Hi all,
I was listening yesterday to the JSP set, "Rev. Gary Davis and the Guitar Evangelists, Volume 2", a set I've had for a couple of years but never listened to that much. I always thought the most notable thing about it was that it had all of Rev. Davis's pre-War recordings, as well as those of Blind Joe Taggart. I noticed that one of the discs had two cuts by Henry Green, an unfamiliar name to me. I listened to them and the second cut, "Strange Things" is really special. Henry Green accompanies himself out of Vestapol at C# on a solo electric guitar, matching his every vocal inflection on his guitar in a way that is really uncanny sounding. The playing sounds like it may be influenced a bit by Josh White's playing of religious numbers in Vestapol, but Henry Green doesn't have the spiffiness or slickness of Josh White's playing; Green's sound is much more austere. He sings with a very spooky focus and intensity, and the over-all impression I received from his music is one of darkness. His two tracks are supposed to date from March of 1952, possibly from Chicago, and the liner notes to the set have absolutely zip to say about Henry Green and his music. I'll attach the song to this post, since I think folks should hear it, and it's more than likely that they would not hear it otherwise. I'd appreciate some help with the bent-bracketed place in the lyrics. Here is "Strange Things":
Say, there's strange things are happenin' every day
I say, strange things are happenin' every day
There is one thing I do know, the things are happenin' never happened before
Strange things are happenin' every day
Well, ships are sinkin' in the ocean, planes are havin' collusion{sic} in the air
Well people, you may not believe it, there is something wrong somewhere
Well, no matter where you go, you hear about things you never heard before
Strange things are happenin' every day
Some folk, they go to church, and they say they are livin' right
We have some so-called Christian, always ready to fuss and fight
And they say they with the Lord, you better trust in my God
Strange things are happenin' every day
Some fool wish that they were dead, some are glad to be alive
We have some who are killing each other, some are committin' suicide
Well, there is a better way, if you just fall on your knees and pray
Strange things are happenin' every day
My God is ridin' on the water, and he ridin' through the storm and land
Well, Church, you better get ready, do as my God command, he said,
"As you see Me go today, I'll be back the same old way."
Strange things are happenin' every day
All best,
Johnm
[attachment deleted by admin]
I was listening yesterday to the JSP set, "Rev. Gary Davis and the Guitar Evangelists, Volume 2", a set I've had for a couple of years but never listened to that much. I always thought the most notable thing about it was that it had all of Rev. Davis's pre-War recordings, as well as those of Blind Joe Taggart. I noticed that one of the discs had two cuts by Henry Green, an unfamiliar name to me. I listened to them and the second cut, "Strange Things" is really special. Henry Green accompanies himself out of Vestapol at C# on a solo electric guitar, matching his every vocal inflection on his guitar in a way that is really uncanny sounding. The playing sounds like it may be influenced a bit by Josh White's playing of religious numbers in Vestapol, but Henry Green doesn't have the spiffiness or slickness of Josh White's playing; Green's sound is much more austere. He sings with a very spooky focus and intensity, and the over-all impression I received from his music is one of darkness. His two tracks are supposed to date from March of 1952, possibly from Chicago, and the liner notes to the set have absolutely zip to say about Henry Green and his music. I'll attach the song to this post, since I think folks should hear it, and it's more than likely that they would not hear it otherwise. I'd appreciate some help with the bent-bracketed place in the lyrics. Here is "Strange Things":
Say, there's strange things are happenin' every day
I say, strange things are happenin' every day
There is one thing I do know, the things are happenin' never happened before
Strange things are happenin' every day
Well, ships are sinkin' in the ocean, planes are havin' collusion{sic} in the air
Well people, you may not believe it, there is something wrong somewhere
Well, no matter where you go, you hear about things you never heard before
Strange things are happenin' every day
Some folk, they go to church, and they say they are livin' right
We have some so-called Christian, always ready to fuss and fight
And they say they with the Lord, you better trust in my God
Strange things are happenin' every day
Some fool wish that they were dead, some are glad to be alive
We have some who are killing each other, some are committin' suicide
Well, there is a better way, if you just fall on your knees and pray
Strange things are happenin' every day
My God is ridin' on the water, and he ridin' through the storm and land
Well, Church, you better get ready, do as my God command, he said,
"As you see Me go today, I'll be back the same old way."
Strange things are happenin' every day
All best,
Johnm
[attachment deleted by admin]