The Sinking of the Reuben James
| "The Sinking of the Reuben James" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Almanac Singers | |
| Written | 1941-1942 |
| Published | 1942 |
| Composer(s) | (Wildwood Flower) Joseph Philbrick Webster |
| Lyricist(s) | Woody Guthrie, Fred Hellerman |
| Language | English |
“The Sinking of the Reuben James” is a song by Woody Guthrie about the sinking of the U.S. convoy escort, the Reuben James, which was the first U.S. naval ship sunk by German U-boats in World War II. Woody Guthrie had started to write a song including each name on the casualty list of the sinking. This was later replaced by the chorus “tell me what were their names.”[1]
The song is set to the melody of Wildwood Flower, an antebellum tune by Joseph Philbrick Webster. [2]
Recordings
- The Almanac Singers on Dear Mr. President 1942
- Will Geer on Bound for Glory 1958
- The Weavers on At Carnegie Hall, Volume 2 1960
- Johnny Horton on Johnny Horton Sings History 1960
- Oscar Brand on Every Inch a Sailor 1960
- Kingston Trio on Close-Up 1961
- The Chad Mitchell Trio on Reflecting 1963
- Jon & Alun on "Relax Your Mind" 1963
- Cisco Houston on Cisco Houston sings the songs of Woody Guthrie 1963
- James Talley on Woody Guthrie and Songs of My Oklahoma Home 1999
- Folk Family Robinson on Songs of America (2007). Folk Family Robinson is Chris and Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes and their father Stan Robinson.
- Country Joe McDonald on Thinking of Woody Guthrie 1969
References
- ↑ Klein, Joe (1980). Woody Guthrie: A Life. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-394-50152-9.
- ↑ Smith, Rod, Rod's Encyclopedic Dictionary Of Traditional Music, archived from the original on December 1, 2002, retrieved 1 December 2002 via the Internet Archive.
External links
- "'The Sinking Of The Reuben James' lyrics". Official Woody Guthrie website.
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