"The Sinking of the Reuben James" is a song by
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...
about the sinking of the U.S.
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
escort , which was the first U.S. naval ship sunk by German
U-boat
U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
s in World War II. Woody Guthrie had started to write a song including each name on the casualty list of the sinking. This was later replaced by the chorus "tell me what were their names."
The song is set to the melody of "
Wildwood Flower
"Wildwood Flower" (or "The Wildwood Flower") is an American song, best known through performances and recordings by the Carter Family. It is a folk song, cataloged as Roud Folk Song Index No. 757.
History
"Wildwood Flower" is a variant of th ...
", an
antebellum
Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to:
United States history
* Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US
** Antebellum Georgia
** Antebellum South Carolina
** Antebellum Virginia
* Antebellum architectu ...
tune by
Joseph Philbrick Webster
Joseph Philbrick Webster, also known as J.P. Webster (February 18, 1819 – January 18, 1875), was an American songwriter and composer most notable for his musical compositions during the Antebellum South, antebellum and American Civil War period ...
.
[ via the ]Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
.
Recordings
*
The Almanac Singers
The Almanac Singers was an American New York City-based folk music group, active between 1940 and 1943, founded by Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and were joined by Woody Guthrie. The group specialized in topical songs, mostly songs ad ...
on ''
Dear Mr. President'' 1942
*
Johnny Horton
John LaGale Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American country, honky tonk, and rockabilly musician during the 1950s. He is best known for a series of history-inspired narrative country saga songs that became international ...
on ''Johnny Horton Sings History'' 1960
*
Oscar Brand
Oscar Brand (February 7, 1920 – September 30, 2016) was a Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, radio host, and author. In his career, spanning 70 years, he composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Can ...
on ''Every Inch a Sailor'' 1960
*
Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, a ...
on ''
Close-Up
A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...
'' 1961
*
Dennis Weaver
Billy Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most ...
1962
*
The Chad Mitchell Trio
The Chad Mitchell Trio, later known as The Mitchell Trio, were an American vocal group whose peak years were during the 1960s. They performed traditional folk songs and some of John Denver's early compositions. They were particularly notable fo ...
on ''Reflecting'' 1963
*
Jon Mark
John Michael Burchell (8 May 1943 – 10 February 2021), known professionally as Jon Mark, was an English singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his recordings with Marianne Faithfull, Sweet Thursday, John Mayall and Mark-Alm ...
and
Alun Davies on ''
Relax Your Mind'' 1963
*
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 traveling and recording together.
Houston was a reg ...
on ''Cisco Houston sings the songs of Woody Guthrie'' 1963
*
The Highwaymen on ''Homecoming'' 1963
*
Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...
on ''Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and Other Love Songs'' 1967
*
Country Joe McDonald
Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (born January 1, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who was the lead vocalist of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish.Richard Brenneman"Country Joe McDonald Revives Anti ...
on ''Thinking of Woody Guthrie'' 1969
See also
*
USS Reuben James (DD-245)
USS ''Reuben James'' (DD-245) was a four-funnel that was constructed after World War I. She was the first United States Navy ship to be named after Boatswain's Mate Reuben James ( 1776–1838), who had distinguished himself fighting in the ...
References
External links
*
Woody Guthrie songs
1942 songs
Songs of World War II
The Kingston Trio songs
Songs written by Woody Guthrie
Songs written by Joseph Philbrick Webster
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