bedquilt ramblers long journey home lyrics

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Kentucky Route Zero- Original Soundtrack

By ben babbitt.

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Ben Babbitt Los Angeles, California

benbabbitt @gmail.com

• May 8 Zebulon Los Angeles (LA), CA

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Please note this is an archived topic , so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/311969

Owen - Posted - 12/02/2015:  08:16:35

The all-knowing Google is failing me.... or maybe I'm just failing at navigating it.   What is the "meaning"  of one's "long journey home" ? Thanks.

deestexas - Posted - 12/02/2015:  08:36:44

My high school English teacher would probably have said, "death."     Certainly is the case for the Alison Krausss/Robert Plant song, "Your Long Journey."  

GaryPuckett - Posted - 12/02/2015:  08:41:29

That Alison Krauss / Robert Plant song was actually written mostly by Rosa Lee Watson.   It's especially poingnant when you think of her and Doc losing Merle.   A beautiful, beautiful song and what folk music is supposed to be at it's best. Yeah...the meaning is leaving this world and going home the next.   Another phrase often used in folk music in "crossing Jordan."

Owen - Posted - 12/02/2015:  09:12:10

Thanks guys... but you're exposing my ignorance. ;) The impetus for my question was the traditional Stanley Brothers-stye LJH [a.k.a. $2 Bill]. My wife says it's about life giving a guy a kick in the pants and he's going home to lick his wounds; I think it [...or at least some other renditions of it] is about a dude going to that big jam in the sky. Feel free to get involved in this family "difference of opinion"!! Thanks again.

Edited by - Owen on 12/02/2015 09:14:29

Fathand - Posted - 12/02/2015:  09:22:31

I think it means that one is broke (only a $2 bill) cannot afford a train or bus and is probably walking home making the journey long amongst other troubles in the song. Sounds like he might try to jump a freight ("black smoke, surely is a train"). If the protaganist were dead, the rain and lack of funds would not be an issue.

deestexas - Posted - 12/02/2015:  10:22:35

The Monroe Brothers recorded it well before the Stanleys.    What it is about depends on your preference for metaphoric versus literal meaning.   As they say, your  mileage may vary.

Buzzbomb - Posted - 12/02/2015:  11:02:28

In Wayne Erbsen's "Rural Roots Of Bluegrass - Songs, Stories & History" book he says it originated as far back as 1890 & was earlier known as "High Sheriff" & "Deadheads And Suckers" . The Prairie Ramblers recorded it in July 1935 as "Big Ball In Texas". It was the first song recorded by Bill & Charlie Monroe in 1936 and The Delmore Brothers also cut it in 1938 as "Big Ball In Texas"...

Edited by - Buzzbomb on 12/02/2015 11:04:34

raharris - Posted - 12/02/2015:  11:08:46

Probably means whatever you want it to. Folk tropes are swapped around pretty freely and the term might not have always have been associated with $2 bills and trains. So it could mean death in one context, or to one listener, as well as the complicated way home for a migrant worker in another.

Gymbal31 - Posted - 12/02/2015:  11:47:06

I think it also depends on what verses you hear. The first version I heard included "Cloudy in the East and it looks like rain" and  "Pretty girls are waiting on down the line". I thought it was a dying man's song.

I found this on a gooogle search: books.google.com/books?id=0q6g...p;f=false

Sorry the link is so long. But that lead me to this: sonichits.com/video/The_Bogtro...d_Suckers

Play the second link all the way through.  There's more versions with different lyrics after the first song.

Edited by - Gymbal31 on 12/02/2015 11:48:53

Gymbal31 - Posted - 12/02/2015:  11:54:47

When I was single, I thought the Johnny Rivers song, "Mountain of Love", was about a guy who got dumped at the alter just before his wedding.  After I got married, I decided it was about a guy who's fiance' died just before their wedding.

Interpretation is all in your perspective.

beegee - Posted - 12/02/2015:  12:03:50

I think if you must attach meaning to it, it may come close to the Prodigal Son parable in Luke 15.. A lot of hard-luck music came out of the Great Depression era, when men often struck out from home to make a meager living wherever work could be found. Many found that the grass was seldom greener, and after facing disappointment and hardship, they would swallow their pride and head back home to whatever was left of their life.

Unclelevi - Posted - 12/02/2015:  13:32:27

I think it's just a really fun jam session tune.

J.Albert - Posted - 12/02/2015:  15:56:14

I keep a $2 bill around in honor of this song!

raharris - Posted - 12/02/2015:  16:03:46

quote: Originally posted by J.Albert   I keep a $2 bill around in honor of this song!

Owen - Posted - 12/02/2015:  18:29:25

Hi all... I was hoping for something a bit more definitive, however, 'tis what it is; I am now more aware of the possibilities. Thanks to everyone for your input.

Tom Hanway - Posted - 12/02/2015:  18:36:38

quote: Originally posted by raharris   Probably means whatever you want it to. Folk tropes are swapped around pretty freely and the term might not have always have been associated with $2 bills and trains. So it could mean death in one context, or to one listener, as well as the complicated way home for a migrant worker in another.

