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".
Ludlow Massacre
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They moved us miners out of doors
Out from the houses that the company owned
We moved into tents at old Ludlow
I was worried bad about my children
Soldiers guarding the railroad bridge
Every once in a while a bullet would fly
We were so afraid they would kill our children
We dug us a cave that was seven foot deep
Carried our young ones and a pregnant woman
Down inside the cave to sleep
That very night you soldiers waited
Until us miners were asleep
You snuck around our little tent town
Soaked our tents with your kerosene
You struck a match and the blaze it started
You pulled the triggers of your gatling guns
I made a run for the children but the fire wall stopped me
Thirteen children died from your guns
I carried my blanket to a wire fence corner
Watched the fire till the blaze died down
I helped some people grab their belongings
While your bullets killed us all around
I will never forget the looks on the faces
Of the men and women that awful day
When we stood around to preach their funerals
And lay the corpses of the dead away
We told the Colorado governor to call the President
Tell him to call off his National Guard
But the National Guard belong to the governor
So he didn't try so very hard
Our women from Trinidad they hauled some potatoes
Up to Walsenburg in a little cart
They sold their potatoes and brought some guns back
And put a gun in every hand
The state soldiers jumped us in a wire fence corner
They did not know that we had these guns
And the red neck miners mowed down them troopers
You should have seen those poor boys run
We took some cement and walled that cave up
Where you killed those thirteen children inside
I said, "God bless the Mine Workers' Union"
And then I hung my head and cried
The song "Ludlow Massacre" by Ramblin' Jack Elliott is a powerful reminder of the greed and violence that has often been associated with the mining industry in the United States. The song is based on the actual events that occurred in Ludlow, Colorado in 1914, when striking coal miners and their families were driven out of their homes and forced to live in tents. The situation was tense, with soldiers guarding the railroad bridge and sporadic gunfire adding to the atmosphere of fear.
The miners were especially concerned for their children's safety, and so they dug a cave that was seven feet deep. One night, while the miners were sleeping, soldiers snuck around their tent town and soaked their tents with kerosene. They then set them on fire and opened fire with Gatling guns, killing thirteen children in the process. The miners fought back, mowing down the state soldiers who attacked them, and they walled up the cave where their children had been killed.
The song is a haunting tribute to the victims of the Ludlow Massacre, and a call for justice for the working-class people who suffered at the hands of powerful corporations and their hired men. It speaks to the resilience of ordinary people who, facing great odds, were willing to fight for their rights and protect their families.
Line by Line Meaning
It was early springtime that the strike was on
The strike had begun in the early springtime.
They moved us miners out of doors
The miners were forced out of their houses by the company.
Out from the houses that the company owned
The miners were living in houses that belonged to the company.
We moved into tents at old Ludlow
The miners were relocated to tents in Ludlow.
I was worried bad about my children
The artist was very concerned for the safety of his children.
Soldiers guarding the railroad bridge
Soldiers were guarding the railroad bridge.
Every once in a while a bullet would fly
Occasionally, a bullet would come flying nearby.
Kick up gravel under my feet
The bullet would shake the ground and disturb the gravel under the artist's feet.
We were so afraid they would kill our children
The miners were afraid that the soldiers would kill their children.
We dug us a cave that was seven foot deep
The miners dug a seven-foot-deep cave to protect themselves.
Carried our young ones and a pregnant woman
The miners carried their children and a pregnant woman into the cave.
Down inside the cave to sleep
They went to sleep inside the cave.
That very night you soldiers waited
The soldiers waited until nighttime to carry out their attack.
Until us miners were asleep
The soldiers waited until the miners had fallen asleep.
You snuck around our little tent town
The soldiers moved secretly around the miners' tent town.
Soaked our tents with your kerosene
The soldiers poured kerosene on the miners' tents.
You struck a match and the blaze it started
The soldiers started a fire by striking a match.
You pulled the triggers of your gatling guns
The soldiers used Gatling guns to shoot at the miners.
I made a run for the children but the fire wall stopped me
The fire prevented the singer from saving the children.
Thirteen children died from your guns
Thirteen children were killed by the soldiers' guns.
I carried my blanket to a wire fence corner
The artist went to a corner of the wire fence with his blanket.
Watched the fire till the blaze died down
The artist watched the fire until it died down.
I helped some people grab their belongings
The singer helped some people collect their belongings.
While your bullets killed us all around
The soldiers were shooting at the miners while they were trying to escape with their belongings.
I will never forget the looks on the faces
The singer will never forget the expressions on the faces of the people who were killed.
Of the men and women that awful day
The singer is referring to the day of the massacre.
When we stood around to preach their funerals
The singer and others gathered to perform funerals for the victims.
And lay the corpses of the dead away
They buried the corpses of the dead.
We told the Colorado governor to call the President
The miners asked the governor to contact the President.
Tell him to call off his National Guard
The miners wanted the President to tell the National Guard to stop attacking them.
But the National Guard belong to the governor
The National Guard was under the control of the governor, not the President.
So he didn't try so very hard
The governor made little effort to help the miners.
Our women from Trinidad they hauled some potatoes
Women from Trinidad brought potatoes to Walsenburg.
Up to Walsenburg in a little cart
The women brought the potatoes in a small cart to Walsenburg.
They sold their potatoes and brought some guns back
The women sold their potatoes and used the money to buy guns.
And put a gun in every hand
The women distributed guns to everyone.
The state soldiers jumped us in a wire fence corner
The soldiers attacked the miners in a corner of the wire fence.
They did not know that we had these guns
The soldiers were not aware that the miners had guns.
And the red neck miners mowed down them troopers
The miners with guns killed the attacking soldiers.
You should have seen those poor boys run
The attacking soldiers fled in fear.
We took some cement and walled that cave up
The miners sealed the cave where the children had been killed with cement.
Where you killed those thirteen children inside
Thirteen children had been killed inside the cave.
I said, "God bless the Mine Workers' Union"
The singer prays for the Mine Workers' Union to be blessed.
And then I hung my head and cried
The artist is overwhelmed with emotion and cries.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: WOODY GUTHRIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind