Ol' Man River

Why is the River a Man?

Ol' Man River by Paul Robeson

Recommended by Martha

"This song was popular when I was growing up. All my friends used to sing it when we were in high school, so it brings back a lot of good memories."

I know how it is to have incredible memories attached to a certain song. Especially when you haven't heard that song in a while. It's like...you hear it, and you're transported back to that time when it was everywhere.

This particular song would, I guess, transport you way back in time.

Ol' Man River was originally written in 1927 by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II (yes that Hammerstein) for the musical Show Boat. It "contrasts the struggles...of African Americans with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River" (x).

Despite the song being about the hardships very specific to the black American community, this song has been covered by a huge number of artists, including the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland.

Here we all work while the white folk play. Hmm.

Anyway, the sound of the song is very calming. Murray Horwitz told NPR, "a strong part of the song's appeal lies in its insistent rhythm. The pulse is like the pulse of the river itself" (x).

He continues:

As in the best of musical theater works, what's happening in the music tells you something different than what's happening in the lyric," he says. "Because even though the lyric is somewhat despairing, the music is absolutely exultant in the end. And so even though the character Joe is being realistic about his prospects, something inside him is still aspiring, still triumphant. And I think that's one of the things that makes it a big hit. (source)

You can definitely find that triumph in this version by Bing Crosby, but he's missing the "insistent rhythm" that should set the song apart.

But the musicality is unique in other ways as well.

The song is notable for several aspects: the lyrical pentatonic-scale melody, the subjects of toil and social class, metaphor to the Mississippi, and as a bass solo (rare in musicals, solos for baritones or tenors being more common). (source)

Nice.

Overview:

Genre:
Showboat

Favorite Lyrics:
I'm tired of livin' and scared of dyin'.

Verdict:
Vintage