Topic: Blind Alfred Reed Lyrics

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Blind Alfred Reed recorded "Always Lift Him Up And Never Knock Him Down" at a session in Camden, New Jersey on December 19, 1927,  using his fiddle to accompany his singing. He was joined by his son,  Arville, on guitar.  Arville's playing is like a tutorial on how to do Old-Time back-up, fingerpicking and alternating between boom-chang, boom-chang and boom-chang-chang-chang.  I really love this song and Alfred Reed's rendition--the sentiment and the perfectly clear singing and note-making he did on the fiddle.  Here is the song, and I'd appreciate help or correction of the bent bracketed place in the lyrics:



When a fellow has the blues and feels discouraged
And has nothing else but trouble all his life
When he's always grumbled at and never happy
Living with a scolding, aggravating wife
When he's sick and tired of life and takes to drinking
Do not pass him by, don't greet him with a frown
Do not fail to lend a hand and try to help him
Always lift him up and never knock him down

When he stays out late at night because he's worried
And because his home is not what it should be
Have a smile for him wherever you may meet him
It will help him find the right way, don't you see?
If he gambles when he's in the town and city
Tell him what he ought to do to gain the crown
Lend a hand and do not fail to show him pity
Always lift him up and never knock him down

If he can not pay his debts and feels disgusted
If he's blue and hardly has a word to say
Let him know you are his friend and can be trusted
It will cheer this lonely fellow on his way
If he finds it hard for him to feed his family
Let a kind word greet his ear when he's around
Don't say anything at all to make against him
Always lift him up and never knock him down

If he has no friends and everything's against him
If he's failed in everything that he has tried
Try to lift his load and help him bear his burden
Let him know that you are walking by his side
If he feels that all is lost and he is falling
Try to place this poor man's feet on solid ground
Just remember he's some mother's precious darling
Always lift him and and never knock him down

Edited 10/20 to pick up correction from banjochris

All best,
Johnm

[banjochris]

Crown, I do believe, John.
Chris

[Johnm]

Right you are, Chris.  Thanks very much for the help.  I've made the change.  Man, that is a beautiful song.
All best,
Johnm

[banjochris]

It is; he did so many great ones. A wonderful voice, too.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Blind Alfred Reed recorded "There'll Be No Distinction There" at a session in New York City on December 3, 1929, once again accompanied by Arville, playing out of D position in standard tuning.  I first heard this song on the New Lost City Ramblers' "Songs of the Depression" album, a great collection.  Alfred Reed seems to have been one of those home-grown American lyricists like David McCarn, Oscar Ford, Roger Miller or Chuck Berry, who had a real knack for writing lyrics that scanned perfectly in a rhythmically punchy way.  Reed's vision of a Heaven which would include "the whites and the colored folks, the Gentiles and the Jews" was undoubtedly very rare for his time and place, and I don't know if it would be all that more commonly encountered nowadays.  Here is the song:

   

There'll be no sorrow on that heavenly shore
There'll be no woes at the cabin door
We'll all be wealthy and the poor will all be there
We'll be rich and happy in that land, bright and fair
There'll be no distinction there

REFRAIN: There'll be no distinction there, there'll be no distinction there (out there)
For the Lord is just and the Lord is right
We'll all be white in that heavenly light
There'll be no distinction there

In the same kind of raiment and the same kind of shoes
We'll all sit together in the same kind of pews
The whites and the colored folks, the Gentiles and the Jews
Will praise the Lord together, and there be no drinking booze
There'll be no distinction there

REFRAIN: There'll be no distinction there, there'll be no distinction there (out there)
For the Lord is just and the Lord is right
We'll all be white in that heavenly light
There'll be no distinction there

Oh, when we get to Heaven we will know and understand
No woman will be flirting with another woman's man
There'll be no trouble in that holy happy land
We''l play on golden instruments and shout to beat the band
There'll be no distinction there

REFRAIN: There'll be no distinction there, there'll be no distinction there (out there)
For the Lord is just and the Lord is right
We'll all be white in that heavenly light
There'll be no distinction there

We're never blue in Heaven, nothing there to wreck the mind
Everybody is our neighbor, all the folks are good and kind
No aggravating women there to boss the men around
When we enter into Heaven we will wear a golden crown
There'll be no distinction there

REFRAIN: There'll be no distinction there, there'll be no distinction there (out there)
For the Lord is just and the Lord is right
We'll all be white in that heavenly light
There'll be no distinction there

All best,
Johnm

 

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Perhaps the best-known of Alfred Reed's songs to present-day audiences is "How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live?", which Ry Cooder has been performing for decades and Bruce Springsteen has taken up more recently.  Blind Alfred Reed recorded it in New York City on December 4, 1929, once again accompanied by his son, Arville, this time playing out of G position in standard tuning.  What an amazing set of lyrics!  Here is the song:



There was once a time when everything was cheap
But now prices almost puts a man to sleep
When we pay our grocery bill, we just feel like makin' our will
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?

I remember when dry good were cheap as dirt
We could take two bits and buy a dandy shirt
Now we pay three bucks or more, maybe get a shirt that another man's wore
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?

