Born into a white middle-class family, as a child Dane sang and played piano in Sunday school and also learned to play guitar. Right out of high school, Barbara began to raise her strong voice regularly at demonstrations for racial equality and economic justice. From the mid-40s she became involved with the labor, civil rights and feminist movements. While still in her teens, she began to sit in with bands around town and won the interest of local music promoters. She even got an offer to tour with Alvino Rey's band, but she turned it down in favor of singing at factory gates and in union halls.
In 1949 she moved to San Francisco and began raising her own family and singing her folk and topical songs around town as well as on radio and early TV. The traditional jazz revival was then shaking the town, and by the mid '50s she became a familiar figure at clubs along the city's Embarcadero with her own versions of the classic women's blues and hot jazz tunes.
She worked with Pete Seeger, Kid Ory, George Lewis, Turk Murphy and others, appearing at festivals and on television. Dane appeared at many prestigious venues and shared bills with distinguished performers, including Louis Armstrong, Memphis Slim, Lightnin' Hopkins (with whom she later recorded an album) and controversial comedian Lenny Bruce. In 1959, she recorded with Earl Hines and toured with Jack Teagarden's band.
In 1961 Barbara opened her own club, Sugar Hill: Home of the Blues, on San Francisco's Broadway, with the idea of creating a respectful venue for the music right on the tourist rialto where a wider audience could come in contact with it. There Dane performed regularly with her two most constant musical companions: Kenny "Good News" Whitson on piano and cornet, and Wellman Braud, former Duke Ellington bassist. She continued her high profile on television, radio and in concert, throughout the 60s and 70s.
In 1966, Barbara Dane became the first U.S. musician to tour post-revolutionary Cuba. The impact on the Cuban public was indelible, and she soon returned to take part in an international festival where she met other like-minded singers from all over the world. Through some of these singers, she was invited to tour in both Western and Eastern Europe, Mexico, Nicaragua, and the Far East, even to North Vietnam and the liberated areas of the South as the war still raged. Dane concentrated her musical efforts on singing at fund- and consciousness raising gatherings around the world. Her decision to ally her singing to political causes has tended to keep her from the general audience.
In 1970 Dane founded Paredon Records, with a deep commitment to making the music of the musicians and singers identified with the liberation movements then rocking the globe, many of whom she met during her travels, available to the U.S. listener. She produced 45 albums, including three of her own, over a 12 year period. The label was recently incorporated into Smithsonian-Folkways, a label of the Smithsonian Institution, and is available through their catalog.
In December of 1997 she gave a solo concert at the Casa de las Americas in Havana, Cuba as the wrap-up of a year-long celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Encuentro de Cancion Protesta, a series which included Isabel y Ángel Parra of Chile and other international guest artists.
Her son is Pablo Menendez, leader of the Cuban roots-jazz fusion group Mezcla; and her grandson is Osamu Menendez Santana, of the Cuban rock group Havana.
Little Maggie
Barbara Dane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Over yonder she stands,
Rifle on her shoulder,
Six-shooter in her hand.
How can I ever stand it,
Just to see them two blue eyes,
Shinin' like some diamonds,
Rather be in some lonely hollow
Where the sun don't ever shine,
Than to see you be another man's darling,
And to know that you'll never be mine.
Well, it's march me away to the station
With my suitcase in my hand,
Yes, march me away to the station,
I'm off to some far-distant land.
Sometimes I have a nickel,
And sometimes I have a dime,
Sometimes I have ten dollars,
Just to pay for little Maggie's wine.
Pretty flowers are made for blooming,
Pretty stars are made to shine,
Pretty girls are made for boy's love,
Little Maggie was made for mine.
Well, yonder stands little Maggie
With a dram glass in her hand,
She's a drinkin' down her troubles
Over courtin' some other man.
The song "Little Maggie" is a traditional bluegrass and folk song that tells the story of a man who is heartbroken over the fact that the woman he loves, Little Maggie, is with another man. The man describes Maggie as she stands with a rifle on her shoulder and a six-shooter in her hand. He is tormented by the sight of her "two blue eyes" that "shine like diamonds in the sky". The man expresses a desire to be somewhere where the sun doesn't shine rather than seeing Maggie with another man.
The man then talks about how he is going away to a far-distant land with his suitcase in his hand. He admits to having money to pay for Maggie's wine at times, but it is clear that he cannot be with her. The song ends with a reference to Maggie drinking away her troubles over courting some other man.
The song is steeped in the traditional Appalachian sound and captures the essence of heartbreak and longing. The haunting, mournful melody and simple yet powerful lyrics make it a popular and enduring song in the bluegrass and folk music canon. It has been covered by numerous artists, including Doc Watson, Bob Dylan, and Alison Krauss.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, where is little Maggie
Asking the whereabouts of a girl named Maggie
Over yonder she stands,
Maggie is standing at a distance
Rifle on her shoulder,
Maggie is carrying a rifle
Six-shooter in her hand.
Maggie is holding a six-shooter gun
How can I ever stand it,
Questioning one's ability to cope
Just to see them two blue eyes,
Referring to Maggie's blue eyes
Shinin' like some diamonds,
Comparing the brightness of Maggie's eyes to diamonds
Like some diamonds in the sky.
Further elaborating on the comparison to stars in the sky
Rather be in some lonely hollow
Preferring solitude in an isolated place
Where the sun don't ever shine,
Describing the location with low exposure to sunlight
Than to see you be another man's darling,
Preferring loneliness over seeing Maggie with someone else
And to know that you'll never be mine.
Acknowledging the impossibility of being with Maggie
Well, it's march me away to the station
Describing leaving for a distant place
With my suitcase in my hand,
Picturing someone holding their suitcase
Yes, march me away to the station,
Repeating the intention to leave
I'm off to some far-distant land.
Stating the destination to be very far away
Sometimes I have a nickel,
Describing receiving a small sum of money
And sometimes I have a dime,
Describing receiving a larger sum of money
Sometimes I have ten dollars,
Describing receiving a significant amount of money
Just to pay for little Maggie's wine.
Spending money on Maggie's alcohol
Pretty flowers are made for blooming,
Stating a common belief about flowers
Pretty stars are made to shine,
Stating a common belief about stars
Pretty girls are made for boy's love,
Stating an opinion about girls
Little Maggie was made for mine.
Stating a claim over Maggie's love
Well, yonder stands little Maggie
Referring to Maggie standing in the distance
With a dram glass in her hand,
Maggie is holding a dram glass
She's a drinkin' down her troubles
Maggie is drinking to forget her worries
Over courtin' some other man.
Maggie is upset over another man she's courting
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: SNAKEFARM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind