1) Norman Blake (born … Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name;
1) Norman Blake (born March 10, 1938) is a traditional American stringed instrument bluegrass artist and songwriter.
Blake was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and grew up in Sulphur Springs, Alabama. He listened to old-time and country music on the radio by the Carter Family, the Skillet Lickers, Roy Acuff, and the Monroe Brothers (Charlie and Bill Monroe). He learned guitar at age 11 or 12, then mandolin, dobro, and fiddle in his teens. When he was 16, he dropped out of school to play music professionally.
In the 1950s, Blake joined the Dixieland Drifters and performed on radio broadcasts, then joined the Lonesome Travelers. When he was drafted in 1961, he served as an Army radio operator in the Panama Canal Zone. He started a popular band known as the Kobbe Mountaineers. A year later, while he was on leave, he recorded the album Twelve Shades of Bluegrass with the Lonesome Travelers.
After being discharged from the Army, Blake moved to Nashville and became a studio musician. For ten years, he toured and recorded with country singer Johnny Cash and continued to play with Cash intermittently over the next thirty. He met Nancy Short, a cellist with a classical music background who was playing in a folk group. He was asked by Bob Dylan to play on the country-folk album Nashville Skyline, then became a member of the house band on Johnny Cash's TV show. Kris Kristofferson, one of the guests, hired Blake to tour with him. Blake recorded with folk singer Joan Baez and appeared on her hit song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". In 1971, he became a member of the bluegrass group Aero-plain, led by multi-instrumentalist John Hartford with fiddler Vassar Clements, but the band didn't last long.
Blake also played dobro on the 1972 album, Will the Circle Be Unbroken by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
In 1972, Blake recorded his first solo album, Home in Sulphur Springs (Rounder, 1972). Soon after his debut, he and Nancy recorded their first album, The Fields of November (Flying Fish, 1974), with Nancy on hillbilly cello. They married in 1975 and performed together for twenty years.
Most of the music that Norman Blake plays could be described as neo-traditionalist Americana folk and roots music (folk, bluegrass, country, blues), and many of the songs he plays are traditional, but he plays this acoustic type of music with a style, speed, and quality that has evolved and progressed in the modern age. Though probably best known for his fluid renditions of classic fiddle tunes transcribed for the guitar ("Fiddler's Dram/Whiskey Before Breakfast"), Blake has also written songs that have become bluegrass and folk standards, such as "Ginseng Sullivan", "Slow Train through Georgia", "Billy Gray", and "Church Street Blues".
Although known as one of the most prominent steel-string guitar flatpickers, Blake is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Other instruments he plays include the mandolin, 6-string banjo, fiddle, dobro, banjo and viola. He is known for his loose, right-hand guitar technique, which arose out of his mandolin technique. Also well known is his devotion to 12-fret guitars, including Martin 00s, 000s, D18s, D28s, and Gibsons, like his 1929 12-fret Nick Lucas special.
Blake played on the album Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, which won five Grammy Awards, and on the soundtrack O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year.
Norman and Nancy Blake received Grammy nominations in the Best Traditional Folk Recording category for Blind Dog, Just Gimme Somethin' I'm Used To, While Passing Along This Way, and The Hobo's Last Ride. In 1986 Norman Blake was chosen Best Multi-Instrumentalist by the readers of Frets magazine.
2) Norman Blake (born 20 October 1965 in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a Scottish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter in the Glasgow-based band Teenage Fanclub. He has also recorded as Jad Fair & Norman Blake and been one-half of the duo Jonny.
