carlb - Posted - 06/22/2023:  21:01:50

  This week's tune is the song “Before the Road” written by Sue Massek. I find that playing the tune, by itself, is enjoyable, even without the lyrics. My feelings about the song are Mother Nature’s description of her beauty and then complaining about man's greed that has destroyed much of it. Here are Sue’s comments:

  When I recall writing it, I was sitting on Natural Bridge in the Red River Gorge. I was thinking about what it must have felt like when roads came through pristine forests that families had chosen for their homesite. How angry it would make me if someone could just take it all away.  It is always poor folks and the earth itself that make sacrifices for “progress”.

 Red River Gorge, KY

redrivergorge.com/history-educ...l-bridge/

  I find her comments similar to Ernie Carpenter's feelings about losing his home, by eminent domain, when they built the dam on the Elk River near Sutton, WV. He wrote the “Elk River Blues”. His story is in the link below.

tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:E...ver_Blues

Playing the tune in aEAde

  For me, the tune can stand by itself and I often sit around and play it without any singing. I have arranged it so that after two thirds of the verse, I jump to the middle of the chorus. The tune doesn't have a lot of drop thumb, but where it occurs is important, at least for me. In the verse, part of the tune, the thumb drops to the fourth string at specific times where the melody asks for it. In the chorus, the main drop thumbs are in the difficult phrase (check lyrics below). I am not going to write a tab, but would rather you would learn the melody in your head and then search for the notes on your banjo. Often there is more than one choice on how to play notes in a phrase. I love the redundancy on the banjo.

  I do hold my left hand fingers in certain positions while I’m playing other strings. For the first part of the verse, I keep my index finger on 2nd fret of the 2nd string, most of the time (an A modal chord aEAEE) as I play other notes, on the 3rd fret with the middle finger.  As it progresses, I move to a D chord with fingers on the 2nd frets of the 1st and 4th strings (aF#ADF#); you can't hold it there as you play other melody notes, but I do return to that position. The phrase ends on an E7, with a finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string (aEBDE). Following this is the difficult phrase, which starts with a roll on an open 2nd string then 1st then 5th string. During the last part of the chorus, there is no drop thumb, but you can keep your finger on the 3rd fret of the 3rd string as you play the melody on other open strings and end with the index finger on the 2nd fret 2nd string.

Before The Road

Sue Massek

Words kindly provided by Bev Futrell (along with Sue, a member of the Reel

World String band)

Before the road I walked these mountains

On a crooked old path the Cherokee made.

Before the road deer stood gazing

Gently and meek at the turn of the day.

Before the road wind came singing

A melody born in boughs of trees

Before the road whippoorwill’s calling

Haunted the night and pacified me.

Now it’s all gone, the big road’s come

It’s changed my life and ruined my home.

And I’m telling you now from what I see   [beginning of difficult banjo phrase]

This highway ain’t nothing but a one-way street.    [difficult phrase ends]

Taking the riches from my land

And putting them in some stranger’s hand.

Before the road pine and sassafras

Nurtured the earth and flavored the air.

Before the road mist came rising

Out of the holler ghostly and fair.

Before the road night set easy

With crickets and bullfrogs humming their tunes.

Before the road hemlock and hickory

Cradled the sky and circled the moon.

It wasn’t my choice, they didn’t ask me

Just raped my mountain and cleared my trees.

And I swear until my dying day

I’ll stand in that stranger’s way

Every time his progress plan

Brings big roads across this land.

Before the Road - Reel World String Band

Before the Road w/ lyrics

Before the Road - banjo solo

 

JanetB - Posted - 06/24/2023:  12:00:43

I'd not heard of Sue Massek or her band before, so thanks, Carl, and also for including all those mp3s with your great performance.  I like how you compare the song to Elk River Blues.  

I arranged in sawmill tuning, but actually wonder what "key" would you say this is in.  A? "A modal" doesn't sound like a "key."  The specific mode needs to be stated. The song seems to use the III chord, as well as others, but that specific one sets the moody tone of the piece. Maybe somebody here can clarify and educate us. My tab simply indicates sawmill tuning a step down from where the band played. Note the two half-measures in the tab.  That made following along easier for me.

Before the Road

Before the Road (CH) tab