Ol' Man River
Encyclopedia
"Ol' Man River" is a song in the 1927 musical Show Boat
that expresses the African American
hardship and struggles of the time with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River
; it is sung from the point-of-view of a dock worker on a showboat
, and is the most famous song from the show. Meant to be performed in a slow tempo, it is sung completely once by the black dock worker "Joe" who travels with the boat, and, in the stage version, is heard four more times in brief reprise
s. Joe serves as a sort of musical one-man Greek chorus
, and the song, when reprised, comments on the action, as if saying, "This has happened, but the river keeps rolling on anyway."
The song is notable for several aspects: the lyrical pentatonic-scale
melody, the subjects of toil and social class, metaphor to the Mississippi
, and as a bass solo (rare in musicals, solos for baritone
s or tenor
s being more common).
Paul Whiteman
and His Orchestra had a no. 1 hit recording of the song in 1928 sung in a much faster tempo than Kern and Hammerstein intended, and featuring Bing Crosby
on vocals and Bix Beiderbecke
on cornet. A second version, by Paul Whiteman with Paul Robeson
on vocals and sung in a dance tempo, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2006.
, who also sang it in the part-talkie 1929 film, although that film version had little to do with the stage musical. Bledsoe also recorded the song years later. However, the most famous rendition of it, one that is still noted today, was sung by Paul Robeson
in James Whale
's classic 1936 film version of Show Boat
. (Robeson had performed the song before in the 1928 London production of the show and in the 1932 Broadway revival.) The song became an American
classic, and was performed by many musicians and musical groups, including Paul Whiteman
and His Orchestra, Bix Beiderbecke
, Bing Crosby
, Frank Sinatra
, Sam Cooke, Al Jolson
, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Django Reinhardt
, Ray Charles
, Jim Croce
, Jimmy Ricks and the Ravens, The Beach Boys
, The Jeff Beck Group
, Muslim Magomayev
and Aretha Franklin
. William Warfield
sang it in the 1951 Technicolor film version of Show Boat in another rendition that became very famous. (It became his signature song, and he performed it several times on television and in several stage revivals of Show Boat.) Melvin Franklin
, the famous bass singer of The Temptations
, performed it at most concerts, eventually making it his signature song. Judy Garland
, one of the few female singers to attempt the song, sang a powerful rendition on her television show in 1963, followed by a studio recording.
Among less well-known singers who have performed the song on television, bass-baritone Dan Travis, Jr. sang it in the made-for-television biopic Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women (1978), and P.L. Brown sang it in the 1989 Paper Mill Playhouse
version of Show Boat, which was televised by PBS.
The song also has versions in the Indian languages Hindi
, Bengali
, and Assamese
sung by Bhupen Hazarika
, who met Robeson while studying at Columbia University. The Assamese song is called "Bistirno Parore"; the Bengali version is Bistirno Dupare. The Hindi composition is known as "Ganga Behti Ho Kyon." Instead of the Mississippi, the song is dedicated to the Brahmaputra river in the Assamese version and the Ganges river in the Bengali and Hindi versions. Another excellent Bengali choral version, arranged by Ruma Guha Thakurta
, is performed regularly in concerts by Calcutta Youth Choir
.
s sang in "Cotton Blossom" but invert some of it, and slow down the tempo. This inversion gave "Ol' Man River" a tragic quality.
The year was 1927, and few predicted the second-generation song would become so popular in the Roaring Twenties
, which had lighter upbeat songs, such as "Yes, We Have No Bananas
" (1923).
s, though never in actual stage performances of Show Boat. (In addition to the 1928 and 1932 stage productions as well as the 1936 film version, he appeared in a Los Angeles
stage revival in 1940). Except for the change of the word "niggers" to "darkies," the lyrics of the song as Robeson performed it in the 1936 film version of the show remain exactly as Oscar Hammerstein II originally wrote them in 1927. However, after 1938, Robeson would record the song only with the lyrics that he used in his post-1936 concert recitals.
In the 1978 one-man play Paul Robeson, by Phillip Hayes Dean, there is a (perhaps fictitious) reference to the change in the lyrics - an unseen interviewer asks Robeson (played by James Earl Jones
) about the original lyrics, and he responds "No, I don't sing it that way anymore".
