Dave Van Ronk - "Duncan and Brady"

[Bojarsbard]

I believe this is a Leadbelly tune. Sure wish I could find some of that.

[sheilapatrick1]

all of the early blues you cant tell who wrote any of it almost every song you can find parts of others just changed up a bit charlie patton did it way before anyone hard to tell who he sto borrowed it from

[ssalty]

@sheilapatrick1 Blues is a dynamic music. Back before recording existed (at least for such people as these). The song would be performed at a gathering of some sort and the next guy would sing it the next time, often with changes in the lyrics.

[pomea]

Never realized this is where the Johnson Mountain Boys got their version. It was Dave Van Ronk!

[keltyk]

first time I've heard DVR... I like this a lot. Wonder if John Martyn borrowed a lot from his style... slightly reminds me of him

[DwightYeast]

Everyone stole shamelessly from DvR. Bob Dylan owes his career in part to songs he learned from him in the early days.

[wrongwayup]

@DwightYeast To be fair though, "stealing" or actually borrowing is rather normal in folk music. People have been setting their own lyrics to existing melodies, for example, for hundreds of years. Especially when considering the centuries old songs from Scotland, Ireland and England.

[HippieGuitarBoy]

@DwightYeast Dave Van Ronk "stole" songs from Gary Davis. Ramblin' Jack Elliott "stole" songs from Woody Guthrie. Woody Guthrie "stole" songs from Cisco Houston. Joan Baez "stole" songs from Bob Dylan. In the folk world, everyone played/plays other peoples songs. That's one of the things that make them folk songs. They're meant to be passed around, so that the songs outlast all memory of the person who wrote it, thus becoming classic, traditional, folk songs.

[sheilapatrick1]

@HippieGuitarBoy charlie patton frankie and albert way before either

[TheBigDrizzinator]

@DwightYeast This song was performed by Leadbelly whose version later inspired Dave Van Ronk to do his own version. Many more people before and after Leadbelly have and will continue to do this song.

[bulbheadmyass]

This was a fave of mine decades ago. It still is.