Ginseng Sullivan
Norman Blake Lyrics
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From the reverse curve on down
Not far south of the town depot
Sullivan′s shack was found
Back on the higher ground
You could see him every day
Walking down the line
And his long hair down behind
Speaking his worried mind
It's a long way to the Delta
From the North Georgia hills
And a tote sack full of ginseng
Won′t pay no travelling bills
Now, I'm too old to ride the rails
Or thumb the road alone
Well I guess I'll never make it back to home
My muddy water Mississippi Delta home
(Take one, Kenneth)
Well, the winters here they get too cold
The damp it makes me ill
Can′t dig no roots in the mountain side
With the ground froze hard and still
Gotta stay at the foot of the hill
But next summer, if things turn right
The companies will pay high
I′ll make enough money to pay my bills
And bid these mountains goodbye
Then he said with a sigh
It's a long way to the Delta
From the North Georgia hills
And a tote sack full of ginseng
Won′t pay no travelling bills
And I'm too old to ride the rails
Or thumb the road alone
Well I guess I′ll never make it back to home
My muddy water Mississippi Delta home
It's a long way to the Delta
From the North Georgia hills
And a tote sack full of ginseng
Won′t pay no travelling bills
Now, I'm too old to ride the rails
Or thumb the road alone
Well I guess I'll never make it back to home
My muddy water Mississippi Delta home
The song "Ginseng Sullivan" by Norman Blake is about a man named Sullivan who lives in a shack on higher ground in North Georgia hills. He is seen walking down the line every day with a brown sack on his back and his long hair trailing behind him. He worries about the fact that he is too old to ride the rails or hitchhike, and he won't be able to make it back to his home, the muddy water Mississippi Delta. Sullivan is a ginseng digger, but he realizes that it's a long way to the Delta from the North Georgia hills, and carrying a tote sack full of ginseng won't pay enough for his travel expenses.
The song paints a vivid picture of a man who is struggling to make a living and dreams of leaving the mountains behind, but he's concerned about his age and lack of resources. He hopes that the following summer will bring more opportunities and that he would be able to pay off his bills and say goodbye to the mountains. The song has a poignant and reflective feel, with a touch of melancholy that creates a sense of empathy for Sullivan.
Line by Line Meaning
About three miles from the Battele yard
Sullivan's shack is located not too far from the Battele yard, about 3 miles away.
From the reverse curve on down
Heading towards the reverse curve, the shack can be located downwards.
Not far south of the town depot
The shack lies towards the south of the town depot, located nearby.
Sullivan′s shack was found
Sullivan's shack was found back on higher ground.
You could see him every day
Sullivan could be seen every day walking down the line.
Walking down the line
Sullivan was seen walking down the line every day.
With his old brown sack across his back
Sullivan carried an old brown sack across his back every day as he walked.
And his long hair down behind
His long hair followed behind him as he walked every day.
Speaking his worried mind
Sullivan always spoke his worried mind as he walked down the line every day.
It's a long way to the Delta
The journey to Delta, right from the North Georgia hills, is indeed long.
From the North Georgia hills
The starting point of the long journey to Delta is the North Georgia hills.
And a tote sack full of ginseng
A tote sack filled with ginseng cannot be used to pay bills for travelling to the Delta.
Won′t pay no travelling bills
A tote sack of ginseng won't be helpful in paying off travelling bills.
Now, I'm too old to ride the rails
At an old age, Sullivan is unable to travel by rails anymore.
Or thumb the road alone
At an old age, Sullivan is unable to travel by road and request rides all by himself.
Well I guess I'll never make it back to home
Sullivan, at his old age, doesn't think he'll ever be able to make it back to his Mississippi Delta home.
My muddy water Mississippi Delta home
Sullivan refers to his Mississippi Delta home as his muddy water home.
Well, the winters here they get too cold
The winters here are too cold for Sullivan's liking.
The damp it makes me ill
The dampness of the winter makes Sullivan feel ill.
Can′t dig no roots in the mountain side
Due to the ground being frozen hard, Sullivan is unable to dig roots in the mountainside.
With the ground froze hard and still
The ground is frozen to an unyielding point, making it impossible for Sullivan to dig roots in the mountainside.
Gotta stay at the foot of the hill
Sullivan is forced to stay at the foot of the hill since he's unable to dig roots in the mountainside.
But next summer, if things turn right
Sullivan hopes that if things go well during the next summer, then he might be able to earn well.
The companies will pay high
Sullivan's wishes might come true since he expects the companies to pay high.
I'll make enough money to pay my bills
Sullivan believes that if companies pay as expected, then he'll earn enough money to pay his bills.
And bid these mountains goodbye
If everything goes well, Sullivan intends to leave the mountainside and start anew elsewhere.
Then he said with a sigh
Sullivan, at the end of his thoughts, sighed deeply.
Writer(s): Norman Blake
Contributed by Alaina K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.