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".
Lovesick Blues
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lyrics
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I'm in love,
I'm in love with a girl,
That's what's the matter with me
I'm in love,
I'm in love, with a beautiful girl,
But she don't give a darn about me
to make her love me I tried,
But she just refused
And ever since she's gone away,
I've got those lovesick blues
Got the feeling called the "blue hoo's,"
since my sweetie said "Good Bye"
Seems I don't know what to "Do Hoo"
All day long I sit and cry
That last long day we spent alone
I'm yearning for it yet
She thrilled me, filled me,
with a kind of lovin',
I never will forget, the way she called me sweet daddy"
Twas just a beautiful dream
I hate to think that it's all over I lost my heart it seems
I got so used to her somehow
But I'm no body's baby
Now, gee it's awful when you're lonesome
and get those lovesick blue-oo-oo-oo-oo's
Got the feeling called the "blue hoo's,"
since my sweetie said "Good Bye"
Seems I don't know what to "Do Hoo"
All day long I sit and cry
That last long day we spent alone
I'm yearning for it yet
She thrilled me, filled me,
with a kind of lovin',
I never will forget, the way she called me sweet daddy
Twas just a beautiful dream
I hate to think that it's all over I lost my heart it seems
i got so used to her somehow
But I'm no body's baby
Now, gee it's awful when you're lonesome
and get those lovesick blue-oo-oo-oo-oo's
The lyrics to Ramblin' Jack Elliott's song Lovesick Blues depict a person deeply in love with a girl who does not reciprocate his feelings. The song is filled with raw emotions of sadness and loneliness due to unrequited love. The singer tries to win her love with all his efforts, from sighing and crying, but his attempts go in vain when the girl refuses to love him back. The singer eventually gets the feeling of the "blue hoo's," a feeling of pure sadness and emptiness left after a heartbreak.
The lyrics are evocative of the singer's desperate attempts to rekindle the love he once had for the girl. The feelings of yearning and longing are palpable in the second verse where the singer talks about the last long day they spent alone. The girl's love filled him with a kind of love he will never forget, but it was all a beautiful dream cut short by the inevitable heartbreak. The singer gets into a dark place, with no one to turn to, no one to hold him or to claim him as their baby, only left with the unbearable pain of lovesickness.
Overall, the song Lovesick Blues is a classic example of unrequited love and the overwhelming sense of loss that comes with it. It is a song that strikes a chord with anyone who has ever felt the pain of unrequited love.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love with a girl, That's what's the matter with me
I am head over heels, utterly and completely in love with a lady and that's why I'm feeling this way
I'm in love, I'm in love, with a beautiful girl, But she don't give a darn about me
There's this stunning girl I'm crazy about, and yet it appears that she doesn't care about me at all
to make her love me I tried, How I sighed and I cried
To earn her love and affection, I put in a ton of effort, felt hopeless and cried my heart out
But she just refused And ever since she's gone away, I've got those lovesick blues
Sadly, despite my best efforts, she would not give me a chance, and simply walked out. And now, I am stuck with these lovesick blues
Got the feeling called the "blue hoo's," since my sweetie said "Good Bye"
I have been hit with an overwhelming feeling of sadness and sorrow, ever since my lover said goodbye and left me feeling bereft
Seems I don't know what to "Do Hoo" All day long I sit and cry
I feel completely helpless, and don't know what to do. All I can do is sit around and weep, consumed by melancholy
That last long day we spent alone I'm yearning for it yet
That final day we spent together, alone, was so wonderful that I can't help but yearn and long for it even now
She thrilled me, filled me, with a kind of lovin', I never will forget, the way she called me sweet daddy" Twas just a beautiful dream
Her love and affection for me was so intense and powerful that it was unforgettable, and yet it's all just a distant memory now
I hate to think that it's all over I lost my heart it seems
It's unbearable to even consider how our love has come to an end, it's almost feels as though I've lost a part of myself
I got so used to her somehow But I'm no body's baby Now, gee it's awful when you're lonesome and get those lovesick blue-oo-oo-oo-oo's
I became so accustomed to having her around that it's been hard to adjust to life without her. But, despite my loneliness, I won't allow anyone to treat me like a helpless child, and it's torturous to deal with these lovesick blues
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Cliff Friend, Irving Mills
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind