Who's Gonna Buy You Ribbons (When I'm Gone)
Paul Clayton (born Paul Clayton Worthington; March 3, 1931 – March 30, 1967… Read Full Bio ↴Paul Clayton (born Paul Clayton Worthington; March 3, 1931 – March 30, 1967) was an American folksinger and folklorist who was prominent in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s.
A graduate of the University of Virginia, where he earned a master's degree in Folklore, Clayton specialized in traditional music, primarily New England sea shanties and ballads as well as Appalachian songs. He became interested in the first of these as a youngster and began playing guitar as a teen. While attending college, he expanded his interests to include the music of Virginia and the surrounding states. Within a short time after leaving college, he began recording. His first releases were for a small specialty record company, but in 1956 he joined Folkways Records, the day's leading folk music label. He recorded six solo albums for Folkways from 1956 to 1958, issued albums for a few specialty labels, moved to another prominent folk label, Elektra Records, for two albums in 1958–59, and collaborated with artists such as Jean Ritchie and Dave Van Ronk on other releases. He made his last recording in 1965.
As much a scholar as a musician, Clayton began collecting songs at a young age in his hometown of New Bedford, Massachusetts. At the university, he studied under a professor who was a leading folklorist. Soon he was combing the hills and valleys of Virginia and surrounding states for songs that formed the region's musical heritage. In making field recordings, he "discovered" Etta Baker and Hobart Smith, homespun musicians who have come to be regarded as all-time greats.
Clayton became a prominent figure in the Greenwich Village folk scene in New York City during the early 1960s. He was close with artists such as Dave Van Ronk and Liam Clancy and was also a mentor and friend of Bob Dylan during the first years of Dylan's career. A song Clayton wrote was allegedly "borrowed" by Dylan in 1962 as the basis for one of his most famous tunes, "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right". The resulting lawsuits by their record companies were settled out of court, and the two remained friends for several years afterwards.
Clayton was beset with personal problems in his mid-30s, including frustrations with his career, doubts arising from his homosexuality, manic depression, drug abuse, and a related arrest. He committed suicide in 1967.
A graduate of the University of Virginia, where he earned a master's degree in Folklore, Clayton specialized in traditional music, primarily New England sea shanties and ballads as well as Appalachian songs. He became interested in the first of these as a youngster and began playing guitar as a teen. While attending college, he expanded his interests to include the music of Virginia and the surrounding states. Within a short time after leaving college, he began recording. His first releases were for a small specialty record company, but in 1956 he joined Folkways Records, the day's leading folk music label. He recorded six solo albums for Folkways from 1956 to 1958, issued albums for a few specialty labels, moved to another prominent folk label, Elektra Records, for two albums in 1958–59, and collaborated with artists such as Jean Ritchie and Dave Van Ronk on other releases. He made his last recording in 1965.
As much a scholar as a musician, Clayton began collecting songs at a young age in his hometown of New Bedford, Massachusetts. At the university, he studied under a professor who was a leading folklorist. Soon he was combing the hills and valleys of Virginia and surrounding states for songs that formed the region's musical heritage. In making field recordings, he "discovered" Etta Baker and Hobart Smith, homespun musicians who have come to be regarded as all-time greats.
Clayton became a prominent figure in the Greenwich Village folk scene in New York City during the early 1960s. He was close with artists such as Dave Van Ronk and Liam Clancy and was also a mentor and friend of Bob Dylan during the first years of Dylan's career. A song Clayton wrote was allegedly "borrowed" by Dylan in 1962 as the basis for one of his most famous tunes, "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right". The resulting lawsuits by their record companies were settled out of court, and the two remained friends for several years afterwards.
Clayton was beset with personal problems in his mid-30s, including frustrations with his career, doubts arising from his homosexuality, manic depression, drug abuse, and a related arrest. He committed suicide in 1967.
Who's Gonna Buy You Ribbons
Paul Clayton Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Paul Clayton:
Last Cigarette Oh hear Odin to town hot and dusty To that bar…
Love For Love One man come in the name of love, One man come…
Old Joe Clark Used to live in the country But now I live in…
Spanish Ladies Farewell and adieu to you, Spanish ladies, Farewell and adie…
The Maid Of Amsterdam The Maid of Amsterdam Traditional - Lyrics as sung by Paul…
The Mermaid Im eshkachech Yerushalayim Tishkach yemini Tid'bak leshoni l…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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jaw444
Dylan took some ideas from one of his friend's ok songs and Dylan with his artistic magic took these bits and pieces together with other ideas from other experiences and created a mind blowingly original song that was different from anything out there, because of the way it penetrated the emotional level and could express the naturally complex and contradictory all too common painful human emotions, including the quest to rise above loss without losing too much of yourself in the process, he captured something that no one else had captured before or sense, and he did it in hundreds of songs.
i was 14 when the song Dylan song, Don't Think Twice, covered by Peter Paul and Mary, came out on Top 40 AM radio in late 1963, along with Blowin in the Wind. The kids on my street were into folk music especially by Kingston Trio and Peter Paul and Mary, because those songs were getting played on our radio station where we listened to Motown and surf music and so many other genres. Peter Paul and Mary had a lot of air play in the previous year for Lily of the West and Lemon Tree, both traditional folk songs, they were were a group with an amazing sound and were becoming huge stars, so then they came out with those two Dylan songs. it was magic, there was nothing like that, it was musically like other folk songs but the lyrics were in a class by themselves in capturing what they had to say. WHO WROTE THOSE SONGS ??!! We looked at our Peter Paul and Mary 45 RPM single records that we had bought of those two songs. Bob Dylan? wow. who is that? does he have any more songs? We gotta hear more songs by him. We thought it was pronounced Bob Dye-lin. "he must have more songs, these are so good," we learned how to play and sing them on our guitars, "i wonder why he didn't record these himself and put them out how can we hear a record album of his own songs by him??"
