Fables of Faubus
"Fables of Faubus" | |
---|---|
Song by Charles Mingus | |
from the album Mingus Ah Um | |
Released | 1959 |
Genre | Jazz |
Length | 8:13 |
Label | Columbia |
Composer(s) | Charles Mingus |
Producer(s) | Nat Hentoff[1] |
"Fables of Faubus" is a composition written by
The song was first recorded for Mingus' 1959 album,
The song, either with or without lyrics, was one of the compositions which Mingus returned to most often, both on record and in concert.
Cover recordings and versions
The song has been recorded by other jazz musicians, including Gerry Mulligan, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Hunter, Oliver Lake, Project Trio and the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. The Normand Guilbeault Ensemble released a version called "Fables of (George Dubya) Faubus" in 2004.
On YouTube, there is a version, with the Metropole Orkest (conducted by Jules Buckley), with Christian Scott & Shabaka Hutchings as soloists as part of the BBC Proms of 2017.
The Mingus Big Band's recording of "Fables of Faubus", on their album Gunslinging Birds, features in the background the pianist playing tunes of the American Civil War, like the Confederate "(I Wish I Was in) Dixie" and the Union "Battle Hymn of the Republic."[citation needed]
Lyrics
Oh, Lord, don't let 'em shoot us!
Oh, Lord, don't let 'em stab us!
Oh, Lord, no more swastikas!
Oh, Lord, no more Ku Klux Klan!
Name me someone who's ridiculous, Dannie.
Governor Faubus!
Why is he so sick and ridiculous?
He won't permit integrated schools.
Then he's a fool! Boo!
Boo! Ku Klux Klan (with your Jim Crow plan).
Name me a handful that's ridiculous, Dannie Richmond.
Faubus, Rockefeller, Eisenhower.
Why are they so sick and ridiculous?
Two, four, six, eight:
They brainwash and teach you hate.
H-E-L-L-O, Hello.
Variations
It is worth noting that several slight variations to the lyrics appear in different recordings of "Fables of Faubus" that Mingus made over the years; for example, on the "Original Faubus Fables" version from Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, the line of "Oh, Lord, no more Ku Klux Klan" in the first refrain is replaced with "Oh, Lord, don't let 'em tar and feather us!", while the "no more swastikas" line is sung fourth rather than third in the stanza. Another variation comes from a 1975 recording where drummer Dannie Richmond yells "Two, four, six, eight, Nixon knew all about Watergate!"[9]
See also
References
- ^ a b Santoro 2001, p. 173
- ^ Hersch 1998, p. 113
- ^ Hersch 1998, p. 109
- ^ Santoro 2001, p. 154
- ^ a b Monson 2007, p. 183
- ^ The liner notes to the 1998 reissue of the album state that the piece started life as an instrumental, and only gained the lyrics later.
- ^ Monson 2007, p. 264
- ^ Heckman, Don (August 1962). "About Charles Mingus". American Record Guide: 916โ18. As cited in Santoro 2001, p. 198
- ^ "State Dept cable 1975-261990". 1975.
- Hersch, Charles (1998). Democratic Artworks: Politics and the Arts from Trilling to Dylan. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-3801-5.
- Monson, Ingrid (2007). Freedom Sounds: Civil Rights Call Out to Jazz and Africa. Oxford Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512825-3.
- Santoro, Gene (2001). Myself When I Am Real. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514711-7.
Further reading
- Mingus, Charles (1991). Charles Mingus: More Than a Fake Book. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-0-7935-0900-3.