A Trunk Full of Sorrow - A Perspective

This is a song analysis essay written about the song "Man of Constant Sorrow", as performed in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou.

   The music of Appalachia, sometimes referred to as “old-time” music, is a looking glass in which the lifestyles and passions of the people living here can be viewed. As I have grown older, I have developed a great appreciation for the cultural insight this music genre provides. One song in particular, conjures up images of a broken heart and an unbroken spirit. The surreal harmonies of the song “Man of Constant Sorrow” have been performed by many different bluegrass artists. Groups such as Blue Highway and Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys have produced stunning recordings of this song. The version sung by Union Station’s Dan Tyminski, Nashville songwriter Harley Allen, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band’s Pat Enright, (Their characters were depicted by the fictional music group The Soggy Bottom Boys.) on the movie soundtrack from “O Brother, Where Art Thou” is especially soulful. This particular rendition is my favorite old-time bluegrass song because I enjoy with the blood-stirring sorrow articulated through the harmony, I identify with the writer in the way he expresses his love, and I understand the way he lives his faith.

 

     The reverberating tones of the flat top guitar punctuate the harmony of three voices which echo sounds of sorrow; the beat keeps time with a rhythm that churns like a fifty-ton locomotive barreling down Clinch Mountain. The echoing accompaniment reinforces the poignant message driven home in this song. I can relate to the feeling of running from my past like a prisoner fleeing the baying hounds of justice. The opening lines of the song - “I've seen trouble all my day. I bid farewell to old Kentucky, the place where I was born and raised.” (2, 3, 4) – bring to mind a tumultuous time in my life. My childhood was spent fleeing the troubles of my parent’s broken marriage; I was constantly seeking the attention of some paternal figure. The artist says, “I've seen trouble all my day” (2). Those words compel me to believe that most of his trouble wasn’t of his own creation; he has fallen victim to a series of disastrous circumstances. My soul hangs upon the words of the next stanza: “No pleasures here on earth I found - For in this world I'm bound to ramble” (7, 8). My ramblings are not from one physical destination to another. I find that my soul rambles on, searching for something which cannot be found- happiness stemming from earthly pleasures. I feel the sorrow; my spirit is cut to the bone by the harmony, which also serves as a salve for the wound.

 

     The writer seems to say that his lover can kiss him farewell at the depot, but she will not be getting on the train, when he sings: “It's fare thee well my old lover. I never expect to see you again. For I'm bound to ride that northern railroad” (11, 12, 13). I know the man in this song; we are forged from the same metal. He and I have discovered that a wall makes a poor lover but a perfect travel companion. I cannot allow anyone to get close to me and neither can this man; we have built a wall around us using bricks that were cut from failed relationships and the mortar from a thousand wrong doings. He and I are condemned to a past and a future that will not change. We show our love by the way we refuse to allow someone to be condemned to our common fate. Both his lover and my wife would recognize our collective destinies; they have been standing on the other side of that wall for years waving, weeping, and pleading. Ultimately, he and I know that we are going to be the only ones that will carry our baggage on this journey. No one will be able to open that steamer trunk of sorrow but ourselves; we are men of constant sorrow indeed.

 

     This song ends in the only way that is conscionable. Our lonely, wandering, and empty souls anticipate death, but we are looking forward to a future of happiness and peace. The poetic functionality of this song extends far beyond the lyrical qualities that are expressed within the measures; the undying and undeniable faith of the writer is shown in the last stanza. He crystallizes my thoughts by completing this journey at life’s final station – the grave. I will carry my sorrow to the grave and I cannot let anyone help me drag that burden to the headstone. The character’s internal strength is captured by the closing stanza’s sentiment: “But there is one promise that is given, I'll meet you on God's golden shore” (23, 24). The final thought in this song contains the total sum of my strength, comfort, and identity. There are two keys that unlock the steamer trunk that contains all the baggage of my life. One key rests on a chain about my neck and lies close to my heart; the other key is held in the hand of God the Father. For both the writer of this song and me, the end of the line holds the only promise for life’s pleasures.

 

     Man of Constant Sorrow is much more than a song to me. The words are a statement of my existence and an assessment of the path I have traveled. I suppose my love for this song might well be considered therapy, a sort of bluegrass version of Chicken Soup for the Soul. When I hear that unmistakable guitar rhythm and the sorrowful harmony contained within those verses, I look towards the heavens and take a deep breath; I know that I am shaking hands and riding shotgun with an old friend on a northbound train.

