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June 2025

Bandit Cole Younger by Edward L. Crain [Anthology Revisited - Song 15]
TL;DR — A real life cowboy (about whom relatively little is known) sings about a real life bandit who rode with the real life Jesse James. Trend of…
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Rodney Hargis
My Name is John Johanna by Kelly Harrell and the Virginia String Band [Anthology Revisited - Song 14]
TL;DR -- Historic (prophetic) song exposes man’s inhumanity to man. Previously uncredited fiddler returns, remains uncredited.
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Rodney Hargis
2
Ommie Wise by G.B. Grayson [Anthology Revisited - Song 13]
TL;DR -- Murder ballad based on true crime from 18 and 7. Many variations exist. Lyrics informed by fictionalized accounting of events. Performers…
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Rodney Hargis
Peg and Awl by Carolina Tar Heels [Anthology Revisited - Song 12]
TL;DR -- It's a shoemaking revolution! Lyrics differ from reality. Abnormally configured string ensemble includes previously featured Anthology…
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Rodney Hargis

May 2025

A Lazy Farmer Boy by Buster Carter and Preston Young [Anthology Revisited - Song 11]
TL;DR -- Farmer loses crop, girl won't maintain, courtship ends. Credit kerfuffle causes continual confusion. Significant new information emerges on…
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Rodney Hargis
2
Willie Moore by Dick Burnett and Leonard Rutherford [Anthology Revisited - Song 10]
TL;DR -- Willie and Anna hope to wed. Parents say no. Sorrow ensues. Performers partnership endures despite little recorded evidence. Burnett never…
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Rodney Hargis
1
Who is the greatest singer alive, and why is it Bob Dylan?
The only rock star to get a Nobel Prize wrote some of the best songs in the English language and also happens to be the best singer alive.
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Rodney Hargis
3
Old Shoes and Leggins by Uncle Eck Dunford [Anthology Revisited - Song 9]
TL;DR -- A peculiar man with an odd name sings a weird song about a strange old man with zero game. Artist is related by marriage to other artists on…
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Rodney Hargis
King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O by Chubby Parker and his Old Time Banjo [Anthology Revisited - Song 8]
TL;DR -- A tale of interspecies relations with which many readers have some familiarity. Order of article is different, Uncle Pecos arrives, and Parker…
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Rodney Hargis
The Wagoner's Lad by Buell Kazee [Anthology Revisited - Song 7]
TL;DR -- Young woman tries to get him to stay, but the Wagoner's Lad just wagons away. When is a ballad not a ballad? Song has famous kin. Kazee's…
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Rodney Hargis
On Experiencing Music with a Cochlear Implant (Part One - The Long Hello)
TL;DR -- (1 of 2) My lifelong relationship with music, how this relationship was altered by sudden single-sided hearing loss in adulthood, and then…
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Rodney Hargis
© 2025 R.L. Hargis
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