HIVE OPEN MIC Week 124 (Theme: Moonshine): Cover Song "Moonshiner" (Traditional / Bob Dylan)
Hello everybody on HIVE and especially the HIVE Open Mic Community! My name is Jasper and I'm from Cape Town, South Africa.
This is my first entry for Hive Open Mic as I am quite new to HIVE.
In the first two and half minutes of the video, I explain that moonshine doesn't just mean the light shining off the moon, it is also American slang for hard liquor that has been made illegally. This was especially prevalent in the Prohibition era of the 1920s when alcohol was completely illegal in the USA. They called it moonshine because they would make it at night, hiding in the woods somewhere, to avoid getting caught!
A hundred years later, when covid started, the South African government decided to ban the sale of alcohol. I think they thought this would reduce parties where people would congragate together without mask and spread the virus. Of course, this didn't work very well as people would make home-made pinapple beer or even their own moonshine whiskey, like a friend of mine!
I also explain that I'm wearing a cowboy hat to get in the mood, and that I've used prestik to mute my guitar strings to make it sound a bit more like a banjo!
The song is "Moonshiner" - it's a traditional song, but the version I know well is by Bob Dylan when he was very young:
Lyrics:
I've been a moonshiner, for many a long year
I've spent all my money, on whisky and beer
I go to some hollow, and set up my still (A still is the apparatus for distilling alcohol)
And if whisky don't kill me, I don't know what will
I go to some bar-room, and drink with my friends
Where the women don't follow, to see what I spend
God Bless them, pretty women, I wish they was mine...
With their breath as sweet as dew of the vine (my sweet moonshine)
Give me food when I'm hungry, give me drink when I'm dry
Throw me a dollar when I'm hard up, religion... when I die!
The whole world is a bottle, and life is but a dram (A dram is a small amount of alcohol)
When the bottle gets empty, it sure ain't worth a damn (it sure ain't worth a damn)...
So yes, quite a sobering sad song about the life of an old alcoholic... I hope you enjoy my version!
▶️ 3Speak
Well done @JasperDick! Yep I totally made "potato wine during our lock down." it was horrible 🤣
Hahaha - you should have used the peels and distilled it longer and stronger... you might have arrived at real vodka! Eurgh!
Almost! It was explosively fuzzy though!
That's good! A by-product of turning sugar into alcohol is the formation of Carbon Dioxide gas! You were on the right track and just had to find a way to vent off the bubbles! Hahaha - my chemical engineering degree is coming into play!
Haha next time we have prohibition, I'm calling you 🤣🤣
Yeah @jasperdick, the stuff she made I would drink like 2 or 3 shots to a glass of coke while she would drink it neat like wine 🤣🤣🤣
no comment 😬😜
Oh my , where do I even start...
First of all I damn near played this exact song for the moonshine theme but it wasn't Bob Dylan's version that inspired it , it was this version by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.
A young Bob Dylan ,in his first years in Greenwich village was a regular at all of the Clancy brothers concerts. Liam Clancy and Bob were very close friends .A lot of Bobs first songs were inspired by the songs he heard the Clancy's and Tommy Makem sing. I would bet Bob got this one from the Clancy's, it has all the hallmarks of a young Dylan probably in his late teenage years hearing a Clanys bros song and reworking it.
The most famous example of this is Brennan on The Moor a traditional old Irish folk tune which Bob turned into a great little song called Ramblin Gamblin Willie.
Ireland also has a very long tradition of brewing illegal alcohol although they call it Poitín or Mountain dew, I would even go so far as to suggest Irish immigrants brought the art of moonshine over to America in the 1800s.
Your storytelling at the beginning of your video is something I do myself , Im a student of folk music and a natural born storyteller :).I guess we are kindred spirts here.
Your guitar playing is outstanding, I hope one day I can sound half as good :).You even have the harmonica and the neck brace going beautifully , what a treat for our ears.
Im supper happy to see this as your first entry to Hive open mic , Im certianly excited to see what you bring for future themes.
@cabelindsay is likely gonna be blown away with this first entry and I'm sure he is as excited to have you be part of the community as I am.