In the 1951 film version of Show Boat, as well as the 1962 studio recording and the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of the show, William Warfield sang only the introductory verse and the lyrics to the main section of the song, and omitted what could be considered a controversial section, in contrast to both Jules Bledsoe (who sang it in the prologue to the 1929 film version) and Robeson (who sang the whole song in the 1936 film). The section that Warfield omitted begins:
In the 1936 film, the word "niggers" was changed to "darkies". Ever since the 1946 revival, the term has been changed to "colored folks", although there have been revivals that change the line to Here we all work on de Mississippi. Al Jolson
sang a version starting with "lots of folks work on the Mississippi." Also, the phrase "feared of dyin' " (rather than "skeered" of dying) has been sung in some recordings, notably Lawrence Tibbett
's 1930s version, Gordon MacRae
's 1950s version (first heard on The Railroad Hour
), and Frank Sinatra
's 1946 performance, first heard in the film Till the Clouds Roll By.
Robeson's own 1938 changes in the lyrics of the song are as follows:
In recitals and in several of his many recordings of the song, Robeson also omitted the controversial section "Niggers all work on de Mississippi...", etc., with its middle portion "Don't look up/ An' don't look down/ You don't dast make / De white boss frown", etc., as well as its concluding "Lemme go ' way from de Mississippi/ Lemme go ' way from de white man boss, etc." . However, Robeson did include a portion of these lyrics in the 1932 4-record 78 RPM album of selections from Show Boat.
Robeson's own changes to the lyrics were sung by him, and by no other singer, although a clip exists of William Warfield, singing voice nearly gone, in one of his last appearances before his death, singing the song with the changes that Robeson incorporated into it.
The changes in Robeson's concert renditions of the song shift the portrayal of Joe away from a resigned and sad character who is susceptible to the forces of his world, to one who is timelessly empowered and able to persevere through even the most trying circumstances.
Frank Sinatra famously changed the "Niggers all work on de Mississippi..." to "Here we all work on the Mississippi..." in a version of the song that he recorded post-1946. His 1946 performance of it omitted this section altogether.
The Temptations
changed any references to the "white man boss" to "rich man boss", as well as "Here we all work while the white boys play" to "Here we all work while the rich boys play".
In 1988, EMI
/Angel Records
issued a 3-CD set of the complete score of Show Boat, starring Frederica Von Stade
, Jerry Hadley
, Teresa Stratas
, and Bruce Hubbard
, conducted by John McGlinn
. On this album, the original 1927 lyrics of Ol' Man River were heard for the first time on a hi-fi stereo recording.
Gordon MacRae
's version of the song, as performed on The Railroad Hour
, changed the phrase white man boss to big man boss.
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
that expresses the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
hardship and struggles of the time with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
; it is sung from the point-of-view of a dock worker on a showboat
Showboat
A showboat, or show boat, was a form of theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers . A showboat was basically a barge that resembled a long, flat-roofed house, and in order to move down the river, it was pushed by a small tugboat...
, and is the most famous song from the show. Meant to be performed in a slow tempo, it is sung completely once by the black dock worker "Joe" who travels with the boat, and, in the stage version, is heard four more times in brief reprise
Reprise
Reprise is a fundamental device in the history of art. In literature, a reprise consists of the rewriting of another work; in music, a reprise is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the...
s. Joe serves as a sort of musical one-man Greek chorus
Greek chorus
A Greek chorus is a homogenous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action....
, and the song, when reprised, comments on the action, as if saying, "This has happened, but the river keeps rolling on anyway."
The song is notable for several aspects: the lyrical pentatonic-scale
Pentatonic scale
A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave in contrast to a heptatonic scale such as the major scale and minor scale...
melody, the subjects of toil and social class, metaphor to the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, and as a bass solo (rare in musicals, solos for baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
s or tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
s being more common).
Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
and His Orchestra had a no. 1 hit recording of the song in 1928 sung in a much faster tempo than Kern and Hammerstein intended, and featuring Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
on vocals and Bix Beiderbecke
Bix Beiderbecke
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s...
on cornet. A second version, by Paul Whiteman with Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
on vocals and sung in a dance tempo, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2006.
Various versions
The song was first performed in the original stage production of Show Boat on December 27, 1927, by Jules BledsoeJules Bledsoe
Jules Bledsoe was a once renowned, but now semi-forgotten baritone, and the first African American artist to gain regular employment on Broadway, subsequent to Bert Williams, William Grant Still, Ford Dabney and others....
