Craig Johnson songs

24 Nov 02 - 03:09 PM (#834011)
Subject: Craig Johson songs
From: denise:^)

I was just looking to see if the DT had lyrics for "The Keweenaw Light" or "Way Down the Road," (not because I don't know them, but because I was feeling too lazy to type them out...I found "North Country Tragedy" and saved a little time, which I am now wasting, writing this...)

--and I came upon mention of some of Craig Johnson's other songs. "Fire in the Jackpines" sounds familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Can anyone recommend a good recording?

Any other of Johnson's songs I should know about? I've got three (mentioned in the first paragraph) included in my Michigan songs workshop already, so I obviously like his work!

Couldn't find more than a mention of his name is a list of composers on Google, etc. Guess he's not a website kinda guy. ;^)

denise:^)

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24 Nov 02 - 03:48 PM (#834031)
Subject: RE: Craig Johson songs
From: Bill D

Craig is now a teacher..(English, I think...in the south. Carolina maybe)..nope...*grin*..I don't think he is a website kinda guy.

What he IS, is a superb player & collector of old time songs...who just happened to write a few that sound 85 years old!. "Fire in the Jackpines" is one of those.

He recorded a few times with a group called "Double Decker Stringband" and plays fiddle & guitar a lot there as well as singing lead on many.

It is a pity he never has released a solo album of his own stuff, as he has some material that is SO excellent..(as Art Thieme will probably sign on and tell you!) Art recorded several of Craig's songs a few years ago.

I was lucky to have met Craig when he first met to Wash. DC and heard him for a number of years...including a house concert in my very own basement!

I have a couple of tapes of him, but they are not 'official', and I know he has strong opinions about what of his should be released publicly. Let's see if those who know these songs can figure out how to make them known more widely, since Craig does not perform a lot these days.

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24 Nov 02 - 04:20 PM (#834045)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: denise:^)

Interesting to know about him, since I like so many of his songs. Not a guy with a high public profile!

Now, as to the typing of his name in the subject box, let me just go and put a paper bag over my head... ;^)

I'll check back to see what recordings of his songs the Mudcatters particularly enjoy.   I can search Amazon for titles, I know, but I'd like to hear what's best from the folks who *know.*

denise:^)

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Denise, you can remove the bag :-) - I fixed the spelling. --JoeClone

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24 Nov 02 - 04:40 PM (#834054)
Subject: RE: Craig Johson songs
From: Bill D

ok, denise...I'll bet as the new week progresses, you'll hear a lot more.. (and a search on his name in the forum gets some other discussions)

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27 Nov 02 - 01:31 PM (#835823)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: GUEST

Been having trouble getting to the Mudcat site the last couple of days--looks like others could, though! Thanks for the Folk-Legacy link! I'll go have a look...

denise:^)
(with the paper bag off now...)

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27 Nov 02 - 01:43 PM (#835836)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: GUEST,denise:^)

Oh, look! I'm a guest! Well, now I know what computer to use if I want to be anonymous... ;^)

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27 Nov 02 - 05:56 PM (#836019)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: lamarca

If I recall correctly, Craig now has his doctorate and is teaching Psychology, not English - his grasp of human emotions and personality is reflected in his songwriting.

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27 Nov 02 - 10:09 PM (#836153)
Subject: Correction: How Can I Keep from Swinging
From: Bill D

ohhh...BTW...in that link to Craig's parody of How Can I Keep from Singing"!!

Dick G. got the song from me after I begged Craig for it...but... one of the verses was added by me (with Craig's permission), and Dick's tape got it wrong...*grin*...so here's the song with correction! (There's a couple small other things, but not serious)

HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SWINGING?
(Craig Johnson)

Our life flows on, an endless song
Of tedium and frustration.
With love grown old, and sex grown cold
What's left for recreation?
And so we slumber by the tube,
But..Hark! The doorbell's ringing
It's Bob and Sal and Ted and Sue..
How can we keep from swinging?

We'll take a drink to loosen up
And have some conversation,
Then intermingle on the floor
And practise fornication.
So you grab mine and I'll take yours
While Manilow is singing
By Golly! Did I lock the doors?
How can we keep from swinging?

Since these new friends have come our way
Our lifestyle's been most frightening more sprightly;
Mazola parties every day,
And Kama Sutras nightly.
There's videos and Polaroids
While lingerie we're flinging...
Creative use of chocolate fudge
How can we keep from swinging?