Well, I used to trade with a man by the name of Gray
Flour was fifty cents for a twenty-four pound bag
Now it's a dollar-and-a-half beside, just like skinnin' a flea for the hide
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?

Oh, the schools we have today ain't worth a cent
But they see to it that every child is sent
If we don't send every day, we have a heavy fine to pay
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?

Prohibition's good if it is conducted right
There's no sense in shootin' a man 'til he shows flight
Officers kill without a cause, then complain about the funny laws
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?

Most of preachers preach for dough and not the souls
That's what keeps a poor man always in a hole
We can hardly get our breath, taxed and schooled and preached to death
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?

Oh, it's time for every man to be awake
We pay fifty cents a pound when we ask for steak
When we get our package home, got a little wad of paper with gristle and bone
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live

Well, the doctor comes around with a face so bright
And he says in a little while, you'll be all right
All he gives is a humbug pill, a dose of dope and a great big bill
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?

All best,
Johnm
 

[banjochris]

Reed's vision of a Heaven which would include "the whites and the colored folks, the Gentiles and the Jews" was undoubtedly very rare for his time and place, and I don't know if it would be all that more commonly encountered nowadays. 

I love this song; someone could practically write a thesis based around it. It's the only song I can think of from that era that addresses anything like racial equality of any kind, whether in God's eyes or anywhere else. But at the same time Reed is still a product of his culture: "We'll all be white in that heavenly light." His heart is completely in the right place but I don't think there's any way you could sing this song today without discussing that line and the historical context before you sang it. I wonder what kind of feedback the Ramblers have gotten over the years from it. I would imagine that even in 1959 that line would have raised some eyebrows.

And of course Reed can't resist getting in a dig at "aggravating" women, as he does in "Always Lift Him Up." It's a major theme for him. The Carter Family understandably leaves out that verse in their 1940 recording of the song, and this line:
The whites and the colored folks, the Gentiles and the Jews
Will praise the Lord together, and there be no drinking booze
becomes:
The whites and the colored folks, the Gentiles and the Jews
They'll all be so happy that they doesn't refuse.

I prefer Reed's version.
Chris

[banjochris]

On "How Can a Poor Man," sadly those words seem to still apply today. Also, John, I think it's a twenty-four pound BAG, he just sings it a little funny.
Chris

[Johnm]

Thanks for the help with "How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live", Chris.  As it turns out, I had already corrected the line by the time I saw your post.  As for the song's lyrics, I think my response would be, "Indeed!".  I particularly love the second and third lines of the fifth verse.

Re Alfred Reed's lyrics to "There'll Be No Distinction There", and the song itself, its melody and Alfred Reed's singing and playing of it, I quite agree with you.  The song's message is remarkable, but as you note with regard to the line, "we'll all be white in the heavenly light", there were limits to Alfred Reed's perspective and empathy.  How could there not be! I love the Carter Family, but their changing of the lyric, in addition to being clumsy, skates over the much more difficult point that Alfred Reed was making, indeed, the whole point of the song.

All best,
Johnm

[frankie]

Thanks for posting these songs, John...  I'd totally forgotten how great he is.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I'm glad you're enjoying the songs, Frank.  For "Money Craving Folks"  Arville Reed once again plays his accompaniment out of D position in standard tuning.  Alfred Reed was certainly not the American norm in his scorn of material goods and money.  Here is the song:



Let me tell you 'bout the money-cravin' folks
What I'm telling you is facts instead of jokes
They're the ones that stands the best, treated better than all the rest
That's the hard-core, crazy money-cravin' folks

Oh, a lawyer, sure, your pocket book will snatch
He will promise you great things to get your cash
He will make you think he's wise, when he's paid you'll be surprised
Oh, a lawyer, sure, your pocket book will snatch

Oh, a merchant makes you think he'll treat you right
But the way he planned that scheme, it is a sight
He will treat you mighty nice, when he's through you've paid him twice
Oh, a merchant makes you think he'll treat you right

Oh, some preachers don't exactly plumb the line
They will plan some way to get your money and mine
For they'll pray just like a saint, their good wives use powder and paint
Oh, some preachers don't exactly plumb the line

Oh, a doctor tell you that your blood is high
But he'll tell you he can cure you, by and by
He will put you right in bed, in a little while you're dead
He has got your dough, you've said your last good-bye

Oh, a landlord makes you think he's good as Paul
He will tell you that he won't be hard at all
But just fail to pay your rent, out in the street, at once, you're sent
Oh, some day old Satan will come and get them all

All best,
Johnm
 

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Alfred and Arville Reed recorded "Explosion in the Fairmount Mines" at a session Camden, New Jersey on December 19, 1927.  Doc Watson recorded a version of the song with a different melody and lyrics as "The Dream of the Miner's Child" on his second Vanguard album, "Doc Watson and Son".  For the Reed's version, which has a more involved melody and chord progression, Arville accompanied his father's singing out of G position in standard tuning, starting each refrain on an E minor chord.  Here is the song:



One bright morning, a miner, just about to leave
Heard his dear child screaming in a fright
He went to her bed, then she looked up and said,
"I have had such a dream, turn on the light."
REFRAIN: "Daddy, please don't go down in that hole today,
For my dreams do come true, sometime, you know.
Oh, don't leave me, daddy, please don't go away,
Something bad sure will happen, do not go."