, who also sang it in the part-talkie 1929 film, although that film version had little to do with the stage musical. Bledsoe also recorded the song years later. However, the most famous rendition of it, one that is still noted today, was sung by Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
in James Whale
James Whale
James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed such classics as Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein...
's classic 1936 film version of Show Boat
Show Boat (1936 film)
Show Boat is a 1936 film based on the musical play by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II , which the team adapted from the novel by Edna Ferber....
. (Robeson had performed the song before in the 1928 London production of the show and in the 1932 Broadway revival.) The song became an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
classic, and was performed by many musicians and musical groups, including Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
and His Orchestra, Bix Beiderbecke
Bix Beiderbecke
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s...
, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Sam Cooke, Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Jim Croce
Jim Croce
James Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...
, Jimmy Ricks and the Ravens, The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, The Jeff Beck Group
The Jeff Beck Group
The Jeff Beck Group were an English rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy sounding blues and R&B was a major influence on popular music.- The first Jeff Beck Group :...
, Muslim Magomayev
Muslim Magomayev
Muslim Mahammad oglu Magomayev , "King of Songs" or "Soviet Sinatra" as some refer him was an iconic Soviet and Azerbaijani baritone operatic and pop singer of the 1960s and 1970s...
and Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
. William Warfield
William Warfield
William Caesar Warfield , was an American concert bass-baritone singer and actor.-Early life and career:Warfield was born in West Helena, Arkansas and grew up in Rochester, New York, where his father was called to serve as pastor of Mt. Vernon Church. He gave his recital debut in New York's Town...
sang it in the 1951 Technicolor film version of Show Boat in another rendition that became very famous. (It became his signature song, and he performed it several times on television and in several stage revivals of Show Boat.) Melvin Franklin
Melvin Franklin
David Melvin English better known by the stage name Melvin Franklin, was an American bass singer. Franklin is best known for his role as a member of Motown singing group The Temptations from 1960 to 1994....
, the famous bass singer of The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
, performed it at most concerts, eventually making it his signature song. Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, one of the few female singers to attempt the song, sang a powerful rendition on her television show in 1963, followed by a studio recording.
Among less well-known singers who have performed the song on television, bass-baritone Dan Travis, Jr. sang it in the made-for-television biopic Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women (1978), and P.L. Brown sang it in the 1989 Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...
version of Show Boat, which was televised by PBS.
The song also has versions in the Indian languages Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, and Assamese
Assamese language
Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
sung by Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from Assam. His songs,written and sung mainly in Assamese by the legend himself, are infused with humanity and universalism, and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notable being Bengali ,Hindi and...
, who met Robeson while studying at Columbia University. The Assamese song is called "Bistirno Parore"; the Bengali version is Bistirno Dupare. The Hindi composition is known as "Ganga Behti Ho Kyon." Instead of the Mississippi, the song is dedicated to the Brahmaputra river in the Assamese version and the Ganges river in the Bengali and Hindi versions. Another excellent Bengali choral version, arranged by Ruma Guha Thakurta
Ruma Guha Thakurta
-Early life:She was born in 1934 as Ruma Ghosh. She hails from a Brahmo Bengali family. Her father was Satyen Ghosh and her mother was Sati Devi, a singer. Sati Devi's younger sister Bijoya married film director Satyajit Ray. Thakurta had her formal education in many places including Santiniketan...
, is performed regularly in concerts by Calcutta Youth Choir
Calcutta Youth Choir
Calcutta Youth Choir was set up in 1958 by Ruma Guha Thakurta with Salil Chowdhury and Satyajit Ray.Calcutta Youth Choir is known for their performance of folk and mass songs. Several years ago, the choir broke out with the song 'Aaj joto juddhabaaj'. Shibdas Bandopadhyay wrote the words and V....
.
Turning an upbeat-sounding melody into a tragic one
From the show's opening number "Cotton Blossom", the notes in the phrase "Cotton Blossom, Cotton Blossom" are the same notes as those in the phrase "Ol' Man River, dat Ol' Man River," but inverted. However, "Cotton Blossom" was written first, and "Ol' Man River" was written only after Kern and Hammerstein realized they needed a song to end the first scene in the show. Hammerstein decided to use the idea of the Mississippi River as a basis for the song, and told Kern to use the melody that the stevedoreStevedore
Stevedore, dockworker, docker, dock labourer, wharfie and longshoreman can have various waterfront-related meanings concerning loading and unloading ships, according to place and country....
s sang in "Cotton Blossom" but invert some of it, and slow down the tempo. This inversion gave "Ol' Man River" a tragic quality.
