Banks of the Ohio
Banks of the Ohio ( Laws F5 Roud 157), also known as Down on the Banks of the Ohio ( Down by the banks of the Ohio River ), is a ballad from the 19th century. The author or authors are unknown. Well-known recordings come from Joan Baez (1959) and Olivia Newton-John (1971) , for example .
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At first glance, the song resembles other well-known American morality in English, such as Omie Wise or Pretty Polly , whose story is told by a woman murderer himself. In "Banks of the Ohio" the narrator is called Willie, and unlike the other songs, he regrets the murder and tries to explain what happened.
Willie invites his lover to take a walk along the Ohio River. When she rejects his marriage proposal, he kills her. In the chorus of the song, the murderer recalls the love and hopes he felt before the crime.
Another, lesser known version of the song is "On the Banks of the Old Pedee".
Recordings (selection)
The country versions of Red Patterson's Piedmont Log Rollers (as "Down By The Banks Of The Ohio") and Grayson and Whitter (as "I'll Never Be Yours") date from 1927 . Other early country recordings of the song were made by Ernest Stoneman (1928), The Callahan Brothers (1934), The Blue Sky Boys (1936), Clayton McMichen (1931) and The Monroe Brothers (1936). The version of the Blue Sky Boys is part of the soundtrack of the film Paper Moon (1973).
As part of the American folk music revival , the song was recorded in 1953 by Bascom Lamar Lunsford . Alan Lomax made a recording with singer Ruby Vass in 1959, which appeared in the Southern Journey album series . Joan Baez recorded the song several times: 1959 for the album Folksingers' Round Harvard Square , 1961 for the album Joan Baez, Vol. 2 , 1968 for the Newport Folk Festival album.
In 1961 Alan Lomax made another recording of the song in his New York apartment with singer Clarence Ashley , accompanied by Fred Price (fiddle), Clint Howard and Doc Watson (guitars). The recording session was filmed by George Pickow and later used by Anna Lomax Wood for the short film Ballads, Blues and Bluegrass . Another recording by this group appeared on Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley’s , 1994 on Original Folkways Recordings: Released 1960–1962 . Folkways also released the song in 1963 as a duet between Doc Watson and Bill Monroe .
Folk musicians who also recorded the song include the New Lost City Ramblers and Pete Seeger . Johnny Cash with the Carter Family , Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton brought younger country versions to the market. Other recordings of the piece comes from The Wolfe Tones , Toots Thielemans , Arlo Guthrie (as "Arloff Boguslavaki" on the 1972 album I Saw the Light of Earl Scruggs ), Dave Guard and others.
In 1971 Olivia Newton-John recorded the song for her album If Not for You . It was released as the second single from the album, which became a worldwide hit; in Great Britain it reached number 6 in the charts, and in Australia even the top position.
A Czech version exists by Petra Černocká (Náklaďák).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joan Baez with Banks of the Ohio on YouTube
- ↑ Bill Monroe and Doc Watson with Banks of the Ohio on YouTube
- ^ Johnny Cash and The Carter Family with Banks of the Ohio on YouTube
- ↑ Olivia Newton John with Banks of the Ohio on YouTube