Works Cited

Tyminski, Allen, Enright. Arrangement by Carter Stanley. “Man of Constant Sorrow.” O Brother Where Art Thou? (sound track). Mercury Records, December 2000
 

Man of Constant Sorrow

 

1.       I am a man of constant sorrow, 

2.       I've seen trouble all my day. 

3.      I bid farewell to old Kentucky, 

4.      The place where I was born and raised.

5.      (The place where he was born and raised )

 

6.       For six long years I've been in trouble,

7.       No pleasures here on earth I found.

8.       For in this world I'm bound to ramble,

9.       I have no friends to help me now.

10.   (He has no friends to help him now.)

 

11.    It's fare thee well my old lover

12.    I never expect to see you again.

13.    For I'm bound to ride that northern railroad,

14.    Perhaps I'll die upon this train.

15.    (Perhaps he'll die upon this train.)

 

16.    You can bury me in some deep valley

17.    For many years where I may lay.

18.    Then you may learn to love another,

19.    While I am sleeping in my grave

20.    (While he is sleeping in his grave.)

 

21.     Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger

22.     My face, you'll never see no more

23.     But there is one promise that is given

24.     I'll meet you on God's golden shore.

25.     (He'll meet you on God's golden shore.)

 

Reviews

[Andrew S. Loveland]

A wonderful piece of writing.

'... a wall makes a poor lover but a perfect travel companion.'

So much to admire here, but suffice to say that you have acheived that, which all writers must attempt... to force the reader to stop. Be it mid-sentence, mid-paragraph, mid-life. And to re-evaluate something pertaining to his or her own actions.

Congratulations.

[HoorayForUnderdog]

I will agree with you that this song is haunting. Your analysis of the lyrics is exceptional.

[David Lewis Paget]

A fascinating perspective, where you look at your own life through the words of a song, and find a deeper meaning there. There is something in music, as in poetry, that the soul relates to. It enables us to delve inside, into the very core of our being, and sometimes it will provide answers to our most troublesome questions. This song has certainly done that for you, Todd.

[Lady Raven Spirit]

This is startling, poignant and beautiful and agonizingly painful. You have written such a very fine piece. It is good to return here to read something so meaningful, authentic......straight from your essence.

[Mark D. Chevalier]

This perspective is etched with emotion and deep-seeded meaning. I can't say that I've heard the song, but you have in a curious position where I must look it up.

I often find meaning in songs, as I'm sure many of us do. Things that connect with us on a level that gives us some attachment to life, and makes us feel our pain even more vividly.

I think for me this verse, having come from an abusive family, spoke volumes...

"we have built a wall around us using bricks that were cut from failed relationships and the mortar from a thousand wrong doings. He and I are condemned to a past and a future that will not change. We show our love by the way we refuse to allow someone to be condemned to our common fate."

I can't tell you how long in my life that was true and it brought tears to my eyes. Because when you feel like the damned, what do you really have to share with anyone else? So in turn you spend a lot of energy and time pushing everyone and everything away.

I can't say that I'm fully past it, but I did get through it enough to keep on going through this storm called life.

You showed me something here, something I really never gave consideration. You showed me that an essay in this form can be a powerful tool, taken out of the realm of stories and fiction. And you've given me pause, a reason to stop and take stock of the past.

Brilliant writing my friend! Be well and be safe, and may the sun always be at your back.
Mark

[Rick Puetter]

Man, Todd, that was beautiful.

This is where your writing shines. You need a deep topic. When you get one your words can wail. This is so full of honest and heart-felt emotion that you can cut it with a knife. This is probably one of your very best works, if not the best. It is extremely powerful.

Kudos. Highest marks. This equals anything I have read on WritersCafe.

Very kind regards and congratulations on a masterful piece.

Rick

[Jeanne Broome]

I want to acknowledge that I have come and have read your ..."song analysis essay written about the song "Man of Constant Sorrow", as performed in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou.

I have much to think about this and more to say. However it is late and I need to come back at another time.
Brady is still not well and my need further surgery in 6 months or so if this problem doesn't clear up according to the doctors. Thank you for asking CT. Sorry it took so long getting back to you and your kind inquiry of his condition.God Bless ~Jeanne