By definition a songster is a traveling musician which in a way goes hand in hand with folk music. The way folk music became such a powerful staple in the U.S. was through its ability to travel and resonate throughout towns and those that neighbored them.
For this week I focused my piece around "Fishin' Blues" by Taj Mahal. I gravitated towards this song because it somehow seemed simple and honest, with a blues and folk sound. After reading about Taj Mahal the honesty in this song made sense. Mahal grew up in a musical family, both his father and mother had music in their daily life. Taj Mahal also experienced the tragic death of his father when he was eleven, thus rendering a different perspective and grasp on life than most kids. Taj Mahal in the most fundamental sense is the poster boy of what songster means. His parents instilled pride and knowledge about his West Indian and South African history thus propagating a sense of distance and displacement. Moreover, I was surprised to read that Taj Mahal was really into farming and for a while he chose it over music. His life felt very circular when I read about his philosophy towards farming, "You have a whole generation of kids who think everything comes out of a box and a can, and they don't know you can grow most of your food." This quote particularly resonates with "Fishin' Blues" because it is about having good bait in order to capture fish. Nothing too complex. After farming for a couple of years he went back to college to study music and formed band.
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