"Oh, I dreamed that the mines were burning out with fire.
Every man was fighting for his life.
Then some had companions, and they prayed out loud,
"Oh God, please protect my darling wife."
REFRAIN: "Daddy, please don't go down in that hole today,
For my dreams do come true, sometime, you know.
Oh, don't leave me, daddy, please don't go away,
Something bad sure will happen, do not go."

Then her daddy bent down and kissed her dear sweet face
Turned again to travel on his way
But she threw her small arms around daddy's neck
She kissed him, again he heard her say
REFRAIN: "Daddy, please don't go down in that hole today,
For my dreams do come true, sometime, you know.
Oh, don't leave me, daddy, please don't go away,
Something bad sure will happen, do not go."

Then the miner was touched, and said he would not go,
"Hush, my child, I'm with you, do not cry."
There came an explosion and two hundred men
Were shut in the mines and left to die
REFRAIN: "Daddy, please don't go down in that hole today,
For my dreams do come true, sometime, you know.
Oh, don't leave me, daddy, please don't go away,
Something bad sure will happen, do not go."

All best,
Johnm

[banjochris]

One of Reed?s that I?ve always particularly enjoyed is ?Fate of Chris Lively and Wife,? recorded at his second session just after ?Explosion in the Fairmount Mines,? backed by son Arville and playing out of D position. "Stately" would be a good word to describe Reed's playing and singing, I think.

From the phrasing of the title I would guess Reed heard about the accident via newspaper.

Lively?s wife?s name was Mary Fisher ? there?s a picture of Lively and his wife and more information at
http://www.livelyroots.com/gerald/642.htm

Listen friends, I will tell you a story,
It is one that is sad to relate,
At a crossing not far from Pax Junction,
There Chris Lively and wife met their fate.
REFRAIN: What a mistake he made at the crossing,
When he drove the wagon on the railroad track,
They were killed, engine crushed horse and wagon,
Oh how sad to know they never can come back.

It is sad when we think how it happened,
This sad fate of Chris Lively and wife,
They were driving along gay and happy,
Never thought they would be robbed of life.
REFRAIN: What a mistake he made at the crossing,
When he drove the wagon on the railroad track,
They were killed, engine crushed horse and wagon,
Oh how sad to know they never can come back.

They were killed at a place near Pax Junction,
They are gone to come back never more,
?Twas an eastbound train that killed them,
Lives were crushed out by train number four.
REFRAIN: What a mistake he made at the crossing,
When he drove the wagon on the railroad track,
They were killed, engine crushed horse and wagon,
Oh how sad to know they never can come back.

Now good people, I hope you take warning,
As you journey along through this life,
Every time when you see ?Railroad Crossing,?
Just remember Chris Lively and wife.
REFRAIN: What a mistake he made at the crossing,
When he drove the wagon on the railroad track,
They were killed, engine crushed horse and wagon,
Oh how sad to know they never can come back.

[Johnm]

Thanks for posting the transcription of "The Fate of Chris Lively and His Wife", Chris.  I really like those ballads that serve as a kind of reportage.  "Stately" is a good description, too--the time is so straight-up-and-down.
All best,
Johnm

[frankie]

Blind Alfred Reed accompanied himself on solo fiddle for his recording of "The Wreck of the Virginian." Equal parts tribute and cautionary tale, the engineer's full name seems never to be given, unless it's part of what I could not decipher in the second line of the first verse. The fireman is, however, named: first name is Frank and last name sounds to me like "Olney." The word "crews" in the third verse sounds to me like it's given two syllables - something like "crew-wus." All corrections are welcome.

Edited to pick up corrections from Johnm and banjochris.

The Wreck Of The Virginian - Blind Alfred Reed

Come all you brave bold railroad men and listen while I tell
The fate of E. G. Aldrich, a good man we all loved well
This man was running on a road known as Virginian Line
He was a faithful engineer and pulled his train on time

He was the oldest on the road, we always called him "Dad"
He loved his engine very much, he was the best we had
Frank O'Neill was his fireman, he was faithful, true and brave
He stayed with Dad, he died with Dad, and filled a new-made grave

It was a bright Spring morning on the twenty-fourth of May
The train crew was at Roanoke, they were feeling fine and gay
Train number three had left Roanoke en route for Huntington
These poor men did not know that they were making their last run

Dad pulled his train, a pleasing smile on his bright face did beam
He did not have to grumble, Frank sure kept him lots of steam
At eleven fifty-two that day, they just left Ingleside
An east-bound freight crushed into them, they took their farewell ride

It seems that all good engineers to duty always sticks
Dad entered into service in the year nineteen and six
He did not have to work to live, they begged him to retire
But Dad would not give his consent, to run was his desire

Dear ladies, if your husband runs an engine on the line
You may expect a message of his death most any time
For railroad men should live for God and always faithful be
Like Dad and Frank, they soon may pass into eternity