Josh Ritter - "Folk Bloodbath" (Live in Nashville, May 2008)

[JohnWahasky]

The lines in the second to last verse ("out of Delia's bed came briars/out of Luis' came a rose") is a reference, I think, to the old english (maybe scottish) ballad Barbara Lee that has become part of the folk cannon

[dmien746]

well done very good



[sugerkat]

you are a silly goose if you ever pass up a chance to see Josh live, you will never see a more entertaining, interactive show! I saw him on 5-13 in Atlanta and had the chance to meet him and chat with him for about 10 mins.  they come no better than Josh (and Josh hugs are the best hugs on earth)....Dawn Landes, his wife, was with him and she is also a fantastic artist in her own right.

[dryanwalker]

@13HourClock no offense but you are wrong, its called Folk Bloodbath on the album

[79kassius]

first time i heard the new album, it was a surprise. i actually took the time tonight to let each song grow on me, and this is one of my favorites. i wish i had got tickets for the 930 show in D.C. Josh is great!

[zenbentenhenwren]

cool video...my wife and 9yo are going to Town Hall nyc May 19(from Boston)...cant wait..AND all I've ever heard was The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

[PazContigo]

Joshs new album is again such an incredible piece of songwriting.... this man shines even brighter with every new song.

[AndreHessels]

nice one, revamp of the Mississippi John Hurt's song Louis Collins. Some new characters enter the song as Deliah and Stagalee.

[mayresultin]

from what i can tell it's a mash up of mississippi john hurt's angels laid him away/louis collins, hurt's stackolee, johnny cash's delia's gone, and bob dylan's delia

[coleycole1029]

wow, this is awesome!

[matthewlee2]

The melody is the same as Blind Willie McTell's version of Delia, I think.

That melody was probably common to many folk/blues songs, I suppose.

[MrDsmalls]

So... all the characters in this song are all from Bob Dylan's album "World Gone Wrong" which is a collection of old folk/blues songs many which have since been forgotten. Its quite obvious that Ritter knows this album well as Delia, Stack-A-Lee, Judge Lyons, they are all from that album. To me that kind of takes away from this song, as its not nearly as original as it may seem. I hope Ritter would at least be willing to admit to the debt that this song owes World Gone Wrong- its a great album!

[MrCameronmaclean]

Actually, this song is largely a re-doing of Mississippi John Hurt's 'Louis Collins' - especially the chorus... "angels layed them away." But yeah, they're all old folk-song characters, in the lyrics. Josh Ritter is obviously bringing them to life again... just as people like Bob Dylan have. This is what's called the 'folk-process.' Folk music builds off itself and traditions are carried on this way - this is why it's 'folk' and not 'pop'! Originality (in a literal sense) is not the point here.

[MichaelODonoghue]

John Prine hand over the baton to this man

[2tooles]

He played this in Galway on 1st Dec 2007. Class Act.

[wantsarevolution]

So it's not so new then eh? Actually if you look at the lyrics it's a mash-up of a lot of old folk and blues songs. Very cool.

[mehmeh202]

Beautiful!! I'm pretty jealous... no new songs in Little Rock a few days later... haha... but that was a pretty wild show. I don't think a new song would have gone over too well, especially not a slow one. That show was CRAZY--lots of screaming and dancing.