A woman’s view
of the blues...
By Nancy Grace Whelan
love is the every only god
— e . e . cummings
Men and women seek each other in r e a lit y and
a r t . There is an incessant d esire to bridge
the gap o f th e ir d iffe r e n c e s , to become one.
Country blues are the essence o f th is yearn­
in g. Sometimes the depth o f fe e lin g is hid­
den by flipp an cy or even v u lg a r ity , but i t
is always th ere.
Lulu Jackson, in "C areless Love", does not
attempt to hide the sad resign ation which
i s the embodiment o f her s ty le . While most
female country blues singers are accompanied
by male gu itar p la ye rs, Lulu Jackson gives
evidence o f self-accompaniment with a h esi­
tant gu ita r which, at times, s lip s away from
her v o ice.
L o ttie Kimbrough, known also as "The Kansas
C ity B u tte rb a ll", had a voice as smooth,
strong, rich and powerful as her 260 lb s .
would suggest. Her voice never loses i t s
resonant q u a lity , even when humming. In B o ll­
in g Log Blues i t often supplies the bottom
note o f the major I V V II I chords employed
in the gu itar accompaniment by one o f the
P r u itt twins. Based on the key o f A f l a t ,
the gu itar cuts abruptly on the la s t two de­
grees o f the dominant seventh chord (e f l a t g fla t).
In "Wayward G ir l Blues", Kimbrough i s joined
by Winston Holmes, owner o f the M e rritt Re­
cord Company in Kansas C ity . Her "Going
Away Blues" taunts and warns a lo ver that
" y o u 'll never see poor L o ttie sm ile, 'cause
I a i n 't got nobody to r e a lly comfort m e ... "
I f that doesn 't get re s u lts , she in s is ts
she w i l l leave by tra in .
" I Hate That Train C alled The M & 0", sings
L u c ille Bogan, " 'cause i t took my baby away
and he a in 't comin ' back no m o r e ... " Rather
than accuse her lo v e r o f running away, she
blames the tra in . She won't admit that he
l e f t her; she wants to b elie v e that he was
taken away. The emotion is synthesized in to
a fa m ilia r blues sound by the use o f major
scale with fla t t e d seventh.
When r e a l i t y becomes too hard, to accept, a
woman, lik e a c h ild , may make her own lo g ic .
Sometimes she blames an inanimate o b ject fo r
the in a tten tio n o f her lo v e r; sometimes she
asks a question that requ ires a dishonest
answer. In "Dead Drunk Blues", L illia n M il­
l e r t e l l s Papa Charlie H i l l , "I'm gonna get
drunk, Daddy, ju st one more tim e", hoping
to arouse h is p ro te c tiv e in s tin c t toward her.
I t seems a question rather than a statement.
She repeats the statement, but Papa Charlie
f a i l s to respond p ro p e rly : "Stay drunk, I
d on 't c a re ". With re je c te d defian ce, L i l l ­
ian adds, " 'cause when I'm drunk, nothing
d o n 't worry my mind".
On the only two sides ever recorded by N e llie
Florence, we hear th is note progression repeat­
ed many times:
In "J ackson ville Blues", th is phrase is used
as an ostinato fo r the 12-string gu itar and
acquires a r e p e t it iv e o rie n ta l character.
This is an example o f the use o f an a lte re d
scale or gapped system in blues.
Rosie Mae Moore bursts in to "Stranger Blues"
w ith a voice lik e lemon without sugar. In a
M ississip p i accent, stran gely reminiscent o f
English cockney, she in s is ts that " . . . i f I
fin d my man, gonna n a il him to the w a l l ! " .
Too many fa ilu r e s may have turned her in to
an ' angry young woman'.
Each country g i r l has her own s ty le , but from
a l l emerge one common id ea : a woman's strength
is her w illin g n ess to take a le s s e r ro le be­
cause she knows that she i s in h eren tly strong­
er.
I t is obvious to her; she doesn't care
to prove i t . She can stand behind a man and
w a it. A man seeks a p a rtic u la r kind o f wom­
an to lo v e ; a woman can love any man who is
n eedfu l o f her. Men and women seek the same
end, but by d iffe r e n t means, in blues and in
life .
Dead Drunk Blues
I'm dead drunk th is morning, daddy,
behave y o u rs e lf,
You know I was drunk
When I la y down cross your bed.
You knew I was drunk
When I la y down cross your bed.
A l l the whiskey I drank
gone rig h t to my head.
Oh, give me Houston,
th a t's the place I crave.
Oh, give me Houston,
th a t's the place I crave.
Spoken: Oh, play i t , Papa Charlie H ill.
