W2 "Stagolee"
I listened to Stagolee by Mississippi John Hurt, this song really stood out to me because of the story that is being told. It is pretty intense as Stagolee kills this man named Billy, it is really sad especially when Billy tells him to spare his life because of his wife and kids. As the song says, Stagolee was a bad man so that didn't stop him. You can feel the emotion in his voice as he is playing it and singing this story, almost as if he is tied to it. While learning about more of the racism that happened in the music world at his time, it really is sad the hate and persecution these African-Americans faced. It can kind of explain how he is tied to it, that John Hurt himself probably met and was afflicted by many "bad men" as the song refers to Stagolee. I love how he can use the music as an outlet for the feelings and thoughts of his soul as well as for anyone!
What caught my attention the most about this song, is the emotion and power he gives off as he sings, also the way he carries the beat the whole song. I like how it is strophic, Mississippi John Hurt is picking the same pattern when he is singing. I really like the way he fingerpicks the guitar and it surprises me that a song like this existed back then. The style with fingerpicking is used lots today and it is cool to see the effect that the past songs have on the future and on today's music. Overall a great song and really cool to learn about the history and effect the African-American stream has had on the music today.
Thanks Logan, It was nice how you mentioned the emotion that you noticed in this song. I have no idea what he was going through when he decided to write this song, but I think it is silly or maybe even petty that Billy was willing to Kill a man over a hat. That idea reminds me of something that my father would always say when he overheard people talk about getting in trouble. He would always step in and say "You didn't punished for doing ---, that was just the last thing you did before getting punished" Which leads me to wonder what it is that Billy did that made killing someone seem like the right option.
ReplyDeleteHey Logan, I really enjoyed reading your blog post. You gave a great detailed breakdown of the meaning of this song. I also really enjoyed the finger picking guitar style, I really think it added to the feel of this song. It's crazy how just one song can tell so much history.
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