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".
Rocky Mountain Belle
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She was everything to me my very life
We had smiles and we had tears
And for 27 years I had promised her someday she'd be my wife
With a ceremony plan I had bought a wedding band
And invited all the neighbours from the farms
But the day we were to wed, I was tired and stayed in bed
Oh, they're burning down the house I was brought up in
And they're shouting come on out and take your bride
Oh, they're burning down the house I was brought up in
But what a fool I'd be to go outside
Never thought my prairie queen would be causing such a scene
And the poor old sheriff can't hold back the mob
I'll admit we would have wed, but she went ahead and said
When we married she was gonna quit her
There's her pappy at the gate with a loaded 38
And he's shouting come on out before I shoot
Oh, I wonder if he knows I've got on his Sunday clothes
If he shoots at me goodbye to pappy's suit
Oh, they're burning down the house I was brung up in
And they're shouting come on out and take your bride
Oh, they're burning down the house I was brung up in
But what a fool I'd be to go outside
They brought along their lunch and I bet that whole darn bunch
Think they're gonna sit around and starve me out
Here inside I've got a cow who's a corking roast beef now
So you see they don't know what it's all about
To me it's all a joke I can stand a lot of smoke
In the farmers band I used to play trombone
They've got me in a spot, and it's getting mighty hot
But to me this burning shack is home sweet home
The lyrics of Rocky Mountain Belle by Ramblin' Jack Elliott tell the story of a man who had promised his love, his rocky mountain Belle, that he would marry her after many years of being together. He had planned the ceremony with the wedding band and had invited all the neighbors from the farms around. However, as the day approached, the singer found himself tired and decided to stay in bed, leaving his Belle waiting. As a result, the whole mountain side was up in arms, and people started burning down the singer's house, where he had been brought up.
The song is about broken promises and the consequences it can have on people's lives. The singer failed to keep his commitment, and it led to a chaotic situation where his Belle's father threatened him with a loaded gun, and the neighbors burned down his house. All this happened because the singer broke a promise he had made 27 years ago. Through the lyrics, the song conveys the importance of keeping the promise, and how a little decision can have a long-lasting impact.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a story I must tell about my rocky mountain Belle
I have a tale to tell about the woman I loved who lived in the Rocky Mountains
She was everything to me my very life
My beloved meant absolutely everything to me, my entire existence revolved around her
We had smiles and we had tears
Our relationship had its ups and downs, happy moments and difficult ones too
And for 27 years I had promised her someday she'd be my wife
I had promised my sweetheart for 27 years that someday we would get married
With a ceremony plan I had bought a wedding band
I made plans for a wedding and bought a wedding ring
And invited all the neighbours from the farms
I invited all the neighboring farmers to our wedding
But the day we were to wed, I was tired and stayed in bed
On our wedding day, I was weary and decided to stay in bed
Now the whole darn mountain side is up in arms
As a result, the entire mountain community is angry at me
Oh, they're burning down the house I was brought up in
The community is even burning down the house I grew up in
And they're shouting come on out and take your bride
They are demanding that I come out and take my bride as if it is that simple
But what a fool I'd be to go outside
I would be foolish to step outside under these circumstances
Never thought my prairie queen would be causing such a scene
I never expected my beloved, the queen of the prairie, to cause such an uproar
And the poor old sheriff can't hold back the mob
The sheriff is powerless to stop the angry mob
I'll admit we would have wed, but she went ahead and said
I confess that we would have got married, but my sweetheart said something that changed everything
When we married she was gonna quit her
She told me that she would quit her job when we got married
There's her pappy at the gate with a loaded 38
My beloved's father is at the gate with a loaded gun
And he's shouting come on out before I shoot
He's yelling for me to come out before he shoots me
Oh, I wonder if he knows I've got on his Sunday clothes
I'm wondering if he realizes that I'm wearing his Sunday best attire
If he shoots at me goodbye to pappy's suit
If he shoots at me, then he can say goodbye to his suit I'm wearing
They brought along their lunch and I bet that whole darn bunch
The mob came prepared with supplies, thinking they'll be able to starve me out
Think they're gonna sit around and starve me out
They believe that they'll be able to wait me out until I give in
Here inside I've got a cow who's a corking roast beef now
But inside the house, I have a cow that's perfect for roasting now
So you see they don't know what it's all about
They don't know that I have food inside and are clueless about what they are doing
To me it's all a joke I can stand a lot of smoke
To me, the situation is like a joke, and I can withstand a lot of chaos and commotion
In the farmers band I used to play trombone
I used to be a part of the band the farmers played in and used to play the trombone
They've got me in a spot, and it's getting mighty hot
Though, at the moment I find myself in a difficult situation and things are getting challenging
But to me this burning shack is home sweet home
Despite everything, this burning house is still my beloved home
Contributed by Cole O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.