"Titanic, Fare Thee Well"
#590 / Flood Time Capsule: 2015
If you’re a history nut, one of the things you remember in early April is the anniversary of the 1912 sinking of The Titanic.
But history also teaches you that there’s more than one way to see historical events. For African Americans, for instance, the Titanic and other ocean liners of that era were great symbols of discrimination.
As a rule, they welcomed no black passengers. In fact, a famous story has it that African-American boxing great Jack Johnson was denied passage on a ship because of his race.
That ship wasn’t The Titanic, but when Huddie Ledbetter (“Lead Belly” to you and me) was composing his rather ironic tribute to the 1912 disaster, he couldn’t resist bringing Jack Johnson into the starring role of the song, which we explored on a take on the tune during a 2015 Flood rehearsal. (As you’ll hear, Paul Martin, who had just joined the band, gets a double helping when the solos were passed out.) Click the Play button below to hear the track:
Lead Belly always said he began playing the song around Dallas with fellow bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson in the 1910s.
And What is “The Eagle Rock”?
And in the audio, did you pick up on the dance move that Jack Jackson is alleged to have busted on the news of the Titanic’s fate? What the heck is “the Eagle Rock”? It turns out to be a dance that was popular from the 1910s.
In her book The Language of The Blues: From Alcorub To Zuzu, author/rocker Debra Devi quotes a 1913 vaudeville tune called “Ballin’ The Jack” which has lyrics that describe exacrly what the Eagle Rock entailed:
First you put your two knees close up tight.
Then you sway ‘em to the left.
Then you sway ‘em to the right.
Step around the floor kind of nice and light.
Then you twist around and twist around with all your might.
Stretch your lovin’ arms straight out into space.
Then you do the Eagle Rock with style and grace.
From the Archives
If all this has you finding yourself craving a little Floodified folk tunes, hie yourself over to the free Radio Floodango music streaming service and click into the Folk Channel.
Click here for the express lane.
And meanwhile, if you’d like to hear from of The Flood’s 2015 vibe, use Floodango’s time machine to circle back to that specific year:
