Originally from New York, Elliott grew up in a Jewish family and had always wanted to be a cowboy. Pressured by his parents to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor, Elliott resisted and inspired by the rodeos he attended at Madison Square Garden, he ran away from home at the age of 15 and joined the J.E. Ranch Rodeo. Although he was only with the rodeo for three months (before his parents tracked him down and he was sent home), Elliott was exposed to his first singing cowboy, a rodeo clown who played guitar and banjo and sang songs.
Returning home, Elliott taught himself to play guitar and started busking for a living. Eventually he hooked up with Woody Guthrie and lived with him as a kind of student.
With banjo player Derroll Adams, he later toured Great Britain and Europe and had a lasting effect on the music scene there. By 1960, he had made three folk albums for the British label, Topic. Playing in the small clubs and pubs of London by day, he would then take his act to the smart, west end night clubs. Upon arriving back in the U.S., Elliott discovered he had become well-known within the folk scene.
Elliott's greatest influence was Woody Guthrie. Guthrie's son, Arlo, has said that because of his dad's illness and early death, he never really got to know him. Arlo acknowledged that he learned his dad's songs and musical style through Elliott.
Elliott's musical style influenced Bob Dylan so heavily that Dylan's first gig in New York City was billed as "Son of Jack Elliott." While Dylan rose to prominence through his compositions, Elliott continued as an interpretive troubadour, bringing old songs to new audiences in an idiosyncratic manner.
Elliott appeared on Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue and played Longheno de Castro in Dylan's Renaldo and Clara.
Jack Elliott's style is distinctive in its use of excellent guitar technique matched with laconic, humorous storytelling and an emotional intensity in the singing.
Elliott's nickname is due not to his travel habits, but rather to the countless stories he would relate before answering the simplest of questions. Folk singer Odetta claims that it was her mother who gave him the name by remarking, "Oh Jack Elliott, yeah, he can sure ramble on!"
He was famously parodied in on the BBC in the 1960s by Kenneth Williams as Rambling Syd Rumpo who was a recurring character on Round the Horne. His claims of authenticity as a folk artist (despite being a Jewish doctor's son from New York City) and disparagement of other folk artists were also parodied by the Folksmen (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer) in A Mighty Wind both in the name of their "hit" Ramblin' and in their claims that their version was more authentic than the New Main Street Singers's version.
Jack Elliott's first recording in 20 years, "South Coast", earned him his first Grammy in 1995. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1998. Ramblin' Jack's long career and strained relationship with his daughter Aiyana were chronicled in her 2000 documentary, "The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack".
At 75, he has recently changed labels and released "I Stand Alone" on the Anti- label, with an assortment of guest backup players including members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers; again, an idiosyncratic collection of little-known music delivered with humor and intensity. He is on record as saying his intention was to title the album "Not For The Tourists" because it was recorded in response to his daughter's request for songs he loved but never played in concert. When she asked why he did not play them in public, he replied "These songs are not for the tourists".
Candyman
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Candy man been here and gone
Candy man, salty dog
If you can't be my Candy man you can't be my salty dog
Candy man, candy man
Candy man, fattin hog
Candy man, Santa Claus
Candy man, candy man
Candy man, been here and gone
Candy man, salty dog
I wish I was in New Orleans, sitting on the candy stand
Run get the pitcher, get the baby some beer (6X)
I'd give anything in this god almighty world
To get my Candy man home
Candy man, salty dog
Candy man, fattin hog
Candy man, salty dog
If you can't be my Candy man
You can't be my man at all
The song "Candyman," originally recorded by Mississippi John Hurt in 1928, tells the story of a man who longs for the affection of a Candyman, equating him to other beloved figures like Santa Claus and a "fattin hog." The repeated refrain "Candyman been here and gone" suggests that the Candyman is a transient figure who doesn't stay in one place for too long, making him all the more alluring to the singer.
The chorus morphs as the song goes on, with different descriptions of the Candyman (salty dog, Santa Claus, etc.) being added each time. The line "If you can't be my Candy man you can't be my salty dog" implies that the Candyman is more important to the singer than even a classic blues archetype like a salty dog. The singer longs to be in New Orleans, which in many ways serves as the idealized home of the Candyman and all he represents.
The final verse is particularly poignant, with the singer asking for beer for a baby and expressing her desire to have her Candyman come home. The repetition of "Candy man, salty dog / Candy man, fattin hog" in the outro reinforces the idea that the Candyman embodies all possible forms of indulgence and pleasure.
Line by Line Meaning
Candy man been here and gone
The Candy man has already visited and left
Candy man, salty dog
The Candy man is an attractive person, someone you'd want to be associated with ('salty dog' is slang for a witty and interesting person)
If you can't be my Candy man you can't be my salty dog
If you don't meet my standards of an interesting person, I don't want to associate with you.
Candy man, fattin hog
The Candy man is essentially the best at everything ('fattin hog' implies someone who is living their best life)
Candy man, Santa Claus
The Candy man is a generous and kind person like Santa Claus
If you can't be my candy man, can't be my fattin hog
If you aren't the best person I know, then I think you are not good enough for me
Candy man, been here and gone
The Candy man has visited and left, just like life is fleeting
I wish I was in New Orleans, sitting on the candy stand
I long for the good old days, where I was young and free, and I want to go back to New Orleans, a place where I associate with my youth, and be carefree again
Run get the pitcher, get the baby some beer (6X)
This line is likely a humorous interjection and somewhat nonsensical; it could be interpreted as someone begging for their favorite beverage or making a ridiculous request, indicating they are in a carefree or jovial state of mind
I'd give anything in this god almighty world
To get my Candy man home
The artist values the Candy man so much that they'd give up anything to have them close to them again
If you can't be my Candy man
You can't be my man at all
The singer is saying that if you aren't the Candy man, then you aren't the man for them at all, implying that they have very high standards for those they associate with.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Hurt, John S
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind