Hi all,
A trio performance of "Turpentine Blues" by Will Weldon and two unnamed seconding guitarists was on the old Yazoo anthology "Ten Years In Memphis". All three guitarists play out of E position in standard tuning, and their sound is very reminiscent of the Hi Henry Brown songs which have Brown and Charley Jordan working in a duet. The guitarist who is just playing time sets up such a beautiful groove on "Turpentine Blues", while the other two play runs in the treble and bass, respectively. You can hear them best on the solos.
From a musical point of view, it seems very unlikely that Will Weldon is the same musician who recorded later as Casey Bill Weldon, since his voice, rhythmic feel and instrumental sound and technique are altogether different from Casey Bill's. Will Weldon pronounced "poison", "piezin", with a long "I" sound in the first syllable. The song also features a gabby spoken commentary in between the sung lines, and I'm missing a couple of those spoken lines that I'd very much appreciate help with. Here is the trio's performance:
SOLO
Goin' home in the mornin', woman, I sure can't carry you (Spoken: Aw, no!)
Goin' home in the mornin', Lord, I sure can't carry you (Spoken: Ain't gonna carry nobody, that's the main thing)
Ain't nothin' up down there, Lord, a monkey woman can do
I don't want no jet-black woman, Lord, to cook no pie for me (Spoken: Don't cook nor iron)
I don't want no jet-black woman, Lord, to cook no pie for me (Spoken: What kind of man are you?)
'Cause black is evil, I'm scared she might poison me
Some men love high yellow, boy, you give me my black or b'own
Some men love high yellow, boy, you give me my black or b'own (Spoken: That's good notice!)
'Cause your b'own be with you when the yellow puts you down
SOLO (Spoken: Oh, Mr. Will, play it!)
Says, I wonder would it, boy, a matchbox hold my clothes (Spoken: Matchbox, now?)
And I wonder would a matchbox hold my clothes (Spoken: You know how much there ain't? I ain't got nothin')
I ain't got so many, Lord, I got so far to go
Gonna wash my face in the dear old Mexico
Gonna wash my face in dear old Mexico (Spoken: I'm gonna be back here, though)
Gonna eat my breakfast, thousand miles or more
Now, what you gonna do, boy, when your troubles get like mine?
What you gonna do, boy, when your troubles get like mine?
Take you a mouthful of sugar, boy, and drink a bottle of turpentine
SOLO (Spoken: Play it, boy, that's the natch'l lean woman of mine!)
All best,
Johnm
A trio performance of "Turpentine Blues" by Will Weldon and two unnamed seconding guitarists was on the old Yazoo anthology "Ten Years In Memphis". All three guitarists play out of E position in standard tuning, and their sound is very reminiscent of the Hi Henry Brown songs which have Brown and Charley Jordan working in a duet. The guitarist who is just playing time sets up such a beautiful groove on "Turpentine Blues", while the other two play runs in the treble and bass, respectively. You can hear them best on the solos.
From a musical point of view, it seems very unlikely that Will Weldon is the same musician who recorded later as Casey Bill Weldon, since his voice, rhythmic feel and instrumental sound and technique are altogether different from Casey Bill's. Will Weldon pronounced "poison", "piezin", with a long "I" sound in the first syllable. The song also features a gabby spoken commentary in between the sung lines, and I'm missing a couple of those spoken lines that I'd very much appreciate help with. Here is the trio's performance:
SOLO
Goin' home in the mornin', woman, I sure can't carry you (Spoken: Aw, no!)
Goin' home in the mornin', Lord, I sure can't carry you (Spoken: Ain't gonna carry nobody, that's the main thing)
Ain't nothin' up down there, Lord, a monkey woman can do
I don't want no jet-black woman, Lord, to cook no pie for me (Spoken: Don't cook nor iron)
I don't want no jet-black woman, Lord, to cook no pie for me (Spoken: What kind of man are you?)
'Cause black is evil, I'm scared she might poison me
Some men love high yellow, boy, you give me my black or b'own
Some men love high yellow, boy, you give me my black or b'own (Spoken: That's good notice!)
'Cause your b'own be with you when the yellow puts you down
SOLO (Spoken: Oh, Mr. Will, play it!)
Says, I wonder would it, boy, a matchbox hold my clothes (Spoken: Matchbox, now?)
And I wonder would a matchbox hold my clothes (Spoken: You know how much there ain't? I ain't got nothin')
I ain't got so many, Lord, I got so far to go
Gonna wash my face in the dear old Mexico
Gonna wash my face in dear old Mexico (Spoken: I'm gonna be back here, though)
Gonna eat my breakfast, thousand miles or more
Now, what you gonna do, boy, when your troubles get like mine?
What you gonna do, boy, when your troubles get like mine?
Take you a mouthful of sugar, boy, and drink a bottle of turpentine
SOLO (Spoken: Play it, boy, that's the natch'l lean woman of mine!)
All best,
Johnm