Back in 2017, we interviewed Jake Xerxes Fussell, it was just prior to him performing with guitar player Daniel Bachman at an art gallery and studio space in the heart of Bristol that Glenn Johnson caught up with him. The title used for that interview ‘modern folk forager’ seemed more appropriate than folklorist…”Well I did Southern Studies, which I guess is a sub-set of Cultural Studies, and folklore is a part of that, but I wouldn’t consider myself a folklorist as such.”
That may be so, but Jake does turn up some fine songs as he demonstrates on his latest: ‘Hills of Mexico’. This is a traditional 19th c. ballad about going to Mexico to work the cattle drive, and the hardships and insecurity of underemployment and migrant work. These cattle drives were a major economic activity. The Spaniards established the ranching industry in the New World, and began driving herds northward from Mexico as early as the 1540s. These drives weren’t without challenges, especially during the peak of the cattle drives (around the 1860s) when crossing farm settlements resulted in trample crops and increased the risk transmiting cattle fever to local cattle. A typical drive around this time would be 1,500–2,500 head of cattle, led by a boss and ten to fifteen hands travelling 12-15 miles a day – the famous Chisholm Trail was 520 miles long and the workers could expect $40 a month, paid when the herd were sold.
Jake Xerxes Fussell on Hills of Mexico
“Hills of Mexico” is one of many narrative ballads where the singer-narrator is approached by a stranger in transit with a business proposition that turns out to be not so great for singer-narrator. Many of the European ballads of this kind deal with highwaymen and their exploits, mostly in the 17th and 18th centuries. In this particular (19th century) instance the proposition entails going to Mexico to work the cattle drive. Many regional variants from this family, alternately known as “The Trail of the Buffalo,” have been sung in a variety of musical contexts and communities. My version borrows heavily from Roscoe Holcomb’s narrative, which is mysterious in that it omits the Mexico part itself almost entirely.
On the single is joined by Casey Toll on bass, Nathan Bowles on drums and Libby Rodenbough on violin.
The artwork for the single shows a steamboat, a glazed ceramic by Kevin McNamee-Tweed.
Photo Credit: Brad Bunyea