"Dink's Song" (sometimes known as "Fare Thee Well") is an American
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
played by many
folk revival
The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-Benn ...
musicians such as
Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...
,
Fred Neil
Fred Neil (March 16, 1936 – July 7, 2001) was an American folk singer-songwriter active in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material&n ...
,
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and
Dave Van Ronk
David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mac ...
,
Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010.
Music ca ...
, and
Cisco Houston
Gilbert Vandine "Cisco" Houston (August 18, 1918 – April 29, 1961) was an American folk singer and songwriter, who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of recording together.
Houston was a regular recording ...
as well as more recent musicians like
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...
. The song tells the story of a woman deserted by her lover when she needs him the most.
History
The first historical record of the song was by
ethnomusicologist John Lomax
John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess Lo ...
in 1909, who recorded it as sung by an
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
woman called Dink, as she washed her husband's clothes in a tent camp of migratory
levee
A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...
-builders on the bank of the
Brazos River
The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater Dr ...
, a few miles from
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
.
Lomax and his son,
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...
were the first to publish itincluding it in ''American Ballads and Folk Songs'', published by
Macmillan
MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to:
People
* McMillan (surname)
* Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan
* Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician
* James MacMillan, Scottish composer
* William Duncan MacMillan ...
in 1934.
Lyrics
As with many traditional songs, there are numerous versions of the lyrics. The version published in ''American Ballads and Folk Songs'' is rendered in an approximation of
African American vernacular English
African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban ...
.
Notable versions
Libby Holman recorded "Dink's Song" (as "Fare Thee Well") with guitar accompaniment by
Josh White
Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s.
White grew up in the Sout ...
in 1942.
White also recorded the song as "Fare Thee Well" in 1945. It appeared on his first album, ''Songs by Josh White'', for Asch Records (A 348). (Asch Records was the predecessor of
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.
History
The Folkways Records & Service ...
). Like the rest of the songs on the album, it was performed solo, with guitar. White re-recorded the song at least once later in his career, as "Dink's Blues". It appears on the 1957 Mercury album, ''Josh White's Blues'' (MG 20203).
In the 1946 film
''Cloak and Dagger'', the character played by
Lilli Palmer
Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood produ ...
sings a verse of the song to
Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...
's character, explaining she learned it from an American airman from "New Arizona" and adding she didn't have the chance to learn the rest of it.
The song was performed by Mary "Mississippi" Brown (
Peggy Castle) on the television show ''
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...
'', in the episode "Fury at Rio Hondo", which aired April 17, 1956.
Ken Curtis
Ken Curtis (born Curtis Wain Gates; July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the CBS western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Although he appeared on ''Gunsmoke'' earlie ...
crooned an abbreviated version of the song on the show ''
Have Gun - Will Travel'', in the episode "Love's Young Dream" (Season 4, Episode 2).
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
recorded a driving rendition of the song on the unreleased 1961 Minnesota Hotel Tape.
After his performance, he suggests he had originally heard the song from Dink, personally.
The song was also recorded by
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades.
Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...
(circa 1965).
Dave Van Ronk
David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mac ...
recorded the song in 1961 for his album
Van Ronk Sings
''Van Ronk Sings'' is an album by American folksinger Dave Van Ronk, released in July 1961.
It was also released on LP as ''Dave Van Ronk Sings the Blues'' and ''Dave Van Ronk Sings Earthy Ballads and Blues''. All these versions are out of print ...
. He then went on to record a new version of the song in 1967 for his album ''
Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters
''Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters'' is a 1967 album featuring Dave Van Ronk.
Van Ronk on the album
"The six Dusters cuts on this disc make me think that we were probably too eclectic for the market we were courting, and that a thinking man' ...
'', where it was credited to
John Lomax
John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess Lo ...
and his first wife, Bess Brown Lomax. In the liner notes to the album, Van Ronk writes that he considers the tune "probably the best piece of singing as such I've ever done on record."
[Chrestomathy liner notes] He goes on to explain, "I had a nasty flu when we cut this one, and my voice had gone pre-laryngitic. This had the effect of opening up an octave valve I didn't even know I had. The next day I couldn't talk, let alone sing."
Gloria Lynne
Gloria Lynne (born Gloria Wilson; November 23, 1929 – October 15, 2013), also known as Gloria Alleyne, was an American jazz vocalist with a recording career spanning from 1958 to 2007.
Career
Lynne was born in Harlem in 1929 to John and Mary W ...
recorded the song for a concept album created and produced by
Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...
in 2001, titled ''The Long Road to Freedom: An Anthology of Black Music''.
In Lynne's version the song is called "Fare Thee Well, Oh Honey."
A different arrangement of the song was written and performed by
Frank Black
Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Fo ...
on his 2006 album ''
Fast Man Raider Man
''Fast Man Raider Man'' is the eleventh studio album and a double-album by Frank Black released in 2006.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Frank Black, except where noted.
Disc one
Disc two
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's ...
''.
Puerto Rican singer
Gabriel Ríos
Gabriel Ríos (born August 25, 1978 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican singer songwriter.
Biography
Gabriel was born in Puerto Rico, to Puerto Rican parents, and was raised on the island until the age of 17. He then relocated to the cit ...
included the song on the limited edition 2-disc release of his album ''
Angelhead''.
Oscar Isaac
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is a Guatemalan-born American actor. Known for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Latino characters in Hollywood. He was named the best actor of his gene ...
and
Marcus Mumford
Marcus Oliver Johnstone Mumford (born 31 January 1987) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the band folk band Mumford & Sons. He also plays a number of instruments with the group ...
's performance of "Dink's Song" is featured in the
Coen Brothers
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
's film ''
Inside Llewyn Davis
''Inside Llewyn Davis'' () is a 2013 period black comedy musical drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen. Set in 1961, the film follows one week in the life of Llewyn Davis, played by Oscar Isaac in his breakthr ...
'', as well as a solo acoustic version by Isaac. Both versions are included on the original soundtrack album.
The song was also performed by Chuck/God (
Rob Benedict
Robert Patrick Benedict (born September 21, 1970) is an American stage, film and television actor and writer. His 25 year career includes more than 70 television and movie credits. He is best known for his work on the television series '' Supe ...
) on the television show ''
Supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
'', at the end of the episode "
Don't Call Me Shurley."
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
performed "Fare Thee Well (Dink's Song)" early in her career and it was recorded when she appeared on radio station
CFQC, circa 1963. This rendition was released in 2020 on ''
Joni Mitchell Archives – Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963–1967)''.
References
Notes
*
Heylin, Clinton (2003). ''Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited''. Perennial Currents.
* Lomax, John A (1971)
947
Year 947 ( CMXLVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – A Hungarian army led by Grand Prince Taksony campaigns in Italy, heading ...
''Adventures of a Ballad Hunter''. Macmillan.
* Lomax, John A., Alan Lomax, and John William Thompson, eds (1934). ''American Ballads and Folk Songs''. Macmillan. (Dover rpt., 1994)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dink'S Song
Bob Dylan songs
American folk songs
Songwriter unknown
Year of song unknown