Houston was a regular recording artist for Moses Asch's Folkways recording studio. He also performed with such folk/blues musicians as Lead Belly, Sonny Terry, and the Almanac Singers.
Gilbert Vandine Houston was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on August 18, 1918, the second of four children. His father, Adrian Moncure Houston, was a sheet-metal worker. The family moved to California while Houston was still young, and he attended school in Eagle Rock, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.
During his school years, Cisco began to play the guitar, having picked up an assortment of folk songs from family. It is reported[1] that Houston was regarded as highly intelligent during his time at school, despite the nystagmus that afflicted his eyesight, leaving him to rely heavily on peripheral vision. He learned primarily by memorizing what he heard in the classroom. Despite his difficulties, Cisco came to be regarded as a well-read individual.
When the Great Depression struck, Houston began working to help support his family. In 1932, his unemployed father left home and a few years later Cisco went on the road, accompanied initially by his brother Slim. The years were spent traveling and working odd jobs throughout the western United States, always with a guitar at his side. Gil Houston passed through many places, included the town of Cisco, California, the place from which he took his name.
During his travels, Cisco expanded his repertoire of traditional songs, particularly in his time employed as a cowboy. He performed music informally wherever he went, and eventually began occasionally playing at clubs and on Western radio stations.
Cisco returned to Los Angeles in 1938 and pursued a career in acting. During this time Cisco, along with friend and fellow actor Will Geer, visited folk singer Woody Guthrie at a radio studio in Hollywood. This marks the beginning of the close friendship between Guthrie and Houston. The taciturn Cisco proved an ideal counterpart for the frenzied Woody, and the two men began traveling together, touring migrant worker camps, singing, and promoting unionism and workers’ rights, eventually making their way to New York City.
Despite Houston's poor eyesight (which rendered him nearly blind by the end of his life), he managed to enlist in the Merchant Marines in 1940 and served in World War II. Houston survived three separate torpedoing of ships he served on.
When he wasn’t shipping out, Cisco remained in New York and performed with the Almanac Singers, a left-wing folk group that often included Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Millard Lampell, and Woody Guthrie, among others.
After the United States entered World War II, Woody Guthrie joined Cisco in the Merchant Marines along with Jim Longhi, who documented this period in a memoir. Throughout three wartime trips, the two folksingers gave performances regularly, boosting the morale of the crew and, on the third trip, three thousand troops.
During the years following the war, Cisco engaged in acting, music, and traveling, sometimes recording. In 1944 Cisco, along with Woody Guthrie and Sonny Terry, had taken part in recording sessions at the studio of Moses Asch. Four years later, Asch founded the label Folkways, with Cisco performing on two of the first LPs issued by the new company.
Houston appeared in the Broadway theatre play The Cradle Will Rock in 1948 and in 1954 began hosting the Gil Houston radio show. The show was quickly cancelled, which led to some suspicion of blacklisting.
Throughout the fifties, Cisco performed regularly at clubs, churches, and colleges. He recorded for various labels, including Folkways, Stinson, Disc, Coral, Decca and Vanguard, and was a guest on a numerous radio and television programs.
Houston toured India in 1959 under the sponsorship of the State Department with Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Marilyn Childs. In 1960 he hosted the television special, “Folk Sound U.S.A.” on CBS, and appeared later that year at the Newport Folk Festival. His recordings for Vanguard began with the album “The Cisco Special”, followed by a collection of Woody Guthrie songs.
Diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, Cisco continued performing until no longer able. Two months before his death, he recorded a final album, “Ain’t Got No Home.” He returned to California, and died April 29, 1961 in San Bernardino.
In the months preceding his death, with the knowledge of his imminent demise, Cisco talked at length with his old friend Lee Hays, who recorded their sessions for a project he dubbed “The Cisco Tapes”. Hays held onto the tapes for two more decades, until his own death in 1981, but never completed creating something from the material.
Cisco’s death was mourned by a growing folk music community which included young songwriters including Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, and Phil Ochs, a new generation of musicians who revered such performers as Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Sonny Terry, and Cisco too.
Song tributes to and mentions of Cisco Houston include:
"Fare Thee Well, Cisco" by Tom Paxton
"Cisco Houston Passed This Way" by Peter La Farge
"Blues for Cisco Houston" by Tom McGrath
"Song To Woody" by Bob Dylan
"Christmas Time in Washington" by Steve Earle
Cisco Houston was distinguished by his voice, a smooth baritone sometimes considered too polished for folk music. His voice was criticized as being too good, too professional, and lacking in authenticity. Cisco responded to this accusation:
"There's always a form of theater that things take; even back in the Ozarks, as far as you want to go. People gravitate to the best singer...We have people today who go just the other way, and I don't agree with them. Some of our folksong exponents seem to think you have to go way back in the hills and drag out the worst singer in the world before it's authentic. Now, this is nonsense...Just because he's old and got three arthritic fingers and two strings left on the banjo doesn't prove anything."
His repertoire included folk songs and traditional songs from different arenas of American life - cowboy songs, union songs, railroad songs, murder ballads, and more. He is also known for his renditions of Woody Guthrie originals.
