Jack of Diamonds (song): Difference between revisions
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* [[The Byrds]] on the compilation album [[Preflyte]] |
* [[The Byrds]] on the compilation album [[Preflyte]] |
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* [[The Daily Flash]], a 1960s [[Seattle]]-based [[folk rock]] group, released their version as a single in June 1966 (available on a 1998 [[Compilation album|compilation]] [[box set|box]] ''[[Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968]]'', [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino Records]]). |
* [[The Daily Flash]], a 1960s [[Seattle]]-based [[folk rock]] group, released their version as a single in June 1966 (available on a 1998 [[Compilation album|compilation]] [[box set|box]] ''[[Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968]]'', [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino Records]]). |
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* [[Fairport Convention]] recorded a version on [[Fairport Convention (album)| |
* [[Fairport Convention]] recorded a version on [[Fairport Convention (album)|their debut album]]. Credited to [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Ben Carruthers]], it featured lyrics based on the original. |
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* [[Tarbox Ramblers]] used it to open their first album. |
* [[Tarbox Ramblers]] used it to open their first album. |
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* [[Waylon Jennings]] (with the .357s on the album ''[[Waylon Forever]]'') |
* [[Waylon Jennings]] (with the .357s on the album ''[[Waylon Forever]]'') |
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Revision as of 15:44, 14 March 2020
Jack of Diamonds (a.k.a. Jack o' Diamonds and Jack of Diamonds (Is a Hard Card to Play)) is a traditional folk song. It is a Texas gambling song that was popularized by Blind Lemon Jefferson.[1] It was sung by railroad men who had lost money playing conquian.[2] At least twelve white artists recorded the tune before World War II. It has been recorded under various titles such as "A Corn Licker Still in Georgia" (Riley Puckett) and "Rye Whiskey" (Tex Ritter).[3]
The song is related to "Drunkard's Hiccoughs",[4] "Johnnie Armstrong", "Todlen Hame", "Bacach", "Robi Donadh Gorrach", "The Wagoner's Lad", "Clinch Mountain", "The Cuckoo", "Rye Whiskey", "Saints Bound for Heaven", "Separation", and "John Adkins' Farewell."[5] This family of tunes originally comes from the British Isles, though is most well known in North America.[6] The lyrics may originate in the American Civil War song "The Rebel Soldier" and the melody from the Scottish song "Robie Donadh Gorrach", known by Nathaniel Gow as "An Old Highland Song".[7]The tune may have German origins as well. It was sung as a children's song in Germany in the 1880's or before. The lyrics were "Zwei katzen drei rotten und ein schwarze kuh, das kipf mir mein vater van ich heiraten du." The English translation is, "Two cats, three rats and one black cow, my father will give me when I marry you." (With a dowry like that, who could resist the match?)
While Bob Dylan never recorded "Jack of Diamonds", a poem based on its lyrics is included on the back cover of Another Side of Bob Dylan, grouped with others under the title "Some Other Kinds of Songs". [8] The actor Ben Carruthers used this poem to create a song for his band Ben Carruthers and the Deep in 1965.
Covers
The following artists, among others, have included the song in their repertoire.
- Blind Lemon Jefferson (1926)
- Tex Ritter (a very early recording, for which he is famous)
- Skip James
- John Lee Hooker (on the album Jack o' Diamonds: 1949 Recordings, released 2004)
- John Jacob Niles
- Odetta (on Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues, 1956)
- Lonnie Donegan released it as a single in 1957 (available on Rock Island Line: The Singles Anthology 1955-1967, released 1985)
- Betty Johnson recorded a version for Atlantic Records in 1958.
- Mance Lipscomb
- Ramblin' Jack Elliott (on multiple LPs)
- The Fendermen 1960 on the album Mule Skinner Blues
- The Byrds on the compilation album Preflyte
- The Daily Flash, a 1960s Seattle-based folk rock group, released their version as a single in June 1966 (available on a 1998 compilation box Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968, Rhino Records).
- Fairport Convention recorded a version on their debut album. Credited to Bob Dylan and Ben Carruthers, it featured lyrics based on the original.
- Tarbox Ramblers used it to open their first album.
- Waylon Jennings (with the .357s on the album Waylon Forever)
- Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans (on their album Five Dollar Bill)
- Dave Matthews
- Tommy Jarrell
- Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (on the album B-Sides & Rarities, released 22 March 2005.)
- P.W. Long (on the album We Didn't See You On Sunday, released 1997.)
- Alexander Hacke & Danielle de Picciotto (on the 2008 album Ship Of Fools)
- The Ramblin' Riversiders
- Scott H. Biram (on the album Nothin' But Blood, released 2014)
- The Charlatans
See also
- The Cuckoo (song), often titled "Coo Coo" or "Coo Coo Bird", was recorded by Clarence Ashley in 1929 and contains a similar reference to the Jack of Diamonds. A cover version was recorded by Big Brother and the Holding Company as "Coo Coo." [9]
References
- ^ Lomax, Alan (1941). John Avery Lomax; Alan Lomax; Ruth Crawford Seeger (eds.). Our singing country: folk songs and ballads. Courier Dover Publications. p. 303. ISBN 0-486-41089-7.
- ^ Urgo, Joseph R.; Abadie, Ann J. (2007). Faulkner's inheritance. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 64. ISBN 1-57806-953-X.
- ^ Laird, Tracey E. (1 December 2003). "Country Music Sources: A Biblio-Discography of Commercially Recorded Traditional Music". Library and information science.
- ^ Beisswenger, Drew; McCann, Gordon (2006). Ozarks Fiddle Music. Mel Bay Publications. p. 94. ISBN 0-7866-7730-9.
- ^ Samuel Bayard, Dance to the Fiddle, March to the Fife (University Park & London: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1982), p.567
- ^ Matteson Jr., Richard (2006). Bluegrass Picker's Tune Book. Mel Bay Publications. p. 196. ISBN 0-7866-7160-2.
- ^ "Jack O' Diamonds". Bluegrass Messengers. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ "Some Other Kinds of Songs"; Retrieved 07 Apr 2017.
- ^ Cohen, Norm (2005). Folk music: a regional exploration. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 55. ISBN 0-313-32872-2.