Back Home is the original LP reissue of Merle Travis

Merle Travis

Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and musician born in Rosewood, Kentucky. His lyrics often discussed the life and exploitation of coal miners. Among his many well-known songs are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues" and "Dark as a Dungeon"...

's first album, Folk Songs of the Hills

Folk Songs of the Hills

Folk Songs of the Hills is Merle Travis's classic collection of traditional songs from his native Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, including original compositions evoking working life on the railroads and in the coal mines. Each song, accompanied by Travis on his own acoustic guitar, is introduced by...

(1947), with four previously unreleased tracks and a new cover. This seminal album marked a new turn in Travis's career, bringing his Kentucky-style fingerpicking and down-home vocal stylings to the attention of a broad public of country and folk music enthusiasts at the onset of the American folk music revival

American folk music revival

The American folk music revival was a phenomenon in the United States that began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Richard Dyer-Bennett, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob...

. Together with another Capitol release the following year, The Merle Travis Guitar

The Merle Travis Guitar

The Merle Travis Guitar was the first solo guitar album by Merle Travis, recorded in 1955 when Travis was at the peak of his performing abilities and released on January 1, 1956...

, it introduced the style of guitar playing that came to be known, in simplified form, as Travis picking. The album includes a selection of traditional country songs such as "John Henry

John Henry (folklore)

John Henry is an American folk hero and tall tale. Henry worked as a "steel-driver"—a man tasked with hammering and chiseling rock in the construction of tunnels for railroad tracks. In the legend, John Henry's prowess as a steel-driver was measured in a race against a steam powered hammer,...

", "Muskrat", "Lost John (from Bowling Green)", "Barbara Allen", and Travis' signature gospel song, "I Am a Pilgrim". Also included are the original compositions "Dark as a Dungeon

Dark as a Dungeon

"Dark as a Dungeon" is a song written by singer-songwriter Merle Travis. It is a lament about the danger and drudgery of being a coal miner in an Appalachian shaft mine. It has become a rallying song among miners seeking improved working conditions....

" and "Sixteen Tons

Sixteen Tons

"Sixteen Tons" is a song about the life of a coal miner, first recorded in 1946 by American country singer Merle Travis and released on his box set album Folk Songs of the Hills the following year...

". All songs are introduced by a spoken narrative.

This was Travis' first LP to be played entirely on acoustic guitar

Acoustic guitar

An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...

, rather than electric

Electric guitar

An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

. The cover shows a grist mill powered by a water wheel, a main source of energy "back home" before the arrival of electricity.

In his autobiography Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash

John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

 says about this album: “If I had to answer that old but still interesting question, ‘What music would you want with you if you were stranded on a desert island?’, I’d say the Freewheelin’

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in May 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his debut album Bob Dylan had contained only two original songs, Freewheelin initiated the process of writing contemporary words to traditional melodies....

 would have to be on the list. So would Merle Travis’s Down Home, which has “Sixteen Tons” and all those other great songs on it and was the first country concept album (Ride This Train

Ride This Train

Ride This Train is the eighth album by country singer Johnny Cash. It was originally released in September 1960 , but later re-issued on March 19, 2002 with four bonus tracks...

 was the second).” Although Cash can’t remember the exact title of the album, it’s clear that he talks about "Back Home".

Track listing

1. "Nine Pound Hammer
   Take This Hammer
   "Take This Hammer" is a prison work song. It was collected by John and Alan Lomax. The song "Nine Pound Hammer" has a few phrases in common with this song, and the same Roud number. "Swannanoa Tunnel" is similar, and this group of songs are referred to as 'hammer songs' or 'roll songs'...
   
   " (Travis)
2. "John Henry
   John Henry (folklore)
   John Henry is an American folk hero and tall tale. Henry worked as a "steel-driver"—a man tasked with hammering and chiseling rock in the construction of tunnels for railroad tracks. In the legend, John Henry's prowess as a steel-driver was measured in a race against a steam powered hammer,...
   
   " (Traditional)
3. "Sixteen Tons
   Sixteen Tons
   "Sixteen Tons" is a song about the life of a coal miner, first recorded in 1946 by American country singer Merle Travis and released on his box set album Folk Songs of the Hills the following year...
   
   " (Travis)
4. "Dark as a Dungeon
   Dark as a Dungeon
   "Dark as a Dungeon" is a song written by singer-songwriter Merle Travis. It is a lament about the danger and drudgery of being a coal miner in an Appalachian shaft mine. It has become a rallying song among miners seeking improved working conditions....
   
   " (Travis)
5. "That's All" (Travis)
6. "Over by Number Nine" (Travis)
7. "I Am a Pilgrim" (Traditional)
8. "Muskrat" (Traditional)
9. "John Bolin" (Traditional)
10. "Possum up a Simmon Tree" (Traditional)
11. "Barbara Allen" (Traditional)
12. "Lost John (from Bowling Green)" (Traditional)

Tracks 9-12 were not included in the original release Folk Songs of the Hills