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".
True Blue Jeans
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I bought 'em at a work-clothes shop
A store anymore where a sailor at shore
Can find good work clothes and go to work
I'm talking about a place east
Where a cowboy in town can drown his sorrows
In good blue Denim and the camp is brown
It's there I's spies these old Levis
I mean, they're brand spankin' new
But the style was old
True blue jeans, made of dark blue cloth
And got that sweet sofy smell in there
Think and hard, so they'll wear really well
Buy 'em loose, 'cause they're gonna shrink
I get 'em three extra inches in length
And two in the waist, they'll soon sit tight
Divided you wash and dry 'em right
Here's what I done and it's half the fun
True blue jeans
From the days when a man's best friend was his old six gun
I'd paste a rope up one leg inside and across down the other side
And close that bit with a bowlin' knot
Tight the better end to a stump nearby
And toss them in the creek and watch them sink
I left them soaking overnight
When morning come, I saw the sight
I pulls them out, unties the line, wrung 'em out
Hung 'em on a branch and baked in the sun
Lightly done on the ranch
True blue jeans
I pulls 'em on when they're bone dry
And they were still quite still I could testify
But softer than they were before
Now I could walk from here to the door
Not stiff as a board but they still got some style
To ease your comfort in the saddle spandrel
True blue jeans
And that's the way they made 'em when your old .44 was your very best friend
When your word was true and jeans were dark blue
"True Blue Jeans" by Ramblin' Jack Elliott can be regarded as a tribute to the durability and style of jeans, particularly the old-fashioned ones that had a distinct look and feel. The song is narrated by Elliott, who talks about a pair of "true blue jeans" he once had, which he bought from a work-clothes shop in the east. In his account, the jeans are notable for their newness as well as their resemblance to the style of jeans from the days of the cowboy, which were made of dark blue cloth and had a soft, sweet smell. Elliott advises that the jeans should be bought loose, as they are likely to shrink, and that they should be washed and dried correctly so that they wear well.
The most fascinating part of the song, though, is the process by which Elliott breaks in his jeans. To make them softer and shape them to his liking, he ties a rope to one leg of the jeans and tosses them into a creek, where they soak overnight. The next morning, the jeans are pulled out, wrung dry, and then hung in the sun to dry. Elliott wears the jeans when they are fully dry and notes that they still have some style and are comfortable to wear even in the saddle. The song can be seen as a celebration of work clothes, particularly jeans, and the rugged individualism they represent.
Line by Line Meaning
Let me tell you 'bout a pair of jeans I once had
I want to recount a story about some jeans that were once mine
I bought 'em at a work-clothes shop
These jeans were purchased at a store that sold clothes for working people
A store anymore where a sailor at shore
This store is no longer around where a sailor on land could go to buy clothes
Can find good work clothes and go to work
It was a place where someone could buy sturdy clothes to do their job in
I'm talking about a place east
This store was located in the eastern part of the country
Where a cowboy in town can drown his sorrows
This store was also a place where a cowboy could go to forget his problems
In good blue Denim and the camp is brown
The cowboy could find solace in the good quality jeans (in the blue color) and the surrounding landscape of brown dirt
It's there I's spies these old Levis
It was in this place where I first came upon these Levi's jeans
I mean, they're brand spankin' new
Despite being new, these jeans were of an old-fashioned style
But the style was old
These jeans were made in an outdated style
True blue jeans, made of dark blue cloth
The jeans were of a true blue color and made from a durable dark blue material
And got that sweet sofy smell in there
The jeans had a distinct pleasant aroma
Think and hard, so they'll wear really well
These jeans were built to last and withstand tough wear and tear
Buy 'em loose, 'cause they're gonna shrink
The jeans would shrink in the wash, so it was recommended to buy them a bit loose
I get 'em three extra inches in length
To account for shrinkage, it was suggested to buy these jeans three inches longer than your normal size
And two in the waist, they'll soon sit tight
Similarly, it was suggested to buy the jeans two inches larger in the waist to account for shrinkage and give a snug fit
Divided you wash and dry 'em right
When laundering these jeans, it was important to follow the proper washing and drying instructions
Here's what I done and it's half the fun
Now, I will tell you what I did to make these jeans truly mine
True blue jeans
Reinforcing that the jeans are the 'true blue' style
From the days when a man's best friend was his old six gun
These jeans harken back to a time when a man's firearm was his closest companion
I'd paste a rope up one leg inside and across down the other side
To add his personal touch, the storyteller would bind a rope inside one leg of the jeans, crossing over to the other side for decoration
And close that bit with a bowlin' knot
The rope was tied securely with a bowline knot
Tight the better end to a stump nearby
The tighter end of the rope was secured to a stump near the creek
And toss them in the creek and watch them sink
The jeans were thrown into the creek to soak
I left them soaking overnight
The jeans were allowed to soak overnight to fully saturate
When morning come, I saw the sight
In the morning, the jeans were inspected
I pulls them out, unties the line, wrung 'em out
The jeans were removed from the creek, untied, and wrung out
Hung 'em on a branch and baked in the sun
To dry, the jeans were hung up on a tree branch in the sun
Lightly done on the ranch
With a touch of personal flair, these jeans were personalized with a rustic tone
I pulls 'em on when they're bone dry
Finally, these jeans were ready to wear when they were completely dry
And they were still quite still I could testify
Despite these personalized touches, the jeans were just as wearable as before
But softer than they were before
The jeans had taken on a softer texture after the creek soak and sun-drying
Now I could walk from here to the door
These jeans were so comfortable, the wearer could walk a long distance with ease
Not stiff as a board but they still got some style
The jeans lost their rigidity, but still retained their fashionable look
To ease your comfort in the saddle spandrel
These jeans specially catered to a person's comfort when sitting in a saddle
And that's the way they made 'em when your old .44 was your very best friend
These jeans were produced in a style from a bygone era when one's trusty six-shooter was their closest companion
When your word was true and jeans were dark blue
These jeans were a symbol of a time when a person's word was their bond and loyalty was highly valued
Contributed by Nathaniel I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.