Saying Goodnight to Irene

Article first published as Saying Goodnight to Irene on Technorati.

With the whole east coast evacuating their homes or hunkering in fear awaiting the arrival of what will have to be, at least for awhile the storm of the century, albeit the century is still young, it takes a folk singer to look for the pony in the proverbial room full of horse manure. In this case the pony comes in the form of a folk song first popularized back in the 30's by a black ex-con with a haunting voice and a name to reckon with, Leadbelly, and then made really popular in the 50's by a group of left leaning radicals, the Weavers. The folk song in question of course is the iconic "Goodnight Irene," and what more appropriate as the lady herself makes her way up the coast from the Carolinas to Battery Park and beyond.

Along comes Christopher Paul Stelling, and either in an attempt to get a little publicity for his ingenuity (which he probably deserves) or with an almost post modern irony he offers up a cover of the classic perhaps as a talisman akin to the old chestnut, "Rain, rain, go away. It's either too cute by far, if you have no sense of humor or a one of the neatest puns of last few days.

So here is the link to Stelling, often praised for the emotional impact of his vocals, doing his cover of the Leadbelly classic.

And here for even more juju is the link to Leadbelly himself.