Talk:China Grove (song)

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Why do wikipedia articles never include who 'sang' the songs? Seems important! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.9.218.81 (talk) 02:31, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

Then of course there is the obvious faus pas... the reference to samauri swords, which are Japanese, in a song about "China" grove... oops.~~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 155.99.168.57 (talk • contribs) 14:57, 8 May 2012 (UTC)

I assume the "oops" was for your spelling?  ;-) Well, it's not a "faus pas"; it is a faux pas. It's not "samauri" -- it's Samurai. It's not a song about China (it's about a town in Texas) and the fact that there is mention of a weapon that comes from Japan is independent of China. There's no attempt to indicate that a Samurai sword is Chinese. No faux pas. There is mention of China (in the town name) and Japan (the sword type), and the lyrics reference the two places collectively with "Oriental view" and "looking to the east". If the lyrics also mentioned additional countries in the far east, such as Korea or Vietnam, then what would you conclude? The fact that there are Samurai swords in China Grove, Texas, begs the following question: So what?

Um… if you’re going to get all prissy about someone’s usage, please be aware that ‘begging the question’ does not mean ‘raising the question’, but quite the reverse. To ‘beg the question’ is a rhetorical technique whereby a speaker takes the stance that some issue is settled, and does not need addressing. Politicians are masters at it. ‘Clearly, as everyone agrees, what we must do, is…’ but the proposal that follows may well not be ‘clear’ to a great many people at all.

Another topic here is that some of the song's lyrics appear to be nonsense, such as the second line in the second verse,

Well, the preacher and the teacher

Lord, they're a caution

"Lord they're a caution"? What does that mean?

Tom Johnston is quoted in interviews saying that the song is purely fictional, about what he'd thought was a fictional town he had created, but later learned that there really is a China Grove (a suburb of San Antonio) in Texas, and he must have seen the town name (on a road sign?) when traveling on tour through San Antonio. An alternative notion is that he is quite familiar with that little town.

Look for an early live performance on YouTube and you will observe Johnston singing "Lovin' their cousins" (rather than "Lord they're a caution"). That line makes sense when you consider the following lines about gossip. Problem is that an accusation of incest may be libelous to the leading citizens of China Grove, Texas. Johnston was compelled (possibly by his lawyer?) to change the lyrics (or allow mis-heard lyrics interpretations by the public to rewrite them) and deny any knowledge of the existence of the town or its dirty little secrets.

Later video recordings of Johnston show him singing something more like "Lord they're a caution".

I put all of this into the Talk page because I don't think it can appear in the article because of lack of sources (other than a YouTube video).

118.209.167.45 (talk) 13:59, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

Gosh, all this profound discussion about a rather silly song whose major appeal is a strong riff. The lyrics are clumsy, IMNSHO, and seem to have been written amid clouds of doobie smoke.

‘They’re a caution’ is an expression from the 19th century, meaning to beware of them.

‘China Grove’ is also the setting for Eudora Welty’s classic short story ‘Why I Live at the P.O.’ though her China Grove is in Mississippi. Johnson may have been influenced, wanting the name of a small place. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.208.123.87 (talk) 21:21, 5 March 2020 (UTC)

Yes, possibly, as Why I Live at the P.O. was written in 1941. Martinevans123 (talk) 22:31, 5 March 2020 (UTC)

Clave

The song uses the clave rhythm. Wolf O'Donnel (talk) 06:20, 13 August 2021 (UTC)

Is that the same as the Bo Diddley beat? Do you have any source(s)? Thanks. 10:19, 13 August 2021 (UTC)~