Words, Wood & Wire
- Marking life's milestones - births and birthdays, coming-of-age celebrations, graduations, marriages, and deaths
- Capturing history for posterity
- Protesting injustices
- As an integral par of religious activities
- Simply for the fun of it
Words, Wood & Wire was put together based on the information gathered by the late David Seneff McIntosh (1897 - 1979) and his wife, Eva. Professor McIntosh was born in Steelville, Illinois, into a musical family. He received his bachelor's degree in music education from Northwestern University in the 1920s, where he met his wife Eva. He came to Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a faculty member in 1928, and while working in the Department of Music obtained his master's degree from the State University of Iowa in 1935. Professor McIntosh served as chair of the Department of Music for 18 years. He retired from SIUC in 1965. It was during his early years in Carbondale that he developed an interest in Southern Illinois folk music and began researching the genre.
Professor and Mrs. McIntosh collected and documented songs and stories of Southern Illinoisans beginning in the 1930s. The McIntoshs donated these recordings to the SIUC University Museum for research purposes in 1971. Their findings were presented in a number of books and articles over the years, most notably the 1974 volume published by the Southern Illinois University Press titled Folk Songs and Singing Games of the Illinois Ozarks.
What does the McIntosh folk song collection reveal about the people and history of Southern Illinois? When the collection is considered as a whole, several themes begin to emerge. As has been noted by other researchers, the love of family, home and land, and the importance and difficulty of working for a living are topics that can be found in the lyrics to these tunes. Also featured are reverence to God, the trauma of war, lost loves, and the need for respite from everyday routine by playing games and dancing. Although it is important to remember that these observations are not true of all people at all times, they do provide a window into the hearts and minds of those living in this region during the middle of the last century.
As you go through the songs featured in this kiosk, listen and consider what it reveals about the time and people captured within its lyrics.
This online Kiosk exhibition is an excerpt from Words, Wood and Wire: The History of Southern Illinois as Told Through Folk Songs and Musical Instruments, an exhibition comprised of songs, musical instruments, and audiovisual displays. The project was funded by a major grant from the Illinois Humanities Council and by The University Museum at Southern Illinois University (SIU).
Other Music Projects
The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) has compiled a set of CDs that feature Illinois Folk Music. For more information, visit www.prairie.org/Music.
The latest Museums on Main Street traveling exhibit, New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music, will visit several towns in Illinois throughout 2007 and 2008. This exhibit is funded by the IHC and the Smithsonian Institute.
The IHC's Road Scholars Speakers Bureau program has a couple of folk musicians on its roster: Mark Dvorak and Chris Vallillo. Visit www.prairie.org/speakers for details on the programs they offer. View This Exhibit
When Mama Goes To Quarreling
This song was written in 1950 by Mr. L. M. Sutherland, and was recorded May 1, 1952 by Professor McIntosh in Flora, Illinois. The lyrics reveal the composer's take on the characteristics of a number of different religious denominations that can be found in the Southern Illinois region. Sutherland accompanies himself in this recording on the 5-string banjo, an instrument he reveals he had played since the age of eight. His clean, rolling style of chording in this song is the result of 67 years of practice.
For more information, please visit the official Words, Wood & Wire site.
Ezekial Saw the Wheel
Track 1: Performed by White Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Mounds, Illinois (November 30, 1954): RP WMP MP3
Track 2: Performed by Sally Rodgers, Claudia Shmidt, Howie Bursen on the CD Closing the Distance (1987): RP WMP MP3
"Ezekiel Saw the Wheel" began its life as an African American spiritual. This song is based on a passage from Old Testament in which Ezekiel, a prophet living in exile in Babylon during the 500s BC, was sent a vision from God. According to the text, as God spoke to him, in addition to seeing four winged "creatures" in the middle of a thundercloud, Ezekiel also saw
four wheels touching the ground, one beside each of them. All four wheels were alike; each one shone like a precious stone, and each had another wheel intersecting it at right angles, so that the wheels could move in any of the four directions. The rims of the wheels were covered with eyes. Whenever the creatures moved, the wheels moved with them...the wheels did exactly what the creatures did, because the creatures controlled them. So every time the creatures moved or stopped or rose in the air, the wheels did exactly the same (Ezekiel 1: 15-21).
In the same way that this story has inspired different kinds of visual art, it lives on into the present in a variety of musical contexts.