P.S ...I just realised both of us played our songs capoed on the 7th fret...Lucky number 7 ... I'll drink to that! :).
Hello! Thank you for all your compliments! I liked your song, and had never heard it before, so I'm glad you chose it!
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem - that rings a bell! Oh yes, my parents have a copy of the Bob Dylan documentary movie "No Direction Home" which is wonderful and describes a lot of the music scene that Bob Dylan arrived into in Greenwhich Village. What a time to be alive - do you think more people had an appetite for folk/blues, and a greater attention span for new songs in those days, or do you think that we look back with rose-coloured glasses, and most people were just listening to "Top of the Pops" in a similar way to today?
Here's the Clancy brothers song they featured on that documentary! Try and find it if you can?
Yes, I'm already trying to think of ideas for next week's theme... I will have to record it early as I have to travel for work next week!
Yeah I have seen the documentary "No Direction Home" it was directed by Martin Scorsese and was one of the things that made me start buying Bob Dylan CDs back in 2005 in a time before Youtube and Spotify when we had to physically buy music :)
Yeah Greenwich village in the early 60s must have been a wonderful scene to be apart of. The Clanys left Ireland in the late 1950s I believe , they had originally planned to be actors and to put on plays in New York .When that didn't work out they decided to give folk music a try ,their thinking was something along the lines of "we'll give it 6 months and if it doesn't work we have no choice but to head back to Ireland"
Before that 6 months period was over they made a appearance on the Ed Sullivan show and quickly became overnight superstars. Here are a couple of songs from the show.
There is a wonderful documentary about their story which I believe was filmed in the late 80s
The Clanys and Makem along with the Dubliners and Planxty were huge sources of inspiration for me.Back in 2019 I was doing my first year of musical college , we had a module called musical appreciation where we had to pick 2 genres of music to study for around 4 months before giving a power point presentation on each of them.
I choose to study folk music and celtic music which meant every Friday at the college I got to spend hours watching documentaries and listening to old folk songs, I learned dozens of songs and stories that will stay with me for a life time :).
I've watched the Clancy Brothers version of "Moonshiner" and then happened to watch their version of "Wild Rover" a bit later today... I think Bob Dylan meshed lines of both together and managed to make the tone a lot more sad than jovial! The Clancy Brothers seem to be celebrating their moonshining ways! Hahaha!
Funny you say that ,I have spent the morning here mashing up a version of The Wild Rover that takes inspiration from The Clancy's and Lankum Dublin . I've even added Bob Dylan's line "The world is a bottle and life is a dram but when the bottle is empty it aint worth a damn."
Hold on a few minutes ill record what I came up with...
https://hive.blog/hive-193816/@celticheartbeat/vpjdblck
This is beautiful! I got to learn the reason why the hard and illegal liquor is called moonshine.
I love your cowboy hat plus the setting of the home. So lovely.
Nice presentation 👍
I enjoyed the song with you.
Thank you so much! Yes, that weird pink thing is actually a little tent we put up for my baby daughter to play in!
It's beautiful. I love it too.
hello friend I really liked your interpretation and the way you play the guitar and the harmonica I send you a lot of applause and peace be with you 🤗
Thank you so much! Already looking forward to the upcoming weeks and what the themes will be!
You're welcome brother and wait for the next topic and I liked the explanation of liquor smuggling hehe happy start to the week 🤗
Hello my friend! Welcome to Hive Open Mic! This is your first post and we've already been captivated by your majestic sound. I am very pleased that you have researched the right way to participate, your whole entry is very good. Thanks for taking into account the theme of the week, it's the best part of our dynamic. You are multitalented, I'm really happy you are here, happy start of the week!...
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm already thinking about next week's theme!
Yay! 🤗
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Good country sound I loved it.. literally had to stop all I was doing to listen to you sing and it was worth every time.. you played double instruments and the hat I have to mention how cool it is..
Thank you so much! Well the hat is sort of "real" - my mother got it at a rodeo event in Canada just north of the USA! It's a bit big for me but maybe if I stuff something into the brim I can wear it more often... haha!
