The Trail of the Lonesome Pine – Laurel & Hardy

The film 'Stan and Ollie' is on TV tonight. It tells the tale of when Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, the brilliant vintage comedy duo did a tour of Ireland and the UK in their later years. It's actually a very poignant film showing the usual anti climax of all the big stars of yesterday careers, they fall out of favour and are often cast adrift. Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly performances as the comedy legends are remarkable. I love the real Laurel and Hardy, they make me laugh, their slap stick antics are my sense of humour. The great expressions and banter between them is perfection, even as a kid I loved watching their black and white short films which used to be shown on TV during the kids school holidays.

Then there is this song, randomly featured in their movie, 'Way Out West'. It's part of the plot that our heroes end up in a bar where a bunch of cowboys start singing this tune. Laurel and Hardy join in, take over and turn it into a routine. As a stand alone song, I think it's magical, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia on the trail of the lonesome pine, what an image that conjures up. The clever way Stan swaps between the deep and high voices is so comical, but the staging of the backing, particularly the backing voices is really cool and adds such a warmth to the song. The smack with the mallet is nasty.

I had a look up and found out that this is a much older song than the 1937 movie it featured in, it was first published in 1913 inspired by a book of the same name. But for me it will always be L&H's song and every time I hear it, it makes me smile.

Favourite lyric : In the pale moonshine our hearts entwine / She carved her name and I carved mine