No Depression in Heaven

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"No Depression in Heaven" (or simply "No Depression") is a song that was first recorded by the original Carter Family in 1936 during the Great Depression. Although A. P. Carter has frequently been credited as the author, some sources attribute the song to James David Vaughan. [1]

Over the years the song has been recorded by artists as diverse as the New Lost City Ramblers and Sheryl Crow. Uncle Tupelo made the song the title cut of their 1990 album, No Depression . Since then, the title has become synonymous with alternative country music. What is now described as the "No Depression movement" [2] is covered by many fan publications including the magazine No Depression.

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"I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" is the title of a country/folk song by A. P. Carter. A. P. Carter was a collector of old songs and lyrics. I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes is one of these old songs he discovered and it is said to be adapted from "The Prisoner's Song" by Guy Massey. The song is a hillbilly folk song, the foundation of early country music. The song became a hit in 1929. The song is a sad tale of a love that had been lost far across the sea, set to traditional English folk music.
Due to the song's popularity and historical importance, many have covered the song, including Bing Crosby, Gene Autry, Burl Ives and The Andrews Sisters. Some artists shorten the title to Broken Ties or Broken Vows or Broken Hearted Lovers. In February 1939 on XET Station, Mexico, Sara Carter dedicated the song to her long lost boyfriend Coy Bays, who was in Washington State at the time. On February 20, 1939 Sara Carter and Coy Bayes married at Brackettville, Texas. Mother Maybelle used the Carter Family picking on the song, which was new at the time, the bass notes are played with her thumb and she strums with her other fingers. The song was later put on the Carter Family album: My Clinch Mountain Home: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1928–1929). Ralph Stanley in 2006 recorded a complete album of Carter Family songs, including "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes", titled A Distant Land to Roam: Songs of the Carter Family.

References

  1. Bill C. Malone (2001). Don't Get Above Your Raisin': Country Music and the Southern Working Class. University of Illinois Press. ISBN   0-252-02678-0.
  2. No Depression Movement from the Survey of American Popular Music by Frank Hoffmann and modified for the web by Robert Birkline