@@brendanmccabe8373 Well saying as radio signals get weaker as they go, to the point where you can only tell they're there but are unable to listen to it, and since gold doesn't really corrode, his song will be one of the farthest understandable songs if it isn't already.
“With nowhere else to go, He laid himself down. On the cold wet ground In the remains of his home. Dark was the night. Cold was the ground when Blind Willie Johnson Died.” Damn.
I find it kinda sweet how an obscure and blind gospel singer went so far. Blind Willie Johnson was at most times homeless and music was a way for him to escape it. You can feel the tension, anger, and sadness in lots of his recordings, including Dark was the Night. I think it would have blown his mind that his music is literally in the heavens.
Listen to Dark Was The Night on acid... the pure emotion from his slide guitar and humming is deep. The thought that it was floating through space, possibly outlasting our species and planet, hearing every emotion and nuance in the recording had me balling like a baby.
It was Vsauce's video that introduced me to this remarkable man, and ultimately, the enigmatic genious of men like William Johnson, who though overlooked in their time, are garnering respect for their craft in the modern age
Johnson is the greatest blues/gospel artist whoever lived, he lived hard and died dirt poor, living like a bum upon his death. This man was the blues, he lived it and you hear it in all his recordings. Thanks for the vid.
Did she ever regret it? I mean I can see a scorned person doing something like this, but I would not be able to live with the guilt of it especially in front of me. I would have committed Suicide!
Oh please no. It would just be another corporate controlled, ad filled, over hyped, superficial pile of steaming crap. He's doing just fine right here where he is.
@@wingracer1614 yes yes, exactly this. Besides, I love these videos cause I can watch one or two before I go to bed. I'm not gonna watch two hour episodes, even as good as polyphonic is
Dark was the night, and cold the ground On which the Lord was laid His sweat like drops of blood ran down In agony he prayed "Father, remove this bitter cup If such Thy sacred will If not, content to drink it up Thy pleasure I fulfill" Go to the garden, sinner, see Those precious drops that flow The heavy load He bore for thee For thee he lies so low Then learn of Him the cross to bear Thy Father's will obey And when temptations press thee near Awake to watch and pray
The documentary about those gold discs is the best thing I’ve ever seen on TV. It’s called _The kiss that would last a billion years_ and I highly recommend it.
@@adairbock6737 because they have more than just a couple good songs. They have many, many great songs. Their albums are true art that tell the story of life and death and what our modern society is like. Their music has helped millions of people around the globe get through troubled times (myself included) and their music also educates and excites people about what is and what could be. Bands like “The who” are very good in their own right but most people would agree that Pink Floyd’s music is a representation of what it is to be human. It’s pure art and will go down in history alongside Mozart and Beethoven, and will be remembered forevermore. I strongly encourage you to listen their “big four” albums (dark side of the moon, the wall, animals, wish you were here) in their entirety and listen to the words and music and maybe you will hear the true greatness the rest of us hear. Their music is what keeps me alive, if Pink Floyd didn’t exist, then I wouldn’t want to exist either.
I'm not one to cry often, but this moved me to tears. What a tragic story. I didn't know his story, but I had heard his music before in passing. Thanks for the video. I'm going to study his work for sure.
This song has always moved me to the point of tears inevitably always welling up. I could never pinpoint why until now. I left this video feeling like a freight train hit me, and similarly, welling up with tears that this song itself induces. I’ve always adored the idea of this gorgeous song careening through the cosmos long after we’re all gone. Willie may not have become a preacher like he dreamed, but he sure got closer to “God” than any other human being to ever exist.
I've been following your channel for a while now, you never disappoints and this video is great. first time I heard about this project was on the Win Wenders documentary The Soul of a Man, it's great too... thank you so much for such inspiring content! greetings from Brazil
Dark was the night is actually the perfect song to listen to while drifting through space. Anyone who finds the voyager will surely be in for a good time. It's such a shame that the person who made that amazing song was not appreciated in his time
Ive always been a fan of the blues but the eerie sounds of this song combined with the simplicity of old record techniques is perhaps the song that started it all for me
The PBS documentary series AMERICAN EPIC, about how ordinary American people spread their own music and that of others through the technology of recording ended with the image of Voyager drifting through space with Blind Willie Johnson on the soundtrack. It was a wonderful choice.
