john herald
John Herald's sharp and strong voice, excellent guitar playing and particular crafts in songwriting should have brought him further, but he was haunted by bad luck all throughout his career ... in fact, he ended up just like another bluegrass boy, and died almost in poverty by own hand in 2005, after 40 years of mostly ignored record releases on various labels. But he was always good in concert, and his friends still maintain his homepage; click the icon at the bottom.
This song is captured from "Woodstock Mountains: More Music From Mud Acres" (Rounder, 1977), one of the best albums I've ever heard. Woodstock Mountain Revue was a loose association of folk/country singers, artists and songwriters from the area of Woodstock, New York.
That area must be very special. We're now also talking about "Greenwich Village", and in fact the birth of both modern "roots music" as well as rock music in all variations. Hundreds of artists, singers and songwriters associated with GW rose to fame. John Herald never did. He was too true to his roots.
well now I've just come back from the city where I've never been before
I ain't got as much money as I had but you know I know a whole lot more
well I thought that when I left my home I was a man of some renown
but in old New York I was on the walk
just an ordinary fool from a one horse town
... just another bluegrass boy
well now I got some postcards of the city that I thought I'd mail back home
just to tell all my people about it and just how far I had come
well I saw a box all painted red and I dropped my letters in
but the fire engines came from all around
and the doggone bells began to ring
... just another bluegrass boy
well now Jesus wits what they done to me has lingered on for years around
they poured their water all over me until I thought I'd nearly drowned
well I grabbed some fella and said to him "pull me out cause I can't swim!"
but the crowd all shouted "hey! just let him drown!
he's a doggone fool from a one horse town!"
... just another bluegrass boy
For the following CHORD section, fullscreen/horizontal mobile is recommended.
Chords in brackets may be omitted.
A ... G ... E7 ... A ... G ... E7 A C#7 D A D E7 A E7 well now I've just come back from the city where I've never been before A C#7 D A D E7 A A7 I ain't got as much money as I had but you know I know a whole lot more D C#7 F#m B7 well I thought that when I left my home I was a man of some reknown B7 but in old New York I was on the walk D7 Cdim just an ordinary fool from a one horse town D E7 A just another bluegrass boy
