Hello!
We’ve got a new song we’re going to start working on this week, “Let Him Go On Mama,” by the great John Hartford. For those of you unfamiliar with Hartford, he was a true polymath. Legendary as a songwriter, banjo player, fiddler, step dancer, and he even had a gig as a writer on the Smothers Brothers show. Oh, and he was an actual steamboat captain on the Mississippi River too. He literally used to take a month or two off in the summer at the peak of music festival season, to pilot the Julia Belle Swain, a riverboat on the Mississippi that shows up in a bunch of his songs. Hartford is a big hero of mine and many others.
This song is off of his record, Mark Twang. It’s about an old-time river man who has a changing world around him. I love it. Musically, it’s pretty simple. There are two verses at the top and then it alternates verse - chorus for the rest of the song. Play it easy and loping, and get into the vibe of the old man that you’re singing about!
If you want to explore more John Hartford check out the albums Aero-Plain, Mark Twang, and Morning Bugle. And there’s plenty more to explore from there,
Cheers!
Chris
Topics and/or subjects covered in this lesson:
standards
Chris Eldridge
Let Him Go On Mama
Print Chords & Tab
Loop 0:00 Run-Through of Let Him Go On Mama
Loop 4:36 Introduction to Let Him Go On Mama and John Hartford
Loop 5:48 Breakdown of Song Form and Chords
Loop 10:58 Rhythm Guitar Feel
Loop 13:29 Closing Thoughts and Outro
Comments
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Been having a great time working this one up. Took a lot of passes before I finally got one where I didn't totally blow a lyrical or guitar line. Hope you like my take on the extended solo (minus the minor clunker).
Hey James, great job! I especially dig the way you are phrasing the vocal. ”He likes her red dress and pearly white teeth.” That syncopation is hillbilly-funky and I love it! Also, nice job outlining the chords on your solo. My one piece of constructive criticism on this is that you might use bluegrass rhythm guitar as more of a jumping of point rather than the full on accompanimental feel. Of course, it sounds good the way you did it, but see if you can, in a musical way, get a little of the vibe in your rhythm playing from your vocal approach. I tend to feel this song with almost a cut-time bluegrass feel, if that makes sense. Like there’s Anyway, mess around with it and see if you can find a slightly different feel that you like.
Love this tune. Went ahead and just recorded how I've been playing it for a few years while adding your intro riff (which is awesome btw) Will work on the other licks and can't wait to see if I can improve. Thanks!
Sounds good! Looking forward to hearing more from this tune!
Great thanks - suddenky craving Oysters Bienville.
Beauty ... another one from the file of where was I when this was going on? The verses are a mouthful until I learn it, and what is the lyric in the 2nd verse "HE PLAYED IN A BAND ON TWO DIFFERENT BOATS WORKING FOR THE ??????? LINE and the last verse as I'm not quite catching it (or understanding) "WELL YOU SEE THESE OYSTERS ?????? AND THESE BAKED POTATO SKINS". Really cool man.
Thanks!
"He played in a band on two different boats, working on the STRETFAST line."
I believe that that is the name of of a riverboat company from the old days.
And,
"Well you see these Oysters BIENVILLE, and these baked potato skins..."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oysters_Bienville
Hola, guys--the pdf is of a previous tune.
Hi Jeff --- yes, our mistake --- thanks for letting us know. All fixed.