So you do mine and I'll do yours,
And we'll do one another.
Why not invite the folks nest door?
And likewise Dad and Mother?
And when the months have passed away
And we're left sore and stinging,
We'll wish Aunt Mabel hadn't come..
How can we keep from swinging?

from Bill Day's singing

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28 Nov 02 - 01:00 AM (#836234)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: denise:^)

I think one thing that amazes me about Craig's songs is the wide variety of them. (The above example proves my point most graphically...)

I almost never sing "The Keweenaw Light" anywhere that someone doesn't come up to me and say, "My grandma used to sing that when I was a little girl/boy..." --and these aren't youngsters talking to me, either! I love how his songs can sound like they're old traditional numbers...

...and then, there's "North Country Tragedy" and the above ditty...

You certainly couldn't say he was in a rut!

denise:^)

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28 Nov 02 - 02:14 AM (#836267)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Art Thieme

I was honored to be the first one to record THE KEWEENAW LIGHT, FIRE IN THE JACKPINES, and NORTH COUNTRY TRAGEDY. I sang Craig's NEW HARMONY twice a day for many years on the Mississippi River and to this day I think that song is the one that invokes the river summer job our son, Chris, had while he was in school.

Craig Johnson's songs have always spoken loudly and vividly to me.

NEW HARMONY will be on the JIM RINGER album that Sandy is issuing soon on CD. It's the best album Jim ever made in my humble opinion---------and it contains one of the best songs ever anywhere, CALIFORNIA JOE !!!

Folks, ya gotta get this one.

Art Thieme

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28 Nov 02 - 10:27 PM (#836875)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Art Thieme

I also put Craig's song "Way Down The Road" on my 1998 CD---but by then that had been recorded by Sally Rogers.

Art

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28 Nov 02 - 11:33 PM (#836905)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: katlaughing

And you did a damn "Fine Art" job of it, too, Artdarlin'!

Denise, I learned about Craig Johnson's songs, first, from Art Thieme. If you like Craig's songs, you will really enjoy Art's CD's. It's really exciting to hear that his earlier works are coming out on CD, as Sandy indicated. Yea, Sandy!! Until then, I would highly recommend that you get a copy of Art's CD, The Older I Get, the Better I Was. If you put his name in the filter and set the date back for "All" one of the threads about it will come up with more info. If I get a chance I'll put a link in here.

Good to see this thread. Thanks for starting it!

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30 Nov 02 - 01:10 AM (#837596)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: denise:^)

Okay, so it's Art's stuff I've gotta get, huh?

Funny thing--I really enjoy Sally Rogers (Lovely Agnes is another song that I've done for years), and her recording of "The Keweenaw Light" is the one I heard first, on a collection called "Michigan in Song."

"Way Down the Road" is on the recording, too--but sung by "Iowa Rose," and not Sally Rogers. I picked up both songs from there, and added them to my repertoire.

To this day, I've never come across Sally's version of "Way Down the Road!" (I'm sure I could go look it up on her site...) I'll have to get my hands on it some day.

But, for now, I'll have to hunt up Art's stuff--thanks, folks; that's what I wanted to know...

denise:^)

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30 Nov 02 - 01:19 AM (#837599)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Sandy Paton

Looks like I forgot to mention that I sing Craig's "Damned Old Piney Mountains" on the Folk-Legacy CD titled For All the Good People (CD-121). You'll find it listed on our web site.

Sandy

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01 Dec 02 - 12:28 AM (#838122)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Joe Offer

"Way Down the Road" is on the 1987 Sally Rogers-Claudia Schmidt album called Closing the Distance. Lots of good songs on this CD - and on every Sally Rogers CD.
But I'd buy Art Thieme's CD first.
-Joe Offer-

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01 Dec 02 - 01:08 AM (#838127)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: denise:^)

Okay, Joe--
You're the third person to tell me that--
I have that album on cassette, and that song isn't there! (It's where I got 'Lovely Agnes.')

Was it originally on an LP, and wasn't included on the cassette?
Was it added to a CD of that recording?

There has to be something to this, since so many people have mentioned it to me. One person might be mistaken, but THREE?

