King Harvest (Has Surely Come)
| "King Harvest" | |
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| Song |
"King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" is a song by The Band which originally appeared as the final track on their second album, The Band.
The song is credited solely to Robbie Robertson, although Levon Helm claims that "King Harvest" was a group effort.[1] It is sung in first person from the point of view of an unnamed, poverty-stricken farmer who, with increasing desperation, details the misfortune which has befallen him: there was no rain and his crops died, his barn burned down, he has ended up on skid row. A labor union organizer appears, promising to improve things, and the narrator tells his new associates "I'm a union man, now, all the way", but, perhaps ashamed of his station, begs them "just don't judge me by my shoes." The events depicted in the song are most likely a reference to the organizing drives of the Trade Union Unity League which created share-cropper unions from 1928-1935, throughout the U.S. South.
Noted rock critic Greil Marcus called it "The Band's song of blasted country hopes" and suggested that "King Harvest" might be Robertson's finest song, and the best example of the group's approach to songwriting and performing.[2]
The song's structure is unusual: the verses, sung by Band vocalist Richard Manuel are energetic, while the choruses (sung by Manuel and Levon Helm) are more subdued, in contrast to typical song structure, possibly reflecting the desperate if unsure hope the protagonist holds in the union. [3]
Personnel
- Rick Danko- bass guitar, backing vocal
- Levon Helm- drums, backing vocal
- Garth Hudson- Lowrey organ
- Richard Manuel- lead vocal
- Robbie Robertson- electric guitar
- John Simon- Wurlitzer electric piano through "black box"
References
- ^ Levon Helm and Stephen Davis. This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band
- ^ Marcus, Greil (1997). Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll (fourth edition). Plume. pp. 55, 56. ISBN 978-0-452-27836-3.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Bowman, Rob, The Band, To Kingdom Come (liner notes), 1989
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