Lomax-a-Day, Day 20

Sometimes the hardest part of learning Lomax's version of a folk song is learning to forget the version I'm familiar with. I've heard plenty of versions of "Jesse James," most recently and most indelibly on Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions. The version printed in Folk Songs of North America follows roughly the same chord pattern, but the melodic movement is markedly different. As I stumble through this recording, know that it's not musical incompetence, but opposing melodies beating each other out of my mouth.