O Death Explained

"O Death", also known as "O, Death", "Oh Death", and "Conversations with Death", is a traditional Appalachian folk song, listed as number 4933 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The song is generally attributed to the musician and Baptist preacher Lloyd Chandler, but it was likely taken or adapted from folk songs already existing in the region.

Variants

The version as performed by Lloyd Chandler and members of the Wallin family:

A modified version with a chorus and different tune, performed by Dock Boggs, Nimrod Workman, Ralph Stanley and others:

Origin

In 2004, the Journal of Folklore Research asserted that "O, Death" is Lloyd Chandler's song "A Conversation with Death", which Chandler performed in the 1920s while preaching in Appalachia.[1] [2] Chandler's daughter-in-law, Barbara, asserted that "O, Death" was based on Chandler's composition.[3] However, Chandler seems to have taken the song from another source or at least based it on an older version.

In 1913, the Journal of American Folklore printed a version sung by "Eastern North Carolina Negroes" 1908:This version seems closer to the version first performed by Dock Boggs than Chandler's "original" version.

Encounters with a personified "Death" featured in traditional English songs which possibly date to the 14th century,[4] including "Death and the Lady" (Roud 1031), which was found in the oral tradition in early twentieth century England.[5] "O Death" bears a strong resemblance to a broadside ballad printed in Ireland in 1870, entitled "A Dialogue Between Death & the Sinner"[6] (pictured).

Recordings

Country blues 1920s banjo player Moran Lee "Dock" Boggs recorded the song in 1963 after his 'rediscovery' during the Folk Music Revival.[7] A recording from the 1938 National Folk Festival in Washington, D.C. by an unknown singer is held by the Library of Congress.[8] Various folk music artists included "O, Death" on musical collections throughout the 1970s and 1980s.[9] It is sung in the 1976 Barbara Kopple documentary Harlan County, USA by early union activist and coal miner Nimrod Workman, a well known folk music singer from Mingo County, West Virginia. In the 1960s, Alan Lomax recorded the folk and gospel singer Bessie Jones singing "O Death".[10] [11]

Lloyd Chandler's recording of "A Conversation with Death" appears on Rounder Records 1975 release High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina, a collection of recordings made by John Cohen.

Among the most famous recordings is Ralph Stanley's version in the 2000 Coen brothers film (and soundtrack album) O Brother, Where Art Thou?, for which Stanley won the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 2002.[9] The soundtrack's producer, T-Bone Burnett, originally asked for a banjo rendition emulating Dock Boggs, but Stanley convinced him otherwise with an a cappella performance in the style of the Appalachian Primitive Baptist Universalist church.[12] The song also appears in episode 7 of the second season of television series Fargo, inspired by another Coen brothers film of the same name. The version used in this episode was recorded by Shakey Graves with Monica Martin of Phox.

"O, Death" has appeared twice in American television series Supernatural, both times in connection with the show's personification of Death, portrayed by Julian Richings: the 2010 episode "Two Minutes to Midnight" featured a version by Jen Titus; Lisa Berry performed the song in character as Billie in the 2015 episode "Form and Void". A version by Amy Van Roekel is included in the 2015 horror video game Until Dawn. The version sung by Vera Hall was featured in episode three of the first season of Altered Carbon, a Netflix original.[13]

Other versions

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Smith. Hazel. April 25, 2005. HOT DISH: The Preacher and the Song. https://web.archive.org/web/20110606214806/http://www.cmt.com/news/hot-dish/1500637/hot-dish-the-preacher-and-the-song.jhtml. dead. June 6, 2011. 2008-12-28. CMT.com. Country Music Television.
  2. Lindahl. Carl. May–August 2004. Thrills and Miracles: Legends of Lloyd Chandler. Journal of Folklore Research. Indiana University Press. 41. 2–3. 133–171. 10.2979/JFR.2004.41.2-3.133. 0737-7037. 3814588.
  3. Chandler. Barbara. May–August 2004. Why I Believe That Lloyd Chandler Wrote "Conversation with Death," also Known as "O Death". Journal of Folklore Research. Indiana University Press. 41. 2. 127–132. 10.1353/jfr.2005.0001. 145656061 . 0737-7037. 2008-12-28.
  4. Gilchrist. Anne G.. 1941. "Death and the Lady" in English Balladry. Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. 4. 2. 37–48. 4521180 . 0071-0563.
  5. Web site: Death and the Lady (Roud 1031). 2021-10-20. mainlynorfolk.info.
  6. Web site: Dialogue between death & the sinner - Old age & death - English ballads - National Library of Scotland. 2020-11-13. digital.nls.uk.
  7. Web site: Song 'Oh, Death' dates back to the late 1920s and before. Sylvester. Ron. March 14, 2007. The Wichita Eagle. Kansas.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20130926045851/https://www.kansas.com/2004/08/21/19245/song-oh-death-dates-back-to-the.html. September 26, 2013. March 16, 2020.
  8. Web site: Oh death. Library of Congress. 27 January 2019.
  9. Wichita Eagle, Op. cit.
  10. Web site: O Death, by Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers. 2021-11-12. Alan Lomax Archive. en.
  11. Web site: Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers: Get in Union. 2021-11-12. Pitchfork. en.
  12. "Old-Time Man" interview by Don Harrison June 2008 Virginia Living, p. 57.
  13. Web site: O DEATH: ALTERED CARBON, VERA HALL, RALPH STANLEY, JEN TITUS, A HILL TO DIE UPON, KHEMMIS . February 4, 2018 . February 7, 2018 . No Clean Singing.
  14. Web site: Oh Death . 20 November 2017 . Genius.
  15. Web site: O, Death, by Sons of Magdalene. Sons of Magdalene. 27 January 2019.
  16. Web site: John Reedy And His Stone Mountain Trio - Oh, Death. Discogs. 1961 . 27 January 2019.
  17. News: Khemmis Have "A Conversation with Death" . Daniel . Lake . 2 May 2017 . 20 November 2017 . Decibel Magazine.