I own the Complete Blind Willie Johnson double CD released by Columbia. For all intents and purposes, BWJ is a musical paradox. He plays guitar and sings like a typical bluesmen but his lyrics are anything BUT the Blues. Many Blues scholars maintain he is a Gospel/Spiritual singer in a blues form. ONe reason Cold Was The Night was not sung with the lyrics, some scholars assert is the fact that this hymn is so popular among the Black Christians, those who will be able to hear it know off the bat it's that hymn. Aside of course from the ones you said on the video. My heart aches for a lot of these bluesmen, most of them died in obscurity or without proper medical attention because they are poor and worse they are black.
I'm glad this song got a more in-depth look, I always found it interesting since I knew it was sent to space, and the sad life story of the man behind it..Great content as always. ❤
Thank you for doing this video and for give this man a voice in this era, i feel like the mighty Blind Willie Johnson has been underrated for too long now. I admire this man beyond razonability, not just because he was a fighter in life beyond any reasonable doubt, but because he was and always will be the preach of rock and roll. Ironically, all the glorie that he never knew in this earth as a human will mean nothing when he becomes a real start, upthere with the eternal, while we, along with all our creations and all that we ever could loved, becomes another speck of dust in the universe. Stay true to yourselfs, peace.
What a great video! I'm glad that Timothy Ferris was one of the astronomers tasked to make decisions about which song would be on the disc. As a human, I'm honoured for the soul of humanity to be represented by Willie Johnsons art. 1:32 golden
I first heard of this story from an episode of West Wing. I think the episode has to do with funding for NASA, and the funding is not granted. Leo consoles Josh and tells him about how songs were sent into space. He tells him about Blind Willie Johnson, whose music was chosen to be sent out to space, and how he died young and penniless. The episode ends with the song “Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground”.
I'd like to point out something a bit more obscure; the impact of the diddley bow on his music; the one-string melodies make it tangible. He's a direct document of the link between african music and american music.
A great video again and I‘m so glad that i found your channel again after almost a year. If you read this I would like to make a video idea: I guess it would be a very nice video to analyse the song „Man of the Wilderness“ from the styx, as it is very diverse in its sound. Anyways keep it up and I‘m happy to see new videos of you every now and then. Keep it up.
This man had a horrible childhood. His mother died when he was seven years old and his stepmother often had fights with his father. His stepmother had abused him and he became blind because of it. His house burned down and he continued to live in his small house of ruins but his makeshift bed full of scraps of paper was enough for him to call it a day. This man, who sang songs of sadness with his small guitar died being sick and alone. But he's no longer alone. He's now surfing through the stars with many others to represent us in an endless journey to find life. We have lived through the years and we continue to do so and because of this, we made this possible. When the world finally ends and when we are all gone, they'll still be there. When someone or something finds us, it's proof that we existed. Life on a gigantic rock so alone in the universe that aimless goes around circles can make the worst things memorable. -Leszas
Ry Cooder's version was used at the end of the movie Paris, Texas... Fitting for a man doomed to wander the earth for the rest of his life, never finding what he's looking for.
Wouldn’t these songs sound weird when they’re played back because the atmospheric composition of an alien world would affect how the frequencies travel?
Well, maybe an atmosphere similar to ours is necessary for intelligent species to thrive. We don't really know how life in other planets, work, so this is just a nice attempt.
This song always gives me a chill listening to it but it is one of my favorites. Off topic but I would like to make a suggestion for echoes by Pink Floyd
I wonder what blind willie Johnson would think if he knew his music has traveled farther than anyone else’s.
Thorniest Orange well radio signals have been sent into space before hand but physically yeah
type trippy bruh
Brendan McCabe there’s always that one technical realist... of course he meant physically farther than anyone else...
Levi Vans it wasn’t the only song on the record
@@brendanmccabe8373 Well saying as radio signals get weaker as they go, to the point where you can only tell they're there but are unable to listen to it, and since gold doesn't really corrode, his song will be one of the farthest understandable songs if it isn't already.
“With nowhere else to go,
He laid himself down.
On the cold wet ground In the remains of his home.
Dark was the night.
Cold was the ground when Blind Willie Johnson Died.”
Damn.
where is this from?
@@samuelpersi3197 6:25
@@samuelpersi3197this same video
I remember him with my hart. God speed for him.
I find it kinda sweet how an obscure and blind gospel singer went so far. Blind Willie Johnson was at most times homeless and music was a way for him to escape it. You can feel the tension, anger, and sadness in lots of his recordings, including Dark was the Night. I think it would have blown his mind that his music is literally in the heavens.
Blues and space. Doesn't get much better than that for me
Agreed
You should watch Cowboy Bebop then.
