The War interrupted any thoughts of a musical career, and it was not until both brothers returned from the service that they were able to make their own mark in music -- ultimately ending up on WCYB Bristol, Tennessee, where they would remain for over ten years as stalwarts of the famed "Farm and Fun Time" radio show. Their music initially followed a more old time style favored by Mainer's Mountaineers, with Ralph playing the banjo in the old two-finger style, interspersed with old time clawhammer playing, before taking a stab at the new three-finger style popularised by Earl Scruggs.
They formed The Clinch Mountain Boys in 1946. They were perhaps the first band to adopt the new music style created by Bill Monroe in the mid-1940s that later became known as bluegrass. Carter played guitar and sang lead while Ralph played banjo and sang with a strong, high tenor voice. Their harmonies are much admired, and many consider Carter Stanley to be one of the greatest singers in the history of country music. The brothers also wrote many of their own songs and Carter had a particular knack for writing deceptively simple lyrics that portrayed strong emotion. The Stanley's style can best be described as a traditional "mountain soul" sound that remained close to the Primitive Baptist vocal stylings they learned from their parents and others near their southwestern Virginia home.
The early Stanley Brothers recordings on Rich-R-Tone (of Johnson City, Tennessee) included Pee Wee Lambert on mandolin. They later added an innovative touch to their traditional sound with the guitar solos of George Shuffler who often used a crosspicking style.
Carter performed briefly with Bill Monroe while Ralph was recovering from injuries received in an automobile accident in 1951. As bluegrass music grew less popular in the late 1950s, the Stanley Brothers moved to Live Oak, Florida to headline the weekly Suwannee River Jamboree radio show on WNER. The three-hour show was also syndicated across the Southeast. Otherwise the brothers performed together until 1966 (from 1961 on as a duo). After Carter's death Ralph revived the Clinch Mountain Boys and is still performing in 2006. Among the musicians who have played in the revived Clinch Mountain Boys are Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Larry Sparks, Curly Ray Cline, Jack Cooke, and Ralph Stanley II. Ralph's career received a big boost with his prominent role on the phenomenally successful soundtrack recording of the 2000 film, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?." The Stanley Brothers were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1992.
Among the Stanley Brothers' best known recordings are:
* I'm A Man of Constant Sorrow (1950, Columbia)
* Rank Stranger
* Angel Band
* How Mountain Girls Can Love
* How Far to Little Rock? (novelty)
* Still trying to get to Little Rock (novelty)
* Ridin' That Midnite Train
* Clinch Mountain Backstep
* She's More To Be Pitied
* The Memory of Your Smile
* Love Me Darlin' Just Tonight
Clinch Mountain Boys Members
* Carter Stanley (guitar)
* Ralph Stanley (banjo)
* Darrell "Pee Wee" Lambert (mandolin)
* Jim Williams (mandolin)
* Curly Lambert (mandolin)
* Leslie Keith (fiddle)
* Robert "Bobby" Sumner (fiddle)
* Les Woodie (fiddle)
* Ralph Mayo (fiddle, guitar)
* Chubby Anthony (fiddle)
* Art Stamper (fiddle)
* Joe Meadows (fiddle)
* Red Stanley (fiddle)
* Don Miller (fiddle)
* Vernon Derrick (fiddle)
* James "Jay" Hughes (bass)
* Ernie Newton (bass)
* Chick Stripling (bass)
* Mike Seeger (bass)
* Bill Napier (guitar, mandolin)
* George Shuffler (guitar, bass)
* Larry Sparks (guitar)
External links
* Ralph Stanley Discography
* Recording of "We Are Going to Paint the Town" from a 1958 Florida radio show (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)
* Podcast (mp3) of one of the Stanley Brothers' Suwannee River Jamboree raido show from 1958 (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)
Come All You Tenderhearted
The Stanley Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your attention I will call
I'll tell you how it started
Come listen one and all
Last Wednesday, there was a light
Seen shining on the hills
A mother and her daughter might
She went into a neighbor's
Some hundred yards away
She sat down and talked with them
But she did not mean to see
Don't stay to long dear mother there
For we'll be lonesome here
I'll give some ... she said
Then I'll return again
But when she started home again
Her house was in flames
She cried "Oh Lord, my babies are gone
and I'm the one to blame"
She cried "Alas, how sad they sleep
Wrapped up in the red hot flame"
She bursted all asunder then
And the flames rolled over her head
Their little bones lay on the ground
They both lay face to face
Each other did entwine
Each other did embrace
The Stanley Brothers' "Come All You Tenderhearted" is a tragic story about a mother and daughter who die in a house fire. The song describes how the mother goes to visit her neighbors and promises to return soon, but on her way back, she witnesses her home in flames. Her cries of despair, as she realizes that her children are trapped inside, are heart-wrenching. The final verse of the song describes the scene of the burned-down house, where the two little ones' bodies lay intertwined with each other, forever united in love and death.
This song captures the tragedy of a real-life event that happened in the Appalachian Mountains during the 1930s. The story of a mother and her children perishing in a house fire was not uncommon in rural areas where homes were often made of wood, and fires could quickly get out of control. The lost lives and the grieving survivors were sometimes the only reminders the communities had of these tragedies.
The song "Come All You Tenderhearted" is a poignant and affecting reminder of the devastating power of fire and the human cost of such disasters. It speaks to the deep emotions that are stirred when we consider the suffering of those who have lost loved ones, and it urges listeners to remember that even in times of tragedy, love and compassion can provide some solace for the grieving.
Line by Line Meaning
Come all you tenderhearted
Calling out to those who possess a soft and sensitive heart
Your attention I will call
Asking for your focus and concentration
I'll tell you how it started
Explaining how the tragic event began
Come listen one and all
Requesting for everyone to lend an ear
Last Wednesday, there was a light
Referring to the day when the incident took place
Seen shining on the hills
Noticing a bright light on the rolling landscape
A mother and her daughter might
It was possible that a mother and her child witnessed the event
While everything was still
During a time of peace and tranquility
She went into a neighbor's
Traveled to a nearby dwelling
Some hundred yards away
Not too far from the original location
She sat down and talked with them
Engaged in conversation with her neighbors
But she did not mean to see
Unaware of the events that were happening at her own home
Don't stay to long dear mother there
Her children did not want her to stay away for too long
For we'll be lonesome here
They would miss their mother's presence
I'll give some ... she said
The mother promised to give them something before she left
Then I'll return again
Assuring her children that she would come back
But when she started home again
On her way back to her own house
Her house was in flames
Her home was on fire
She cried "Oh Lord, my babies are gone
Realizing that her children could not have escaped the fire
and I'm the one to blame"
Feeling responsible for her children's deaths
She cried "Alas, how sad they sleep
Expressing her grief and sorrow for her loss
Wrapped up in the red hot flame"
Referring to her children's fate in the burning house
She bursted all asunder then
Broke down emotionally and physically
And the flames rolled over her head
Being consumed by the fire as well
Their little bones lay on the ground
The remains of the children were found after the fire was extinguished
They both lay face to face
The two siblings were found lying next to each other
Each other did entwine
Their bodies were intertwined in a final embrace
Each other did embrace
The siblings held onto each other even in death
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CARLIN AMERICA INC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RALPH STANLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind