Right Wing Nut House

Glad to see my brother Jim, the Troubadour of the family, back in the blogging saddle. His excellent site Vivid Air is once again alive and kicking.

A teacher for his entire professional life, in the last few years Jim has begun to make a name for himself in the folk music world with his group of 50 something musician friends who have formed sort of a 60’s folk tribute group. The band’s name, Chilly Winds, is from the haunting ballad of the same name by John Stewart of the Kingston Trio and John Phillips who later gained fame as a member of the West Coast band Mamas and the Papas:

I’m goin’ where them chilly winds don’t blow. Gonna find a true love. That is where I want to go.
Out where them chilly winds don’t blow.

I’m leavin’ in the springtime, won’t be back till fall. If I can forget you, I might not come back at all.
Out where them chilly winds don’t blow.

Jim’s most recent entry at Vivid Air details the origins and history of the song many of us have sung around campfires for years. We know it as “Wimoweh” or “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” or perhaps even “Mbube” which is the Zulu word American folk artist Pete Seeger evidently mangled in pronunciation to come up with the Weavers version of the song which they called “Wimoweh.”

More recently, Paul Simon made a version by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and her South African singers famous on his excellent album Graceland. It’s amazing how many artists and arrangements there have been of this little tune. Go read Jim’s article for some fascinating details on the history of the song among Zulus.

And make sure to bookmark Jim’s site and add his RSS feed to your reader.