The year was 1927, and few predicted the second-generation song would become so popular in the Roaring Twenties
Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...
, which had lighter upbeat songs, such as "Yes, We Have No Bananas
Yes, We Have No Bananas
"Yes! We Have No Bananas" is the title of a novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn from the 1922 Broadway revue Make It Snappy. Sung by Eddie Cantor in the revue, the song became a major hit in 1923 when it was recorded by Billy Jones, Arthur Hall, Irving Kaufman, and others...
" (1923).
Paul Robeson's alterations to the song lyrics
Beginning about 1938, and continuing on to the end of his career, Paul Robeson changed a few of the lyrics of "Ol' Man River" when singing it at recitalRecital
A recital is a musical performance. It can highlight a single performer, sometimes accompanied by piano, or a performance of the works of a single composer.The invention of the solo piano recital has been attributed to Franz Liszt....
s, though never in actual stage performances of Show Boat. (In addition to the 1928 and 1932 stage productions as well as the 1936 film version, he appeared in a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
stage revival in 1940). Except for the change of the word "niggers" to "darkies," the lyrics of the song as Robeson performed it in the 1936 film version of the show remain exactly as Oscar Hammerstein II originally wrote them in 1927. However, after 1938, Robeson would record the song only with the lyrics that he used in his post-1936 concert recitals.
In the 1978 one-man play Paul Robeson, by Phillip Hayes Dean, there is a (perhaps fictitious) reference to the change in the lyrics - an unseen interviewer asks Robeson (played by James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
) about the original lyrics, and he responds "No, I don't sing it that way anymore".
In the 1951 film version of Show Boat, as well as the 1962 studio recording and the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of the show, William Warfield sang only the introductory verse and the lyrics to the main section of the song, and omitted what could be considered a controversial section, in contrast to both Jules Bledsoe (who sang it in the prologue to the 1929 film version) and Robeson (who sang the whole song in the 1936 film). The section that Warfield omitted begins:
-
- Niggers all work on de Mississippi,
- Niggers all work while de white folks play...
In the 1936 film, the word "niggers" was changed to "darkies". Ever since the 1946 revival, the term has been changed to "colored folks", although there have been revivals that change the line to Here we all work on de Mississippi. Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
sang a version starting with "lots of folks work on the Mississippi." Also, the phrase "feared of dyin' " (rather than "skeered" of dying) has been sung in some recordings, notably Lawrence Tibbett
Lawrence Tibbett
Lawrence Mervil Tibbett was a great American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone, he sang with the New York Metropolitan Opera company more than 600 times from 1923 to 1950...
's 1930s version, Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
's 1950s version (first heard on The Railroad Hour
The Railroad Hour
The Railroad Hour was a radio series of musical dramas and comedies broadcast from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s.Sponsored by the Association of American Railroads, the series condensed musicals and operettas to shorter lengths, concentrating on those written before 1943. Singer-actor Gordon...
), and Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's 1946 performance, first heard in the film Till the Clouds Roll By.
Robeson's own 1938 changes in the lyrics of the song are as follows:
- Instead of "Dere's an ol' man called de Mississippi, / Dat's de ol' man that I'd like to be...", Robeson sang "There's an ol' man called the Mississippi, / That's the ol' man I don't like to be"..."
- Instead of "Tote that barge! / Lift that bale! / Git a little drunk, / An' you land in jail...", Robeson sang "Tote that barge and lift dat bale!/ You show a little grit / And you lands in jail..." It has been noted that this line was possibly Hammerstein's original lyric, and could have been changed because of the racial dynamics of pre-Civil Rights America.
- Instead of "Ah gits weary / An' sick of tryin'; / Ah'm tired of livin' / An skeered of dyin', / But Ol' Man River, / He jes' keeps rolling along!" , Robeson sang "But I keeps laffin'/ Instead of cryin' / I must keep fightin'; / Until I'm dyin', / And Ol' Man River, / He'll just keep rollin' along!" Late in Scene 7 of Act II, Joe does sing this verse, but rather than singing "I must keep fightin' until I'm dyin", sings "I must keep livin' until I'm dyin". According to the 1988 EMI album of Show Boat, these are Hammerstein's authentic lyrics for this reprise.
