Vintage Country (1930s-1960s) – Songbook

Well here it finally is. This one took on a life of it’s own, but I’ve eventually managed to wrangle it down to something manageable (if you consider nearly 80 of the best tunes from the roots of country music manageable!).

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The roots of this songbook are a recent Music League I’ve been taking part in, which focussed on country music over the decades. It started with the 1940s, and I have to admit I wasn’t particularly familiar with country music from that era, so I had to do a bit of research. And via. a few Spotify playlists I ended up finding some music that I really enjoyed. That extended back to the 20s and 30s, and forward to the early 50s and 60s, and suddenly there’s a fantastic selection of songs that feels like they deserve a songbook. And so here it is.

I have to say that I don’t set myself as an expert here. Many of these songs I’ve only become familiar with in recent weeks, and I’ve really no idea as to whether this is representative of the best of country music over those years (I suspect it’s a rather personal perspective). And so you’re not going to get a long essay giving you a social history of these times. But this is a bunch of songs that – for me – represent something earthy, elemental and uncomplicated – something that is part of my personal attraction to this kind of music. And something that got a little lost in country music it became more sophisticated in the 1960s.

There’s a bunch of familiar artists and songs here, for sure. The likes of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and Kitty Wells are legends. Dig deeper and the likes of Bill Monroe, Faron Young, Marty Robbins and Webb Pierce have a deep catalogue of country classics. And digging back, the likes of Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, The Carter Family and Ernest Tubb represent the early roots of country music.

What you’ll find here are songs that tick the classic tropes of country music – songs of heartbreak and love, songs of cheating and being cheated on, songs of death and life, songs of faith and doubt, songs of home and of wandering. And a few songs about trains! For the most part these are really back-to-basics – songs with simple arrangements, basic chords that work with just an instrument and a voice – but which also work well with multiple instruments and multiple voices. So ideal – I think – for you to sing on your own with your ukulele, or to join together with others and weave through with beautiful harmonies.

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As well as the full songbook, I’ve also included (below – deep breath) the individual song sheets for each of the songs in the songbook:

• Ain’t No Wheels On This Ship – Patsy Cline
• Angel Band – The Stanley Brothers
• Big Iron – Marty Robbins
• Big River – Johnny Cash
• Blue Moon Of Kentucky – Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
• Blue Yodel #9 (Standing On The Corner) – Jimmie Rodgers
• Blues Stay Away From Me – The Delmore Brothers
• Cigarettes and Coffee Blues – Lefty Frizzell
• Cocaine Blues – Roy Hogshed
• Cold, Cold Heart – Hank Williams
• Cry, Cry Darling – Goldie Hill
• Don’t Take Your Guns To Town – Johnny Cash
• Don’t Worry – Marty Robbins
• Down To My Last Cigarette – Billy Walker
• Faleena (From El Paso) – Marty Robbins
• Fingerprints – Patsy Cline
• Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
• Get Rhythm – Johnny Cash
• Goin’ Steady – Faron Young
• The Golden Rocket – Hank Snow
• The Great Speckled Bird – Roy Acuff
• Hey Good Lookin’ – Hank Williams
• Honky Tonk Blues – Hank Williams
• Honky Tonk Man – Johnny Horton
• I Ain’t Going Honky Tonkin’ Any More – Ernest Tubb
• I Can’t Stop Loving You – Kitty Wells
• I Don’t Care – Webb Pierce
• I Don’t Hurt Anymore – Hank Snow
• I Fall To Pieces – Patsy Cline
• If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’) – Faron Young
• I Heard The Jukebox Playing – Kitty Wells
• I’ll Get Along Somehow – Ernest Tubb
• I’ll Sail My Ship Alone – Moon Mullican
• I Love You Because – Leon Payne
• I’m A Long Gone Daddy – Hank Williams
• I’m Moving On – Hank Snow and His Rainbow Ranch Boys
• I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry – Hank Williams
• In The Jailhouse Now – Jimmie Rodgers
• It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels – Kitty Wells
• I’ve Been Everywhere – Hank Snow
• I Walk The Line – Johnny Cash
• Keep On The Sunny Side – The Carter Family
• Long Black Veil – Lefty Frizzell
• Making Believe – Kitty Wells
• Mind Your Own Business – Hank Williams
• Move It On Over – Hank Williams
• Music Makin’ Mama From Memphis – Hank Snow and His Rainbow Ranch Boys
• My Baby’s Gone – The Louvin Brothers
• My Love For You (Has Turned To Hate) – Hank Williams
• One By One – Kitty Wells
• Pistol Packin’ Mama – Al Dexter and His Troopers
• The Race Is On – George Jones
• Right Or Wrong – Wanda Jackson
• Rocky Road Blues – Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
• Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down – The Maddox Brothers and Rose
• Searching (For Someone Like You) – Kitty Wells
• Second Fiddle (To An Old Guitar) – Jean Shepard
• She Didn’t Even Know I Was Gone – The Louvin Brothers
• She’s Got You – Patsy Cline
• A Six Pack To Go – Hank Thompson
• Sixteen Tons – Tennessee Ernie Ford
• Sugar Moon – Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
• Take These Chains From My Heart – Hank Williams
• Tennessee Stud – Jimmie Driftwood
• Texarkana Baby – Eddy Arnold
• Together Again – Buck Owens
• Wabash Cannonball – Roy Acuff
• Walkin’ After Midnight – Patsy Cline
• Walk On By – Leroy Van Dyke
• When It’s Springtime In Alaska (It’s Forty Below) – Johnny Horton
• While You’re Cheating On Me – The Louvin Brothers
• Why Can’t He Be You – Patsy Cline
• Why Don’t You Haul Off And Love Me – Wayne Raney
• Why Don’t You Let Me Go – Goldie Hill
• Why Don’t You Love Me – Hank Williams
• Won’t You Ride In My Little Red Wagon – Hank Penny
• You Don’t Know My Mind – Jimmie Skinner
• You’re Still On My Mind – Jeff Daniels