Though not known as a songwriter, Houston did contribute some original tunes. These include "Great July Jones", written with Lewis Allen; "Crazy Heart"; "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man"; "Bad Man's Blunder", written with Lee Hays; "Diamond Joe"; "The Killer" (words traditional); "What did the deep blue sea say", and "Dollar Down". Some of his compositions were included in the songbook 900 Miles, the Ballads, Blues and Folksongs of Cisco Houston, issued by Oak Publications in 1965.
Old Blue
Cisco Houston Lyrics
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I had me a dog and his name was Blue
Well I had an old dog and his name was Blue
I'll betcha five dollars he's a good one too
Singing "Ya-ho Blue, you good dog you"
Well, Old Blue's feet was big and round
Old Blue's feet was big and round
He never 'lowed a possum to touch the ground
Well he treed a possum in a hollow log
You could tell from that he was a good old dog
I said "Ya-ho Blue, you good dog you"
I'll take my axe and I'll take my horn
And get me a possum in the new-grown corn.
Well Old Blue barked and I went to see
And he had a possum up in a tree
Well the possum crawled out on the limb
Blue barked, the possum, possum growled at him
Singing "Ya-ho Blue, you good dog you"
Well Blue what makes your eyes so red
Blue what makes your eyes so red
Blue what makes your eyes so red
You run that possum till you're almost dead
Singing "Ya-ho Blue, you good dog you"
When old Blue died he died so hard
He shook the ground in my back yard
So I dug his grave with a silver spade
Land owered him down with a golden chain
And every link I did call his name
I said "Ya-ho Blue, you good dog you"
Now every time I hear Blue bark
Every time I hear Blue bark
Every time I hear Blue bark
He's treeing possums in Noah's ark
Singing "Ya-ho Blue, you good dog you"
Well I will tell you so you'll know
I'm gonna tell you so you'll know
I'm gonna tell you so you'll know
That Old Blue's gone where the good dogs go
Singing "Ya-ho Blue, you good dog you"
C'mon Blue
Cisco Houston's song "Old Blue" is a tribute to a faithful and skilled hunting dog named Blue. The song is filled with affectionate descriptions of Blue's attributes as a dog, particularly his large and round feet and his ability to tree possums. Houston sings about the pride he feels in owning such a good dog and the lengths he would go to protect him. The repetition of the refrain "Ya-ho Blue, you good dog you" emphasizes the bond between owner and pet, and the emotional attachment that can develop between humans and animals.
The song takes a somber turn in the final verse when Houston sings about the death of Blue. The image of the dog shaking the ground in his back yard as he dies suggests the strength and vitality of Blue in life. Houston chooses to bury Blue with a silver spade and a golden chain, indicating the importance of the dog to his owner. Even in death, Blue's memory lives on as Houston turns to the sky to imagine the dog "treeing possums in Noah's ark." Ultimately, the song is a testament to the loyalty and companionship that dogs can offer, and to the deep bond that can exist between humans and their furry friends.
Line by Line Meaning
Had an old dog and his name was Blue
I used to own a dog, and his name was Blue
I'll betcha five dollars he's a good one too
I'm confident that my dog is a good one, I'm willing to bet on it
Singing "Ya-ho Blue, you good dog you"
I am singing to my dog, Blue, praising him for his abilities
Well, Old Blue's feet was big and round
My dog, Blue, had large and round feet
He never 'lowed a possum to touch the ground
Blue was successful in always catching possums and never letting them get away
Well he treed a possum in a hollow log
Blue chased a possum up a tree that was in a hollow log
You could tell from that he was a good old dog
Based on his success in catching the possum, it was clear that Blue was a good and skilled dog
I said "Ya-ho Blue, you good dog you"
I repeated my praise for Blue after he caught the possum
I'll take my axe and I'll take my horn
I will take my tools - an axe and a horn - to try and catch a possum
And get me a possum in the new-grown corn.
I aim to catch a possum that is hiding in the freshly grown corn
Well Old Blue barked and I went to see
Blue barked and I followed to see what he had found
And he had a possum up in a tree
Blue had successfully chased the possum up a tree
Blue barked, the possum, possum growled at him
Blue barked at the possum and the possum growled back in response
Well Blue what makes your eyes so red
I noticed that Blue's eyes were red and wondered why
You run that possum till you're almost dead
I realized that Blue had chased the possum for so long that he was almost exhausted
When old Blue died he died so hard
When Blue died, he passed away suddenly and powerfully
He shook the ground in my back yard
Blue's death was so impactful that it caused the ground to shake
So I dug his grave with a silver spade
I buried Blue using a silver spade
Land owered him down with a golden chain
I lowered Blue's body into the ground using a golden chain
And every link I did call his name
As I lowered him, I called out Blue's name for each link of the chain
Now every time I hear Blue bark
Whenever I hear a dog bark that sounds like Blue, it reminds me of him
He's treeing possums in Noah's ark
I imagine that Blue is still chasing and catching possums in heaven
Well I will tell you so you'll know
I want to share something important with you
That Old Blue's gone where the good dogs go
Blue has passed away and gone to heaven, where all the good dogs go
Singing "Ya-ho Blue, you good dog you"
I sing Blue's praises one last time
C'mon Blue
I am calling out to Blue, either in remembrance or in the hope that he will come back to me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ROGER MC GUINN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind