Everyone knows this song, but few have sculpted it into a dusty, lonesome tune quite like Bror Gunnar Jansson. On the heels of last year’s excellent They Found My Body in a Bag, the Swedish musician spins his own delicate yarn with a song that dates back beyond the Civil War, also making sure to do his research surrounding the song’s murky beginning.
Jansson’s humid, reedy timbre is unmistakable, especially surrounded with such a barebones arrangement. “Where do you come from / Where do you go / Where do you come from, Cotton Eyed Joe,” his warbles are tender but penetrating. Jansson’s performance runs solemn, heartfelt, and weepy – you likely won’t forget it.
Listen to “The Cotton-Eyed Joe” below.