#20 Out On The Western Plain

Album: Against The Grain, 1975

See Also: Check Shirt Wizard, 2020

There are moments during live shows with a bouncing audience and a raucous band where time seems to stand still and you can hear a pin drop. With Rory, this appeared to be when the rest of the band took a break and out came the acoustic guitar and the audience switched from a frothing mass, to hypnotised mesmerism. A feral monster who could make his Strat wail, he had an altogether different touch on his D35 acoustic.

‘Out On The Western Plain’ first made its appearance in 1975’s Against The Grain. The rest is pretty much history. It’s one of the ultimate Rory performance pieces. Written by Lead Belly in 1943, it has seen many cover versions over the years from John Denver to Van Morrison. I think we can get away with being biased here on favouring Rory’s version!

‘Out On The Western Plain’, also known variously as ‘Out On The Western Plains’, ‘Cow Cow Yikky Yea’ and several other titles depending on who covered it, is one of Lead Belly’s most popular songs. It formed part of a set Moses Asch got Lead Belly to record called Negro Folksongs As Sung By Leadbelly (sic).

Lead Belly, born Huddie William Ledbetter on 23 January 1888 on a plantation near Mooringsport, Louisiana, is arguably the man who gave modern popular music it’s foundation. Just about every major musician cites him as an influence, from George Harrison to George Ezra. Other famous Lead Belly songs include ‘In The Pines’ (covered by Nirvana), ‘Goodnight Irene’ and ‘Boll Weevil’. He covered everything in his music from racism, cotton picking, dancing and notable figures from President Roosevelt to Adolf Hitler (‘Mr Hitler’, 1942)

 His life alone could have made the topic of a classic blues song. By 1902, Lead Belly was already working as a musician and performed around Shreveport, developing his own unique style influenced by what he encountered. However, he was beset by several run-ins with the law, which saw him serve a few sentences in prison. Legend has it that his musical ability got him released from a murder sentence in 1925 when he impressed the Texas Governor Pat Morris Neff! Though some do question the accuracy of that. Folklorist father and son duo John and Alan Lomax found Lead Belly in prison at any rate and their recordings of him promoted his stature as a musician.

 Out of work during the Great Depression of the 1930’s, Lead Belly persuaded John Lomax to employ him as his driver for a period to avoid being returned to prison after early release for not being employed. ‘Legal issues’ aside, Lead Belly had a successful music career, with several recordings, live performances and even a weekly radio show to his name. He died on 6 December 1949 in New York City from ALS or Motor Neurone Disease and laid to rest at Shiloh Baptist Church cemetery in Mooringsport, Louisiana. He is very much worth looking into if you want to find out more.

 During his extensive acoustic set at Rockpalast 1976, Rory describes Lead Belly as ‘King of the 12-string’ in his introduction to ‘Out On The Western Plain’ (see video above), though, as he also adds, he’s going to try it on a six-string ‘with a bit of a Celtic tuning to it – I hope you enjoy this.’ Watching Rory talk and introduce each song on footage of his live shows (yes, the curse of being born too late), it’s as if he’s not quite sure of his ability to deliver the goods musically, befitting his now rather famous quiet nature. 

Of course, he starts playing, the audience are spell-bound and respond with a very enthusiastic applause, which in a nutshell, summarises the effect each time Rory playing ‘Out On The Western Plain’ seems to have had on his audiences. Even Glasgow, reputed for having a difficult crowd to please, and where back in the music hall days, acts who failed to amuse were pelted by rivets from the shipyards, fell under the spell of Rory playing this song.

 Acoustic guitar, being more stripped back, is what is said to really show the calibre of a guitarist. It’s very easy to tell when someone with a basic skill plays, usually sticking to simple chords and strumming. Rory utterly owns the acoustic and ‘Out On The Western Plain’ showcases his playing at it’s very best. A 6-string seems like a basic musical instrument, but in his hands, it becomes so much more. He shows the possibilities. His tuning on ‘Out On The Western Plain’ is apparently influenced by that developed by Martin Carthy, a guitarist Rory greatly admired, notable for working in alternative tunings.

There is a great depth to Rory’s version of ‘Out On The Western Plain’. It doesn’t seem like it’s just one man and his guitar, it sounds like a band, thanks to what seems like more than one sound coming from the guitar at the same time. And it’s something you find yourself going back to again and again because frankly you just can’t get enough from hearing it just once. The song transforms from American folk blues to a Celtic folk classic in a way that only Rory Gallagher can pull off.