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".
Girl From The North Country
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine
If you go when the snowflakes storm
When the rivers freeze and summer ends
Please see for me if she's wearing a coat so warm
If you're traveling in the north country fair
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was the true love of mine
Ramblin' Jack Elliott's classic "Girl From The North Country" is a heartfelt song that speaks to the pains of lost love and separation. The song is essentially a plea for a traveler to pass a message on to a woman that the singer once loved, who lives in the north country. It opens with the singer asking if the traveler is heading to the north country fair where the winds hit heavily on the borderline, and if so, to remember him to the woman he once loved.
The second verse of the song speaks to the harsh winter conditions in the north country, with the singer asking the traveler to check if the woman he formerly loved is wearing a warm coat to keep her from the howling winds. The final verse restates the central message of the song - "remember me to one who lives there, she once was a true love of mine".
Overall, the song conveys a sense of nostalgia and longing for a love that was lost. It creates an image of a traveler braving the elements to bring a message of remembrance to a former lover, who remains hidden among the snow and wind.
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Line by Line Meaning
If you're traveling to the north country fair
If you happen to be on a journey to the fair in the northern locality
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Where the boundary line is greatly affected by the strong winds
Remember me to one who lives there
Send my greetings to the person residing in that area
She once was a true love of mine
She used to be my genuine love interest in the past
If you go when the snowflakes storm
In case you pass by during the snowstorm
When the rivers freeze and summer ends
At the time when the rivers are frozen, and the summer season concludes
Please see for me if she's wearing a coat so warm
Kindly check and confirm whether she has put on a warm coat
To keep her from the howlin' winds
Which can protect her from the harsh and howling winds
If you're traveling in the north country fair
If you're touring that particular northern region
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Where the boundary line is greatly affected by the strong winds
Remember me to one who lives there
Pass my regards to the individual dwelling in that area
She once was the true love of mine
She used to be my genuine love interest in the past
Contributed by Jonathan D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.