Companions in B.C. folk music
British Columbia’s Songs of the Southern Interior
by Jon Bartlett
Vancouver: Vancouver Folk Song Society, 2024
$20.00 / 9780987725523
Reviewed by Wayne Norton
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Whenever the topic of folk music is introduced, most Canadian minds turn immediately to the national pantheon of Joni, Gordon, Neil, and Leonard. Author Jon Bartlett may be interested in these icons as well, but two recent publications from the Vancouver Folk Song Society clearly indicate his deeper interests are centred upon traditional, non-commercial music.
The first publication, Phil Thomas & The Songs of British Columbia (Vancouver Folk Song Society, 2019), is a heartfelt tribute to an icon of British Columbia folk music. Phillip J. Thomas was a public-school art and music teacher, often honoured with awards in his chosen profession and in the realms of heritage and folk music. The Vancouver Folk Song Society—soon approaching the 65th anniversary of the founding of its antecedent Vancouver Folk Song Circle—was born of his enthusiasm.
Bartlett, now nearly half a century ago, was the student hired to organise and index the collection of notes, notebooks and tapes of various speeds Thomas had gathered on journeys throughout the province over two decades. Thomas searched for songs and verses locally made and recalled by individuals he sought to meet on his travels. As student, Bartlett succeeded where three predecessors had failed, and the Provincial Archives of British Columbia welcomed nearly 20 hours of taped material. As author, Bartlett recounts that experience, details dates and destinations of every trip Thomas took, and every significant song collected on those trips. He describes the process and effort that went into producing both editions of Thomas’s book. The Songs of British Columbia, praises its achievement and also addresses the criticisms the book received.
The history of the archival collection and the published book is fully described. The biographical details of Thomas’s life and song-searching efforts are also clearly outlined. Bartlett identifies the work of folklorists Francis Child, Alan Lomax, Ewan MacColl, Canadian Edith Fowkes and others as important influences motivating the young Phil Thomas to pursue a similar path in British Columbia. For Bartlett’s specialist readers, mere mention of Child and Lomax will provide that context. For general readers, more fulsome descriptions of the nature of the work done by these folk music historians would have been helpful and provided even more insight into the remarkable travels and travails undertaken by Thomas.
The movement to preserve songs and verses in their specific, local context is the tradition within which Thomas legitimately belongs and it is where Bartlett firmly places him. Fundamentally, Bartlett has provided a testament to the continuing influence of Phil Thomas, his persistence and determination, and the profound respect which his work still commands.
The second publication, British Columbia’s Songs of the Southern Interior (Vancouver Folk Song Society, forthcoming), has Bartlett following in the footsteps of his mentor. The journey shows what time-consuming and labour-intensive efforts are required for such a venture. Bartlett describes his new book as “a companion” to the Thomas memoir. He has followed the pattern established by Thomas by travelling widely and actively seeking material “made by ordinary people, in ordinary language, for pleasure and not for profit.” He has also significantly expanded the task through an exhaustive and productive search of early editions of the Similkameen Star.
The introductory chapter offers an overview of the content and context of the songs Bartlett was seeking. It is obvious he knew very well before he began how difficult it is to delve into the history of ordinary people. As he says: “It is easier to discover what King John did on a given day in 1205 than what a Princeton miner did on a 1905 evening.” Essentially, he has set himself the challenge of trying to find out what occupied that Princeton miner on such evenings and what he did during his working days. The evidence he gathered is presented in the songs and verses he offers as the fruits of his research. Collectively, the songs and verses provide significant insights into the lives of workingmen engaged in British Columbia’s foundational industries, especially of those employed in mining and logging. (Bartlett acknowledges and regrets not having come across comparable material created by working-class women).
Many of the verses naturally use then-current language particular to the industries where the songwriters found employment. Bartlett consistently makes the songs accessible to modern readers by including definitions where needed. Terms such as mucking, stoper, pulling the pin, nail keg and tongman will not readily be found in computer searches! While such language may add colour to the songs, it is the profound sense of risk with little reward the verses convey that provides historical insight into the lives of workers in pioneer industries.
The songs culled from travels and research are all presented here as examples of vernacular verse, a term Bartlett defined in his introductory chapter. He explains that vernacular songs “were made by ordinary people, in ordinary language, for pleasure and not for profit.” Seen as “high art,” Chaucer’s vernacular verses clearly are excluded from the category, while Gordon Lightfoot’s “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” is not regarded as vernacular because it is written in” poetic language.” Vernacular verse, on the other hand, is “down-to-earth, quotidian and unmediated by some outside authority.”
