Rabon and Alton Delmore (photo courtesy of Happy with The Delmore Brothers website)
The Delmore Brothers have been a great influence on Pap and Paul’s harmony singing. Pap’s been a fan of their music since he was a boy and he passed along his love of the Delmores to Paul and me.
The Delmore Brothers had so many great songs! There’s the ones like Browns Ferry Blues that make you smile and the ones like Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar that’ll almost make you cry. Then there’s all the ones that make you tap your toes and hum along.
In the book In Close Harmony: The Story of The Louvin Brothers, Charlie Louvin is quoted as saying his favorite Delmore Brothers song is Put Me on the Trail to Carolina. While it may not be my favorite Delmore song-it’s certainly a great song.
PUT ME ON THE TRAIL TO CAROLINA
Delmore Brothers
Left my cabin home, started out to roam.
Thought I didn’t like it in the mountains.
Thought I’d like to stay in the city gay,
But it got the best of me.
Put me on trail to Carolina.
That is where I long to be,
Where the mountains high
Reach into the sky;
There my sweetheart waits for me.
Hand in hand together in the twilight,
Strolling down the trail, we two,
Carolina girl, sweetest in the world,
Underneath the sky so blue.
That old dog of mine, let me hear him whine
When he smells a possum in the mountains.
Underneath the moon, let me hum a tune,
Strummin’ on my old guitar.
Put me on trail to Carolina.
That is where I long to be,
Where the mountains high
Reach into the sky;
There my sweetheart waits for me.
Hand in hand together in the twilight,
Strolling down the trail, we two,
Carolina girl, sweetest in the world,
Underneath the sky so blue.
————————
Give Pap and Paul’s version of Put Me on the Train to Carolina a listen.
I hope you enjoyed the lovely harmony as much as I did!
It’s hard to choose a favorite Delmore Brothers song. Competing for number one on my list is Happy on the Mississippi Shore and Sand Mountain Blues…but then I really like Weary Lonesome Blues and Southern Moon. In other words picking a favorite Delmore Brothers song is an impossible task for me.
Do you have a favorite Delmore Brothers song?
Tipper
That was beautiful! So smooth. The harmony is perfect!!
I live a block from where the Delmore Brothers are buried at the Athens City Cemetery in Athens, AL.
Doug-wow that is neat!
I sent you an email last night too.
My dad had this song on an album when I was a boy. I’ve always loved it. To this day I find myself singing this song while I’m driving. This was a great version of the song.
I’m going to ask a crazy question here sorry for intruding on your privacy but my mother was a seals before marrying my dad any chance you are or have had people in Tennessee had to ask
You can’t beat the Delmore Brothers, the Louvin Brothers and Jim & Jesse. And, truth be told, Paul and Pap are hard to beat, too. Gotta love them two “musicianers”, to use an old mountain word.
The guitars the Delmore Brothers are holding in the picture seem to be smaller than typical acoustical, flat-top guitars of today. Is it just my imagination? Or, is there a wide variation in sizes among such instruments?
I have Alton’s book, and he speaks of the travelling they did with Uncle Dave Macon. There is a discography of their songs in the book, including songs they recorded with Uncle Dave. I saw an old song that my grandmother used to sing from an old shape-note book, “When the Harvest Days Are Over.” I had to buy a boxed set to get a copy of the recording, but I’m glad I did. There are other great songs in the collection.
I also have the Louvin Brothers album of Delmore Brothers songs. I read that Ira and Charlie took their song list to Alton for his approval before they went to the studio. Alton brought out Rabun’s old tenor guitar on which he had played such good lead. He wanted them to use the guitar in the recording. Ira was so impressed that he took the strings off and soaked them in kerosene so that the guitar would have the same strings that Rabun played on their recordings.
Both Delmore Brothers could mesmerize with their incredible guitar playing. Today, I think Paul has few equals; and I doubt that few could equal Pap and Paul’s capture of the Delmore Brothers’ sound.
Paul & Pap do great harmony but sometimes, like this song, they even out do themselves. Such a pure, sweet sound.
Tipper,
Pap and Paul I love the harmony and playing of this Delmore Brothers song by you all.
However, I don’t know what exactly it is, maybe it’s the words, but I think I like Blues Stay Away From Me and Southern Moon better.
Maybe it is like Ken said, the tune is just so reminiscent of the cowboy songs being sung at the time by Gene Autry and Roy Rogers…..
Guess it just takes me back and yearn to go to a Saturday 15 cent matinée! You all remember don’t you? When popcorn was a nickel a bag, fountain coke was a dime and those yummy Milk Dud boxes where only a nickel….Yep, for thirty-five cents, you could sit thru the cartoons twice and watch the movie! Those were the good ole days!
Thanks Tipper,
Tipper,
Sometimes those “slow down’ songs
are just the trick. This one reminds me of Gene Autry and those old Cowboy songs he sung while the cattle settled in.
I’m mot too familiar with the
Delmore Brother’s Songs, like I am with the Louvin Brothers or Jim and Jesse…Ken
Beautiful and easy to ‘join in’ except I have a slight defect in carrying a tune. Eva Nell
The favorite Delmore Brothers song of my Carolina girl and me is whichever one Pap and Paul happen to be singing at the moment.
Thank you for featuring Pap and Paul on the Delmore Brothers’ song! Whatever they sing, I like. This one is a little different–and I must admit I was not that familiar with the Delmore
Brothers. But if that group could even hold a candle to Pap and Paul, they would be “going some”!
I guess I’m just a nostalgic person who loves everything mountain. I could substitute my favorite place, “Put Me on the Trail to Choestoe,” and it would work really well with the words and music to the Delmore Brothers’ song! (No offense meant; we just have our favorite places that fill us with memories and love!) Thanks for posting. Have a wonderful Lord’s Day!
Nicely done,, I believe my vote would be split between Southern Moon and Blues stay away from me…
Enjoyed their singing, the harmony! Job well done!