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.
Rosie
Alan Lomax Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Be your Man Everydays Sunday dollar in your hand
In your hand lordy, in your hand
Everydays Sunday dollar in your hand
Stick to the promise girl that
You made me Won't got married til' uh
I go free
Won't got married til' uh
I go free
Whoa Rosie, hold on gal *When She walks she reel and
Rocks behind Aint that enough to worry,
convicts mind Whoa Rosie, hold on gal
The song "Rosie" by Alan Lomax is a traditional folk song, which describes a man's love for a woman and their harmonious relationship. The song starts with the man asking the woman to be his partner, promising to be hers in return. He speaks of Sundays being like any other day of the week, as long as she has a dollar in her hand. The lines "In your hand lordy, in your hand/Everydays Sunday dollar in your hand" signify the value of money and how important it is for the woman to have it in her hand.
The man then reminds the woman of the promise she made him, that she will wait for him to be freed before they get married. He says, "Stick to the promise girl that/You made me/Won't got married til' uh/I go free." These lines show the undying love and commitment that both the man and woman have for each other, and the loyalty they share.
Finally, the song talks about Rosie's gait, which is unsteady and makes her stagger as she walks. In the lines "Whoa Rosie, hold on gal/When she walks she reel and/Rocks behind/Aint that enough to worry, convicts mind/Whoa Rosie, hold on gal," it is clear that the man worries about Rosie's safety and wishes to protect her. The song is a beautiful, heartfelt expression of love and concern, set to a catchy tune.
Line by Line Meaning
Be my woman gal I'll
I want you to be in a relationship with me
Be your Man Everydays Sunday dollar in your hand
I will take care of you and provide for you
In your hand lordy, in your hand
You will have financial security and stability
Stick to the promise girl that
You made a commitment to me
You made me Won't got married til' uh
We can't get married until I'm free from my current situation
I go free lordy, I go free
I need to be released from my current predicament before we can move forward
Won't got married til' uh
We are committed to each other, but we can't take the next step yet
Whoa Rosie, hold on gal
Slow down, let's take our time
When She walks she reel and
She walks unsteadily
Rocks behind Aint that enough to worry,
The fact that she is unsteady when she walks is concerning
convicts mind Whoa Rosie, hold on gal
Even convicted criminals would be worried by her unsteady walk, so let's slow down and take our time
Writer(s): John A. Lomax Sr, Alan Lomax
Contributed by Jackson R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.