Duncan and Brady
Encyclopedia
"Duncan and Brady", also known as "Been on the Job Too Long", "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", or simply "Brady", is a traditional
murder
ballad
about the shooting of a policeman, Brady, by a bartender, Duncan. The song's lyrics stemmed from actual events, involving the shooting of James Brady in the Charles Starkes Saloon in St. Louis, Missouri
. Harry Duncan was convicted of the murder, and later executed. Originally recorded by Wilmer Watts & his Lonely Eagles in 1929, it has been recorded numerous times, most famously by Lead Belly, also by Dave Van Ronk
, The Johnson Mountain Boys
, New Riders of the Purple Sage
, and Bob Dylan
.
, Missouri
. On October 6, 1880, several police officers, including James Brady, arrived at the Charles Starkes Saloon in downtown St. Louis, where a bar fight was taking place. The officers tried to arrest patrons of the bar suspected of starting the fight, which prompted a gunfight. Brady was shot by an unknown man, supposedly by the bar's owner, Charles Starkes. Harry Duncan claimed as such when he was arrested for Brady's murder; Starkes denied the claim. Duncan was convicted and was sentenced to hang, but through several appeals, the case made its way to the Supreme Court
. However, this appeal was denied, and Duncan was hanged
on July 27, 1894. It was rumored that Charles Starkes later confessed to the murder on his deathbed.
However, Mrs. Tom Barret, a resident of Marlin
, Texas
, wrote to folklorist Dorothy Scarborough
about the song's lyrics and origins. She identifies Waco
, Texas
, as the scene of the shooting, although she does not specify whether or not it is in a bar. The song may bear a close relation to the tune of the traditional Negro ballad "Bad Man Ballad".
". The song begins with Brady, a policeman, riding around in an electric car
, with a "mean look in his eye", looking to "shoot somebody just to see him die". He walks into a bar, which Duncan is tending, and arrests him. Duncan then shoots Brady, and Brady then dies. However, in the next verse, Brady is told that he "knew he done wrong", because he was,
Women hear of the death of Brady and all dress in red. In a second variation recorded by Lead Belly, there is also mention of Brady's wife, who expects to get a pension from his death.
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
murder
Murder ballad
Murder ballads are a sub-genre of the traditional ballad form, the lyrics of which form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath...
ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
about the shooting of a policeman, Brady, by a bartender, Duncan. The song's lyrics stemmed from actual events, involving the shooting of James Brady in the Charles Starkes Saloon in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Harry Duncan was convicted of the murder, and later executed. Originally recorded by Wilmer Watts & his Lonely Eagles in 1929, it has been recorded numerous times, most famously by Lead Belly, also by Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
, The Johnson Mountain Boys
Johnson Mountain Boys
The Johnson Mountain Boys were a popular bluegrass band throughout the 1980s from the Washington, D.C. area. Their style favored a more traditional approach to bluegrass than some of their contemporaries. They released ten albums and toured widely, playing venues such as Madison Square Garden,...
, New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco, California in 1969, and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. Their best known song is "Panama Red"...
, and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
.
Origins
Lyrics to the song, including the main characters Duncan and Brady, originated from a barroom shooting in St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. On October 6, 1880, several police officers, including James Brady, arrived at the Charles Starkes Saloon in downtown St. Louis, where a bar fight was taking place. The officers tried to arrest patrons of the bar suspected of starting the fight, which prompted a gunfight. Brady was shot by an unknown man, supposedly by the bar's owner, Charles Starkes. Harry Duncan claimed as such when he was arrested for Brady's murder; Starkes denied the claim. Duncan was convicted and was sentenced to hang, but through several appeals, the case made its way to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. However, this appeal was denied, and Duncan was hanged
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
on July 27, 1894. It was rumored that Charles Starkes later confessed to the murder on his deathbed.
However, Mrs. Tom Barret, a resident of Marlin
Marlin, Texas
Marlin is a city in Falls County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,628 at the 2000 census, but decreased to 5,967 by 2010. It is also the county seat of Falls County, and has been so since 1851...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, wrote to folklorist Dorothy Scarborough
Dorothy Scarborough
Dorothy Scarborough was an American writer who wrote about Texas, folk culture, cotton farming, ghost stories and a woman's life in the Southwest.-Early life:...
about the song's lyrics and origins. She identifies Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, as the scene of the shooting, although she does not specify whether or not it is in a bar. The song may bear a close relation to the tune of the traditional Negro ballad "Bad Man Ballad".