Paul R - Posted - 12/02/2015:  18:59:54

quote: Originally posted by raharris   quote: Originally posted by J.Albert   I keep a $2 bill around in honor of this song!

Up on this side of the border, we have our Toonies - our $2 coins (and our Loonies - $1 coins).

RB-1 - Posted - 12/03/2015:  15:11:41

quote: Originally posted by GaryPuckett   That Alison Krauss / Robert Plant song was actually written mostly by Rosa Lee Watson.   It's especially poingnant when you think of her and Doc losing Merle.   A beautiful, beautiful song and what folk music is supposed to be at it's best

Speaking of poignant, we have a similar experience.

Only 2 months after this recording, Theo Lissenberg, third member of our (then) trio 'Skyland' passed away: Your Long Journey

Theo sang lead with my wife Elly, while I provided the third harmony in the choruses.

He also played the banjo, where I did the guitar part.

Unclelevi - Posted - 12/03/2015:  20:35:05

And here I thought I was the only one who keeps a $2 bill in my banjo case.

Banjophobic - Posted - 12/03/2015:  20:43:31

Maybe Im obtuse, but the typical lyrics dont seem to allegorical to 'death', but simply saying he was out of town, blew all his money, down on his luck and wants to go home...

  Lost all my money but a two dollar bill    Two dollar bill boys, two dollar bill    Lost all my money but a two dollar bill    I'm on my long journey home

Cloudy in the West and it looks like rain Looks like rain, boys, looks like rain Cloudy in the West and it looks like rain I'm on my long journey home

It's dark and a raining and I want to go home Want to go home, boys, want to go home Its dark and a raining and I want to go home I'm on my long journey home

Homesick and lonesome and I'm feeling kind of blue Feeling kind of blue, boys, feeling kind of blue Homesick and lonesome and I'm feeling kind of blue I'm on my long journey home

There's black smoke a rising and it surely is a train Surely is a train boys, surely is a train There's black smoke a rising and it surely is a train I'm on my long journey home

CEParagon124 - Posted - 12/04/2015:  12:09:38

I agree with the Prodigal Son theory.

It must have, indeed, been a tucked tail, long journey home, expecting what he was expecting and planning to do what he planned to do.

Until he was greeted by a forgiving father, that is.

Charlie Noyes

a g cole - Posted - 12/04/2015:  12:22:56

I agree completely with both Beegee and Banjophobic..  The first time I heard the song (probably some 70 years ago) the mental image it created for me was someone who had ventured away from home seeking his fortune, but was disappointed.  He probably contributed to that disappointment by gambling and losing (down to a 2 dollar bill), and was going to hobo a train to get him back as near as possible to home.

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 12/06/2015:  10:55:12

Odd. Yesterday I posted a link to my version of Deadheads and Suckers to another thread here.

Since the link is still handy I'll post it again here. We didn't do too many of the LJH verses in our version save for the " Light up in Heaven " verse which in Deadheads is " There's a light up in the graveyard "

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 12/06/2015:  12:20:37

My wife got back from here trip just then and I abandoned the computer to greet her.

Here is the link

banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=

stanleytone - Posted - 12/06/2015:  14:59:24

Cornflake - Posted - 12/06/2015:  17:29:32

Whenever I hear this song I think of something Alan Munde said in a workshop I attended. We we're covering "A Long Journey Home." When we got to the verse about "black smoke arising'" Alan, out of nowhere, said, "I've always wondered about that line. He says it surely is a train, but maybe it's just someone burning tires." A great example of Alan's humor.

Owen - Posted - 12/08/2015:  06:18:54

... the main thing that makes me think it could be about death is the use of "my" in "my long journey home," as if EVERYBODY will come to experience it. I've also considered that "my" could refer to a everyone within a certain group of people, not necessarily EVERYBODY... or maybe it just sounds right. Also one version I've encountered has a verse about "pretty girls awaitin' farther down the line" ... was the writer thinking about girls back home [i.e. from his past]? ... was he near death and delusional about the girls somewhere he's never been? You see, if I think there's room for improvement [like change words, add a verse, shuffling verse order, etc.], I don't hesitate to go ahead and "improve" things.... and am undecided about which "fork" to take. I was wondering whether or not there was some generally recognized [historical?] meaning of "MY long journey home." Looks like I'm at: It's your song, sing it any way you want! [...and now, I have to consider a verse about burning tires.] ;)

Banjophobic - Posted - 12/08/2015:  09:34:47

im not seeing how the use of "my" has a death connotation. If he sang "I'm on a long journey home" "a" would make it kind of generic. Using "my" personalized the story. The tune Little Girl of"Mine" in Tennessee " would be kind of impersonal if it was "a little girl in Tennessee "....