So that was special, that wasn't just an OK folk song in a traditional style, as performed by Clayton here. It's a song, obviously parts of it grabbed Dylan's inspiration and imagination. It just wasn't mind blowing and it never got airplay on top 40, of course. it was a song that Dylan used some bits and pieces of as part of a larger whole to create. Dylan's song is more original than Clayton's which is inspired lyrically and musically by Who's Gonna Buy You Chickens When i'm Gone?, something that no one knows the origin of, an obscure folk song.
Me and my 12 year old friend Danny shoplifted the Freewheeling album from Builders Emporium in mid December of 1963, which had those two amazing Peter Paul and Mary songs on it, by Bob "Dye-in" himself. we were there Christmas shopping and we were looking through the record albums while we were there, at the folk section, and i was looking through the generic folk section, where they put the records by the people who are unknown or not famous and don't have their own section. Peter Paul and Mary and the Kingston Trio and Joan Baez and Pete Seeger all had their own section. in the generic section, i saw this beautiful album cover of a guy and a girl walking arm and arm in the snow on a street, and no flashy words on it, just a beautiful photo that showed two people in love, young love, and up at the top it said The Freewheelin Bob Dylan. my mouth dropped open. "Danny! Danny! It's HIM !!!! Bob DYE-LIN !!!!!!" Danny ran over and grabbed it out of my hands, turned it over to look at the track list, i said sadly, "i wish we had the money to get it." Danny looked up smiling slyly and said "We could just take it." i smiled and it was clear that i would have to be the one to carry it out because i was bigger, 14, wearing a big mens army navy surplus store pea coat, Danny was small for his 12 year old age and just had a light jacket, no problem. We were going hear more songs by Bob Dye-lin, it was meant to be. what a find. and it was the only copy there.
We wouldn't have done that to hear anyone else's songs. This was because of the originality and the intensity, emotion and power of Don't Think Twice and Blowing in the Wind. Paul Clayton didn't make that happen. Paul Clayton was a friend of Dylan who sat around with Dylan and other people, trading songs they wrote or just liked all night. A lot of creative energy. Don't Think Twice its Alright came out of it. if Dylan had never heard Clayton's song, he still would have written his many mind blowing songs about the world we lived in and about love and strife and injustice and adventure and funny satire. Because he shared songs with Clayton, Clayton became part of that. Clayton didn't have a problem with the use of his ideas, the publishing companies had a conflict over it with an unknown settlement, but Dylan and Clayton remained friends until Clayton's death from suicide a few years later. if i was Clayton, i would feel honored and lucky that my ideas were used creatively by this magical groundbreaking poet song writer.
Dylan used to perform a song he wrote called Percy's Song, in the early mid 60s when he was still mainly doing acoustic folk songs, mostly original. At concerts he would announce that the beautiful melody as taken from a Clayton song.
Flightless Bird
No sirve sentarse y suspirar ahora, cariño,
De nada sirve sentarse y llorar ahora,
No sirve sentarse y preguntarse por qué, querida,
Sólo me pregunto quién te va a comprar “películas” cuando me haya ido.
Así que los tiempos en las vías de ferrocarril han terminado, nena,
Me desperté anoche y estaba nevando,
Recuerda lo que me dijiste el verano pasado
Cuando me viste caminando por ese camino.
Así que estoy caminando por ese largo y solitario camino,
Tú eres el que me hizo viajar,
Pero todavía no puedo evitar preguntarme por mi camino,
¿Quién te va a comprar “películas” cuando me haya ido?
VANCOUVER
Justin Richards
While it's common for folk singers to lift from traditional songs (supported, even), the controversy is due to the fact that Dylan copyrighted the tune is his own name, with no mention that he'd taken the melody from Paul Clayton, nor any reference to to the negro song that originally inspired Clayton's song.
Damien Hughes
Preach on brother, Paul and I are both from New Bedford Ma the whaling city its sad even here very few know about that talented beautiful soul who blessed the world for 30 some odd years, Paul you may be gone but your never forgotten.
jeremiah johnson
What negro song was it taken from? Please name it.
Samuel Henry
@jeremiah johnson Who's Gonna Bring You Chickens When I'm Gone
LoveMinusZero
Never knew Bob used this as an inspiration for Don’t Think Twice. Excellent
lucy ♡
This song is amazing and so so soothing. I really like the way he says the word "sigh"
Joseph Walker
This song belongs in the opening credits to a Coen Brothers film
targarosko
sweet voice ♥♥♥
Ario
Dylan borrowing this from Paul Clayton and Paul Clayton borrowing this from an even older song "whos gonna buy your chickens when I'm gone"
Mark Fritzel
And don't forget Buck Owens! Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass???