WILLIAM DEAN WATSON

SHADES OF WESTERN POP – “West From North”

Rob Fenton: dobro, vocal
Kelly Gates: vocal
Charles James: upright bass
Will Meadows: mandolin, vocal
Ben Plotnick: fiddle
Darryl Poulsen: guitar
Nate Smith: small fiddle overdub
William Dean Watson: concertina, guitar, vocal
Arranged and produced by: William Dean Watson and Rob Fenton
Mixed and mastered by: William Dean Watson

I’m riding south with the Sons of the Shield
The Daughters are riding along.
And as we ride together
We’ll be singing a travelling song.
We’re bound for Louisiana
To see our Cajun kin.
And then we’ll head to Texas
When the cattle drives begin.

Riding, roping, wrangling;
Here come the Sons of the Shield.
And here come our prairie sweethearts,
Who match us each day in the field.
Living, laughing, loving;
There isn’t a thing we would change.
And at night we sing together
In our home from home on the range.

Riding, roping, wrangling;
Here come the Sons of the Shield.
And here come our prairie sweethearts,
Who match us each day in the field.
Living, laughing, loving;
There isn’t a thing we would change.
And tonight we sing together
In our home from home on the range.

The honky tonk ethos of good times coloured by hard drinking and loose living seems squarely aimed at the “West From North” is the signature song for my Shades of Western Pop collection. There are two complementary and near contemporary components to this collection: songs which invoke the airy commercialism of Hollywood’s singing cowboys, especially Gene Autry, Tex Ritter and Roy Rogers, and songs inspired by the Western Swing of Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. Both styles were popular in the 1930s and into the 1940s.

“West From North” swings. While “Why Now?”, the signature song for my acoustic honky tonk collection, concerns the temporal dislocation involved in making traditional music, “West From North” articulates the long journey involved in making music at a geographic and cultural remove. As the title indicates, the song dramatizes the relationship between American music and Canadian musicians. It is a celebration and working through of the love of American music felt by a Canadian of English birth.

The musical dislocation animates the lyrics, which concern a band of Canadian men and women heading south and west to work the cattle drives of Texas. The music, which I describe as 75% Bob Wills and 25% Nelson Eddy, reflects the same journey. It is an amalgam of the Western Swing of “New San Antonio Rose”¹ and Nelson Eddy’s stirring “The Mounties”² from MGM’s 1936 Rose Marie, with its tuneful choral support.

The male voice in the verse floats over the strict Western Swing rhythm in a nod to the breezy warmth of Tommy Duncan, Wills’ wonderful vocalist. In the chorus, this voice is integrated with male and female close harmonies which playfully echo the somewhat martial choral arrangement of “The Mounties”. In the last line of the last chorus, the chorus picks out another lyric; a quote from the state song of Kansas, the archetypal cowboy song “Home On The Range”. _³

The harmonic structure of “West From North” follows the Bob Wills formula of a simple chord pattern, here in a major key, with a few modest chord substitutions. The melody and the instrumental solos reflect the chord structure, with a bright major tune coloured by only occasional blue notes. The song departs from the Western Swing formula in its instrumentation, abandoning the Westernized Big Band sound of the Texas Playboys for a simple country ensemble; emissaries of the distant north, we are travelling light.

(1) Okeh 05694, 1940. Words and music: Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Bourne Co.
(2) RCA Victor Red Seal 4305, no date. Words by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto A. Harbach, Music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, Warner/Chappell Music Inc, The Songwriters Guild of America, IMAGEM U.S. LLC.
(3) Words by Brewster M. Higley, music by Daniel E. Kelley / Walter H. McEuen, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, EMI Music Publishing.

SHADES OF WESTERN POP – “The First Day of Summer”

Words and Music: William Dean Watson
Rob Fenton: dobro
Charles James: upright bass
Mike Mezzatesta: mandolin
Ben Plotnick: fiddle
Darryl Poulsen: guitar
William Dean Watson: concertina, dulcimer, guitar, vocal
Arranged and produced by: William Dean Watson and Rob Fenton
Mixed and mastered by: William Dean Watson

I left for a year on the first day of Summer.
Sent home each dollar I made on the road,
Playing guitar as a journeyman strummer
And helping the roadies to carry the load.

Did you miss me in Summer, when the bright sun was shining?
Did your heart leap with joy when my letters got through?
Did you think of me always? Was your young heart pining?
I went not one day without thinking of you.

Did you miss me in the Fall, when the green leaves were turning?
Did you wonder if I was still faithful and true?
Did your eyes salt with tears? Was your heart filled with yearning?
I thought I was losing my mind over you.

Did you miss me in Winter, when the north wind was freezing?
Were you clinging to hope when my letters were few?
Did you think of my smile, and still find it pleasing?
Clear in my mind was a picture of you.

Did you miss me in Springtime, when the world was awaking?
When the promise of life is honoured anew?
Did you think of our plans? Of the vows we’ll be making?
I thought every day about marrying you.

