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".
Falling Down Blues
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Got the blues so bad it hurts my feet to walk
Wouldn't hate it so bad but it hurt my tongue to talk
Oh, I feel like jumping through the keyhole in your door
Oh, I feel like jumping through the keyhole in your door
I can jump so easy your man will never know
Some people say the worried blues ain't tough
But if they don't kill you, they'll handle you mighty rough
Hitch up my buggy, saddle up my black mare
Hitch up my buggy, saddle up my black mare
I'm going to find my woman on the road somewhere
She caught the rumbling, I caught the falling down
She caught the rumbling, I caught the falling down
But I'll never see her, never turn around
Got the blues so bad it hurts my feet to walk
Got the blues so bad it hurts my feet to walk
Wouldn't hate it so bad but it hurt my tongue to talk
The lyrics of Ramblin' Jack Elliott's song "Falling Down Blues" reflect the pain and discomfort that comes with the blues. The opening lines convey physical pain, a common metaphor for the blues, with the singer literally feeling pain in their feet as they walk. The second line adds a layer of complexity by suggesting that the pain is not only physical but also psychological, as the singer "hate[s] it" but cannot avoid it.
The second stanza takes a more proactive stance, with the singer expressing a desire to "jump through the keyhole in your door" to be near their lover. The third line suggests that the singer is confident in their ability to do so without being detected, an indication that the relationship may be illicit or taboo. The third stanza returns to the theme of the blues as emotional trauma, with the singer acknowledging that while some people may dismiss the "worried blues," they can still have a significant impact on one's life. The final stanza adds a narrative element, with the singer setting out to find their woman after experiencing a significant setback ("she caught the rumbling, I caught the falling down") but accepting that they may never be reunited ("But I'll never see her, never turn around").
Overall, "Falling Down Blues" is a poignant portrait of the pain, longing, and desperation that characterizes the blues in its many forms.
Line by Line Meaning
Got the blues so bad it hurts my feet to walk
I am feeling the blues so deeply that even walking feels painful
Wouldn't hate it so bad but it hurt my tongue to talk
The pain of the blues is so intense that even talking causes discomfort
Oh, I feel like jumping through the keyhole in your door
My heart is so heavy with the blues that I feel like escaping through a keyhole in your door
I can jump so easy your man will never know
The pain of the blues is so great that I am willing to do whatever it takes to escape unnoticed
Some people say the worried blues ain't tough
Some people believe that the blues are not a serious issue
But if they don't kill you, they'll handle you mighty rough
The pain and suffering caused by the blues can be truly brutal, even if they do not lead to death
Hitch up my buggy, saddle up my black mare
I am preparing to set out on a journey to find my woman
I'm going to find my woman on the road somewhere
I am determined to find my woman, no matter where she may be
She caught the rumbling, I caught the falling down
My woman and I both experienced the difficult times, but I am currently experiencing the effects more severely
But I'll never see her, never turn around
Despite my search, I may never find my woman, and I cannot turn back from my journey
Contributed by Josiah B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.