Gaither Carlton, which is probably where Doc learned it.
Then of course there's Doc & Merle's version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmDpRWodMsc
I even found a video of the Avett Brothers covering it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzBcOLATtK0
As for its origins, I am afraid I have more questions than answers. There is a popular song from the late '20s called "The Lonesome Road" with music by Nathaniel Shilkret and words by Gene Austin. While this song does share certain lyrical snatches, the two seem distinct to my ear. You can be the judge, as I was unable to turn up anything conclusive linking them:
Anyway, I think this song is among the purest gems of lovely melancholy ever wrought in melody and verse. Attached is my version, and I hope you all will share yours as well. ¡Enjoy!
-N.A.