I'm off to Sally's site to see what I can see...

denise:^)

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01 Dec 02 - 01:24 AM (#838132)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: denise:^)

So, Sally's site lists "Way Down the Road" on 'Satisfied Customers,' which is done with her husband, Howie Bursen.

Anybody know why so many people are thinking it's on "Closing the Distance?" Could it be on another album with Claudia Schmidt?

I just find it intriguing that three people, from widely divergent places, have told me the same thing! There has to be more to it...

denise:^)

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12 May 03 - 12:28 PM (#951081)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: denise:^)

Here I go again...had to dredge this one up--I've got another "Michigan Songs" workshop coming up in July! I always like to have at least *one* new song I didn't have the last time...

So, does Art Thieme have Craig Johnson's "The Soo Line (Fire in the Jack Pines)" recorded on one of his CDs? I didn't see it listed, but
1)I could have missed it;
or
2)It could be on one of the two that have no track listings.

I recall reading that he had recorded it on a 'collection' CD, but I don't rememer which one, where, if it's available, etc.

Thanks ahead of time...
Denise:^)

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12 May 03 - 03:04 PM (#951193)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Art Thieme

Denise, (not de nephew ;-)

Yes, that song "The Soo Line" or "Fire In The Jackpines", plus "The Leweenaw Light" is on FOLK LEGACY CD-90 called That's The Ticket.

"Way Down The Road" is on a CD I did with Waterbug Records. It can be had from www.waterbug.com

Craig wrote some fine songs.

Thanks for asking.

Art Thieme

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12 May 03 - 04:24 PM (#951251)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: GUEST,minnie mouse

where do you live that people are so excited about singing michigan songs?
and where would you do that kind of a workshop?
doesn't sound like any kind of a thrill to me.

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12 May 03 - 06:56 PM (#951331)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Bill D

?? where does WHO live?....Craig wrote good songs, some were about Michagan...
"that kind of workshop"?? anywhere......

we all get out 'thrills' in different ways.

Learn to phrase your questions/remarks better, Ms Mouse

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12 May 03 - 08:14 PM (#951380)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Art Thieme

Minnie,

Hey, wait a minnie.
If I can tell you one thing, it is that the great traditional songs that sprang from the people who built America and then were passed on to other generations orally at first----these songs relected the amazing differences between the different geographical areas of the USA. The people living on those spots made songs that told the history and the details of their lives. CRAIG JOHNSON'S made songs often were that kind of song. Michigan, especially the Upper Peninsula and it's iron ore mining industry (and the specific trappings thereof) are VIVIDLY depicted in his songs.   Funny, serious, tongue in cheek, outrageous parodies---all of these have been given to us by Mr. Johnson. He made that land and it's people come alive that way---even after they were dead. To my way of thinking, that's the finest kind of immortality anyone could ever hope to achieve.

I've sung in Midwest songs workshops all through the various states. Searching out and knowing and singing these songs that sprang from the very soil I was rolling over was a thrill I can only hint at using my limited vocabulary. Singinbg those songs to modern people there, people who had no inkling these songs existed to enlighten them about what had gone down BEFORE they got there--and even know some of what made it possible for people to get from then to now; well, that to me is just too cool.

Yep, Minnie, that's how we get excited singing songs of Michigan------and Wisconsin--and Minnesota--and Illinois--and Kentucky---and Arkansas--and Kansas--and New York and California. I suspect you get my drift. It is just because "This Land Is Your Land" !

