Boggs was born in Norton, Virginia and began working in the coal mines of Appalachia at the age of twelve. At around this time, Boggs became interested in the banjo. As was the case of many musicians and performers of his era, Boggs learned to play the banjo watching and listening to family members and other performers, drawing additional influence from local African American musicians.
Boggs, while playing a traditional-style of play, did not play in the knock-down, sometimes called clawhammer or frailing style, instead employing a three-finger method that involved picking upwards on the strings of the banjo and permitted him to execute crisp single-note runs in a manner similar to that of a fingerstyle guitarist. Nevertheless, Boggs' style should not be confused with the bluegrass style of playing otherwise known as Scruggs style, made famous by Earl Scruggs, which also involves up-picking the banjo strings.
In 1920 Dock Boggs became influenced by blues tunes. He heard music played and sung by African-Americans while working in the coal mines and around the railroads of Appalachia. In 1927 he attended an audition in Bristol, Tennessee with the Brunswick record company. He was offered a contract to record with Brunswick and as a result travelled to New York where he recorded eight sides: "Sugar Baby," "Down Home Blues," "Country Blues," "Sammie Where Have You Been So Long," "Danville Girl," "Pretty Polly," "New Prisoner's Song" and "Hard Luck Blues." After these sessions, Boggs never recorded for Brunswick again.
By 1933, Boggs had given up hope of making a living as a musician. He hocked his banjo and did not play again until the early 1960s when he was re-discovered by Mike Seeger of the New Lost City Ramblers. As a result of his relationship with Seeger, Boggs enjoyed a renaissance of sorts during the Folk Revival, and recorded again.
Cuba
Dock Boggs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If I go to Cuba, I'll cross the waters wide; If I go to Cuba, I'll marry me another bride.
Railroad is finished, The car's on the track; Take me away to Cuba, They'll never bring me back.
Engineer blows the whistle, The fireman rings the bell, Brakeman takes up tickets, Conductor drunk as ...--Dock also has sung these verses with the song, which do not appear on the album version.
Castro's in Cuba, He's a-ruling like a little god; Anyone says anything about Castro
Is put before a firing squad.
Many Cubans in this country, They's feeling mighty alone; Had their way about it, They'd all go back home.
Dock Boggs's song "Cuba" is a mournful ballad about distant lands and unrequited love. The chorus "Take me over to Cuba, I'll cross the waters o'er; Take me away to Cuba, You'll never see me moer" repeats throughout the song, evoking a sense of longing and yearning for a place that may never be reached. The singer imagines crossing the waters wide to reach Cuba, where he will marry another bride and never return. The railroad is finished, and the car is on the track, suggesting that the journey has begun, and there is no turning back. The singer longs for freedom, perhaps from a loveless marriage or from a stagnant life, and sees Cuba as a place of escape.
The verses of the song also touch upon the political situation in Cuba. The line "Castro's in Cuba, He's a-ruling like a little god; Anyone says anything about Castro is put before a firing squad" refers to the rise of Fidel Castro and his authoritarian rule over Cuba. The song was recorded in 1963, a few years after the Cuban Revolution, and the political tension and uncertainty of the time are evident in these lines. The song ends with a reference to Cuban exiles who are feeling isolated and displaced in their new country, suggesting that sometimes the longing for home is stronger than the desire for freedom.
Overall, "Cuba" is a haunting and poignant song about the complexities of human desire, the lure of distant lands, and the inescapability of political realities.
Line by Line Meaning
Take me over to Cuba, I'll cross the waters o'er;
If you take me to Cuba, I will cross the wide waters to get there.
Take me away to Cuba, You'll never see me moer.
If you take me away to Cuba, I will never be seen again.
If I go to Cuba, I'll cross the waters wide;
If I go to Cuba, I will have to travel across the wide waters.
If I go to Cuba, I'll marry me another bride.
If I go to Cuba, I will marry someone else.
Railroad is finished, The car's on the track;
The railroad is done and the car is ready to go.
Take me away to Cuba, They'll never bring me back.
If you take me to Cuba, I will never return.
Engineer blows the whistle, The fireman rings the bell, Brakeman takes up tickets, Conductor drunk as ...--Dock also has sung these verses with the song, which do not appear on the album version.
The train is ready to go and the workers are doing their jobs, including a drunk conductor.
Castro's in Cuba, He's a-ruling like a little god;
Castro is in Cuba and he is ruling with a lot of power.
Anyone says anything about Castro Is put before a firing squad.
If anyone speaks out against Castro, they will be executed by firing squad.
Many Cubans in this country, They's feeling mighty alone;
Many Cubans in this country are feeling lonely and homesick.
Had their way about it, They'd all go back home.
If they could, all the Cubans in this country would go back to their homeland.
Contributed by Blake B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.