Talk:I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground

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There is too much unreferrenced speculation about meaning in this article. Can you provide a source? Pustelnik (talk) 02:03, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

The source is "Traditional". I estimate this song to be over 150 years old and has been handed down through musicians and families.

I live in the Western North Carolina Mountains were this song took hold and is traditionally sung. I guess I could throw in things like I live 1.5 miles from Doc Watson and family who are my neighbors and they also sing this song, but I really don't like to play the who knows who game. I sing this song. I learned it from others in the area which I live. It is a "traditional" song. I cannot give you some book reference for my living culture and knowledge. All explanations of any traditional song can be considered speculation. That is the beauty of music. It means many things to many people, especially when you have lyrics that have double meanings.

Whoever deleted the lyrics to this song, this is a known traditional song and the lyrics are not under US copyright as they are over 100 years old and the author is unknown. I know of 3 variation of this traditional song. Bascom Lunsford is but one variation and he placed these songs in the public domain which are listed in the library of congress.

I "speculate" this will be my first and last post. Too much trouble. Too bad for the world, as I have a bunch of Western North Carolina traditional and cultural songs that I wanted to share with the world. I do not have the time to prove to the Wikipedia intelligencia the difference between tradition and speculation and copyright. Tradition is something that is really hard to source and if the source is unknown it is stated it is traditional. All current record companies and musicians list unreferenced songs as "Traditional". It is a well known and legally accepted practice across the world.

ReverendGoob (talk) 19:29, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

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As stated in his own words within his recordings, Mr. Lunsford considered himself an archivist and never took credit for this song or any songs he recorded. He traveled the western mountains of North Carolina and learned this song from the "locals" as it was his goal and passion to archive songs that he heard growing up for historical reference.

When a song is transcribed changes are typically made either intentionally or inadvertently. Sometimes these changes are interpretations by the artist or in this case the archivist and artist. It is well known that Mr. Lunsford was a deeply religious man and he may have had a tendency to "water down" somewhat questionable songs or the person he heard the song from may have changed the lyrics to make it more palatable to a general audience.

Due to the nature of the lyrics, this song may have been considered risqué for it's time. It is unclear if the singer is singing to a female that he loves, singing about his love of drinking, or singing about a prostitute. Tempie or Tempy was a common name in the Western Carolina's which is short for Temperance.

Many metaphors can be drawn from the few the verses of this song as Tempy appears to be a play on words. Temperance means self control as well as to abstain from alcohol. See the history of the Temperance movement.

A mole is considered a lowly blind animal that also has the power to dig itself out of the ground. It could be that the author considers himself at a low point in his life with his drinking habits and was looking for temperance to help him through his time of need. It is apparent that he wants to rise out of the state he is by stating "I'll root that mountain down".

The author appears to be a "bad boy" who is pursuing Temperance (Tempy). He proclaims he was on a bend (a drinking reference)with "rough and rowdy men" and asks where Tempy was. Which means he was drinking alcohol and trying to find temperance to tame his drinking habit. The author appears to be fighting the duality of good and bad--drinking versus his sobriety. He wants Tempy to loosen up and let her "hair hang down", thus his conscious fighting his sobriety.

Continuing with the theme of alcohol use, another reference is made to drinking wine. A lizard in the spring may represent a "dry" period in his life to where he has found temperance and is no longer drinking. He again follows up with the final verse that "I'd root that mountain down". He has hope for his continued sobriety through temperance.

Another metaphor that can be drawn is that a mole is also known as an instrument or person that makes tunnels. The author may have been of working class status creating tunnels for the railroad. Apparently he did not like his employer the "railroad man" who will "kill you when he can and drink your blood like wine". Class structure and dynamics played a great role in the lyrics of songs from this era.

Tempy may have also been a prostitute.

In this time period, when sexual ideas and alcohol use were considered taboo, this would have been a controversial song and definitely not sung at church revivals. Lunsford sings it almost with great sorrow in his voice that is also uplifting at times as it conjures feelings of hope out of despair.

Many of the "old time" songs have double meanings like this. This song is a prime example as many allegories can be derived from its seemingly simple lyrics.

Another archivist, Alan Lomax, transcribed this song using the name Kempy instead of Tempy. This is believed to be in err as Mr. Lomax transcribed what he believed he heard to be correct. Kempy is not a metaphorical term as Tempy would be for this song so Kempy does not really fit the Lyrics of this song unless the author was only singing to his sweetheart. It is hard for a song transcriber, or anyone for that matter, to understand localized dialects when you were not raised in the area in which the song was sung. This leads to transcription errors as can be seen in other songs that Lomax transcribed. This is not uncommon. As with any research (or song), the work is only as good as its source. This section deleted again under Wikipedia songs guidelines: Stick to factual material. Do not include "original research" such as opinions about a song, or interpretations of the lyrics or even statements about what the song is "about", unless they can be provided in the form of quotes that can be cited from sources with some authoritative insight (such as the songwriter or a notable performer). Other websites are available for people who want to give subjective interpretations of songs. Pustelnik (talk) 21:53, 27 September 2008 (UTC)