He notes that the music employed to turn vernacular verse into songs was very often the familiar, popular tunes of the day. The Dumbells and other comedy troupes used music hall melodies for their irreverent verses introduced during WWI concert parties, while Canadian servicemen of WWII relied heavily on popular melodies of the war years to support their lyrics. Similarly, the Industrial Workers of the World drew on familiar tunes to convey revolutionary messages. Even the iconic labour hero Joe Hill set most of his verses to popular melodies. (Inquisitive readers can explore Jason Wilson’s Soldiers of Song for the Dumbells et.al., Anthony Hopkins’ Songs from the Front & Rear for soldier songs of WWII, and the IWW’s Songs of the Workers for revolutionary anthems.)
In the same vein, roughly half of the 28 verses collected by Bartlett were set to known melodies. For example, “Where the Lardeau River Flows” by Kaslo resident George Lindsay traces its origins to the sentimental music hall hit, “Where the Shannon River Flows.” Music notations to accompany the songs and verses are not provided, perhaps on the assumption everyone must be familiar with the old chestnuts like “The Old Oaken Bucket” and “Casey Jones,” or perhaps knowing curious readers have YouTube readily to hand. Instead, Bartlett directs readers requiring melodies to either to the Phil Thomas collection at the Sound Archives of the Royal British Columbia Museum or to recordings he has made with Rika Ruebsaat.
While most simply admire an interesting verse, theoretical aspects in music are always of interest to some. In the heady days of the folk revival of the early 1960s, Edith Fowkes wrote about British broadsides in the journal published by the Toronto Guild of Canadian Folk Artists. She insisted only those broadsides “that passed into oral tradition” once “folk exercised their power of selection” could be considered folk songs (Hoot, No.3, p.10). In other words, folk songs acquired their pedigree only through a combination of origin and staying power. In the realm of theory, that definition of a “folk song” certainly generated debate and disagreement.
Bartlett engages with that debate when he insists the term “folk music” is nothing more now than “a commercial category.” He is certainly not unique amongst folklorists in taking that stance. The “vernacular verse” he sets as the subject of his searches and travels also has its theoretical aspects. Some may raise questions along those lines, but all music genres generate academic debates. Bob Dylan’s electrified performance at Newport in 1965 can spark animated discussion even today. Arguments notwithstanding, it is enjoyment of the music that matters most. In his obituary appearing in The Times (24 July 2024), blues legend John Mayall is quoted as once having said, “To be honest, I don’t think anyone knows exactly what the blues is. I just can’t stop playing it.” Jon Bartlett will want to change a word or two of that, but he will likely share its perspective and sentiment.
In a thematic sense, both publications reviewed here are testaments to the work of Phil Thomas, acknowledging the premier status he occupies in the history of folk music in British Columbia. More specifically, British Columbia’s Songs of the Southern Interior testifies to the work of Jon Bartlett and the comparable status he has achieved. The applause he deserves for this publication will come not only from folklorists. Before the history of ordinary working people can be preserved, it must be retrieved. Historians aware of the effort both retrieval and preservation of “history from below” require will have some inkling of how many hours Bartlett has devoted to those tasks. He can be assured his readers will all share a profound appreciation of the results of his labours.
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Wayne Norton is a writer, publisher, and historical consultant. For many years he was a teacher in Fort Rupert, Kamloops, and England. He has written extensively on a variety of topics including music of the First World War, the history of women’s ice hockey, prairie settlement, public health, and the local histories of Kamloops and Fernie. He was a research consultant for the Indian Residential School Process and has published articles in The Ormsby Review, British Columbia History, BC Studies, The Globe and Mail, and The Vancouver Sun. He is the author of two Caitlin Press titles, Beneath the Coal Dust (2022) and Fernie at War (2017), and has received the Community History award from the British Columbia Historical Federation. Wayne lives in Victoria. [Editor’s Note: Wayne Norton has reviewed books by the late Ron Hatch and Alan Livingstone MacLeod for The British Columbia Review.]
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The British Columbia Review
Interim Editors, 2023-25: Trevor Marc Hughes (non-fiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction)
Publisher: Richard Mackie
Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an on-line book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.
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