Requesting assistance transcribing the lyrics to Yellow Bee as sung by Bertha Lee and accompanied on guitar by Charlie Patton
Yellow Bee
Yellow bee yellow bee please come back to me Yellow bee yellow bee please come back to me He made the best old honey any yellow bee I ever seen
Well he buzzed me this morning been looking for him all day long Well he buzzed me this morning been looking for him all day long had me to the place once hate to see my yellow bee leave home
Well I can't stand here worried, worried, worried come here yellow bee ah you know your stuff ah buzz me yellow bee 'til I gets enough
Yellow bee makes honey black bee make the comb Yellow bee makes honey black bee make the comb If you want to feel blue try to build him a honey comb
Well I can't stand here worried, worried, worried come here yellow bee oh you know your stuff ah buzz me Papa Charlie 'til I gets enough
aehhhhh stinger long as my right arm ahhhhh stinger long as my right arm had me to the place once hate to see my yellow bee leave home
« Last Edit: July 06, 2020, 06:22:52 PM by Johnm »
Hi all, It seemed way overdue to try and get a transcription of Bertha Lee's "Mind Reader Blues", for which she was accompanied by Charlie Patton, working out of E position in standard tuning. I'm not at all sure I have the tagline to the second verse right or the next-to-last verse and would very much appreciate correction/corroboration. Here is "Mind Reader Blues":
INTRO
Baby, I can see just what's on your mind Baby, I can see just what's on your mind You got a long black woman with-a gold teeth in her face
I take a long look right smart down in your mind I take a long look right smart down in your mind And I will see, poor papa, know me up and down the line
Don't kid your mama, you ain't foolin' nobody but yourself Aw, don't kid your mama, you ain't foolin' nobody but yourself And what I see on your mind, you would not have no friends
I remember a day when I was livin' in Lula town I remember a day when I was livin' in Lula town My man did so many wrong things 'til I had to leave the town
I got the riverside, my man got the transfer boat I got the riverside, my man got the transfer boat And last time I seed him, he had a gal 'way out the road
Well, I'm worried now and I won't be worried long Well, I'm worried now and I won't be worried long Well, I'm worried now and I won't be worried long
OUTRO
Edited 7/8 to pick up corrections from banjochris
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: July 08, 2020, 01:34:08 PM by Johnm »
2.1 and 2.2 right SMART down in your mind 2.3 And I'LL SEE POOR PAPA, know me up and down the line (I think she might have meant to sing "coming up and down" but "know" is what came out, not enunciated too well)
5.3 I think might be: he HAD A GAL 'way out the road
Bertha has a similar vocal quality to Booker White that makes some of her vowel sounds difficult to decipher!
Hi taft, Thanks for the suggestion. I had "smack down" originally and am familiar with the idiom but was convinced otherwise. I will re-listen. All best, Johnm
My mother, who was from NE PA, used "right" for emphasis all the time-- "right nice" (of someone), "right friendly," "right neighborly," etc. and I'd hear it used quite a bit when I lived in Vermont. I don't recall hearing it used much here in the Pacific NW though. Like Lightnin' says, there are probably areas where it's part of the common lexicon and other places where the frequency of use is relatively low.
I've heard lots of "right smart", like "he's right smart" or " that hat looks right smart", but I've never heard "smart down" or "right smart down". I haven't heard any "right smack" by itself, either, but I've heard a lot of "right smack dab in the middle..." and some times "right smack down on...". I'm not sure this means anything.
Listening to the way Bertha Lee pronounces other vowels, for instance, the word "mind" at the end of the same line, it sounds like she puts an"uh" before the sound of the vowel, like "mu-ind. and listening to the word in question it sounds like she starts with "smuh" followed by an "a" as in "cat", not an "a" as in "fall". The consonant sounds more like a swallowed "ck" than a "t" to me, giving "smuh-ack".
Wax
Logged
"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it." George Bernard Shaw
“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.” Joseph Heller, Catch-22
I'm hearing "smart" – I can hear the r and the t both, and it's definitely more the a of "smart" than, say, the a of "black," which she sings in the previous line.
When Chris first suggested "smart" when I had "smack", I re-listened and heard "smart". Re-listening again, I find that I still am hearing "smart". All best, Johnm