So, when I'm dry.
I can get whiskey some place.
Whiskey, whiskey is some fo lk s downfall.
Spoken: Don't put that washin out,
A in 't none a my dow nfall.
Whiskey, whiskey is some fo lk s downfall,
But i f I don't get whiskey,
a i n 't no use at a l l .
Spoken: You a in 't by yo u rse lf ne ith e r.
When I was in Houston,
Drunk most every day,
When I was in Houston,
Drunk most every day,
I drank so much whiskey,
I thought I 'd pass away.
Have you ever been drunk,
An' slep t in a l l your clothes?
Spoken: No, s ir , I a in 't never been that drunk,
no, s ir .
Have you ever been drunk,
An' slep t in a l l your clothes?
When you wake up,
f e e l lik e you out a doors.
I'm gonna get drunk, daddy,
ju st one more time.
Spoken: Go ahead and get drunk,
and stay drunk.
I'm gonna get drunk, daddy,
ju s t one more time.
Spoken: Stay drunk, I d o n 't care.
Cause when I'm drunk,
Nothin d o n 't worry my mind.
our thanx are due
JOE BUSSARD
PETS KAUFMAN
BERNARD KLATZKO
For Giving Us Access To Their
C o llection s o f Rare 75 Records.
ALL OJL LPs ALWAYS IN STOCK. . .
Send for catalog
and
ROBERT TRAVIS For His Faith fu l
Transcription o f ly r ic s .
th e c o u n try g ir ls
PERSONNEL
MOTHERLESS CHILD BLUES
My mother to ld me just before
she died,
My mother to ld me ju st before
she died,
My mother told me ju st before
she died,
My mother to ld me ju st before
she died,
Oh, daughter, daughter, please
don't be lik e me,
Oh, daughter, daughter, please
don't be lik e me—
To f a l l in love
with every man you see.
But I did not lis t e n
to what my mother said,
But I did not lis te n
to what my mother said,
But I did not lis te n
to what my mother said.
That's the reason why
I'm s it t in here
in (H attiesburg).
Baby, now she's dead,
She's six fe e t underground.
Baby, now she's dead,
She's six fe e t underground.
Baby, now sh e's dead,
She's six fe e t underground.
I'm mama' s ch ild ,
and I am death chair bound.
Remember the day, baby,
You drove me from your door?
Remember the day, baby,
You drove me from your door?
Remember the day, baby,
You drove me from your door?
Go way f r o m here, woman,
And don' t come here no more.
I walked away,
And I wrang my hands and c rie d .
I walked -away,
And I wrang my hands and cried .
ORIGIN JAZZ LIBRARY
I walked away,
And I wr ang my hands and c rie d . P.O. BOX 85
Didn't have no blues,
SANTA MONICA, CA 90406 i t was worth preserving..
And I couldn't be s a tis fie d .
Geeshie W iley: Rec'd Grafton, W ise., A p ril, 1930<, The second voice could be E lvie Thomas
with whom Geeshie is known to have recorded
at other times. Guitar John or Joe Byrd?
W ATCH FO R
0JL-7: C0UNTRY BLUES ENCORES, 16 MORE selection s
by the BLUESMEN on R ea llyl The Country Blues.
OJL—8: CHARLIE PATTON With Henry Sims and Bertha
Lee. 16 tracks—ALL NEW— featuring Patton's s inging and pla yin g. Both LPs Ready Sprang 1961*.
Jacksonville Blues
Let me be your (w ig g le r ),
u n til your (wobbler) comes.
Let me be your w igg ler,
u n til your wobbler comes.
I f she can stay with 'em,
She got to wobbler some.
Womens cryin ' danger,
but I a in 't risen my hand.
Womens cry in ' danger,
but I a in 't risen my hand.
I got a way o f lo v in '
They ju st ca n 't understand.
Men, they c a ll me oven,
They say that I'm red hot.
Men, they c a ll me oven,
They say that I'm red hot.
They say I got somethin'
the other gals a in 't got.
I . can strut my puddy,
spread my grease with ease
I can stru t my puddy,
spread my grease with ease
Cause I know my onions,
th a t's why I always please.
Wild about my c o ffe e ,
But crazy bout it./ China tea.
Wild about -my c o ffe e ,
But crazy bout my China tea.
But the sugar daddy's
sweet enough fo r me.
They c a ll me oven
Cause I'm red hot.
They c a ll me oven
Cause I'm red hot.
They say I got something
The other gals a in 't got.
One ' s gone to the c i ty,
The o th er's up on the h i l l ,
But the man I love
'S way down in Jacksonville.
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