Track 1 featuring a group of singers from the White Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, is announced by Ms. Geraldine Smith. The group delivers a dignified and stately version of this song accompanied by piano. This is followed by a solo performance of the same song by Mr. Lewis Flowers, again with piano accompaniment.
Track 2 is a contemporary version performed in a cappella. The driving tempo and repetitive phrases of this version suggest the circular motion of the spinning wheels in Ezekiel's vision.
Track 1: RP WMP MP3
Track 2: RP WMP MP3
For more information, please visit the official Words, Wood & Wire site.
Fiddle Tunes - "Jennie Jenkins" and "Soldier's Joy"
Performed by Mr. Charles Wright
Recorded by Professor McIntosh
August 1954
RP WMP MP3
Wright notes during the course of his interview that he has a blacksmith shop not far from Little Grassy Lake (east of Carbondale) and that he had been out sharpening plows earlier on the day of this recording.
Wright performs two solo fiddle tunes here. He makes frequent use of a technique known as the double stop, where two strings on the fiddle are played simultaneously to produce harmony notes behind the melody. In both songs, listen for his changeovers between single-note melodies and double-stop harmonies.
The first song begins with a traditional fiddle tune known as "Jennie Jenkins." One source notes that the earliest mention of this song was by an old Revolutionary War soldier in a publication from 1823. The lyrics to this tune describe how a young man invites Jennie Jenkins to a dance by asking her over and over what color she will wear.
Will you wear white, oh my dear, oh my dear
Oh will you wear white, Jennie Jenkins?
I won't wear white
For the color's too bright.
In the end, Jennie finally does agree to accompany her suitor to the dance.
The second song is the traditional fiddle tune "Soldier's Joy." Always a popular piece for dances, and still performed in folk music circles today, this tune may go back as far as the 1760s. In spite of its upbeat tempo and catchy melody, the term "soldier's joy" has a much darker meaning than is portrayed by the tune. Opinion has it that this term eventually came to refer to the combination of whiskey, beer, and morphine used by Civil War soldiers, presumably for pain relief. As the lyrics state:
Twenty-five cents for whiskey, twenty-five cents for beer
Twenty-five cents for morphine, get me out of here.
Chorus: I'm my momma's pride and joy
I'm my momma's pride and joy
I'm my momma's pride and joy
Sing you a song called the soldier's joy.
For more information, please visit the official Words, Wood & Wire site.
Love Found, Love Lost: "I Wish I had Someone to Love Me"
Two Women Singing
Recorded by Professor McIntosh
Early 1950s
Track 1: RP WMP MP3
Track 2: RP WMP MP3
Track 3: Instrumental peformed by members of Prairie Moon Consort from their 1999 CD Monday Night Waltz: RP WMP MP3
Finding and losing love is a topic that has captured the imagination of songwriters for as long as there have been people meeting and parting ways. "I Wish I Had Someone To Love Me" is just such a tune, as it describes the singer's dismay over the departure of her loved one. This song was born out of a different one from the 1920s known as "The Prisoner's Song," which recounts an inmate's sadness at separation:
I'll be carried to the new jail tomorrow
Leaving my poor darling alone
With the cold prison bars all around me
And my head on a pillow of stone.
Now if I had wings like an angel
Over these prison walls I would fly.
And I'd fly to the arms of my poor darling
And there I'd be willing to die.
Track 1 is a straightforward rendition of the song without accompaniment.
Track 2 demonstrates one of the conundrums posed when performances are recorded for playback to an audience. Unlike Track One, this track was transferred to CD using an audio filter that eliminates some of the extraneous noise on the recording. Some would say that it "cleaned up" the sound of the women singing; others would say that some of the character of the recording has been removed. The listener must make up his or her own mind as to the benefit or damage caused by such technological alterations
Track 3 features an instrumental version of "I Wish I had Someone to Love Me" performed on mountain dulcimers. Listen to the evocative sound of the dulcimers as they melodically portray the sadness of the song's lyrics.
Track 1: RP WMP MP3
Track 2: RP WMP MP3
Track 3: RP WMP MP3
For more information, please visit the official Words, Wood & Wire site.
