“Oh the liquor (beer) was spilled on the barroom floor” is a line from a poem called “The Mouse on the Barroom Floor”123. The poem tells the story of aContinue reading“Oh the liquor (beer) was spilled on the barroom floor”

The Kingston Trio’s arrangement of Harlan Howard’s “Everglades” mimics the intro of “Bird Dog” by The Everly Brothers (a hit in ’58 at the same time as “Tom Dooley”), givingContinue readingEverglades

The Roving Kind is a 1950 popular song by Jessie Cavanaugh and Arnold Stanton, both pseudonyms used by music publisher The Richmond Organisation. It was adapted from a British folkContinue readingThe Roving Kind

The next two hits by thr Kingston Trio were songs of faith written by up-and-coming singer-songsmith Billy Edd Wheeler. “Reverend Mr. Black,” with a “turn the other cheek” message (cowrittenContinue readingReverend Mr. Black

“If I Were a Carpenter,” penned by folk-rocker Tim Hardin, became Bobby Darim’s first top ten hit in three years (he returned the favor by writing Hardin’s 1969 hit “SimpleContinue readingIf I Were a Carpenter

“Elusive Butterfly” has a flowing lyric more poetic than musical, though it’s set to a lovely melody. Bob Lind rejected the opinion of its being an abstract love song andContinue readingElusive Butterfly

The catchy calypso tune “Marianne” has often been cited as the only hit for so-called “disappearing act” Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders. But I beg to differ! Gilkyson, withContinue readingMarianne

“Pastures of Plenty” is a 1941 composition by Woody Guthrie. Describing the travails and dignity of migrant workers in North America, it is evocative of the world described in JohnContinue readingPastures of Plenty

“Going Down The Road Feeling Bad” (also known as the “Lonesome Road Blues”) is a traditional American folk song, “a white blues of universal appeal and uncertain origin”.The song wasContinue readingGoing Down The Road Feeling Bad

“Riding in My Car” (also called “Car Car” or “The Car Song”) is a children’s song by Woody Guthrie. Guthrie wrote “Riding in My Car” during a productive period inContinue readingRiding in My Car(also called “Car Car” or “The Car Song”