Today’s post was written by Paul.
I was surprised that I couldn’t find any trace of today’s song on YouTube by Lester Flatt. I checked secondhandsongs.com and couldn’t find it. When I couldn’t find it there, I concluded that I must be searching for the wrong song.
I came back to YouTube and tried various versions of the title. I finally found it by searching for “If I had My Life to Live Over,” which seems like an odd line to select for the title, but perhaps they were trying to avoid confusion or association with other songs. At any rate, I found the very recording that I had heard back in the 90’s. Turns out, it was a track on an album put out by Benny Martin, the great fiddler, and Martin chose to feature Flatt as the singer on that track.
Listen closely, and you should be able to hear the teeth whistle I mentioned in the video. Someone, probably Josh Graves, played some nice dobro on the recording. You can see it here.
As you will find if you listen to the recording of Benny Martin and Lester Flatt, I accidentally omitted the middle verse. I typed that verse below:
I left my home down in old Caroline.
I rambled around from time to time.
I waited too late to start back home
For the ones I loved have done passed on.
That verse touches on a theme, topic, or situation that appears in many old folk and Appalachian songs: staying away too long and regretfully finding that one’s parents have passed during your absence. That may seem strange to modern listeners, but once upon a time, people living in rural areas had no way to call and check on the elders they left behind at the old homeplace.
A good example of the same situation is found in Don Reno’s song, “Little Mountain Road.” My favorite cover of that song is by Crowe and McLaughlin. There many more examples, like Acuff’s “Not a Word from Home” and Mac Wiseman’s “I Wonder how the Old Folks are at Home.”
Acuff released the original recording of “Not a Word from Home,” but the Louvins have the quintessential recording, featuring some of the highest tenor ever sung well. You can hear it here.
I cannot imagine leaving my parents behind and having no clue how they were faring, but once upon a time, I guess it was common practice, perhaps out of necessity to find gainful employment, etc.
Hope you enjoyed the song and the details about my recent trip with Doyle Dykes.
Paul
Original singles released on Spotify.
Shepherd of My Soul (Album released in 2016).
The Wilson Brothers Words of Life Album released in the 70s.
