Topic: Charlie McCoy Lyrics

[Drew.MS.Blues96]

Candy Man Blues




Chicago 14/8/1934
Charlie McCoy voc,guitar
Chuck Segar piano
Unknown whasboard player

Mama told me, papa told me too
So much candy gonna be death o? you
But I love my candy all in the world I crave
And it seem like candy gonna carry me to my grave.

I looked at my mama forlorn and cry
?Good candy kill me, mama, let me die
Got to have my candy all in the world I crave
And it seem like candy gonna carry me to my grave.

Candy, candy?s gettin? very cheap
Can get good candy cheaper then market meat
That?s why I love my candy all in the world I crave
And it seem like candy gonna carry me to my grave.

Candy, candy ain?t hard to buy
Can get good candy for five and a dime
That?s why I love my candy all in the world I crave
And it seem like candy gonna carry me to my grave.

Run here baby and don?t come slow
Your daddy?s ready and he want to go
I want my candy all in the world I crave
And it seem like candy gonna carry me to my grave.

Look a-here baby, can?t you see
Doin? without candy is killin? me
That?s why I l want my candy, all in the world I crave
And it seem like candy gonna carry me to my grave.

My baby quit me for another man
Had to get a candy from a brand new stand
That?s why I love my candy, all in the world I crave
And it seem like candy gonna carry me to my grave.

Look a-here boys, bear this in mind
Real good candy is hard to find
That?s why I love my candy, all in the world I crave
And it seem like candy gonna carry me to my grave.

[Drew.MS.Blues96]

Charity Blues



Chicago 14/8/1934
Charlie McCoy voc, guitar
Chuck Segar piano

I said charity, charity is my only friend.
I said charity, charity is my only friend.
When I lost my job, the charity took me in.

I said, you ain?t got no money and ain?t got no place to stay.
I said, you ain?t got no money and ain?t got no place to stay.
You better try to get you a job on the P.W.A.

I said, I?m goin? tomorrow out on Charity Street.
I?m goin? tomorrow out on Charity Street.
And ask Mr. Charity man, ?can I have some beans and meat?.

The rent man keep askin? , ?When is you gonna pay??
I said, the rent man keep askin? , ?When is you gonna pay??
I said, ?Just as soon as I get my money from the P.W.A.?

I said, the charity give me my groceries, even buy my shoes and clothes.
I said, the charity give me my groceries, even buy my shoes and clothes.
I say, who give me my lovin?, I swear nobody knows.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I was wondering who the personnel was in the ensembles on the Charlie McCoy cuts earlier in this thread--"It Is So Good, Part 2" and "Your Valves Need Grinding".  If anyone has access to that information, I'd appreciate it very much, because I'm putting the songs in Weeniepedia and would like to give credit where it is due.  Thanks for any help.
All best,
Johnm

[Blues Vintage]

It Is So Good, Part 2  - December 16, 1930, King Edward Hotel, Jackson, Mississippi, 404731-B, OKeh 8881

Guitar – Walter Vincson
Violin (probably) – Bo Chatman
Vocals, Mandolin – Charlie McCoy


Your Valves Need Grinding - late February 1930, Memphis, Tennessee, MEM-802-, Brunswick 7156

Violin (probably) – Bo Chatman
Vocals, Guitar – Charlie McCoy

[Johnm]

Thanks very much for the session information, Harry.  I'll get that up in Weeniepedia.  Thanks!
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Charlie McCoy recorded "Last Time Blues" at a session at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis around September 22, 1929, accompanying himself with a slide in Vestapol tuning. Charlie McCoy played some unusual chord voicings under his I and IV chords in his verse accompaniments. He showed himself to be a smooth operator with the slide and had a really nice tone with it. "Here is "Last Time Blues":



INTRO

Babe, just as sure as a blackbird, flies in the skies above
Babe, just as sure as a blackbird, flies in the skies above
Says, your life ain't worth livin', babe, if you, ain't with the one you love

My baby tried to do me like the, tadpole do the trout
My baby tried to do me like the, tadpole do the trout
That's get me out in the deep water, baby,   then she walks on out

Mmmmmm, good Lordy, send me angel down
Mmmmm, good Lordy, send me a angel down
Say, "Now I can't spare you no angel, but I'll, send you a teasing brown."

I don't think no woman in this, whole round world do right
Don't think no woman in this, whole round world do right
If they be good all day, they will do wrong at night

Baby, and it may be my last time, rider, you sure don't know
May be my last time, baby, you sure don't know
It my be my last time, baby, knocking on your door

CODA

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Charlie McCoy recorded "Motherless And Fatherless Blues" at a session in Chicago on August 31, 1934. DG&R list him as probably self-accompanied, with an unknown second guitarist. In fact, I think he played the piece solo, accompanying himself with a slide in Vestapol, as he did on "Last Time Blues". For someone not primarily known as a slide player, he sure had a beautiful technique, with great tone and a wonderful way of getting from one note to the next. Here is "Motherless And Fatherless Blues":



INTRO

I say, I'm motherless and I'm fatherless, and I've been misled
I say, I'm motherless and I'm fatherless, and I've been misled
And it have caused rocks to be my pillow, and concrete to be my bed

I say, I looked at my mother's picture, hanging upside the wall
Looked at my mother's picture, hanging upside the wall
And I say every time I see, the tears begin to fall

I say, if I could see, her smiling face once more
If I could see, her smiling face once more
I say, I would be through driftin', babe, from door to door

I say, before I lost my mother, had friends for miles and 'round
Before I lost my mother, had friends for miles and 'round
I say, since I've lost her, my friends can not be found

I used to call my mother, she used to come to me
Used to call my mother, she used to come to me
I say, but now I'm calling, and she can't answer me

CODA

All best,
Johnm
 

[Blues Vintage]

Could be that he slurs "it" after "see" but not sure.