Art Thieme

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12 May 03 - 10:30 PM (#951458)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Bill D

~~~~~~~~ well, thank you, Art...that eloquence beats MY little post by a mile...I think I'll print that out.

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13 May 03 - 01:18 AM (#951539)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: katlaughing

Hear, hear!

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13 May 03 - 08:27 AM (#951675)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: denise:^)

Hi--
I live in, well, MICHIGAN!!!
I do the workshops at schools, libraries, folk festivals.....

I get people who come to the same workshop 2-3 times in one 4-day festival, so I guess *someone* is being thrilled!

Come up to the Evart FunFest in July, and see if it thrills YOU!

Denise;^)

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21 Aug 03 - 07:53 PM (#1006171)
Subject: ADD: Tittabawassee Jane
From: GUEST,Dave Schipper

I'm new to this thread stuff, but I thought it was a way to share my love of Craig Johnson's songwriting. Of course I have all of Art Thieme's LP's being an original Manitowoc Folkie, but I'm searching for the words to the song I believe penned by Craig Johnson. It's a parody of Billy Boy and includes the "spends her spare time with her snowmobile throttle." Art covered it sometime and I thought I had a tape from a Simply Folk show... can't find it... aughhh.

Until then I'm amusing myself with one I did write out awhile ago:

Tittabawassee Jane by Craig Johnson

I met her in Midland Michigan, it was a quarter of a century ago.
She loved me down at the edge of town, where the Tittabawassee flowed.

Chorus
She?s my Tittabawassee Jane?s her name, Tittabawassee Jane
The river there must be named after her, she?s my Tittabawassee Jane

Well she worked at the Midland Chemical plant, I waited for her shift to end.

She made Napalm or some kind of bomb, but I wasn?t too political then. (Chorus)


Well the air it smelt like kerosene, or whatever else Dow pumped out.
And the river was laced with lumps of waste called Tittabawassee trout. (Chorus)


Well I haven?t been back for twenty five years, but the company magazine
Says the air smells fresh in Midland Mich and the Tittabawassee?s clean.
Now I ain?t going to tell you what to believe, but Dow?s been known to lie,
And I don?t care what they do to the air, but the Tittabawassee?s mine. (Chorus)

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21 Aug 03 - 08:01 PM (#1006177)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Charley Noble

Dave-

Thanks for your contribution. As a Michigan exile, I have a great love of Criag's songs.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, in Maine

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21 Aug 03 - 08:04 PM (#1006178)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Dave Schipper (old)

I signed on as member now... another reason for my wife to complain about not getting my project list done.

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21 Aug 03 - 09:20 PM (#1006211)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Art Thieme

Dave, you have it wrong. Those two songs were written by another Michigan writer named JAY STIELSTRA !!!

GRAND MARAIS is the name of the song.
I did post it here in another thread and I do suspect it's probably/possibly here in the DT. I did LEARN both of those songs from Craig Johnson, but they weren't his songs--as I said.

I'll come back later and see if you found it. Gotta run right now.

Art Thieme

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21 Aug 03 - 09:50 PM (#1006226)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Dave Schipper (old)

Leave it to the master... thanks Art. I'll look for the other thread.

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22 Aug 03 - 08:16 AM (#1006398)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Charley Noble

Dave-

Don't feel too bad. You're not the first one to be "swamped in Grand Marais!"

Cheerily,
Charley Noble"

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22 Aug 03 - 08:17 PM (#1006759)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Art Thieme

I just refreshed the thread WHAT ABOUT JAY STIELSTRA that contains the his song "GRAND MARAIS.

Art

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10 Nov 03 - 02:52 AM (#1050920)
Subject: Looking for Craig Johnson...
From: denise:^)

Well, our folk group is *finally* ready to record a new album! I would like to record "The Keweenaw Light" (which, BTW, is spelled kinda silly in the Digitrad, making it difficult to look up...).

Anyone know where Craig Johnson is now? We want to do this "royalties thing" right! If you can help me out, please contact me on my personal message page.

Thanks a lot!

denise:^)

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10 Nov 03 - 04:51 AM (#1050943)
Subject: DTCorr: Keweenaw Light (Craig Johnson)
From: Joe Offer

Hi, Denise - I hope you don't mind that I moves you over here so we don't split the Craig Johnson discussion up too much. I'd bet Art Thieme can help you find Craig Johnson if you send him a personal message (click).

In this message, Art said he was the first to record three of Craig's songs, including "Keweenaw Light." it's on his That's The Ticket album, recently reissued by Sandy and Caroline Paton's Folk-Legacy Records. Here are Art's notes and the lyrics from the album's booklet. Note that the lyrics are somewhat different from those in the Digital Tradition. Maybe Art can tell us if the lyrics below are completely accurate.
I haven't been to the Keweenaw Peninsula for a long, long time. What a beautiful place!
-Joe Offer-