The Mount Vernon Cyclone
Sung by Mr. L. L. Jones of Effingham, Illinois
Recorded by Professor McIntosh
May 2, 1953
RP WMP MP3
On February 19, 1888, at 4:50 PM, a cyclone (now known as a tornado) devastated Mount Vernon, Illinois. As this was a time prior to the benefits of weather radar and emergency alert systems, the storm struck without warning. Thirty people were killed, hundreds injured, and over a thousand left homeless. As impossible as it might seem, even the Jefferson County Courthouse, in the photo to the right, was demolished.
As noted by Mr. Samuel Rollinson in a letter to his brother still living in England, those who made it through the disaster considered themselves lucky to be alive. Clara Barton, the founder and first president of the American Red Cross, came to the area in person and organized relief efforts. As was noted in a document by a local teacher and historian, Mildred Warren: "The cyclone was a terrible tragedy and it brought sorrow and loss to many Mt. Vernon citizens but it brought also a realization of the kindness and mercy of others and it developed a spirit of cooperation among citizens that has been marked in the community's later development."
This song tells the story of the tragedy through the lyrics of "The Mount Vernon Cyclone." Note how these simple but plaintive lyrics appeal to the sympathy of the listener and encourage helping others in their time of need.
For more information, please visit the official Words, Wood & Wire site.
The Maud Wreck
Track 1: Performed by Mr. Dies Burton and Recorded by Professor McIntosh (May 1, 1952): RP WMP MP3
Track 2: Performed by Bucky Halker and The Complete Unknowns and Recorded on the CD Welcome to Labor Land (2002): RP WMP MP3
Very early on Christmas morning, 1904, two night passenger trains on the Southern Railroad line-the eastbound Train Number 1 to Louisville and the westbound Train Number 2 to St. Louis-were due to pass each other at their regular meeting point at Bellmont, Illinois. However, a series of unfortunate mistakes occurred, including the display of the wrong signal light by a railroad operator, leading the engineer of the eastbound train, a Mr. Buchanan, to believe that the coast was clear. As both trains rounded a curve near Maud, Illinois, they crashed head-on into each other. Seven people were killed, and eight more were injured. Although Buchanan was able to escape with only minor injuries, the engineer of the westbound train, Mr. Al Bowen, died in the crash. As noted in the lyrics of the song, before boarding the train Bowen told a friend he had a bad feeling about making his run that night. His instincts were right.
Mr. Dies Burton, the singer on Track 1, was a distant relative of the fireman working that night on Bowen's train. Burton, although a little nervous about his skill as a solo performer, gives a clear, straightforward, and unaccompanied rendition of his version of the song.
Bucky Halker, Track 2, lists Clara Bowen of Princeton, Indiana, as the composer of the song. It is essentially the same song as performed on Track 1 by Burton, but with some interesting variations.
Note that although the factual content of both versions is identical, some of the wording is different - a common occurrence when songs and stories are passed along from person to person over time. Also, the Halker version on Track 2 includes a guitar accompaniment. Listen to how this instrument is used to suggest the sound of the speeding locomotives, increasing slightly in tempo and volume as the song progresses. The tragic end of the story is captured by the guitar's final dissonant chord.
Track 1: RP WMP MP3
Track 2: RP WMP MP3
For more information, please visit the official Words, Wood & Wire site.
"Over the Waves" Waltz
Instrumental, Lead Guitar Performed by Mr. Decker, a member of the Decker Family Orchestra
Recorded by Professor McIntosh in McLeansboro, Illinois
March 17, 1953
RP WMP MP3
This song has been passed along by many individuals on its journey to Southern Illinois and beyond. Composed in 1891 by Juventino Rosas, a pureblooded Otomi Indian from Mexico, it was one of six pieces published under the title Sobre las Olas. To this day, "Over The Waves" is one of the most popular fiddle waltzes performed in the southern and southwestern United States.
The tune has been adapted by performers in a variety of musical genres, including tejano musicians, New Orleans jazzmen, and Italian accordion players in New York. It became a popular ballroom dance tune better known as "The Moonshiner's Dance," and was recorded in St. Paul, Minnesota, by Frank Cloutier and the Victoria Café Orchestra in 1927. It was also transformed into an "oompah" song and was played frequently on the Lawrence Welk television show. And, although the original tune was written without words, lyrics were composed by Paul Francis Webster for use in the 1951 film The Great Caruso, and titled "The Loveliest Night of the Year":
When you are in love,
It's the loveliest night of the year.
Stars twinkle above,
You can almost touch them from here.
Words fall into rhyme,
Anytime he is holding you near.
When you are in love,
It's the loveliest night of the year.
