Up On Cripple Creek

I see a lot of discussion of origins and influences here. The fact of the matter is that it really doesn't matter what the nationality of the members is. If you read or listen to interviews the group they all mentioned heavy influence from Southern bluesmen folk music, in much the same way that many of the popular UK bands of the era were influenced (Cream, the Rolling Stones, etc.). When Robbie Robertson came to the states one of his first jobs was as a guitarist for Ronnie Hawkins play hardcore Rockabilly and electrified Blues and he incorporated this into much of his writing. I think the only thing that Levon's nationality lends to it all is a bit of credence and legitimacy for certain songs (not the least of which being The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down).

What sets the group, as a whole, apart from many others though is that they repeatedly defy quantification. It's virtually impossible to tie down their music, or even individual songs, to any one genre of school of influence. Cripple Creek, for example, is essentially a folk song bordering on bluegrass- Flatt and Scruggs could easily pick this on banjo and six-string and it would be wonderful. The lyrics are very much in that vein- they're pretty straight forward in the story, littered with colloquialisms, and on the whole very simple (ie. the singer is a traveling man- probably a salesman, trucker, riverboat man- who is an alcoholic and who has a definite contempt for the hectic world around him. His solace comes in the form of a Louisiana woman he befriended- Bessie). What makes the song more difficult to define is the mishmash of styles that come into play during the orchestration. You have Robertson and Danko playing a very folksy/river music rhythm, Manuel's piano is definitely blues, and Helm adds a a very interesting back beat that he believed made it more "danceable". The real monkey wrench in the idea of "theory", though, comes from Hudson and his Clavinet. He mainly plays it in verses and it adds this very odd funky feel to the music that most people would identify more with, say, the work of Stevie Wonder several years later. For the choruses he shifts to the mellow organ- not dressed up, just steady and cool, which offers a reprieve and a sense of serenity (which is appropriate based on the lyrics). So, the bottom line is you have a Southern folk song fused with Motown/Funk, and a groovy (there really is no other word for it) beat. The bottom line of this being that, regardless of their influences, the Band encompassed the entirety of the American music experience, and probably more so than any other group. Not only did they refuse to stick to a single genre on the whole, they would often change styles in the middle of a single song. I think this is what allowed them to be so endearingly popular with people from all cultures and genres. Even Roger Waters from Pink Floyd has been quoted as saying that during the Post-Barrett, Pre-Dark Side period one of the albums played most while the band was at work was Music from Big Pink.

I suppose this ended up being a bit off topic and for that I apologize- and no, I'm not entirely sure what the doughnut line means, but I prefer not to dissect it too much.

This song reminds me of summer...it's just a great feel-good kind of song.

Great tune. I've got a copy of the original vinyl 45 RPM release. When it comes to meaning, I think the lyrics speak for themselves. I saw The Band perform live once, and their musicianship was awesome! Listening to this particular tune, nobody would ever believe that The Band is four-fifths Canadian (only Levon Helm is American). Their cultural connection to the U.S. is through Louisiana for, you see, many French Canadians were deported south to Louisiana in the 1760's when the British captured Nova Scotia. In Canada they were known as "Acadians", whereas today in the south they're now known as "Cajuns". This is the cultural heart of the music of The Band, and it really comes out in this track, particularily in the yodelling at the end of the chorus. Long live Dixie!

kind of like "black water" by the doobie brothers. kinda southern rock. AWESOME!!

I find this interesting because I'm from Lake Charles, Louisiana. Comments by "RayMan" attempt to explain the connections between this Canadian band and Louisiana, but they are merely conjectural at best. It is true that the Louisiana Cajuns are decendants of Canadian Nova Scotians, but these aren't the people in Lake Charles! Lake Charles is in extreme southwest Louisiana; it's more Texan than Cajun! The most of the state's Cajuns live in Acadiana, an area centered around the city of Lafayette, an area in the Southcentral portion of the state. If someone was seeking Cajun heritage, they shouldn't look for it in Lake Charles any more then they should in Houston! The second problem with RayMan's explaination comes from his comments on the yodelling. Put simply, Cajuns don't yodel. I am a fan of Cajun & Zydeco music and I have never heard yodelling from a Louisiana band. Yodelling comes from the Alpine folk music. In American music, it has been incorporated into some Country and Bluegrass, but these are completely different genres compared to Cajun & Zydeco. Though some Canadians may yodal, this is completely disjointed from Louisiana music.

Gotta say the Last Waltz version is easily my favorite...really up-tempo and amazing vocals.

P.S. The Band's southern influences mostly emanate from Levon Helm (the drummer whose voice is incredible -- sings on this song actually). He's the only member of the Band actually from the south. The rest are from Canada, though they were all incredibly interested in exploring the rural south sounds/vibes in their music.

Wow this is a great song I am surprised there aren't more comments. This song always put me in a good mood and makes me crack up.

Does anyone know the meaning of the line "Now there's one thing in the whole wide world, I sure would like to see, that's when that little love of mine, dips her doughnut in my tea". Does he mean he likes it because she bends over and he can see her cleavage?

great song, im a simple man, my family is from missoura and this warms my heart to hear this song. cumon peopl POST MORE COMMENTS!

Some people have given this a lot of thought:

theband.hiof.no/articles/

It's just a great song! They never make sense. If they did, they'd be boring.

The Band should be listed as one of the ten, maybe five greatest musical groups of all time. If you don't like their music, fine. If you don't think they're music is exceptionally great, you are crazy.