I left for a year on the first day of Summer,
And I’ll hold you again on the last day of Spring.
No more will I work as a journeyman strummer,
Now we’ve saved the money to buy you a ring.

“The First Day Of Summer” is an extravagantly romantic Tejano inflected campfire waltz. The lyric turns on the conceit of substituting the life of a touring musician for that of the archetypal wandering cowboy, tracing his perambulation through the cycle of the seasons, his aching loneliness soothed by the promise and eventuality of return to his beloved. The music is inspired by sweet Western pop waltzes of the 30s, 40s and 50s; Gene Autry’s “Mexicali Rose”¹, the much covered “My Brown Eyed Texas Rose” written by Jimmie Davis and Stuart Hamblen², and even a hint of Tejano vals, like Lydia Mendoza’s “Cuando Escuches Este Vals (When You Hear This Waltz)”³. The inclusion of parts for Spanish guitar and concertina accentuate “The First Day Of Summer’s” gently Latinized rhythm. The lyric takes the form of a ‘question song,’ in which the poignancy of feeling is conveyed by the singer’s questions, expressing uncertainty, loss, and the need for the affirmation of response. As a child, I was intrigued by the construction of Elvis Presley’s “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”. ⁴ The folk country and bluegrass canons contain great question songs like The Carter Family’s “Are You Tired Of Me, My Darling?”.⁵ and The Stanley Brothers’ “Who Will Call You Sweetheart?”.⁶

(1) Columbia 37002, 1946. Words and music: Jack B. Tenney and Helen Stone, Universal Music Publishing Group.
(2) Tex Ritter’s version is available on Blood On The Saddle, Capitol Records T1292, 1962; Bob Wills’ on The Tiffany Transcriptions Vol. 4: You’re From Texas, Kaleidoscope Records (2) F-21, 1985.
(3) On 50 Años, San Antonio Music Publishers, 1984. Words and music: Juan S. Garrido Vargas, APRS.
(4) RCA Victor 47-7810. Words and music: Lou Handman and Roy Turk, T.R.O. Inc., Bourne Co.
(5) On The Carter Family – Volume 1 1927-1934, JSP Records JSP7701. Words and music: G.P. Cook and Ralph Roland, Irving Music Inc.; Ponder Heart Music.
(6) On Country Pickin’ and Singin’, Mercury MG-20349, 1958. Words and music: Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC.

SHADES OF WESTERN POP – “The Age of Innocence”

Rob Fenton: dobro
Charles James: upright bass
Mike Mezzatesta: mandolin
Ben Plotnick: fiddle
Darryl Poulsen: guitar
William Dean Watson: concertina, guitar, vocal
Arranged and produced by: William Dean Watson and Rob Fenton
Mixed and mastered by: William Dean Watson
Arranged and produced by: William Dean Watson and Rob Fenton
Mixed and mastered by: William Dean Watson

What happens when you find true love too young?
Too young to understand what you will lose?
And so it ends before it has begun.
You’ll never know you should’ve sung the blues.
I kissed the sweetest girl I ever saw.
She told me then that I could break her heart.
But my young eyes were looking round for more;
I killed her love before our love could start.

At last you win a mate and settle down.
You work all hours so nothing will go wrong.
But children need to have your love around;
It doesn’t pay to stay away too long.
Your lover needs your body in the night;
Love can turn to lonely when you’re gone.
I went so wrong trying to do what’s right;
I lost their love and ended up alone.

I have felt the great temptation and partaken of the fruit.
I have let myself be driven down below.
But I’ve never given up the search for innocence and truth;
I will find them in the end, for all I know.

Before you’re done, you get a final chance.
A chance to follow love, instead of fear.
You take your partner’s hand and join the dance;
And dance away from danger when it’s near.
I’ve been blessed with love; more than I’ve earned.
Yet once again I’ve found a love that’s true.
I’ll make the most of all my lessons learned,
And give this old, unbroken heart to you.

Alongside the worldly themes of sexual love and loss, violence, poverty and pleasure, and the sub-genres of frankly evangelical music, there is a long tradition in country music of secular songs ornamented by religious diction and allusion. Hank Williams was the master, with songs of heartbreak like “Forever’s A Long, Long Time (“before we make our vows to God…”)” and “I Can’t Get You Off Of My Mind (“Lord I’ve tried and I’ve tried…”)” using religious language for emphasis¹, and even the spiteful “Cold, Cold Heart” employing diction with a decidedly biblical flavour (“Why can’t I free your doubtful mind…?”)². Other songs, like “Tex Ritter’s Rounded Up In Glory”, ground more developed religious themes in the workaday world³. In this vein, “The Age Of Innocence” contemplates the paradoxes of innocence and guilt, youth and aging; the innocence of youth produces sins of ignorance and immaturity, while experience and reflection create the possibilities of responsibility and remorse⁴. The bridge especially deploys quasi-religious language, picking up on the paradoxical transformation from animalism to moral knowledge central to the Eden story.

