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".
Talking Blues
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lyrics
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Heard the radio tellin' the news:
That the big Red Army took a hundred towns,
And Allies droppin' them two-ton bombs.
Started hollerin', yellin', dancin' up and down like a bullfrog!
Doorbell rung and in come a man,
I signed my name, I got a telegram.
Got a dish-washin' job on a Liberty ship."
Woman a-cryin', me a-flyin', out the door and down the line!
'Bout two minutes I run ten blocks,
I come to my ship, down at the dock;
Walked up the plank, and I signed my name,
Blowed that whistle, was gone again!
Right on out and down the stream, ships as fur as my eye could see, woman a-waitin'.
Ship loaded down with TNT
All out across the rollin' sea;
Stood on the deck, watched the fishes swim,
I'se a-prayin' them fish wasn't made out of tin.
Sharks, porpoises, jellybeans, rainbow trouts, mudcats, jugars, all over that water.
This convoy's the biggest I ever did see,
Stretches all the way out across the sea;
And the ships blow the whistles and a-rang her bells,
Gonna blow them fascists all to hell!
Win some freedom, liberty, stuff like that.
Walked to the tail, stood on the stern,
Lookin' at the big brass screw blade turn;
Listened to the sound of the engine pound,
Gained sixteen feet every time it went around.
Gettin' closer and closer, look out, you fascists.
I'm just one of the merchant crew,
I belong to the union called the N. M. U.
I'm a union man from head to toe,
I'm U. S. A. and C. I. O.
Fightin' out here on the waters to win some freedom on the land.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott's "Talking Blues" is a narrative song about a man who is in bed with his woman, singing the blues when he hears over the radio that the Red Army had taken a hundred towns, and the Allies were dropping two-ton bombs. The news excites him, and he starts to holler and dance like a bullfrog. His excitement is short-lived, though, as a telegram arrives offering him a dishwashing job on a Liberty ship. His woman starts crying, and he rushes out the door to the ship, leaving her behind. He runs ten blocks in two minutes and is on the ship a few moments later. The ship is loaded with TNT, and he watches as they blow the whistles, ring the bells and head to sea, to blow the fascists to hell.
Line by Line Meaning
In bed with my woman, just singin' the blues,
I was at home with my woman, feeling blue and singing sad songs.
Heard the radio tellin' the news:
I was listening to the radio for the latest updates.
That the big Red Army took a hundred towns,
The news broadcaster said that the Red Army captured a hundred towns in the war.
And Allies droppin' them two-ton bombs.
The Allies were dropping bombs weighing two tons each.
Started hollerin', yellin', dancin' up and down like a bullfrog!
I got so excited that I started to shout, yell and dance like a crazy person.
Doorbell rung and in come a man,
Someone rang the doorbell and a man came in.
I signed my name, I got a telegram.
I signed a paper and received a telegram.
Said, 'If you wanna take a vacation trip,
The message said that I could take a vacation trip.
Got a dish-washin' job on a Liberty ship.'
I was offered a dishwashing job on a Liberty ship.
Woman a-cryin', me a-flyin', out the door and down the line!
My woman was crying, and I hurried out of the house to catch a train or a bus.
'Bout two minutes I run ten blocks,
I ran ten blocks in just about two minutes.
I come to my ship, down at the dock;
I arrived at the dock where my ship was waiting.
Walked up the plank, and I signed my name,
I walked up the gangplank and signed the necessary papers.
Blowed that whistle, was gone again!
The ship's whistle blew, and we departed.
Right on out and down the stream, ships as far as my eye could see, woman a-waitin'.
We sailed downstream with other ships visible to the horizon, and my woman was waiting for me at home.
Ship loaded down with TNT
The ship was loaded with TNT - a highly explosive material.
All out across the rollin' sea;
We sailed across the ever-rolling sea.
Stood on the deck, watched the fishes swim,
I stood on the deck and watched the fish swim in the sea.
I'se a-prayin' them fish wasn't made out of tin.
I prayed that those fish weren't made of tin - another explosive material.
Sharks, porpoises, jellybeans, rainbow trouts, mudcats, jugars, all over that water.
I could see several types of fish like sharks, porpoises, rainbow trouts, mudcats, and jugars in that water.
This convoy's the biggest I ever did see,
This convoy of ships was the biggest that I had ever seen.
Stretches all the way out across the sea;
The convoy stretched all the way across the sea.
And the ships blow the whistles and a-rang her bells,
The ships blew whistles and rang bells to signal each other.
Gonna blow them fascists all to hell!
The intention was to blow the fascists all to hell.
Win some freedom, liberty, stuff like that.
The goal was to win freedom and liberty against the fascists.
Walked to the tail, stood on the stern,
I walked to the end of the ship and stood on the stern.
Lookin' at the big brass screw blade turn;
I looked at the big brass screw blade turning.
Listened to the sound of the engine pound,
I could hear the pounding sound of the engine.
Gained sixteen feet every time it went around.
The ship traveled sixteen feet every time the engine revolved.
Gettin' closer and closer, look out, you fascists.
We were getting closer and closer to the fascists, who should be warned.
I'm just one of the merchant crew,
I was just one of the crew members of the merchant ship.
I belong to the union called the N.M.U.
I was associated with the union called the National Maritime Union.
I'm a union man from head to toe,
I was the epitome of a Union man in all aspects.
I'm U.S.A. and C.I.O.
I was both American and a member of Congress of Industrial Organizations.
Fightin' out here on the waters to win some freedom on land.
We were fighting on the seas to win freedom on the ground.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WOODY GUTHRIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind