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)
Man Of Constaint Sorrow
The Stanley Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am a man of constant sorrow
I've seen trouble all my days
I bid farewell to old Kentucky
The state where I was borned and raised
(The state where he was borned and raised)
No pleasure here on earth I find
For in this world I'm bound to ramble
I have no friends to help me now
(He has no friends to help him now)
You can bury me in some deep valley
For many years where I may lay
Then you may learn to love another
While I am sleeping in my grave
(While he is sleeping in his grave)
Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger
My face you never will see no more
But there is one promise that is given
I'll meet you on God's golden shore
(He'll meet you on God's golden shore)
The lyrics to The Stanley Brothers' "Man of Constant Sorrow" tell the story of a man who has seen and experienced a lot of trouble in his life. He is a man who is constantly in sorrow, having faced many hardships for six long years. He is leaving behind his home state of Kentucky, where he was born and raised, with no friends to help him. The song talks about his eventual death and how he wants to be buried in a deep valley and hopes that whoever he leaves behind will find love and joy, while he rests in his grave. The final verse of the song is rather hopeful as it talks about the promise of meeting again on God's golden shore.
The lyrics convey a sense of isolation and loneliness, highlighting the constant struggle of the human condition. They also speak to the idea that there is a place beyond this earth that we will all ultimately meet. The raw emotion in the song and the sense of hopelessness make it resonate with listeners, and it has since gone on to become an enduring classic.
Line by Line Meaning
In constant sorrow all my days
My life has been filled with persistent misery
I am a man of constant sorrow
I am an individual whose life is persistently filled with sadness and sorrow
I've seen trouble all my days
Throughout my life, I have encountered numerous difficulties and problems
I bid farewell to old Kentucky
I am saying goodbye to the state where I was born and raised
The state where I was borned and raised
I am leaving behind the state that was my birthplace and childhood home
For six long years I've been in trouble
For a span of six years, I have been struggling with difficulties and challenges
No pleasure here on earth I find
I cannot find joy or happiness in this world
For in this world I'm bound to ramble
I am destined to wander aimlessly through life
I have no friends to help me now
I am currently without any friends or companions to assist me in my struggles
You can bury me in some deep valley
After I have passed away, you may choose to lay me to rest in a remote, secluded location
For many years where I may lay
It may be many years before anyone discovers or visits my final resting place
Then you may learn to love another
Once I have passed away, you may eventually find love and companionship with someone else
While I am sleeping in my grave
While my body is at rest in my burial place
Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger
Your acquaintances may view me as a stranger or outsider
My face you never will see no more
You will never see my face again
But there is one promise that is given
There is one certainty that can be assured
I'll meet you on God's golden shore
We will be reunited in the afterlife, in a place of eternal bliss and beauty
Lyrics © Public Domain
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ErokLobotomist
So glad O Brother Where Art Thou came out. It introduced me to an entire world of amazing music. Nobody else in my family really listened to this kind of music, but it really hits me in the heart strings.
@mgsocketawe4555
sooooo agreee, never heard of these songs befor that movie. and the origins are better as the movie
@RickRogued
Bob Dylan
@apa_plainjane
you know it, brother. I discovered some of it a little earlier, but nobody gets to me as deep as Dr. Ralph.
@shawnpruitt4670
I'm so happy I grew up in Kentucky home to bluegrass music
@dennisfish28
Me too.. this music (and all the music in Man of Constant Sorrow) just creates an emotion all it's own
@jetw9810
It's funny how a song of sorrow can make me happy.
@johnnyrebel55
As a Dutch countryboy from Holland and a hobby farmer riding westernhorses on my own ranch this music strikes like lightning in my hart. Listened it on my phone while working on the land with the tractor. Man of constant sorrow. Reconise something in that yes. I really love this pure music and that is not only because the have my frontname.
@michaeltoohey1385
Although we are separated by long sea voyages, commencing with the migration from Friesland, this music evokes a shared heritage dating back many centuries, I write this from New Zealand.
@gangoffour6690
Billy Strings carries the torch today. High, mighty and proud. Billy is great.