In recitals and in several of his many recordings of the song, Robeson also omitted the controversial section "Niggers all work on de Mississippi...", etc., with its middle portion "Don't look up/ An' don't look down/ You don't dast make / De white boss frown", etc., as well as its concluding "Lemme go ' way from de Mississippi/ Lemme go ' way from de white man boss, etc." . However, Robeson did include a portion of these lyrics in the 1932 4-record 78 RPM album of selections from Show Boat.
Robeson's own changes to the lyrics were sung by him, and by no other singer, although a clip exists of William Warfield, singing voice nearly gone, in one of his last appearances before his death, singing the song with the changes that Robeson incorporated into it.
The changes in Robeson's concert renditions of the song shift the portrayal of Joe away from a resigned and sad character who is susceptible to the forces of his world, to one who is timelessly empowered and able to persevere through even the most trying circumstances.
Frank Sinatra famously changed the "Niggers all work on de Mississippi..." to "Here we all work on the Mississippi..." in a version of the song that he recorded post-1946. His 1946 performance of it omitted this section altogether.
The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
changed any references to the "white man boss" to "rich man boss", as well as "Here we all work while the white boys play" to "Here we all work while the rich boys play".
In 1988, EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
/Angel Records
Angel Records
Angel Records is a record label belonging to EMI. It was formed in 1953 and specialised in classical music, but included an occasional operetta or Broadway score...
issued a 3-CD set of the complete score of Show Boat, starring Frederica Von Stade
Frederica von Stade
Frederica von Stade is an American mezzo-soprano. Born in Somerville, New Jersey, she acquired the nickname "Flicka" in her childhood. Von Stade attended the Mannes College of Music in New York City. She made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 and in 1971 appeared as Cherubino in The...
, Jerry Hadley
Jerry Hadley
Jerry Hadley was an American operatic tenor. He received three Grammy awards for his vocal performances in the recordings of Jenůfa , Susannah , and Candide...
, Teresa Stratas
Teresa Stratas
Teresa Stratas, OC , is a retired Canadian operatic soprano. She is especially well-known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's Lulu.-Early life and career:...
, and Bruce Hubbard
Bruce Hubbard
Bruce Hubbard was an African-American operatic baritone. He attended Indiana University. He was a music major and helped coach actors that appeared in musicals.-Biography:...
, conducted by John McGlinn
John McGlinn
John Alexander McGlinn III was an American conductor and musical theatre archivist. He was one of the principal proponents of authentic studio cast recordings of Broadway musicals, using original orchestrations and vocal arrangements.-Biography:John Alexander McGlinn III was born in Bryn Mawr,...
. On this album, the original 1927 lyrics of Ol' Man River were heard for the first time on a hi-fi stereo recording.
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
's version of the song, as performed on The Railroad Hour
The Railroad Hour
The Railroad Hour was a radio series of musical dramas and comedies broadcast from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s.Sponsored by the Association of American Railroads, the series condensed musicals and operettas to shorter lengths, concentrating on those written before 1943. Singer-actor Gordon...
, changed the phrase white man boss to big man boss.
Parodies and References
- A parody version was performed on CBS RadioCBS RadioCBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
by Stan FrebergStan FrebergStanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
and Daws ButlerDaws ButlerCharles Dawson "Daws" Butler was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors...
in 1957, entitled "Elderly Man River." The parody lampooned what would today be termed "political correctnessPolitical correctnessPolitical correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
" by featuring a prudish censor from the "Citizen's Radio Board" who repeatedly interrupts Freberg's performance of the song to criticize (and insist on changes to) the grammar and appropriateness of the song's lyrics.
- In an episode of the TV situation comedy MaudeMaude (TV series)Maude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...
, the housekeeper FloridaFlorida EvansFlorida Evans Dixon was the fictional supporting character on the sitcom Maude and the lead character in its spin-off, Good Times. She was the hard-working mother of the Evans family...
(played by Esther RolleEsther RolleEsther Rolle was an American actress. She was perhaps best known for her portrayal of Florida Evans on the CBS television sitcom Maude and its spin-off series Good Times.-Biography:...
