Lomax was son of pioneering musicologist and folklorist John Lomax, with whom he started his career by recording songs sung by prisoners in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. He attended The Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut, and then went on to earn a degree in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin and worked on the oral history project for the Library of Congress. To some, he is best known for his theory of cantometrics.
Lomax worked with his father on the Archive of Folk Culture, a collection of more than ten thousand recordings for the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress.
Lomax assembled a highly regarded treasure trove of American and international culture. He spent a lifetime collecting folk music from around the world, particularly from the American South. He also recorded substantial interviews with many musicians, including Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Muddy Waters, Jelly Roll Morton, and Jeannie Robertson. He produced radio shows, had a regular television series, and played an important role in both the American and British Folk revivals of the 1950s.
He recorded Irish traditional musicians including some of the songs in English and Irish of Elizabeth Cronin in 1951.
His survey of Italian folk music with Diego Carpitella, conducted in 1953 and 1954, helped capture a snapshot of a multitude of important traditional folk styles shortly before they disappeared. The pair amassed one of the most representative folk song collections of any culture. From Lomax's Spanish and Italian recordings emerged one of the first theories explaining the types of folk singing that emerge in particular areas, a theory that incorporates work style, the environment, and the degrees of social and sexual freedom.
Achievements
Lomax won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award in 1993 for his book The Land Where the Blues Began, the story of the origins of Blues music. Lomax also received a posthumous Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 2003.
No More My Lawd
Alan Lomax Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cho: No more, my Lord,
No more, my Lord,
Lord, I'll never turn back no more.
I found in Him a resting place,
And He have made me glad.
Can you tell me where He's gone?
Go down, go down, among flower yard,
And perhaps you may find Him there
The lyrics to Alan Lomax's song No More My Lawd seem to reflect the idea of a person finding joy and peace in their faith in Jesus Christ. The first two lines of the chorus "No more, my Lord, no more, my Lord" carries a strong sentiment of dedication to God, implying a turning point in the singer's life. The following line, "Lord, I'll never turn back no more" reinforces this idea of a newfound devotion to the faith.
The second stanza of the song discusses the singer's search for Jesus, asking "Jesus, the Man I am looking for, can you tell me where He's gone?" This line could be interpreted in two ways. First, it may reflect the singer's longing to meet Jesus in person and understand their own faith better. Secondly, it could be a commentary on the lack of guidance that the singer is experiencing, a place where they might find Jesus for themselves. The third stanza discusses the singer's journey to find Jesus in the "flower yard," suggesting a place of beauty and possibly a metaphor for the search for Jesus.
Overall, No More My Lawd is a song that is open to interpretation, but at its core, it seems to reflect the idea of finding faith and devotion in Jesus and the journey that is taken to get to that point.
Line by Line Meaning
No more, my Lord
I am done with my previous life and I turn to you for guidance.
No more, my Lord, Lord, I'll never turn back no more.
I have made a commitment to follow you and I will stay true to this decision.
I found in Him a resting place, And He have made me glad.
I have found peace and joy by seeking solace in you and committing to live my life according to your principles.
Jesus, the Man I am looking for, Can you tell me where He's gone?
I am searching for Jesus and would like your guidance in finding Him.
Go down, go down, among flower yard, And perhaps you may find Him there
Look in unexpected places as you search for Jesus, for He may be found in unexpected, beautiful surroundings.
Writer(s): A. Lomax
Contributed by Austin W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.