His father said son you’ve given in, you know you won your harp
But you lost in sin.
Do you ever play an album and skip a certain song to get to the next? When I first got the album Stage Fright I remember the order was The Shape I’m In, The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show, Daniel and the Scared Harp, and then the title song which I loved (I can’t remember yesterday but I can remember the order of songs from the 1980s when I got the album). I would skip this one like an idiot…which yes I was. Later on, I played it through…and fell head over heels in love with this song. It has become my favorite on the album.
What a beautiful song from The Band on their Stage Fright album. It’s one of the most fascinating songs they ever did. It’s fast becoming a favorite of mine by them. Robbie Robertson’s songwriting in this is incredible.
This story song is close to Robert Johnson‘s story of selling his soul to the devil to be able to play like he did. It’s a song based on the Faust story. I always enjoyed stories about selling your soul for an item or an ability. In movies also…like The Devil and Daniel Webster. If you are wondering what the Faust story is…here is a brief definition I found: a German necromancer or astrologer who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power.
Also, I must add…Sacred harp music is a religious folk music named for Benjamin Franklin White’s The Sacred Harp (1844) using four-shape shape note notation… Its old-time spirituals are sung a cappella… the “sacred harp” is the human voice singing hymns to God.
Robbie seemed to be going for an Appalachian sound in this song and succeeded. He also made it sound biblical against the backdrop of the American South long ago.
Robbie used the words ‘sacred harp’ but this harp is a physical one. What kind of harp is it? To blues players, it’s a mouth harp or harmonica. Could it be a harp as the kind angels play? The song’s vocals are shared between Levon Helm and Richard Manuel. Manuel sings the part of “Daniel” in this song and Levon is the narrator of the story.
The end of the song is chilling. He played out his heart just the time to pass
But as he looked to the ground, he noticed no shadow did he cast. The Band never played Daniel and the Sacred Harp live.
Stage Fright peaked at #5 on the Billboard Album Charts, #6 in Canada, and #15 in the UK in 1970. The album has some of my favorite songs by the Band on it. The Shape I’m In, Stage Fright, The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show, and this one.
Robbie Robertson: I was so obsessed that I was stealing everything in sight. From Fred Carter, Roy Buchanan, the Howlin’ Wolf records. I came a long way in a short time, and people used to kid me, saying, “What is it with this guy? Did he sell his soul?”
Robbie Robertson: Roy Buchanan was only three or four years older than me, but he’d been around quite a bit for his age. He told me a lot of stories, crazy stories about how he was half-wolf, half man. They were like the stories you heard about Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil. We know these are just silly stories, but at the same time they’re fascinating American mythology. Like we’d be sitting in a room playing together and I’d ask Buchanan how he’d figured out some lick and he’d say, “Well, I can’t really tell you,” clearly implying that he, too, had made some sort of pact. Years later, it became obvious he was playing a game with me.
An alternate take…
Daniel And The Sacred Harp
Daniel, Daniel and the sacred harp
Dancing through the clover
Daniel, Daniel would you mind
If I look it over
I heard of this famous harp years ago back in my hometown
But I sure never thought old Daniel be the one to come and bring it around
Tell me Daniel how the harp came into your possession
Are you one of the chosen few who will march in the procession?
And Daniel said
The sacred harp was handed down, from father unto son
And me not being related, I could never be the one
So I saved up all my silver and took it to a man
Who said he could deliver the harp, straight into my hand
Three years I waited patiently
‘Till he returned with the harp from the sea of Galilee
He said there is one more thing I must ask
But not of personal greed
But I wouldn’t listen I just grabbed the harp
And said take what you may need
Now Daniel looked quite satisfied, and the harp it seemed to glow
But the price that Daniel had really paid, he did not even know
Back to his brother he took his troubled mind
And he said dear brother I’m in a bind
But the brother would not hear his tale
He said Old Daniel’s gonna land in jail
So to his father Daniel did run
And he said oh father what have I done
His father said son you’ve given in, you know you won your harp
But you lost in sin.
Then Daniel took the harp and went high on the hill
And he blew across the meadow like a whippoorwill
He played out his heart just the time to pass
But as he looked to the ground, he noticed no shadow did he cast
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 
I’m in the skip over this song category. I really never gave it a good listen. That’s a great tie in with the Robert Johnson song. Always love those stories from songwriters who take these bits and pieces and create such amazing songs. I won’t lie skipping this song going forward!