) sings "Darkies all work while de white folks play" as she does housework. Her politically correct and liberal employer Maude (Beatrice ArthurBeatrice ArthurBeatrice "Bea" Arthur was an American actress, comedienne and singer whose career spanned seven decades. Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, winning Emmy Awards for both...
) scolds her and says that the words have changed, to which Florida sings "Coloured folks work on the Mississippi". Maude explains that the proper new lyrics to the song are "Here we all work on the Mississippi, here we all work while the straw boss plays." Florida replies that those may be the new lyrics, but the only problem is that "y'all still playing and we're still working".
- In The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Simpsons Tall TalesSimpsons Tall Tales"Simpsons Tall Tales" is the twenty-first episode and season finale of The Simpsons twelfth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 20, 2001. In the episode, Homer refuses to pay a five dollar airport tax to fly to Delaware, which forces the family to ride in a...
", Doctor Julius HibbertJulius HibbertDr. Julius M. Hibbert, usually referred to as Dr. Hibbert, is a recurring character on the animated series The Simpsons. His speaking voice is provided by Harry Shearer and his singing voice was by Thurl Ravenscroft, and he first appeared in the episode "Bart the Daredevil". Dr...
is featured as a steamboatSteamboatA steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
captain singing "Ol' Man River".
- In The Jackson Five cartoon episode "Rasho-Jackson", all five brothers depict Jackie JacksonJackie JacksonSigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson is an American singer and musician, a member of The Jackson 5, and the second child in the Jackson family.-Life and career:...
as a whip-wielding tyrant yelling "Tote that barge, lift that bale!". Jackie sees himself saying the same thing, but in a genteel, British accent.
- In an episode of Everybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
, Robert mentions that he sang this song in his high school chorus days.
- The Australian oddball pop group TISMTISMTISM was a seven piece anonymous alternative rock band from Melbourne, Australia. The group was formed in 1982 and enjoyed a large underground/independent following. Their third album Machiavelli and the Four Seasons reached the Australian national top 10 in 1995...
produced in 1996 a hit single about River PhoenixRiver PhoenixRiver Jude Phoenix was an American film actor, musician, and teen icon. He was the oldest brother of fellow actors Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer Phoenix.Phoenix began acting at age 10 in television commercials...
and his death, entitled "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man RiverOl' Man River was the first single to be released off Machiavelli and the Four Seasons by Australian alternative rock band TISM....
".
- Jimmy VelvitJimmy VelvitJimmy Velvit is an American rock and roll singer, who began his career in the 1960s. His real name is James Mullins, originally from Coalgate, Oklahoma, later from Dallas, Texas. He is best known for recording a white rhythm and blues version, in 1961, of Robert & Johnny's 1958 hit "We Belong...
recorded a version titled "Old Man River Boogie" for his 1995 CD Jimmy Velvit - The Original (Collectables RecordsCollectables RecordsCollectables is a reissue record label founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Greene was previously associated with New York City's Times Square Record Shop, Philadelphia's Record Museum retail chain, and the Lost Nite and Crimson record labels....
COL-5530).
- A popular, up-tempo British ballad of 1933, "Old Father Thames," mirrored some of the strains of "Ol' Man River" but celebrated stoicism over despair and resignation: Old Father Thames keeps rolling along, / Down to the mighty sea. / What does he know? What does he care? / Nothing for you or me.... (Words and music by Raymond Wallace & "Betsy O'Hogan" [Lawrence Wright]).
- In the animated short Mississippi HareMississippi HareMississippi Hare is a Looney Tunes cartoon short produced in 1947 by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, released in 1949.-Plot:In the story, Bugs Bunny, asleep in a cotton field, is picked up by his cottony tail and bundled into a shipment put on a riverboat going down the Mississippi River...
, some of which takes place on a Mississippi riverboat, a riverboat gambler named Colonel Shuffle threatens to throw Bugs BunnyBugs BunnyBugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
into "Ol' Man River".
- In the 1947 film version of James ThurberJames ThurberJames Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
's The Secret Life of Walter MittyThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It...
, Danny KayeDanny KayeDanny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
, during one of Mitty's fantasies, performs a number called "Fashions by Anatol", which contains the parodistic (and somewhat irrelevant) line "Tote dat barge! Lift dat veil!", referring of course, to a woman's veil. The film also contains a reference to Show Boats Gaylord Ravenal, by including a Mississippi riverboat sequence in which Mitty (Kaye) imagines himself as riverboat gambler Gaylord Mitty.
