{"id":300,"date":"2015-03-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yule-tide.generalsemiotics.net\/index.php\/2015\/03\/30\/post-293-jordan-am-a-hard-road-to-travel\/"},"modified":"2015-03-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-03-30T00:00:00","slug":"post-293-jordan-am-a-hard-road-to-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/index.php\/2015\/03\/30\/post-293-jordan-am-a-hard-road-to-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Post-293: Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\n<span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\">&#8220;Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> <span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\">is a traditional American song out of 1800s with many versions. One<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\">version is by <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jimmy_Driftwood\">Jimmie Driftwood<\/a>, a prolific songwriter out of Arkansas, active from the 1930s-1990s. The lyrics are nowhere to be found online. I&#8217;ll transcribe them and put them up here.<\/p>\n<p>The song was recorded in 1959. It tells the story of a man who went to California during the Gold Rush.<br \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wsite-youtube\" style=\"margin-bottom:5px;margin-top:5px;\">\n<div class=\"wsite-youtube-wrapper wsite-youtube-size-medium wsite-youtube-align-center\">\n<div class=\"wsite-youtube-container\">\n<iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TApGB8pr-1M?wmode=opaque\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"338791326402194155\" align=\"left\" style=\"width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden;\" class=\"wcustomhtml\">\n<a name=\"continue\" id=\"continue\"><font color=\"white\">.<\/font><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\n<span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><font size=\"5\"><strong style=\"\">Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel<\/strong><\/font><br \/><em><span style=\"\">By Jimmy Driftwood \/<\/span> 1959 \/ &#8220;The Westward Movement&#8221; album<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Oh!<br \/>\nThere was an old man<br \/>\nfrom the county called Pike<br \/>\nAnd his name was Jolly ol&#8217; Higgins<\/p>\n<p>The darned ol&#8217; fool<br \/>\nWho went an&#8217; bought an ol&#8217; mule<br \/>\nAnd was bound for the California diggins<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:center;\">\n<span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.yuletyde.com\/a-blog\/post-293-jordan-am-a-hard-road-to-travel#continue\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><font size=\"4\"><strong><font color=\"#0400FF\">Read More<\/font><\/strong><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END-->\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\n<span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\">[Chorus]<br \/>\nPull off your overcoat<br \/>\n&#8216;n&#8217; roll up your sleeves<br \/>\nFor Jordan am a hard road to travel!<br \/>\nPull off your overcoat<br \/>\n&#8216;n&#8217; roll up your sleeves<br \/>\nFor Jordan am a hard road, I believe.<\/p>\n<p>Well,<br \/>\nHe took some bacon<br \/>\nAn&#8217; he took some beans<br \/>\nAn&#8217; he took some raw corn whiskey<\/p>\n<p>He woulda took more<br \/>\nBut he couldn&#8217;t pile it on<br \/>\nFor the darned ol&#8217; mule was so frisky<\/p>\n<p>On he went<br \/>\nThrough the mire and the mud<br \/>\nTill he came to this ol&#8217; Platte River<\/p>\n<p>In he plunged<br \/>\nHead over heels<br \/>\nAnd the bacon and the beans were lost forever<\/p>\n<p>[Chorus]<\/p>\n<p>Well,<br \/>\nIf ever I marry<br \/>\nIn this wide world<br \/>\nI&#8217;ll marry the ferryman&#8217;s daughter<\/p>\n<p>So my wife can stand<br \/>\nIn the prow of the boat<br \/>\nAnd my children can play in the water<\/p>\n<p>If ever I marry<br \/>\nIn this wide world<br \/>\nI&#8217;ll wed sweet Sally Gordon<\/p>\n<p>She owns half the land<br \/>\nIn the You-nited States<br \/>\nAnd a farm on the other side-a Jordan<\/p>\n<p>[Chorus]<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re wondering<br \/>\nWho I am,<br \/>\nMy name is jolly ol&#8217; Higgins<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m the darned ol&#8217; fool<br \/>\nWho went &#8216;n&#8217; bought the old mule<br \/>\nAnd I&#8217;m bound for the California diggins<\/p>\n<p>[Chorus]<\/p>\n<p>__________________<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"wsite-image wsite-image-border-hairline wsite-image-border-black\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center\">\n<a><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/9194998_orig.jpg\" alt=\"Picture\" style=\"width:auto;max-width:100%\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"display:block;font-size:90%\">\nPioneer Trails, mid-1800s USA<br \/>\nTrails along the Platte River start at Council Bluffs, Iowa\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"wsite-image wsite-image-border-hairline wsite-image-border-black\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center\">\n<a><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/5766175_orig.gif\" alt=\"Picture\" style=\"width:auto;max-width:100%\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"display:block;font-size:90%\">\nA section of the South Platte River today (Photograph by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kearneyhub.com\/news\/local\/tri-basin-projects-to-benefit-platte-river\/article_9f4670a0-ecf9-11df-a0ca-001cc4c002e0.html\">Lori Potter<\/a>, Kearney Hub newspaper [Kearney, Nebraska]).\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"wsite-image wsite-image-border-hairline wsite-image-border-black\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center\">\n<a><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/7435503_orig.jpg\" alt=\"Picture\" style=\"width:auto;max-width:100%\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"display:block;font-size:90%\">\nPainting of a pioneer crossing the Platte River\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\n<span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><strong>Comment:<\/strong> I can imagine this simple-seeming song being painfully indecipherable to those not familiar with folksy old-style American English and with the Bible. &#8220;Jordan&#8221; refers to the Jordan River of Biblical times; here &#8220;crossing the Jordan&#8221; is a metaphor for hard struggle. Also: Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River; &#8220;Jolly ol&#8217; Higgins&#8221; is submerged totally in the water, too!<\/p>\n<p>A credit to Jimmie Driftwood that he ends the song with Higgins still on the journey out to California, even after losing all his supplies. Jimmie Driftwood (1907-1998) was a product of 1910s and 1920s America, a time when (I think) the American spirit was optimistic and self-confident. He supposedly wrote many of his songs as aids to teaching his students U.S. history. His first career was as a teacher.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> <span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\"><span style=\"\">His most famous song of all is probably <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9CnPv_1SVh0\">Battle of New Orleans<\/a>, sung by Johnny Horton.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\n<span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><span style=\"text-decoration:none; font-style:normal; font-weight:400; color:rgb(62, 62, 62);\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel&#8221; is a traditional American song out of 1800s with many versions. One version is by Jimmie Driftwood, a prolific songwriter out of Arkansas, active from the 1930s-1990s. The lyrics are nowhere to be found online. I&#8217;ll transcribe them and put them up here. The song was recorded in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yule-tide.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}