He plays slide guitar, harmonica, six-string banjo, cigar-box guitar and the Mohan Veena (a 20-stringed guitar/sitar hybrid). He studied for five years in India with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
Discography:
* Dog My Cat (2001)
* Wise and Otherwise (2002)
* Jubilee (with Kevin Breit) (2003)
* Road Ragas Live (2003)
* West Eats Meet (2004)
* Mantras For Madmen (2005)
* In Good We Trust (with Kevin Breit) (2007)
* Live at the Glenn Gould Studio (2008)
* Bread and Buddha (2009)
* Isle of Manx - the Desert Island Collection (2010)
More information at: Harry Manx.
Official Website Biography
“Mysticssippi” blues man Harry Manx has been called an “essential link” between the music of East and West, creating musical short stories that wed the tradition of the Blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. He has created a unique sound that is hard to forget and deliciously addictive to listen to.
Harry forged his distinctive style by studying at the feet of the masters, first as a sound man in the blues clubs of Toronto during his formative years and then under a rigorous tutelage with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt in India. Bhatt is the inventor of the 20-stringed Mohan Veena, which has become Harry’s signature instrument.
Harry played slide guitar for many years before meeting Bhatt in Rajasthan,in fact he had been living in another part of India for many years already, but he started at the beginning under Bhatt’s tutelage, unlearning most of what he knew about playing a slide instrument. He learned Eastern scales and eventually ragas, deceptively complex and regimented musical patterns that form the basis of Indian composition. Learning the voicings of Indian music is a subtle art that comes with time. Harry spent most of twelve years in India learning that. It was later on that Harry decided to explore the connection between Indian ragas and blues scales which eventually led to the Indo-blues hybrid that has become his style.
Born on the Isle of Man, Manx immigrated to Ontario with his parents when he was a child. He started working with bands as a ‘roadie’ at age 15 and gradually worked his way up to becoming the regular sound man at the well-known El Mocambo (blues) club in Toronto. There he worked with a slew of blues legends. Harry admits that blues is still at the heart of much of his work. “I’ve always had one foot in the blues from those days … what I got from those artists is a groove. That’s what I’m particularly interested in is the groove, and that’s the way I play blues”. “I went to Europe when I was 20 and started making money as a busker,” recalls Manx. “I’ve worked mostly as a musician since then, though I did some theatre work for a while. I was a one-man band with a drums and a cymbals for a time too. It was really a lot of fun”
Manx’s time in India has imbued his music with an intangible spiritual quality. “the song reveals who you are, it’s the vehicle for your message, your inspirational ideas or your story,” explained Manx. “Like many people I’m interested in my own development as a person and that’s represented in my songs, I’m searching for truth through art and spirituality. My songs are a synthesis of everything I’ve absorbed, all my experiences and I share that. I’m glad that it means something to people.”
“Indian music moves a person inward,” he explains. “It’s traditionally used in religious ceremonies and during meditations because it puts you into this whole other place (now, here). But Western music has the ability to move you outward, into celebration and dance. There are some ragas that sound bluesy, and there are ways to bend strings while playing blues that sound Indian. I may be forcing the relationship between the two musical cultures, but I keep thinking they were made for each other. That leads me to more and more experimentation. The journey has been great so far.” Manx is a prolific artist, releasing 12 albums in a 12 year span with no signs of stopping. He has received seven Maple Blues Awards, six Juno nominations, the Canadian Folk Music Award in 2005 for Best Solo Artist and won CBC Radio’s “Great Canadian Blues Award” in 2007.
His most recent original release, “Om Suite Ohm” was voted by the Montreal daily La Presse as one of only 4 CDs to watch for in 2013. Guitar Player Magazine called it “his most fully realized work to date”. Blend Indian folk melodies with slide guitar blues, add a sprinkle of gospel and throw in some compelling grooves. It’s a recipe that goes down easy and leaves you hungry for more.