Annie I’m Not Your Daddy – Kid Creole and the Coconuts – Ukulele Chords

That country music songbook is still a work in progress (two-thirds of the way through, I’d say). But in the meantime, something completely different.

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For a few brief moments in the 1980s – 1982, to be precise – August Darnell’s Kid Creole and the Coconut’s burned bright across the music scene. And my, they were bright. With a sound that blended disco, latin, Caribbean and jazz stylings, a look that was flamboyant and colourful (borrowing from the 1930s and 40s), and a stage show that was “among the most propulsive and enchanting of the period, with outlandish dancing and cod theatricals garnishing the Latin beats”, the band managed successfully to be a logical extension of the times as well as standing out amongst them.

Darnell has originally found some success in the mid-70s with Dr Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, a big band and swing-influenced disco band, best remembered for their US hit, “Cherchez La Femme“. But in 1980 he adopted the name Kid Creole (inspired by the Elvis movie, King Creole) and, along with vibraphone player Andy Hernandez (also known as Coati Mundi) who acted as musical director and arranger, and Darnell’s then-wife Adriana “Addy” Kaegi, who led and choreographed the backing singers, The Coconuts, the band recorded and released their debut album Off The Coast Of Me.

Whilst critically lauded, that recorded didn’t achieve great commercial success. But that all changed with the second record, Tropical Gangsters, which was a huge success in the UK and internationally (although not so much so in their native US). Spawning three huge singles, I’m A Wonderful Thing, Stool Pigeon and this wonderful tune. Surely the only song – ever – that combines palimony with a repeated refrain of onomatopoeia, it comes with a typically slick and tongue-in-cheek video (see below) that lifted the song to number 2 in the UK charts, and, according to Darnell, has provided him with a royalty income that he can live on.

So to the song sheet. Well, those Latin vibes need to be accentuated, so it’s definitely one that needs to be felt. I’ve provided two versions – one in the original key, and one transposed down a couple of notches which definitely improves its playability. It’s a fun song that, I’m convinced, will work in a group setting. Give it a go – enjoy!

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(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang – Heaven 17 – Ukulele Chords

I’m working on a songbook of Country tunes from the 1940s and 50s at the moment. But in the meantime, something completely different!