- In a Daffy DuckDaffy DuckDaffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
cartoon, Daffy suddenly appears as an old black slave, and in dialect, speaks the line "Tote dat barge! Lift dat bale!".
- In a SnagglepussSnagglepussSnagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character created in 1959, a pink anthropomorphic mountain lion voiced by Daws Butler. He is best known for his famous catchphrase, "Heavens to Murgatroyd!", along with phrases such as "Exit, stage left!" Snagglepuss was originally known as "Snaggletooth"...
cartoon, Snagglepuss also says the line for no real reason (but not in dialect).
- In the Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode "Brian Goes Back to CollegeBrian Goes Back to College"Brian Goes Back to College" is the fifteenth episode of Family Guy 's fourth season. The episode originally aired on Sunday November 13, 2005. Guest stars on the show were Ralph Garman, Mark Hentemann and Phil LaMarr. The episode was described by show creator Seth MacFarlane to be "a real treat...
", Ashlee SimpsonAshlee SimpsonAshlee Nicole Simpson is an American singer and actress. In 2004, she rose to prominence with the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography and the reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show. In October 2005, following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released...
is about to start miming a song when the song changes to "Ol' Man River".
- Singer Patti LuPonePatti LuPonePatti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
sang this song in her concert Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda stating "There were only two things standing between me and this role".
- In the FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
episode "Fear of a Bot PlanetFear of a Bot Planet"Fear of a Bot Planet" is the fifth episode in season one of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 20, 1999. The episode was written by Heather Lombard and Evan Gore and directed by Peter Avanzino and Carlos Baeza....
", Bender complains about the amount of work he has to do, saying "Yes Miss Leela, no Miss Leela, tote that space barge, lift that space pail."
- In an episode of The Golden GirlsThe Golden GirlsThe Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
, it is revealed that Dorothy (Bea Arthur) sang this song in high school. When prompted, she delivers the famous half-octave drop on the line, "Get a little drunk, and you land in jail".
- Tunis born and usually German language Singer Roberto BlancoRoberto BlancoRoberto Blanco , was born 7 June 1937 in Tunis, Tunisia. Of Afro-Cuban origin, Blanco is a German-speaking Schlager singer and actor.-Early life:...
sang it on the 70th anniversary of his birthday live on TV.
- On an episode of MartinMartin (TV series)Martin is an American sitcom produced by HBO Independent Productions that aired for five seasons, from August 27, 1992 to May 1, 1997 on Fox...
entitled "Dead Men Don't Flush", the cast sings Ol' Man River around the supposedly dead plumber's body as he sits on the couch.
- In the first episode of Boys from the BlackstuffBoys from the BlackstuffBoys from the Blackstuff is a British television drama series of five episodes, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2....
, Loggo (Alan IgbonAlan IgbonAlan Igbon is a British actor.Of West African and Irish background, Igbon has been a familiar jobbing actor since his teenage years when he took the background part of inmate Meakin in the 1979 cinematic re-make of the controversial borstal film Scum, whose character memorably launched an...
) is seen walking down the street wearing fishing gear singing a few lines from the song.
- Mad MagazineMad (magazine)Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
published a parody about Hollywood movie stars and MGM studio boss Louis B. MayerLouis B. MayerLouis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
who went to great lengths to "collect more stars than the heavens".
- On an episode on the second season of the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom Grace & FavourGrace & FavourGrace & Favour is a British sitcom sequel to the long-running series Are You Being Served? It aired on BBC1 for two series from 1992 to 1993 and marked the return of Are You Being Served? creators and writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft.-History:The idea of a spinoff was originally suggested by...
, Miss Brahms (Wendy RichardWendy RichardWendy Richard, MBE was an English actress best known for playing Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served? and Pauline Fowler in EastEnders...
) and Mr. HumphriesMr. HumphriesMr Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries is a fictional character from the BBC One comedy show, Are You Being Served?. He was played by John Inman from 1972-1993.-Role:...
(John InmanJohn InmanFrederick John Inman was an English actor best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in Are You Being Served?, a British sitcom in the 1970s and 1980s. Inman was also well known in the United Kingdom as a pantomime dame....
