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".
Don't Think Twice
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If'n you don't know by now.
It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe.
It'll never do, somehow.
When the rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I'll be gone
You're the reason I'm travelin' on,
Ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe,
That light I never knowed.
Ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe,
I'm on the dark side of the road.
Still I wish there was somethin' you would do or say,
To try & make me change my mind and stay.
We never did too much talkin' anyway,
So don't think twice, it's all right.
It ain't no use in callin out my name, gal
Like you never done before.
It ain't no use in callin out my name, gal
I can't hear anymore
I'm sittin & a wonderin, walkin down the road
I once loved a woman - a child I am told
I give her my heart, but she wanted my soul
But don't think twice, it's alright.
So long honey babe
Where I'm bound, I can't tell.
Goodbye is too good a word babe.
So I'll just say, "Fare thee well."
I ain't sayin you treated me unkind
You coulda done better but, I don't mind
You just kind of wasted my precious time
But don't think twice, it's alright.
The song "Don't Think Twice" by Ramblin' Jack Elliott is a classic folk song that features a somber melody with lyrics that deal with heartbreak and moving on. The song is about a man who is leaving his lover and is telling her that it's not worth it to sit and wonder why he's leaving. He's on his way and nothing can change his mind. He tells her not to bother calling his name or turning on the light because he's already gone. He once loved her, but now he's moving on, and it's all right.
The song deals with the theme of moving on and not looking back. The singer has made up his mind, and he's not going to change it, no matter what. He's telling his lover that she doesn't need to try and convince him, and she should let him go. The lyrics are about love lost, heartbreak, and the difficulty of moving on, but the melody and the way in which it's delivered bring a sense of acceptance and peace.
Line by Line Meaning
Well it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe,
It's pointless to mull over why our relationship went wrong, especially if you haven't figured it out by now.
If'n you don't know by now.
If you haven't yet grasped the reasons behind our breakup, you most likely never will.
It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe.
Reiterating that there's no point in ruminating over something that can't be changed.
It'll never do, somehow.
This behavior won't lead us anywhere, no matter how hard we try.
When the rooster crows at the break of dawn
At the earliest hours of the day, before the sun has even set,
Look out your window and I'll be gone
Gazing through your window, you'll realize that I'm no longer with you, I've moved on.
You're the reason I'm travelin' on,
Even though you're the reason I went on this journey,
But don't think twice, it's alright.
Don't fret about it, what's done is done and everything will be alright in the end.
Ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe,
Perhaps you think switching on the lights will help you see things clearer, but that's just an illusion.
That light I never knowed.
I never knew that light, as in our relationship was never as bright as you might have imagined.
Still I wish there was somethin' you would do or say,
I secretly wish you would do or say something to make me reconsider my decision to leave.
To try & make me change my mind and stay.
To attempt to change my mind and convince me to stay with you.
We never did too much talkin' anyway,
We didn't communicate effectively with each other during the course of our relationship.
So don't think twice, it's all right.
Despite our lack of communication, it's pointless for either of us to dwell on the past, and we should just move on.
It ain't no use in callin out my name, gal
You calling out my name won't change the fact that we're not together anymore.
Like you never done before.
Even though you've called out my name in the past, it won't make a difference now.
I can't hear anymore
I won't answer to it anymore, as I've moved on and don't want to revisit the past.
I'm sittin & a wonderin, walkin down the road
I'm meandering down the street while contemplating our distance, and little has changed.
I once loved a woman - a child I am told
I used to be deeply in love with a woman, but was naive and inexperienced at the time.
I give her my heart, but she wanted my soul
I shared my deepest emotions with her, but felt like she demanded too much from me in return.
But don't think twice, it's alright.
Again, reiterating that even though our relationship didn't work out, everything will be okay in the end.
So long honey babe
I'm bidding farewell to you, as we're no longer together.
Where I'm bound, I can't tell.
I'm not sure what the future holds for me or where I'm headed.
Goodbye is too good a word babe.
Saying goodbye doesn't quite do justice to the complexity of our situation.
So I'll just say, "Fare thee well."
Therefore, I'll just say farewell and move on with my life.
I ain't sayin you treated me unkind
I'm not implying that you treated me poorly during the course of our relationship.
You coulda done better but, I don't mind
You may have been able to do better, but I'm not holding it against you.
You just kind of wasted my precious time
You did, however, waste my time during our relationship, which I can't get back.
But don't think twice, it's alright.
In conclusion, it's time to accept the past for what it is and move on, without dwelling on what could have been.
Contributed by Ava V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.