@@KilgoreTrout-vo7uy Yes
@@KilgoreTrout-vo7uy See You, Space Cowboy ;)
👏👏👏
Listen to Dark Was The Night on acid... the pure emotion from his slide guitar and humming is deep. The thought that it was floating through space, possibly outlasting our species and planet, hearing every emotion and nuance in the recording had me balling like a baby.
It was Vsauce's video that introduced me to this remarkable man, and ultimately, the enigmatic genious of men like William Johnson, who though overlooked in their time, are garnering respect for their craft in the modern age
I first heard of Willie Johnson many years ago. I find his life career and posthumous success incredibly tragic and fascinating.
I first heard it on a delta blues compilation cd I bought about a year ago
FINALLY SOMEONE MADE A VIDEO ABOUT THIS BEAUTIFUL SONG!
Derpy Slurpy song is beautiful
That ist what i thought too !!!
Vsauce did this before. I think that was called "lonely"
Literally Across the universe
Johnson is the greatest blues/gospel artist whoever lived, he lived hard and died dirt poor, living like a bum upon his death. This man was the blues, he lived it and you hear it in all his recordings. Thanks for the vid.
correction: Willie's stepmother was having the affair not the father. After his father beat her, she threw lye in Willie's face.
That's even worse. What a sorry spitefull b!*#h.
Why would he be punished?
River Hord to hurt the father. She couldn't hurt the father so she hurt his son, a truly pathetic woman.
Did she ever regret it? I mean I can see a scorned person doing something like this, but I would not be able to live with the guilt of it especially in front of me. I would have committed Suicide!
River Hord Supposedly it was an accident it is believed she meant to throw the poison in the dads face not young willie nonetheless extremely tragic
I'm glad your talking about music from the 20s and 30s now.
please go viral and get a TV show with a massive budget and 2 hour runtime
Oh please no. It would just be another corporate controlled, ad filled, over hyped, superficial pile of steaming crap. He's doing just fine right here where he is.
@@wingracer1614 yes yes, exactly this. Besides, I love these videos cause I can watch one or two before I go to bed. I'm not gonna watch two hour episodes, even as good as polyphonic is
Why? TV is dead...
lol normie
Tv is garbage. Why do people like being forced to watch garbage?
Dark was the night, and cold the ground
On which the Lord was laid
His sweat like drops of blood ran down
In agony he prayed
"Father, remove this bitter cup
If such Thy sacred will
If not, content to drink it up
Thy pleasure I fulfill"
Go to the garden, sinner, see
Those precious drops that flow
The heavy load He bore for thee
For thee he lies so low
Then learn of Him the cross to bear
Thy Father's will obey
And when temptations press thee near
Awake to watch and pray
I hope Polyphonic introduces Johnson's astounding, awesome music to the masses
Polyphonic making a serious video: One thing fascinates me the most.
Polyphonic Q&As: hEEere gooes tHe iNtrOO, ddaAda
It's Polyphonic o' clock.
BLUM BLUM BA DUM. BLUM BLUM BLUM BUM BA DUM.
The documentary about those gold discs is the best thing I’ve ever seen on TV. It’s called _The kiss that would last a billion years_ and I highly recommend it.
Can you send a link?
Zrubavella Portermacher I wish I could but I don’t have a link. I’m sure you’ll be able to find it if you search for it though!
Extraordinary power of this man’s faith. Hundreds of versions of Dark was the Night and none that I have heard come close. RIP Willie
Blues music is one of the most expressive forms of music. So raw and powerful
Gotta send our music out into space before Universal burns it all.
Lmao savage af
Mike N top comment
Been hanging out on Rick Beato's channel I see.
Polyphonic, will you ever make a sequel video about Johnny B. Goode, the only rock song ever sent into space?
Yes please !!!
Can you do a video analyzing While My Guitar Gently Weeps? It's a great song.
Will you do a video on Echoes by Pink Floyd?
I 2nd that request!
Pink Floyd needs an entire Polyphonic Playlist special...
Adding my "YES, PLZ!" to the list!
I hate to be this guy, but why do they have so many fans? They have a couple good songs, but why are they considered better than The Who?
@@adairbock6737 because they have more than just a couple good songs. They have many, many great songs. Their albums are true art that tell the story of life and death and what our modern society is like. Their music has helped millions of people around the globe get through troubled times (myself included) and their music also educates and excites people about what is and what could be. Bands like “The who” are very good in their own right but most people would agree that Pink Floyd’s music is a representation of what it is to be human. It’s pure art and will go down in history alongside Mozart and Beethoven, and will be remembered forevermore. I strongly encourage you to listen their “big four” albums (dark side of the moon, the wall, animals, wish you were here) in their entirety and listen to the words and music and maybe you will hear the true greatness the rest of us hear. Their music is what keeps me alive, if Pink Floyd didn’t exist, then I wouldn’t want to exist either.