The lyric outlines the journey through life. The music, a medium paced Westernpop groove that imitates a cowboy’s horse gently trotting over the range, echoes the inexorable dynamic. This rhythm, varied in tempo depending on the song, is a Western pop fundamental. You can hear delightful variations on “Tex Ritter’s There’s A New Moon Over My Shoulder”⁵, Roy Rogers’ “My Chickashay Gal”⁶, and Bob Wills’ “Time Changes Everything”⁷. All these songs trade on the convergence of rhythmic forward motion and lyrics which emphasize the passage of time.

(1) Jimmie Davis performs Forever’s A Long, Long Time on Hank Williams: Songwriter to Legend, Bear Records BCD 16286 AH, 1998. Words: Hank Williams Sr; music: Jimmie Davis, Sony/ATV Acuff Rose Music. I Can’t Get You Off Of My Mind: MGM Records MGM-10328, 1948 (with His Drifting Cowboys). C/w Mansion On The Hill. Words and music: Hank Williams Sr., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC.
(2) With His Drifting Cowboys MGM Records MGM-10904 B, 1951. C/w Dear John. Words and Music: Hank Williams Sr., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC.
(3) C/w Deck of Cards, Capitol Americana 40114, 1948. Words and music: Arthur A. Fox and C.C. Staley, published in John A. Lomax’s Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads in 1916.
(4) Bob Dylan famously explored these paradoxes in relation to the hubris of youthful idealism in My Back Pages: “I was so much older then; I’m younger than that now.” Columbia CSK 5323, 1993 Words and music: Bob Dylan, Warner Bros. Inc / Special Rider Music.
(5) Capitol Records 174, 1944. Words and music: Lee Blastic, Jimmie Davis and Ekko Whelan, Peermusic Publishing.
(6) With Country Washburne and His Orchestra: RCA Victor 20-2124, 1946. Words and music: Smokey Rogers and Spade Cooley, UniChappell Music Inc.
(7) OKeh 05753, 1940. Words and music: Tommy Duncan, BMG Rights Management US LLC; Johnny Bond Publications.

SHADES OF WESTERN POP – “Sleep, Baby, Sleep”

Words and Music: John J. Handley / Jimmie Rodgers / William Dean Watson
Rob Fenton: dobro
Kelly Gates: vocal
Charles James: upright bass
Will Meadows: mandolin
Ben Plotnick: fiddle
Darryl Poulsen: guitar
William Dean Watson: guitar, vocal
Arranged and produced by: William Dean Watson and Rob Fenton
Mixed and Mastered by: William Dean Watson

Sleep baby sleepy;
Close your bright eyes.
Listen to your mother, dear,
Sing these lullabies.

Sleep baby sleepy,
While angels watch over you.
Listen to your mother, dear,
While she sings to you.

Sleep baby sleepy;
Angels watching you.
Listen to your mother, dear,
While she sings to you.

Sleep baby sleepy;
Close your bright eyes.
Sleep baby sleepy;
Close your bright eyes.
Sleep baby sleepy;
Close your bright eyes….

Jimmie Rodgers, often described as the ‘father of country music,’ recorded the lullaby “Sleep Baby, Sleep” usually credited as having been written by John J. Handley, on 4th August, 1927¹. It is one of the very first identifiably country records, combining Rodgers’ signature “blue yodeling” with his clear as crystal singing and direct, dynamic acoustic guitar playing.

At first hearing, yodeling seems out of place in a lullaby, constantly threatening to stir the soothed infant from incipient slumber. However, the lyric invites the little child to listen to the mother’s lullabies, rather than the one being sung; the song offers reassurance that care and comfort will continue when the singer/father is away on the range, the yodels sweetly invoking his forthcoming absence so as to soften the blow².

I have underscored this here by having a female vocal take over the singing while the ‘father’ gently leaves the stage. Rodgers sings the song unaccompanied, free to let the chord structure and melody develop as the fancy takes him. At times, the timing of Rodgers’ chord changes seems entirely random, adding to the charm, authenticity and intimacy of his recording.

Rearranging the song with an instrumental and vocal ensemble, I have rationalized the song’s structure, but nodded to Rodgers’ freewheeling approach by adding a fifth bar to every second line. He sings the whole first line of each verse against the major tonic chord (here C major), which emphasizes the songs’ primal simplicity. I play the dominant chord with a seventh (here G7) for the second bar, which still sounds traditional and follows the melody a little more closely, helping the song meet its sleep-bringing purpose.

(1) Victor 20864, 1927. Original words and music by John J. Handley, with Jimmie Rodgers developing his own adaptation for the recording.
(2) Another Sleep, Baby, Sleep, recorded by John Churchill, had been released three years earlier. Like Rodgers’, the recording includes yodeling – presumably Rodgers had heard this – but here the lyrics identify the singer as sole comforter; Paramount 12091, 1924