"The Ballad of Charles Floyd"

[dhanners623]

Here's a new one, although it is still rough around the edges.

 

The Byrds’ “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” album turns 50 this year, and it was one of those watershed records that you either “got” or you didn’t, and I feel sorry for those who didn’t. One of the songs on it was Woody Guthrie’s “Pretty Boy Floyd." It is an American classic and lots of people have covered it. But it is lousy history. It tells the tale of the Depression Era outlaw in highly romanticized terms; there isn’t much evidence to support claims of Floyd’s alleged largesse and, truth is, he was a cold-blooded killer several times over. And he absolutely hated the nickname “Pretty Boy.”

 

Yes, he was a product of hard times, but so were plenty of other people (including Guthrie, and my late father's family) and they didn’t rob or kill. I heard the song again the other day -- a great version by Marty Stuart -- and started thinking I’d try to write a more accurate tale. Just as Guthrie usually did, I borrowed the melody — from Guthrie. And since Guthrie had a thing for Gibsons (although in truth he'd play whatever was around) I'm using my J-35. This is one of those songs that make me wish I’d stuck with flatpicking lessons a bit longer. Maybe I’ll find a great mandolin player in Kuwait who can play some fiery leads on the instrumental breaks. (That’s a joke….)

 

So, anyway, I present to you, “The Ballad of Charles Floyd.”

 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zWRv8Yr6RPM

[Lars68]

Very nice! I particularly liked your bouncy guitar playing. I've heard Dylan do ”Pretty Boy Floyd”. Interesting to hear another take on the story.

 

Lars

[dhanners623]

Very nice! I particularly liked your bouncy guitar playing. I've heard Dylan do ”Pretty Boy Floyd”. Interesting to hear another take on the story.

 

Lars

 

Thanks. I'm all about that bounce....

 

Since posting this, I've tweaked a couple of lines and gotten rid of the "Robbed banks 'cross Oklahoma...." verse. Decided that it didn't really add anything to the narrative.

[zombywoof]

Nice! And we already have our tickets to the "Sweethearts" tour. I was a big Byrds fan - saw every lineup from Gene Clark to Clarence White. But I admit I was not crazy about that LP when it came out. I much preferred its follow up "Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde." Hey, I also was not crazy about "Sgt. Pepper." It was the only Beatles LP I did not buy immediately upon its release.

[dhanners623]

Nice! And we already have our tickets to the "Sweethearts" tour. I was a big Byrds fan - saw every lineup from Gene Clark to Clarence White. But I admit I was not crazy about that LP when it came out. I much preferred its follow up "Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde." Hey, I also was not crazy about "Sgt. Pepper." It was the only Beatles LP I did not buy immediately upon its release.

 

Count me jealous. Some of the clips I've seen of Hillman, McGuinn and Marty Stuart have been smokin'....

[duluthdan]

That’s a helluva good song ! That 35 is great in your hands. And I’d leave the verse in - these kinds of songs deserve as much of they story as you can tell.

[MissouriPicker]

Dave, that is a really, really nice song. And you make the guitar ring. Good, good performance. Kind of stuff I like to sit and listen to.... I like how you present Floyd just as he likely was----he was not a hero or nice guy. He was a cold-blooded killer. Lots of Depression Era songs romanticized and even glorified the criminals of the day. The country was in horrible shape and "everyday people" were eager to find a hero who seemed to stand against laws that were allowing "everyday people" to lose everything they owned. The outlaws of the day often became folk heroes. In fact, they were really bad people, just like Floyd. Little Bonnie Parker was cute-as-hell, but she'd have cut your throat and grinned while doing it.........Good song, bud. Keep'em coming.

[dhanners623]

Dave, that is a really, really nice song. And you make the guitar ring. Good, good performance. Kind of stuff I like to sit and listen to.... I like how you present Floyd just as he likely was----he was not a hero or nice guy. He was a cold-blooded killer. Lots of Depression Era songs romanticized and even glorified the criminals of the day. The country was in horrible shape and "everyday people" were eager to find a hero who seemed to stand against laws that were allowing "everyday people" to lose everything they owned. The outlaws of the day often became folk heroes. In fact, they were really bad people, just like Floyd. Little Bonnie Parker was cute-as-hell, but she'd have cut your throat and grinned while doing it.........Good song, bud. Keep'em coming.

 

Thanks for the kind words. I, too, have often wondered about the romantization of these outlaws. In a century or so, are we going to be romanticizing the histories of some of our era's criminals? There was a time when pirates were the scourge of ocean-going nations; now we name sports teams after them.

 

You're right about Bonnie Parker, and Clyde Barrow was an out-and-out psychopath. And the few Depression Era thieves who were "generous" were doing so with other people's money.

 

I've been wanting to write a song about Jesse James, who has one of the most romanticized histories of all. He was an unrepentant racist and in fact, his racial hatred drove much of his later criminal activity. There's a story in my family about how Frank and Jesse stopped at one of my ancestors' homes and watered their horses. My grandfather on my dad's side worked as a jockey (he also served time for attempted murder...) and knew Frank James, who spent his later years as a race starter at county fairs.

[livemusic]

Good job there all the way around. Sure keep a good beat!