2.3 And I say every time I see it


It does sounds like "for miles and 'round" instead of the old saying 'for miles around".

[Johnm]

HI Blues Vintage,
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not hearing "it" after "see" at all, either the vowel sound or the "t" that would end "it".

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Charlie McCoy recorded "Baltimore Blues" at a session in Chicago on August 16, 1934. DG&R list the personnel as Charlie McCoy singing and probably playing guitar, and probably Joe McCoy, guitar. That seems a very good bet for the personnel. Both guitarists are playing out of E position in standard tuning but pitched high. at A, so capoed at the fifth fret, assuming they were tuned to concert pitch. Instrumentally, the song bears a close resemblance to Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe's "New Bumble Bee", with the guitar handling the bass, presumably Joe, playing a similar descending bass line over the I chord and the lead guitar playing a signature lick fill in the seventh and eleventh bars that almost duplicates Minnie's signature fill on that performance. Structurally, the piece is different though, a chorus blues in the "Kokomo Blues"/"Sweet Home Chicago" mold. The "rattlesnake in his quirl" expression saw a lot of use in blues lyrics. Here is "Baltimore Blues":



INTRO

Get that letter, baby, dropped in your back yard? Would come to see you, baby, but your good man got me barred, that's why I'm cryin'
REFRAIN: Oh, baby, don't you want to go?
Honey, back to that city, sweet old Baltimore

Just as sure, baby, one and one is two, gon' have some more money, gonna be up in this world like you, that's why I'm cryin'
REFRAIN: Oh, baby, don't you want to go?
Honey, back to that city, sweet old Baltimore

Askin' all you people, any y'all seen my girl? Got a Spanish complexion and long black curly hair, that's why I'm cryin'
REFRAIN: Oh, baby, don't you want to go?
Honey, back to that city, sweet old Baltimore

Take me back, baby, with my drunken way, don't take me back, baby, I'm gonna stay drunk every day, that's why I'm cryin'
REFRAIN: Oh, baby, don't you want to go?
Honey, back to that city, sweet old Baltimore

Knowed you didn't want me, baby, when you first stepped 'cross my bed, drinkin' your bad whiskey, was talkin' all out your head, that's why I'm cryin'
REFRAIN: Oh, baby, don't you want to go?
Honey, back to that city, sweet old Baltimore

My baby got ways, like a rattlesnake in his quirl, every time she quiver, oh, it's out this world, that's why I'm cryin'
REFRAIN: Oh, baby, don't you want to go?
Honey, back to that city, sweet old Baltimore

CODA

Edited 5/14 to pick up correction from Blues Vintage and waxwing

All best,
Johnm   

[Blues Vintage]

Sounds like "quirl" in the last verse and fits the context better.

rattlesnake in his coil quirl

[Johnm]

Hi Blues Vintage,
There is no such word as "quirl" in English. Rattlesnakes coil before striking. Charlie McCoy's pronunciation of "coil" is due to a regional accent. I'm leaving it as is, but will put an explanatory note in Weeniepedia about that pronunciation.

[Blues Vintage]

I looked it up; it's a variant of curl. But your explanation makes sense too.

[waxwing]

I think ”quirl” should be entered as the lyric sung and the note, if needed, should indicate that it is a regional dialectic (AAVE) variant of curl.

This is looking to me like another attempt to strip African American culture from this site. “Quirl”, as also used by Patton in Rattlesnake Blues, is pretty well documented as a dialectic variant or synonym, really. Yet, the argument is made that "There is no such word as "quirl" in English.” That perception could be because, as I reported earlier, it is proven that African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a different language from, altho derivative of, Standard American English. I feel strongly that a website offering transcriptions of African American singers should attempt to represent the language of the singer as clearly as possible. Not ‘what it would be in SAE.

To me it is actually far more interesting in the vernacular. I also think that these transcriptions are valuable to a much broader market than just those who want to sing them in SAE. Those with a variety of historical/anthropological/linguistic/musicological interests I’m sure greatly appreciate the work and effort that has gone into these transcriptions. Are they not part of our community?

There is currently a political movement in the USA to mandate removal of African American history, particularly mention of slavery and Jim Crow, from the curriculum of any schools receiving public funding. I would be greatly saddened to hear that Weenie Campbell is somehow in alignment with this thinking. I hope that the Steering Committee can make a policy decision regarding the preservation of African American culture as it is an all encompassing aspect of the music we claim to preserve in our mission statement on our home page.

Preserving Country Blues through Education, Performance and Technology

Wax

[MarkC]

I found this (click on Examples):
https://www.wordnik.com/words/quirl

One of the examples mentions a snake.

It’s also spelled querl.