Official Website: Harry Manx
Reuben's Train
Harry Manx Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He ran it to the Lord knows where
Oh me, oh my ran it to the Lord knows where
Should been in town when Reuben's train went down
You could hear that whistle blow 100 miles
Oh me, oh my you could hear the whistle blow 100 miles
Lord how it sleeted it snowed
Oh me, oh my Lord how it sleeted & it snowed
I've been to the East, I've been to the West
I'm going where the chilly winds don't blow
Oh me, oh my I'm going where the chilly winds don't blow
Oh the train that I ride is 100 coaches long
You can hear the whistle blow 100 miles
Oh me, oh my you can hear the whistle blow 100 miles
I got myself a blade, laid Reuben in the shade,
I'm startin' me a graveyard of my own.
Oh, me, oh lordy my, startin' me a graveyard of my own.Invalid URI: The format of the URI could not be determined.
The song "Reuben's Train" by Harry Manx narrates the story about a train built by a man named Reuben that ran where no one knows. The song's first line says, "Ol Reuben made a train he put it on a track, he ran it to the Lord knows where, oh me, oh my ran it to the Lord knows where," which describes how Reuben built the train and ran its tracks. The narrative implies that Reuben's train may have been a metaphor for chasing after impossible dreams or something that is unattainable, as the train would run on tracks that lead to nowhere. The line, "Oh me, oh my ran it to the Lord knows where," could suggest that no one fully understands where the train went, and it may have been Reuben's journey into the unknown.
The next verse starts with, "Should have been in town when Reuben's train went down, You could hear that whistle blow 100 miles, oh me, oh my you could hear the whistle blow 100 miles," which talks about the train's accident and how people could hear the whistle blowing from far away. This verse creates a feeling of regret, as the townspeople could have witnessed a significant event but missed the opportunity to do so. Then, the song describes a time when the singer went to jail and how terrible the weather was. The line, "Lord how it sleeted it snowed, Oh me, oh my Lord how it sleeted & it snowed," creates a sense of hopelessness and despair.
The song's last verse says, "Oh, the train that I ride is 100 coaches long, You can hear the whistle blow 100 miles, oh me, oh my you can hear the whistle blow 100 miles," which suggests that the singer is now a passenger on a train running 100 coaches long. The train's length could symbolize the number of experiences, lessons, or hardships the singer has gone through in his life. The line, "I'm startin' me a graveyard of my own," implies that the singer has accepted his fate and is willing to go where the train takes him, even if it means his death.
Line by Line Meaning
Ol Reuben made a train he put it on a track
Reuben constructed a train and placed it on a track
He ran it to the Lord knows where
He operated the train to an unknown destination
Oh me, oh my ran it to the Lord knows where
Exclamation of surprise at the train being run to an unknown location
Should been in town when Reuben's train went down
If only someone was present in town when Reuben's train had an accident
You could hear that whistle blow 100 miles
The sound of the train whistle could be heard from a great distance
Oh me, oh my you could hear the whistle blow 100 miles
Exclamation of astonishment at the far-reaching sound of the whistle
Last night I lay in jail had no money to go my bail
Narrator spent the night imprisoned and could not afford to pay for bail
Lord how it sleeted it snowed
Describing the weather conditions, it was sleet and snow
Oh me, oh my Lord how it sleeted & it snowed
Exclamation of amazement at the harshness of the weather
I've been to the East, I've been to the West
Narrator traveled to both the East and West
I'm going where the chilly winds don't blow
Desire to be in a place without cold winds
Oh me, oh my I'm going where the chilly winds don't blow
Exclamation of joy in anticipation of going to a place without cold winds
Oh the train that I ride is 100 coaches long
Narrator rides a train that is a hundred coaches in length
You can hear the whistle blow 100 miles
The whistle sound of the train could be heard for a hundred miles
Oh me, oh my you can hear the whistle blow 100 miles
Exclamation of amazement at the far-reaching sound of the train whistle
I got myself a blade, laid Reuben in the shade,
Narrator acquired a knife, killed Reuben and buried him under some shelter
I'm startin' me a graveyard of my own.
Narrator plans to start his own cemetery
Oh, me, oh lordy my, startin' me a graveyard of my own.
Exclamation of excitement at the prospect of starting a new cemetery
Contributed by Avery H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.