Listen closely to hear both a rhythm guitar playing backup chords and the lead guitar playing the melody.
For more information, please visit the official Words, Wood & Wire site.
"Broken Hearts and Homes" - The Floods of Shawneetown, Illinois
Story of one flood as told by Ms. Sarah Dailey of Ridgway, Illinois
Sung by Ms. Jess Rawson
Written by G. B. Fields of Fairfield, Illinois (1989)
RP WMP MP3
Hard by the edge of the Ohio River, Shawneetown has seen its share of troubles each time the waterway has overflowed its banks. Local newspapers have recorded such events as far back as 1832. After repeated floods, townspeople built the first of the levees in an effort to hold back the floodwaters in 1859. The levy broke in 1898, resulting in 25 deaths and 200 lost homes. Although the levy was raised to an "impenetrable" 60 feet after this incident, another major flood occurred in 1937. Shawneetown was subsequently relocated to higher ground.
The first part of this track is the story of one flood as told by Ms. Sarah Dailey of Ridgway, Illinois, to Professor McIntosh during the early 1950s. Through the spoken word, Dailey describes the disaster from a personal perspective. She focuses on how the news spread by word of mouth, and how the individuals affected by the floodwaters gave aid to one another.
The second part of this track is the song of the 1898 flood sung by Ms. Jess Rawson, who was a little girl at the time of the catastrophe. This song, titled "Flood of Shawneetown" or "Broken Hearts and Homes," was written in 1989 by G. B. Fields of Fairfield, Illinois, and dedicated to a man who had lost his wife and two daughters in the disaster. Rawson has a fine, strong voice-listen as she recounts the incident through Fields' melodramatic lyrics.
For more information, please visit the official Words, Wood & Wire site.
Just For Fun - "Square Dance"
Performed by Uncle Bill Hargraves, Uncle Bob Tucker, Rober Tucker, and Madge Tucker Tate
Collected: April 26, 1953
RP WMP MP3
Professor David S. McIntosh collected folk songs performed in a variety of situations, including those sung by children while playing games, and music used by all ages for dancing. He published his findings in several volumes, including:
- Singing Games and Songs from Southern Illinois (1941),
- Southern Illinois Singing Games and Songs (1946),
- Sing and Swing from Southern Illinois (1948),
- Singing Games and Dances (1957),
- and his largest and final volume Folk Songs and Singing Games of the Illinois Ozarks (1974).
Based on information from his 1974 publication, this recording is a traditional square dance where the music is provided by instrumentalists, rather than by the dancers making their own accompaniment by singing. It was collected by Professor McIntosh in the McLeansboro, Illinois home of Mr. Bob Tucker on April 26, 1953. In this recording, the square dance call is provided by Uncle Bill Hargraves, and the musicians include Uncle Bob Tucker (banjo), Robert Tucker (violin), and (the apparently recently-married) Madge Tucker Tate (guitar). Listen closely, and the sound of stomping feet can be heard. It is obvious that these people were out to have a good time!
Other popular songs featured in this kiosk that were used as a respite from the everday routine are "Jenny Jenkins" and "Over the Waves."
For more information, please visit the official Words, Wood & Wire site.
"Tribe of Monkeys" - Social Commentary through Poetry
Written and Performed by C. E. Wolf of DeSoto, Illinois
Recorded by Professor McIntosh
February 1, 1953
RP WMP MP3
Mr. C. E. Wolf of DeSoto, Illinois, wrote "Tribe of Monkeys" during the first few years of the 1900s. Read by the author himself on this recording, this poem is an exercise in social commentary. Wolf mentions Charles Darwin's "famous plan" - a relatively new theory at the time, as The Origin of Species had been published only 40-odd years before this work was composed. Additionally, it is worth remembering that the "Monkey Trials" (State of Tennessee v. John Scopes) would not occur for another 25 years after the publication of this composition. However, in this poem it is the monkeys who question how closely they want to be associated with humans, given the behavior of the people they have observed.
Wolf uses the thoughts of the monkeys as a foil for his own observations. Class and economic disparity is the main topic of this composition, as the monkeys urge working people to stand up to oppressive rulers and Wall Street "thieves." By the poem's end, Wolf also reveals the role he feels that Christianity will play in the emancipation of laborers: "Let working men unite with Christ and free the human race."
For more information, please visit the official Words, Wood & Wire site.