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I bought some records that I considered the whole album being one huge skipper Max. lol
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LOL…but The Band I shouldn’t have skipped one! I should have known better!
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This post would have worked perfect for the Song Lyric Sunday theme today.
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Ah jeez…your ONJ post was the last one I saw last night before I went to sleep. I do have Dec 31 scheduled and ready…I’ll see if I can get one when I get back on the 17th.
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Yep, I know what you mean – I’ve done that with albums too, buy it, listen to it once through maybe and then skip over a number of tracks and then, years later realize one or two of those songs are aces. This one, I’ve only heard maybe three times ever , so I should listen to it a bit more! It’s a good one. Any reason they never played it live that you know of?
PS- does that wrap up Power Pop for a couple of weeks?
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I’ve never found a reason for the reason Dave. I wrote this two months ago and had the RJ post ready to go with it…
Yes…I’ll will post a “I’ll be back soon” post tomorrow and then return on the 17th. I need a break. I’m sending the Stones thing today.
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Great song, Max, which is completely new to me. I think most of us skip tracks when listening to albums – at least I oftentimes do that. I feel with CDs or streaming music that practice has only increased. With vinyl it was a bit “more complicated” to skip songs.
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I do think it’s a song worthy of being heard. The writing is so damn strong in it. It’s one of my most favorite written songs by Robertson. It’s not played at parties lol….but it’s a good one.
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I guess it’s a good illustration how skipping songs can make you miss out on decent music!
When I listen to music, frequently, I kind of feel pressed for for time. Or there’s another artist or band I have on my mind “I want to get to.” And it’s all enabled by easy access that’s only a click away.
Of course, at the end of the day, I only have myself to blame myself, not technology. I know this may sound crazy, sometimes, I literally have to force myself to focus on an album/artist before moving on to other music.
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Yes that is me also…surpise! You can miss out on some great songs that way. In this day and time it’s easier to do than when I originally done it. I was a carefree kid who had all the time in the world but no patience… now it’s the opposite. I have pateince but I don’t have the time I once did.
I found this by not getting my lazy self up to skip it again…it took 3 or 4 listens to know…shit…I made a stupid mistake. This is great.
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Yep, back in the old days it was ‘lift your ass out of the chair, lift that record arm, hover it over the tiny gap before the track you want, steady the hand, hope like Hell you don’t bounce the arm and scratch your fave track.’ Now it’s all done with a finger flip or the blip of a remote.
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Oh totally different thing now…it’s too easy lol.
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You’re 100% correct, and I guess all too often, I fall right into the trap!
Not only did you have to walk to your turntable, you also had to be careful not to accidentally scratch the record while lifting and moving that turntable arm! That provided a good disincentive to go song hopping/ skipping! 🙂
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‘I can’t remember yesterday” thats me. Im an album guy and most the ones I have are like ‘Stage Fright’. Put the needle down and soak up the music. If CB paid as much attention at school as he did listening to albums he’d be a Rocket Scientist. or a Double Knot Spy. Listening to cut reminds me how much a part of my music stash these guys are. That rusty violin gets me every time.
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You gave me a laugh for today dude! After I finally did listen…this one has stuck with me.
I wrote this up a couple of months ago and the Johnson one in the same night…but like I told you…I like to spread artists out so I wanted to get this out with Johnson together because of the small connection between them. Some breathtaking lyrics by Robertson.
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Another one of those spiritually bent songs that grab us. Yes Robertson could catch magic.
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I have this album (an actual LP) but haven’t listened to it enough to pay notice to this song. You’re right, it’s surrounded by the hits so it got overlooked. Happy you featured it today and included all of the threads connected to it. I know of the phenomena of the sacred harp but didn’t know, “the “sacred harp” is the human voice singing hymns to God.”
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Are the lyrics poetry to you? You know I don’t know that much about it…I mean deep anyway…but they say so much and it hit me hard. I like the parallel to Robert Johnson in there. I didn’t know that either about the scared harp…when I looked that term up I was knocked out.
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I see them more as storytelling. That last line though, yes. I like how Levon and Richard alternate singing. I think Aretha Franklin tuned up her voice with the sacred harp and that’s why she was so good when she got to the non-God songs.
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Yes I agree with the Aretha Part…I like how Levon was the narrator and Richard was Daniel…and Richard was very close to that part in real life.
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The Band were brilliant, period.
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