THE KEWEENAW LIGHT
(Craig Johnson) Side 1, Band 5.
The Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan hooks northward from the south shore of Lake Superior like a hitch hiker's thumb. Some of the highest grade copper and iron ore in the world was taken from the deep mines of Mich igan's Upper Peninsula. The early part of the century was the boom era. But now the mines are closed and the head— frames rust in the fields as reminders of more prosperous times. The boomers have left the area, but the hearty folk who remain enjoy life in the midst of some of the most beautiful scenery in America.
Craig Johnson, a fine fiddler, banjo picker, poet and songwriter, combines nostalgia with the stark realism of hard times to capture it all in this beautiful song.

I have travelled that country
From the Keweenaw headlands,
Where the wild gulls do cry
From the rocks to the sea,
O'er the cold inland ocean
To the Manitou Islands,
Far away from my home,
Strange places to see.

And the stars they shine bright
On the south shore tonight,
And the Keweenaw light
Sweeps over the bay.
And, if dreams could come true,
I'd still be there with you,
On the banks of cold waters
At the close of the day.

I have drifted through the boomtowns
Of a century dying,
Past the ruins of the smelters
And the rusted headframes,
Down through Mohawk and Ahmeek,
Centennial and Laurium,
And a hundred sad places
That have passed without names.
And the stars they shine bright...

I have counted the cross-ties,
The dry bones of the railroad,
They stretch from the sunrise
To the close of the day.
And I have counted the miles
Between me and my true love,
The lies and the highways
That carried me away.
And the stars they shine bright...

Oh, the leaves have turned gold
And the summer's nigh over;
The wild geese sweep low
Over Lake Manganese.
In that faraway country
You walk by slow rivers,
Alongside cold waters
'Neath the whispering trees.
And the stars they shine bright...

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10 Nov 03 - 09:26 AM (#1051042)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Fortunato

Denise,

I have forwarded your request on to someone who I think can help with Craig's location. I'll let you know if I hear.

regards,
Chance

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10 Nov 03 - 03:31 PM (#1051216)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: katlaughing

Aart is without his computer right now. If Chance's contact can't help you, I can call Art and ask him.

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11 Nov 03 - 09:13 AM (#1051608)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: denise:^)

Thanks, everybody!
Joe, as long as I could get the info, I don't care *what* thread my message is in! (I just didn't want it to get buried in a song discussion, but, since it didn't...)

Chance, I'll send that mail today and see what happens...

...and kat, if it doesn't work out, I'll get back to you!

I knew I could count on you guys ;^)

denise:^)

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22 Nov 03 - 07:54 PM (#1059287)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: DEBBIE

Just to let all your folks know that Craig Johnson is alive and well and making good music with Double Decker String Band. He is working as a social worker in NC. Double Deckers last CD is on Merrimac and called "Chasing Rainbows"   If you want to get a hold of craig you can send it to me   [e-mail] and I will forward it to him.   Please be sure to put his name in the subject line so I don't miss it.

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12 Feb 04 - 04:04 PM (#1115082)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: denise:^)

Well, I did it...
I recorded "The Keweenaw Light" last week, with autoharp, hammered dulcimer, guitar, and cello. (My first time recording!!)

It will be on a collection of songs from our folk group, the Paint Creek Folklore Society. I appear on 5 cuts, but 'Keweenaw Light' is *my* cut!

It was a lot of fun, and quite a learning experience...

Denise:^)

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18 Oct 06 - 06:17 AM (#1862007)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: GUEST

Tittabawassee Jane was NOT WRITTEN BY CRAIG JOHNSON. It was written by JAY STIELSTRA, a singer-songwriter from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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18 Oct 06 - 10:47 AM (#1862205)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: dick greenhaus

While the Double Decker's "Chasing Rainbows" seems to be out of print, they have a new one "The Rest is Yet to Come". Fine stuff! (Available at CAMSCO, of course)

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05 Oct 15 - 11:30 AM (#3741905)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: wysiwyg

Anyone have the lyrics to Craig Johnson's "Goodbye to the Lowlands"?

~S~

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05 Oct 15 - 12:13 PM (#3741910)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Bill D

ummmm... probably. Just got home from the Getaway.... will look... if no one beats me to it...

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23 Dec 21 - 07:37 PM (#4129813)
Subject: RE: Craig Johnson songs
From: Bill D

Reviving this page because I knew about this link a couple of years ago, but forgot to post it.
Here's a number of Craig's songs collected by friends and admirers so that he will be appreciated even more.
https://fieldrecorder.bandcamp.com/album/frc-711-craig-johnson-deep-woods-hollow


and there's two more on this page recorded in Ann Arbor in 1978
http://boenke.net/MusicVideos/Music%20Videos.html

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