This song touches me so much but it's really eerie
I'm not one to cry often, but this moved me to tears. What a tragic story. I didn't know his story, but I had heard his music before in passing. Thanks for the video. I'm going to study his work for sure.
Yes the video I have been waiting for!
Me too!
Same
This song has always moved me to the point of tears inevitably always welling up. I could never pinpoint why until now. I left this video feeling like a freight train hit me, and similarly, welling up with tears that this song itself induces. I’ve always adored the idea of this gorgeous song careening through the cosmos long after we’re all gone. Willie may not have become a preacher like he dreamed, but he sure got closer to “God” than any other human being to ever exist.
He died of malarial fever and syphilis. That he suffered with for over a year.
Please do a video on Ritchie Blackmore and his neoclassical influences and how it much influenced metal and rock !
That would be awesome! Ritchie is by far in my top 10 guitarists!
I love coming back to this video, your style of telling these stories is incredible. This one in particular makes me cry everytime tho ahah
Very few songs give me the chills as much as this..
Noah, you‘ve outdone yourself yet again! Thank you ever so much for your excellent vids...
You have a great way of fitting in the sponsors. It doesn't feel so forced which is nice 👌🏻
I wasn't first
I wasn't last
But boi I clicked fast
3/4 lines
reported to fbi
I thought this was gonna be about johnny b goode but this is much better
Same When I saw blues and space I was like I know who it will be
@James Currie rock stemed from blues
Blind Willie Johnson will live forever
Your channel is genuinely the best on CZcams, absolutely brilliant video, especially for someone like myself who had a passion for the delta blues
This song brings out a sort of emotion and feeling that I can’t explain, but it’s super solemn and nostalgic.
This deserves more than a thumbs up. This was a significant video. History and honor, to the music and times of America in the making.
thank you for covering the subject and creator of this beautiful piece.
I've been following your channel for a while now, you never disappoints and this video is great. first time I heard about this project was on the Win Wenders documentary The Soul of a Man, it's great too... thank you so much for such inspiring content! greetings from Brazil
Dark was the night is actually the perfect song to listen to while drifting through space. Anyone who finds the voyager will surely be in for a good time. It's such a shame that the person who made that amazing song was not appreciated in his time
Excellent display of the video essay genre. An artist the CZcams generation would not, but should know about. Thanks to you.
This is perhaps the greatest content regarding the great Willie Johnson
Thanks for covering my favourite blues musician his story is so painful. My favourite song is let it shine. Such a beautiful song
I love your content. I put you up there with Vsauce!! Very awesome! Keep on keeping on... much love. From: Baltimore, Maryland❤❤❤
Please do more videos about these old blues players !
Ive always been a fan of the blues but the eerie sounds of this song combined with the simplicity of old record techniques is perhaps the song that started it all for me
The PBS documentary series AMERICAN EPIC, about how ordinary American people spread their own music and that of others through the technology of recording ended with the image of Voyager drifting through space with Blind Willie Johnson on the soundtrack. It was a wonderful choice.
Fantastic video, this is by far the best channel on CZcams
I own the Complete Blind Willie Johnson double CD released by Columbia. For all intents and purposes, BWJ is a musical paradox. He plays guitar and sings like a typical bluesmen but his lyrics are anything BUT the Blues. Many Blues scholars maintain he is a Gospel/Spiritual singer in a blues form. ONe reason Cold Was The Night was not sung with the lyrics, some scholars assert is the fact that this hymn is so popular among the Black Christians, those who will be able to hear it know off the bat it's that hymn. Aside of course from the ones you said on the video. My heart aches for a lot of these bluesmen, most of them died in obscurity or without proper medical attention because they are poor and worse they are black.
I'm glad this song got a more in-depth look, I always found it interesting since I knew it was sent to space, and the sad life story of the man behind it..Great content as always. ❤
Loved that song the second I heard it
This song is so powerful. I'm so happy it was picked.