Lyrics
"Duncan and Brady" is a typical "bad man" murder ballad, such as "Frankie and Johnny" or "Stagger LeeStagger Lee (song)
"Stagger Lee", also known as "Stagolee", "Stackerlee", "Stack O'Lee", "Stack-a-Lee" and several other variants, is a popular folk song based on the murder of William "Billy" Lyons by Stagger Lee Shelton...
". The song begins with Brady, a policeman, riding around in an electric car
Electric car
An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...
, with a "mean look in his eye", looking to "shoot somebody just to see him die". He walks into a bar, which Duncan is tending, and arrests him. Duncan then shoots Brady, and Brady then dies. However, in the next verse, Brady is told that he "knew he done wrong", because he was,
- Walkin' in the room when the game was goin' on
- Knockin down windows, breakin' down the door
Women hear of the death of Brady and all dress in red. In a second variation recorded by Lead Belly, there is also mention of Brady's wife, who expects to get a pension from his death.
Recordings
| Performer | Album | Year | Variant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmer Watts & Lonely Eagles | Paramount Old Time Recordings | 1929 | "Been on the Job Too Long" | |
| Blind Jesse Harris | Field Recordings, Vol. 4: Mississippi & Alabama (1934-1942) | 1937 | "Brady" | Recorded by John Lomax John Lomax John Avery Lomax was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist and folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk songs... . |
| Camp No. 1 convicts | N/A | 1941 | "Duncan and Brady" | Recorded and transcribed by John John Lomax John Avery Lomax was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist and folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk songs... and Alan Alan Lomax Alan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of... Lomax in 1933 for the 1941 book Our Singing Country. |
| Lead Belly | Where Did You Sleep Last Night | 1947 | Recorded both a-capella and with guitar. | |
| Win Stracke Win Stracke Winfred “Win” J. Stracke was an American Folk Musician and Co-Founder of the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Illinois. Stracke was a Chicago fixture in music, theater, and television in the 1940s and was known for his booming bass voice... |
Americana | |||
| Paul Clayton | Wanted for Murder: Songs of Outlaws and Desperadoes | 1956 | ||
| Dave Van Ronk Dave Van Ronk Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" .... |
Ballads, Blues, and a Spiritual | 1959 | ||
| Tom Rush Tom Rush Tom Rush is an American folk and blues singer, songwriter, musician and recording artist.- Life and career :Rush was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His father was a teacher at St. Paul's School, in Concord, New Hampshire. Tom began performing in 1961 while studying at Harvard University after... |
Got a Mind to Ramble | 1963 | ||
| Koerner, Ray & Glover Koerner, Ray & Glover Koerner, Ray & Glover is the name of a blues band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band featured Tony "Little Sun" Glover on harmonica, "Spider" John Koerner on guitar and vocals, and Dave "Snaker" Ray on guitar and vocals. Koerner, Ray & Glover were part of the early folk/blues explosion in the... |
Lots More Blues, Rags, and Hollers | 1964 | ||
| Whiskeyhill Singers Whiskeyhill Singers The Whiskeyhill Singers were formed in early 1961 by Dave Guard after he left The Kingston Trio. Guard formed the Singers as an attempt to return to the Trio's earlier roots in folk music. The Singers lasted about six months before disbanding... |
Dave Guard & Whiskeyhill Singers | 1962 | ||
| Judy Henske Judy Henske Judy Henske is an American singer and songwriter, once known as "the Queen of the Beatniks".-Life and recording career:... |
High Flying Bird | 1963 | ||
| Hoyt Axton Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton was an American country music singer-songwriter, and a film and television actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. As he matured, some of his songwriting efforts became well... |
The Best of Hoyt Axton | 1964 | "Been on the Job Too Long" | |
| New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco, California in 1969, and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. Their best known song is "Panama Red"... |
Powerglide Powerglide (album) Powerglide is the second album by the American band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. The music is a psychedelic hybrid of country rock, and includes guest musicians Jerry Garcia and Bill Kreutzmann from the Grateful Dead, along with noted session player Nicky Hopkins... |
1972 | "Duncan and Brady" | |
| Tom Akstens | Original and Traditional Music | 1975 | Recorded as a medley Medley (music) In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks... with the song "Mole's Moan". |
|
| Creek Snakes | Bastille Day | 2011 | "Duncan & Brady" |