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This one popped up on a playlist recently, and despite having heard it multiple times over recent years, I suddenly had the thought that this could maybe work as a uketune. Well why not – a synth-based, percussion-heavy chant with bass breakdowns – that’s an obvious choice for a ukulele-based singalong, surely!

Well, why not. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes. So here it is.

Fascist Groove Thang was the debut single from Heaven 17, their first release after the break-up of the original Human League. Like now, the early 80s were not a nirvana of rubik’s cubes, day-glo clothing, deely boppers and legwarmers. There was some serious s**t going down – strikes, terrorist attacks, riots, unemployment, Thatcher, Regan, and the ever-present threat of nuclear war. It was against that backdrop that this tune arrived.

The record company (Virgin) and the band were both convinced that the tune had the potential to be a huge hit, and initially the record stared climbing the outer reaches of the chart. But stalled just outside the all-important top 40, Radio 1 DJ Mike Read took against it, prompted largely by the line “Reagan’s president elect/Fascist god in motion“, and proceeded to get it banned. Taking with it any chance of it breaking through as a hit (Read did a similar thing a few years later with Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax, but that time it back-fired spectacularly!).

However the song’s longevity has proved remarkable, covered by both LCD Soundsystem and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and – specific references, aside – the song is still (unfortunately) very topical. To quote joint songwriter, Martyn Ware – “That which used to be hidden from view in the past has now been normalised“.

And the song sheet? Well here it is. To be honest, I’m not totally sure whether these are the “correct” chords. There’s a version on Ultimate Guitar, but I’m not convinced that it’s right. There’s no sheet music out there. And I’ve tried various apps to decipher it and they come up with varying results. But I’m pretty sure that these work, even if they may not be “accurate”. I’ve veered between thinking this could be a real banger, and thinking it could be a car crash! So give it a try – what have you got to lose! Enjoy!

Fascist Groove ThangDownload

Flaming Sword – Care – Ukulele Chords

I’ve just finished reading Paul Simpson’s Revolutionary Spirit., and I’d highly recommend it, particularly for anybody who has an interest in the late-70s and early 80s Liverpool music scene that centred around Eric’s. But it is also a very honest tale of a talent that never realised his full potential, and of somebody who seemed to constantly want to sabotage his own success.

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Simpson was a co-founder, along with Julian Cope, of The Teardrop Explodes. He formed his own band, The Wild Swans, who have been critically lauded but never had any success (apart from, somewhat bizarrely, in the Philippines), and backed out of this collaboration with Ian “Lightning Seeds” Broudie just as they were completing their debut album.

As a key figure in the scene that gave birth to Echo and The Bunnymen, Wah!, OMD and others, including The Lotus Eaters (who were formed when The Wild Swans decided to sack Simpson, their lead singer and founder), and dubbed at the time the best voice on the scene, Simpson could be bitter. But his story is anything but – a tale populated with great characters and ridiculous scenes, an individual who is aware of what he has squandered, but has come to terms with it (and there is a new Wild Swans record due next year).

If you’ve ever heard a Paul Simpson song, chances are it’s this one. Not that you may realise it. Flaming Sword was what they used to call a “radio hit” – played to death on Radio 1 on its release in the spring of 1983, but the great listening public chose not to pay attention. Peaking at number 48 in May of that year, it then proceeded to sink without trace, although Broudie did record a version with The Lightning Seeds. With no effective band to promote the record, the album wasn’t released, and it wasn’t until 1997 that a compilation of the Care recordings finally crept into the sunlight. But it is definitely worth checking out – Flaming Sword is (in my opinion) the best track on there, but there are some other great tunes from the band-that-was-never-to-be.

So here’s one to sing with gusto. The song sheet is quite straightforward – with the exception that it’s almost impossible to do without incurring some flattened chords. This version is true to the original key, although the recording is at a slightly odd speed which means it doesn’t quite sound right. I’ve also tabbed out the very simple intro / instrumental riff to sit over the top of the chords. Enjoy!