Thank you for doing this video and for give this man a voice in this era, i feel like the mighty Blind Willie Johnson has been underrated for too long now. I admire this man beyond razonability, not just because he was a fighter in life beyond any reasonable doubt, but because he was and always will be the preach of rock and roll. Ironically, all the glorie that he never knew in this earth as a human will mean nothing when he becomes a real start, upthere with the eternal, while we, along with all our creations and all that we ever could loved, becomes another speck of dust in the universe. Stay true to yourselfs, peace.
What a great video!
I'm glad that Timothy Ferris was one of the astronomers tasked to make decisions about which song would be on the disc.
As a human, I'm honoured for the soul of humanity to be represented by Willie Johnsons art.
1:32 golden
I wish more people would see this
I first heard of this story from an episode of West Wing. I think the episode has to do with funding for NASA, and the funding is not granted. Leo consoles Josh and tells him about how songs were sent into space. He tells him about Blind Willie Johnson, whose music was chosen to be sent out to space, and how he died young and penniless. The episode ends with the song “Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground”.
I am getting goosebumps
His story is so sad… thank you for this video!
I'd like to point out something a bit more obscure; the impact of the diddley bow on his music; the one-string melodies make it tangible.
He's a direct document of the link between african music and american music.
Thanks for introducing me to all these classic musicians
A great video again and I‘m so glad that i found your channel again after almost a year. If you read this I would like to make a video idea: I guess it would be a very nice video to analyse the song „Man of the Wilderness“ from the styx, as it is very diverse in its sound. Anyways keep it up and I‘m happy to see new videos of you every now and then. Keep it up.
I have listened to his collection the whole collection. It's amazing. It's dark yet religious. Bewitching. Not something you can listen to casually.
This is such a good song, and is the darkness (so to speak) to Johnson’s “Let it shine on me.”
This man had a horrible childhood. His mother died when he was seven years old and his stepmother often had fights with his father. His stepmother had abused him and he became blind because of it. His house burned down and he continued to live in his small house of ruins but his makeshift bed full of scraps of paper was enough for him to call it a day. This man, who sang songs of sadness with his small guitar died being sick and alone. But he's no longer alone. He's now surfing through the stars with many others to represent us in an endless journey to find life. We have lived through the years and we continue to do so and because of this, we made this possible. When the world finally ends and when we are all gone, they'll still be there. When someone or something finds us, it's proof that we existed. Life on a gigantic rock so alone in the universe that aimless goes around circles can make the worst things memorable. -Leszas
Chills
Blind Willie Johnson deserves so much more recognition
Thank you for this video, I absolutely love all things regarding this song!
Before i watched this video I had no idea who blind willie Johnson was but now I will definitely check him out
dude my heart hurts that guy deserved so much better 🤧🥺
that made me cry, thanks
This is that Cowboy Bebop feeling
Drifting through space for all eternity
The ground is bare but it's cold there
This is amazing! I thank you for this video.
I’ve always wanted you to talk about this!
This is my favorite song.
Ry Cooder's version was used at the end of the movie Paris, Texas... Fitting for a man doomed to wander the earth for the rest of his life, never finding what he's looking for.
Would love to see more blues
You passed half a million subs comgrats
every video you have is worth to watch!!
I love this video. Thanks for making it.
made me cry
i love this song! never knew it was in space
Such a great tune. I really love Ry Cooder’s version of it too.
I’m gonna cry
Wouldn’t these songs sound weird when they’re played back because the atmospheric composition of an alien world would affect how the frequencies travel?
Well, maybe an atmosphere similar to ours is necessary for intelligent species to thrive. We don't really know how life in other planets, work, so this is just a nice attempt.
How would aliens know the correct speed to play it at?
@@bluesrocker91 there are hieroglyphic instructions on it, and a record player.
Sending this record is more for us than it is for any alien life that may or may not find it
This song always gives me a chill listening to it but it is one of my favorites. Off topic but I would like to make a suggestion for echoes by Pink Floyd
God this is so beautiful yet so sad
It's a perfect choice.
Fucking bravo. That was amazing
Also just have to comment that you still haven't learned to say "Gethsemane" since the Jesus Christ Superstar-video
"Blind Willie Johnson's...
0:52
*Let's take a closer look* "
Thanks for good content
This story is featured in an episode of The West Wing.
Can you do Radiohead or The Doors next?
One thing I know Texas people are amazingly talented
Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan to name a couple more.
Pantera
The first two lines of Georgia Lee by Tom Waits is "Dark was the night and cold was the ground"
This song plays in space as earth burns and crumbles. Rip BWJ
The real blues
First time i ever heard this song was in devils rejects. Blind willie johnson is truly the creators of the "anthem to humanity"
Let's go boys