The Band song that Robbie Robertson was “surprised” he wrote
Who knows where art comes from? To some, it comes from above as a gift from God. In ancient Greek times, they believed in muses that whispered ideas and inspirations into the ears of chosen ones. For more practical thinkers, creativity is a muscle to train and exercise, allowing for artistry to take place. We could philosophise and contemplate the possibilities forever and still not have an answer. Robbie Robertson certainly didn’t, as he admitted to being taken by surprise by one song.
Different artists draw inspiration from various sources, each with their own unique process. Some creatives exclusively draw from personal experiences, using their thoughts, emotions, or surroundings as material for their songs. Others believe an artist’s responsibility is to chronicle the events of the world, focusing on political or social messages. For Robertson, and many like him, the primary interest lay in the art of storytelling.
More so than a rocker or an artist, he wanted to be a storyteller, using his songs to craft narratives and take listeners on a journey through a certain scene or plot. In ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’, he tells the tale of a poor white southerner during the last year of the American Civil War. ‘The WS Walcott Medicine Show’ harks back to the time of travelling salesmen and medicine shows. ‘Rag Mama Rag’ is packed full of characters for a country-bumpkin-type tune.
In the world of The Band, their songs were always imaginative and characterful as Robertson was inspired solely by the craft of storytelling. “I don’t really write songs with anything other than just a storytelling sense,” he said. But even still, creativity is a mystery to him as sometimes these stories appeared out of nowhere with no clear spark or inspiration as clues about why they were formed.
‘Up On Cripple Creek’ was one of them as The Band’s 1969 song seemed to just appear to Robertson, telling a disjointed story about a rural man and a girl called “Bessie” as it weaves through their adventures and antics. It seemed to arrive in Robertson’s mind randomly, with no thought beforehand, no active mission for inspiration and no previous intention to write a song of this kind. So when it emerged, he was surprised by the result.
“You sit down and write the song, and usually when something happens, you just don’t even know where it came from, or why it came, or anything like that,” he said. But that’s often the best way to do it. He continued, “That’s the best. You know, when something comes out of you that surprises you. And it was one of those. You know, I was just sitting down to see if I could think of anything, and that’s what came out. But it was a fun song to write.”