Craig_B - Posted - 12/08/2015:  09:40:35

Its meaning is entirely to remind me that in 1990 a burglar stole my collection of $2 bills that my maternal grandmother had been sending me for each of my birthdays since I was little. They could have taken almost anything else and it would have bothered me less.

Edited by - Craig_B on 12/08/2015 09:40:51

Owen - Posted - 12/08/2015:  10:37:58

John, possibly akin to my time is up? ... my time has come? ....guess it wasn't my time! etc. However, I realize using "the" rather than "my" could have the same connotation, IF there was some historical, widespread usage. Regarding heart attacks, in my circles "THE big one!" has a connotation of this nature. Apparently, "the big one"  along the California coast has another meaning.  I'm not saying that there need be a connection to death...just wondering.  Most of the song appears to suggest a dude going home to "recuperate" but other bits make me wonder.     [...and I'm reluctant to "throw in THE towel" in the difference of opinion between my wife and I.]     P.S. ... do you think the "pretty girls" reference is the writer reminiscing or just wishful thinking?    ;)

Edited by - Owen on 12/08/2015 10:44:26

pappy c - Posted - 12/08/2015:  11:46:56

Sometimes a song is just a song! It may stir the singer in one direction and listener in another. Verses are added and/or subtracted from the presentation to lead a listener in a direction or create a mood, but final interpretation is always up to the listener. We can only know what the writer intended if the writer explains it to us. Everything else is individual interpretation. Oh! the beauty of lyrical verse.

derekoftheold97 - Posted - 12/08/2015:  11:50:47

I've never been to the USA (yet). I didn't know there was such a thing as a $2 bill. I always thought the song was about a greenhorn getting ripped off in the city and wanting to go home. I'm no deep thinker!

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 12/08/2015:  13:01:14

It amazes me how many people around here cannot comprehend the concept of a double meaning. Of course My Long Journey Home refers to literally going home after a long and painful trip, that has lasted between an hour and several decades, but that journey can be seen as an entire life as well as a single trip to new lands.

Many, if not most religious songs (Hymns, Spirituals, and all other songs with religious overtones) create parallel situations involving finding a way back to the safe place from whence we came, eventually to return to that safe place where we will dwell soon - and forever. Birth, Life, and Death - This is what religion is about and what the song is about!

Drawing parallels with earthly endeavours is standard operating procedure for religious story telling. Hence the term "parable."

Another example:

I'm going there to meet my Mother.

My Father he will be there too,

I'm just a-going over Jordan,

I'm just a-going over home

                                            Wayfarin' Stranger

Sound familiar?

We are all on our long journey home.

I'll shut up now as I can see I'm skating on thin ice vis-a-vis BHO rules.

Edited by - oldwoodchuckb on 12/08/2015 13:15:57

Craig_B - Posted - 12/08/2015:  13:14:03

I doubt anyone sings about crossing the Jordan literally. ;)

Banjophobic - Posted - 12/08/2015:  13:31:47

I can comprehend double meaning fine, I'm not a dummy,haha. All I'm saying is every folks song isn't about double meaning. Sometimes there's one meaning implied, which in this can I think is just a story about rambling around and then coming home. Of course anyone can associate a double meaning with about any song, if one tries hard enough.

Besides, I don't see much association with two dollar bills and heaven....😎

Edited by - Banjophobic on 12/08/2015 13:33:34

steve davis - Posted - 12/08/2015:  13:36:34

Trying and failing to find good work in the city and going back to the farm.

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 12/08/2015:  14:26:19

I'm listening to the Bogtrotters right now and am on the third song we stole from their album - Deadheads and Suckers, Cold Icy Floor, and Sugar Hill - all in a row. I guess we were Bogtrotters fans back in the 80s.

Aradobanjo - Posted - 12/08/2015:  19:13:08

Long Journey Home means, 1) depression (what's with the long face? 2) laziness (buddy can you spare a dime?), or 3) Gambling looser (does want to face the facts). 

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 12/09/2015:  12:59:59

depression = equals "what's with the long face - what the?

I always thought "what's with the long face?" is what the guy said when he walked onto his favourite saloon and found a horse standing at the bar.

OTOH I Know that Buddy Can You Spare a Dime is about the Great Depression when 25% of the American workforce was Out Of Work because the factories and offices were closing or cutting back. It was one of the few commercial songs ever written directly about the effects of the depression, since the very subject alone was too depressing to inspire much singing at all. Take a listen to the lyrics and read something on the subject. You might also want to note that the song was about a WWI veteran who went "slogging through Hell" and now couldn't put food on the table for his family.

sandy rothman - Posted - 12/10/2015:  03:21:15

I'm with Banjophobic.

"Pretty girl's waitin'" isn't plural. He (or conceivably she, but probably not back then) is talking about the pretty girl from back home. Let's hope she was still there, still interested, unconcerned about his broke status, etc.

Tam_Zeb - Posted - 12/10/2015:  06:12:43

Long - measuring a great distance from beginning to end.

Journey - an act of traveling from one place to another.

Home - the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.

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