Supplement: Banks of the Ohio--Note on Other Versions

Banks of the Ohio, Joan Baez Cover

The song is hard to deal with, no doubt about it. I want you to think about why. And what that says about the Appalachian sensibility (mind-set). The lyrics you have are from Clarence Ashley and Doc Watson. There are many others versions. Some give the woman in the song more of a voice, with a stanza including the key words,

"Oh Willy," she cried, "don't murder me--
I'm not prepared for eternity"

Here are some alternate lyrics, as they're sung by

Dolly Parton:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/dollyparton/banksoftheohio.html

Joan Baez:
http://www.metrolyrics.com/banks-of-ohio-lyrics-joan-baez.html

Johnny Cash:
http://www.metrolyrics.com/banks-of-the-ohio-lyrics-johnny-cash.html

How do they compare with Will the Circle Be Unbroken? What do the two songs share? Where do they differ? What do you think about the two versions I gave you (Carter Family and Clarence Ashley/Doc Watson)? And what about the photo above--found on google, a young woman today doing a Joan Baez cover...

Look into why these songs have the tone they do (resigned)--where it comes from, how it relates to place... or possibly just their strangeness (the cuckoo)...
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LATE ENTRY: Here's Doc Watson talking about mountain music. The recording, Am I Born to Die, an old hymn, is sung by Doc Watson,with Gaither Carlton on fiddle. Rosa Lee Carlton, Gaither's daughter, was Doc Watson's wife. Recorded by Ralph Rinzler in the 1960s...

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9we5tGOQs5s

Clarence Ashley, Gaither Carlton, Doc and Rosa Lee, ca. 1960