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)
Pig In A Pen
The Stanley Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All I need is a pretty little girl to feed 'I'm when I'm gone.
Goin' on the mountain to sow a little cane
Raise a barrel of Sorghum sweet lil' Liza Jane.
Black cloud's a-risin' surest sign of rain
Get the old grey bonnet on Little Liza Jane.
Yonder comes that gal of mine how you think I know
Can tell by that Gingham gown hangin' down so low.
Bake them biscuits baby bake 'em good n' brown
When you get them biscuits baked we're Alabamy bound.
When she sees me comin' she wrings her hands and cries
Yonder comes the sweetest boy that ever lived or died.
Now when she sees me leavin'she wrings her hands and cries
Yonder goes the meanest boy that ever lived or died.
The lyrics of "Pig In A Pen" by The Stanley Brothers appear to be about a man who has a pig in a pen that needs to be fed corn. He implies that all he needs in life is a pretty woman to take care of his pig when he is not around. The man then plans to go up the mountain and sow some cane, and raise a barrel of sweet sorghum. He wants to do this along with his sweet girl Liza Jane, who is described as "pretty little girl" in the first verse. The lyrics mention the signs of rain, and the man advises his girl to put on an old grey bonnet to protect herself from the rain. Later on in the lyrics, Liza is described as wearing a gingham gown, and she is baking biscuits for the man, who promises to take her to Alabama once she has finished the task.
The last stanza of the song features Liza crying when the man leaves, and then again when she sees him coming back. The song seems to have a theme of a simple life in which the man only cares about his pig and his girl. The song also showcases the culture of parts of the United States where people still had to farm for their food and make their own sweeteners like sorghum.
Line by Line Meaning
I got a pig at home in a pen corn to feed 'I'm on
I have a pig enclosed in a pen and corn to sustain it.
All I need is a pretty little girl to feed 'I'm when I'm gone.
All that's missing is a beautiful girl to feed the pig when I'm away.
Goin' on the mountain to sow a little cane
Heading up the mountain to plant some sugar cane.
Raise a barrel of Sorghum sweet lil' Liza Jane.
Producing a barrel of sweet Sorghum, my dear Liza Jane.
Black cloud's a-risin' surest sign of rain
A dark cloud on the horizon signifies approaching rain.
Get the old grey bonnet on Little Liza Jane.
Put the old grey bonnet on Liza Jane.
Yonder comes that gal of mine how you think I know
How do I know my girl is approaching? I recognize her gingham dress hanging low.
Can tell by that Gingham gown hangin' down so low.
I can tell it's her by the gingham dress hanging low.
Bake them biscuits baby bake 'em good n' brown
My dear, bake the biscuits until they're a delicious golden brown.
When you get them biscuits baked we're Alabamy bound.
Once the biscuits are ready, we're heading off to Alabama.
When she sees me comin' she wrings her hands and cries
When she sees me approaching, she anxiously wrings her hands and weeps.
Yonder comes the sweetest boy that ever lived or died.
Here comes the sweetest boy who ever lived or died.
Now when she sees me leavin'she wrings her hands and cries
When I depart, she weeps and wrings her hands.
Yonder goes the meanest boy that ever lived or died.
Here goes the cruelest boy to ever live or die.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: CARTER STANLEY, RALPH STANLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind