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The Life and Legend of "Tom Dooley"
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Hang
down your head Tom Dooley
Hang down your head and cry
Hang down your head Tom Dooley
Poor boy, you're bound to die.
-- Traditional (as
performed by
The Kingston Trio)
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Wilkesboro,
North Carolina is well-known to many Americana music fans as the
home of the annual Merlefest music festival. But the
Appalachian foothills surrounding Wilkesboro are rich in the
Americana music tradition. If you take a short drive West out
of Wilkesboro on Highway 268, you will pass a state historical
marker on the side of the rural highway. Many people pass the
sign every day without even a second glance. However, the
marker reminds both residents and visitors of an important local
event immortalized in perhaps the most famous murder ballad in
American folk music history.
Almost
a century before The Kingston Trio had a pop hit in 1958 with their
version of "The Ballad of Tom Dooley," the real
"Tom Dula" returned home to North Carolina following a
stint in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. By all
accounts, Dula was a well-known local fiddler and a womanizer.
After his return home, Dula apparently contracted syphilis after an
unfortunate rendez-vous with a member of the fairer sex. Dula
threatened to "put through" (local vernacular for
"stab to death") the female who gave him the condition.
A short time later the body of a local girl named Laura Foster was
discovered in a shallow grave.
Foster
and Dula had been involved in a relationship and witnesses placed
Dula near the vicinity of the Foster's grave around the time of the
murder. Dula was convicted of the crime based largely upon
circumstantial evidence. Dula maintained his innocence and was
even represented by a former North Carolina governor. The conviction
was appealed to the North Carolina Supreme Court which ruled against
Dula and upheld his conviction. Local legends and rumors persist
regarding the guilt or innocence of Dula, though most historians
have concluded that Dula was the probable murderer.
Following
the loss of his appeal, Tom Dula was hanged for the murder of Laura
Foster. It appears that "The Ballad of Tom Dooley"
was written around the time of Dula's hanging by a local poet named
Thomas C. Land. For several decades the song served as a local
murder ballad in the tradition of many other similarly-themed songs.
Folk music historian Frank Warner eventually collected the song from
a local banjo player and singer named Frank Profitt. It was
this version that ultimately came to the attention of the Kingston
Trio. Their recording of the song became a major commercial
hit in 1958 selling over 6,000,000 copies. The unusual hit
single is often credited with sparking the entire folk music revival
of the 1960s.
Just
imagine the impact of a single simple song. From this century
old mountain ballad came an entire musical movement which completely
changed the direction of popular music. Maybe a song really
can change the world.
(Jan.
2, 2006)
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