Flaming SwordDownload

Burial Ground – The Decemberists – Ukulele Chords

The Decemberists are a band that have flitted on and off my radar over the years. I first became aware of them with The Hazards Of Love album, a record that is probably not the most typical introduction to the band, being as it is a sprawling, epic rock opera that tells a long and winding folk tale.

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I loved that record at the time, and definitely should revisit it at some point. The follow up, The King Is Dead, was also a record that I enjoyed very much, but was a definitely left turn from their previous recording, being a re-discovering of acoustic American roots, described at the time as the “most pastoral, rustic record they’ve ever made”.

The band have been quiet of late (their last record was six years ago), but earlier this year this single appeared. A new album (“As It Ever Was, So It Will Be”) has been announced for June, and there are a bunch of tour dates in the US later in the year, meaning the band are very definitely back to being active.

Burial Ground is described by singer, songwriter and guitarist Colin Meloy:

“‘Burial Ground’ is in that time-honoured pop song tradition, a paean to hanging out in the graveyard. The melody hook came to me in a dream and I hummed it into my phone on waking. Most dream songs are bad; this was the exception.”

It’s a simple but gorgeous song, and struck me as one that would work well as ukulele tune. So here it is.

And there’s a songsheet to go with it. Simple chords, simple structure, there’s not much to say about this one. I have included some of the backing vocals as I think there are a lot of opportunities here for beautiful harmonising (listen to the recording and you’ll see). Enjoy!

Burial GroundDownload

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As an aside, I thought I’d give one of those new-fangled AI tools a try. Asked to “write a 500 word article about Burial Ground by The Decemberists”, it came up with this – I think I’ll give up now!

Burial Ground by The Decemberists is a song that marks a significant return for the band, as it is their first new release in six years. The track features James Mercer of The Shins, adding a unique blend to the already distinct sound of The Decemberists¹. The song was released as part of their album “As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again” and has been performed live at several concerts during their “Arise From The Bunkers Tour” alongside other unreleased songs².

The lyrics of Burial Ground are rich with imagery and metaphor, inviting listeners into a contemplative space. The chorus beckons, “Oh Len, come down / And meet at the burial ground,” suggesting a gathering place that is both literal and figurative². The song speaks to a desire to escape the tumult of the world, to find solace in a place untouched by modern woes. The burial ground serves as a metaphor for a return to roots, a stripping away of the superficial to confront the essential.

Colin Meloy, the band’s lead singer and songwriter, has described the melody hook of Burial Ground as coming to him in a dream, a rarity as most dream-inspired songs do not translate well into waking reality. However, this one proved to be an exception². The dreamlike quality of the song is palpable, with its haunting melody and ethereal harmonies.

The song’s structure is traditional, with verses and choruses that build upon each other to create a narrative arc. The instrumentation is classic Decemberists, with acoustic guitars, piano, and strings creating a folk-rock sound that is both familiar and fresh. Mercer’s contribution adds another layer of harmony, enriching the song’s texture.

Lyrically, Burial Ground delves into themes of transience and the search for belonging. The dismantling of the “aerial” and the “merry-go-round” in the lyrics symbolize the loss of connection and the joy that once was³. The song’s characters seek a place “where we belong,” a refrain that echoes throughout the song, emphasizing the universal human quest for meaning and community.

The Decemberists have long been known for their storytelling prowess, and Burial Ground is no exception. The song tells a story not just through its words but through its mood and atmosphere. It invites listeners to reflect on their own lives, to find their own burial ground where they can lay down their burdens and find peace.

In conclusion, Burial Ground is a song that encapsulates the essence of The Decemberists’ artistry. It is a song of introspection and exploration, both musically and thematically. With its release, the band continues to cement their place in the pantheon of contemporary folk-rock music, offering a track that resonates with listeners long after the last note has faded.

For fans of The Decemberists and new listeners alike, Burial Ground is a testament to the band’s enduring ability to craft songs that are as thought-provoking as they are melodious. It is a welcome addition to their discography and a song that will undoubtedly be cherished for years to come.

Learn more

1nme.com2genius.com3songtell.com4bbc.co.uk5stereoboard.com

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