I'm already thinking about next week's theme... I think I will choose a song that proves I'm from South Africa! Hope I can pull it off!
Another Moonshiner!
Haha, I didn't know about the reference to alcohol, but it's a brilliant angle to it.
My partner is a great Bob Dylan fan and he couldn't remember this song, but we do have it in our collection.
But I must say: Your version is a thousand times better! I guess, that's why he didn't remember Bob's version.. haha
You are truly talented! What a first entry! Wow! What next? 👏👏
Thank you so much for the compliment! I really appreciate it!
I believe you were the one to pick the topic? Are you sure you didn't know about the alcoholic's definition of moonshine? That's very well-behaved of you! Hahaha!
I see you are from Hamburg? I will be visiting Hamburg for the first time very soon, as I work for the South African division of a Renewable Energy Company based in Hamburg and Husum. I believe I get some free time on one of the days... please give me ideas on what I should do with that time? I can then make a HIVE post about it to make you home-sick?
What next for Hive Open Mic? Well next week's theme is "Nothing is Impossible", and I think I know how to prove I'm really am from South Africa with that one! Perhaps a song with English verses and an IsiZulu chorus? I will be sure to translate for you!
Your very welcome!
And, no, I had no idea when I picked the theme..
It's general knowledge, maybe, but really, probably not that important, and as I don't drink anymore.. I cannot hold my liquor, a small Shandy gets me drunk.. 😄
That's Alsterwasser for when you're going to Hamburg.
So, yes, I am indeed from Hamburg, and I also know Husum, a lovely little place by the coast! That's awesome that you're going to try to make me feel homesick! You'll be finding out if it worked.. ha
I'll get a list together, let me know where you're staying, so I know what's in the area, and I'll post it in a comment.
I am looking forward to your IsiZulu (not just Zulu?) song! I have a fable for languages and that sort of thing, so, yes, please!
Nice to meet you!
Ah brilliant - I think I spend the night of that free day in Alsterkrugchaussee in Hamburg and will be trying to get to that part of town? Does that ring a bell? I hope that's right, haha!
Yes, it's best not to get into Moonshine liquors! They can often taste pretty awful or even be harmful! You hear horror stories of people basically poisoning themselves!
You get Zulu people from the Zulu tribe/culture, but the language they speak is isiZulu. South Africa has 11 official languages and several more "unofficial" ones. Our National Anthem is divided into four parts - isiZulu, seSotho, Afrikaans and English so most people don't even understand all of it! Haha... It is a very beautifully constructed song though!
Oh, wow, that was SUPER interesting! Thanks!
I read this novel about Shaka Zulu when I was a teenager, after I saw the tv mini series! Totally loved it! Still got it, it's in German.. might not understand it anymore.. joke.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to your song!
Yes, I know Alsterkrugchaussee.. Will check that out for you, null problemo! 👍
Oh... well if you're familiar with the story of Shaka Zulu then I think you should enjoy my Hive Open Mic 125 introduction at least, even if I mess up the song!
Well, you won't!
Just had a peek at your posts.. haha
And, yes, I'm sure I will enjoy it! 😃
While I think of it, can you tag me in your post?
I don't want to miss it..
Thanks!
Sure! I assume you mean specifically Hive Open Mic 125, rather than all music related posts! (Want to see some surfing and my cats too? Hahaha!)
🤣😂 Just that one will do nicely for now.. haha.
I'll look at the others when I find the time.. seems to be hiding somewhere lately.. lol
👍
You have a beatiful voice i love it✨🤎
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
Ppffffffff!!! Perfecto!!!!! No diré más. Me voy. Chao.
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(Traducción de Google - ¡perdón si suena extraño!) ¡Muchas gracias! ¡Debo hacer tiempo para ver tu música! Por favor, sugiérame una publicación reciente.
Traducción perfecta! Hombre, no te preocupes, ya es suficiente con escucharte acá!! Jja espero que estés bien, también nuestra guapa amiga de los coros y percusiones 🌄🎶🎶