Ungerleider played her first show under the name Oh Susanna at the Railway Club in Vancouver in July 1995, and released her first independent recording, a seven-song EP, in 1997. Around this time, she decided to relocate to Toronto after attending Blue Rodeo's Stardust Picnic festival. In 1999, she released her full-length debut, Johnstown, and toured Canada and the United States with fellow musicians Veda Hille and Kinnie Starr, in what they dubbed the "Scrappy Bitch Tour".
At the 19th Genie Awards in 1999, she won the Genie Award for Best Original Song, for her song "River Blue" from the film The Fishing Trip. She subsequently released eight more recordings, Sleepy Little Sailor (2001), Oh Susanna (2003), Short Stories (2007), Soon the Birds (2011), Namedropper (2014), A Girl in Teen City (2017), and Decemberly (2018) a holiday EP with Michael Johnston.
In 2021, she announced that she was retiring the Oh Susanna stage name after learning more about the complicated racial history of the song "Oh! Susanna". She is now releasing under her own name.
Discography:
Oh Susanna EP (1997)
Johnstown (1999)
Sleepy Little Sailor (2001)
Oh Susanna (2003)
Short Stories (2007)
Soon The Birds (2011)
Namedropper (2014)
A Girl in Teen City (2017)
Decemberly (2018) (with Michael Johnston)
Roll Me on Home
Oh Susanna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Roll me on home in a blanket of gold
Walk down the river and throw in my bones
Roll me on home in a blanket of gold
I'll walk with the angels
I'll sink like a stone
Roll me on home in a blanket of gold
Roll me on home in a blanket of gold
The deeper I fall, boys, the higher I'll go
Roll me on home in a blanket of gold
Roll me on home in a blanket of gold
Please tell my mother I'm coming on home
Roll me on home in a blanket of gold
Roll me on home in a blanket of gold
For come next April, I go with the snow
Roll me on home in a blanket of gold
The song "Roll Me on Home" by Oh Susanna is a haunting and contemplative ballad that speaks about the inevitability of death and the desire for a peaceful passing. The repeated chorus of "Roll me on home in a blanket of gold" creates a sense of longing for a gentle departure from life, while the lyrics "walk down the river and throw in my bones" offer a visual representation of the singer's acceptance of their mortality. The lines "I'll walk with the angels, I'll sink like a stone" suggest that the singer is at peace with their eventual passing, while the verse "the deeper I fall, boys, the higher I'll go" hints at the idea of an afterlife and the singer's belief that death is merely a transition to a higher existence.
Overall, "Roll Me on Home" explores the themes of mortality, acceptance, and spirituality, with the melancholic melody creating a haunting and reflective mood that perfectly captures the intensity of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Roll me on home in a blanket of gold
Guide me to my final resting place, surrounded by the prosperity and warmth of a golden blanket.
Walk down the river and throw in my bones
Carry my remains to the river and scatter my ashes in its flowing water.
I'll walk with the angels
In death, my spirit will ascend to heaven and walk amongst the divine.
I'll sink like a stone
My physical body will sink into the earth upon my passing.
The deeper I fall, boys, the higher I'll go
The further I descend into death, the closer I am to reaching a higher level of existence.
Please tell my mother I'm coming on home
Notify my mother that I am returning to the afterlife and will be with her soon.
For come next April, I go with the snow
I am aware that my time will come soon, and I will pass away when winter makes way for spring.
Contributed by Layla T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.