Backwater Blues---Live at Trout Lake

At Trout Lake Country Inn in Washington state, July 17 '10. There's a bit of distortion that I couldn't quite get rid of, but oh well, it's live and unvarnished.
Yesterday I got, read, then deleted an angry personal message from a young man COMMANDING me to stop mocking black people with these "insults to the great Leadbelly."
Aside from my not mocking anybody, and aside from my lifelong reverence for my great musical hero and inspiration Huddie Ledbetter, and aside from the angry young man's uninformed supposition that I know nothing of what the words of these songs mean or what they convey of the life of the people of Leadbelly's time; aside from all these is the Angry Young Man's clear implication in his message that "white people" (whatever exactly that means) must NEVER try to sing these songs.
Well, I always thought the assumption of one people's superiority and exclusive right of possession over another is "racism." Here it is out in the open, and it doesn't become our Angry Young Man to show it. Let's hope he outgrows it, as I have striven all my adult life to eradicate any residual racist sentiments of my own from my childhood. It's a lifelong battle but worth the fight.
By the way, by his own reasoning AYM would apparently deny Leadbelly the right to sing any white people's songs; and if AYM knows as much as he professes to know about Huddie Ledbetter, he surely is aware that Leadbelly's vast repertoire included music written by, and originally for, whites (listen to The Last Sessions for abundant examples). Leadbelly did not hate or demean white people; Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston and the young Pete Seeger were always welcome at Huddie's home and music parties.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Leadbelly
• Alonzogarbanzo
• BackwaterBlues
• MaRainey
• live
• TroutLakeCountryInn

[SirCoughsalot]

Angry Young Men are like that. Don't let it get you down, hoss. Anyhow, terrific song. Looks like you're enjoying yourself, and sounds like the audience is, too.

[alonzogarbanzo]

@SirCoughsalot Yep, indeed it was a good night. Thanks!

I was an Angry Young Man once. Now I strive not to be an angry old one.

[manriq47]

Glad to see you back up there on the stage at Trout Lake. Looks like, once again, a great time was had by one and all. I've got a nephew in Washington who really enjoys acoustic music. I'd like to point him in your direction. How far is TL from Seattle? Heck, how far is it from Michigan? All the best. ~ Mark

[newporter42]

Second to "don't let it get you down." Good to see you out playing live, sounded great.

[michaelnikosey57]

SUPER

[LychkovIA]

Oh, I wish I were there.