) sing a version of the song while planting potatoes, featuring the lyrics "Planting taters/Bake my bottom/And poor old Rumbold/Is soon forgotten/He just keeps plantin'/He just keeps plantin' along".
- Heath LedgerHeath LedgerHeath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...
had the song title tattooed on his arm.
- In the 76th Academy Awards76th Academy AwardsThe 76th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films of 2003 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 29, 2004 . The show was produced by Joe Roth and was hosted for the eighth time by comedian Billy Crystal.The...
, Billy CrystalBilly CrystalWilliam Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
sang a parody of "Ol' Man River" about Mystic RiverMystic River (film)Mystic River is a 2003 American drama film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood, starring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney and Emmy Rossum. The film was written by Brian Helgeland, based on Dennis Lehane's novel of the same...
and its director, Clint EastwoodClint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
.
- During Michael JordanMichael JordanMichael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
's brief return to professional basketball playing for the Washington WizardsWashington WizardsThe Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
, the political satire group The Capitol Steps released a parody called "Old Man Wizard".
- In 1998, the political satire group The Capitol Steps released a parody about Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
called "Old Man Zipper".
- In the movie Joe Versus The VolcanoJoe Versus the VolcanoJoe Versus the Volcano is a 1990 comedy film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley and starring Tom Hanks and—in three roles—Meg Ryan. The film is writer Shanley's directorial debut and the first of three films pairing Hanks and Ryan....
an edited version of Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
's version of "Ol' Man River" plays while he hugs a Great Dane.
- In Olaf StapledonOlaf StapledonWilliam Olaf Stapledon was a British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction.-Life:...
's 1932 novel Last Men in LondonLast Men in LondonLast Men in London is a science fiction novel by Olaf Stapledon.The narrator is the same member of the eighteenth and final human species who purportedly induced Stapledon to write Last and First Men...
, the narrator, a human descendant from two billion years in the future, and his mate, sing a rough duet of "Ol' Man River" to better understand the minds of 20th Century humans.
- In Leonard BernsteinLeonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
's musical West Side StoryWest Side StoryWest Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
, the character of Anybodys remarks "Whatta bunch of ol' man rivers; they don't know nothin', and they don't say nothin'."
- In The HoneymoonersThe HoneymoonersThe Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
lost episode "Christmas Party", which first aired December 19, 1953, Frances LangfordFrances LangfordJulia Frances Langford was an American singer and entertainer who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and also made film appearances over two decades.-Birth:...
asks Ed Norton if there is a song that he would like her to sing to which he replies "How about that number that was always good for you, Ol' Man River."
- In Wolf Whistle by Lewis Nordan, reporters ask locals in Arrow Catcher, Mississippi if they would be willing to play "Old Man River," and they reply that "they couldn't recollect ever having heard that song."
- In episode 43 of the Australian tv drama series PrisonerPrisoner (TV series)Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
(aka Prisoner:Cell Block H), when Officer Jim Fletcher orders the women to work in the prison laundry, top dog "Queen" Bea Smith sings the lines; "tote that barge, lift that bail" to the tune of Ol' Man River
- On the live CD A Night in San FranciscoA Night in San FranciscoA Night in San Francisco is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1994. Guest artists were John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and Jimmy Witherspoon as well as Morrison's daughter, Shana Morrison...
, Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
sings "Lif' dat bale! Tote dat barge!" during "See Me Through."
- The movie Joe Versus the VolcanoJoe Versus the VolcanoJoe Versus the Volcano is a 1990 comedy film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley and starring Tom Hanks and—in three roles—Meg Ryan. The film is writer Shanley's directorial debut and the first of three films pairing Hanks and Ryan....
released in 1990 features the Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
version. The song is introduced after the lead character, Joe Banks (played by Tom HanksTom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
), hears from his doctor that he is terminally ill.
External links
Further reading
- The chapter "Ol' Man River" in the book Stardust Melodies: The Biography of Twelve of America's Most Popular Songs by Will FriedwaldWill FriedwaldWill Friedwald is an American author and music critic. He has written for such newspapers as The New York Times, The Village Voice, Newsday, The New York Observer, and The New York Sun, and for such magazines as Entertainment Weekly, Oxford American, New York, Mojo, BBC Music Magazine, Stereo...
(New York: Pantheon Books, 2002).