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Country Blues => Country Blues Lyrics => Topic started by: HardLuckChild on July 01, 2004, 08:02:17 PM
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Does anyone know the lyrics to Texas Alexander's wonderful, primal tune, "Levee Camp Moan?
https://youtu.be/APsIKxTtmHI
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Here goes:
Mmmm,mmmm,mmm
Lord, they accused me of murder, murder, murder, I haven't harmed a man
Lord, they accused me of murder, I haven't harmed a man
Oh, they have accused me of murder and I haven't harmed a man.
Mmmm, they have 'cused me of forgery and uhh I can't write my name
Lord, they have accused me of forgery and I can't write my name.
I went all around that whole career, I couldn't find a mule with his shoulder wear
Lord, I couldn't find a mule with his shoulder wear
I worked all month and I worked up here
I couldn't find a mule, Maggie, with his shoulder wear.
Mmmm, mmm, mmmm, Lord, like morning bells.
Lord, she went up the country, yeah, but she's on my mind
Well, she went up the country but she's on my mind.
Oh, if she don't come on the big boat, boys, she better not laugh
Lord, if she don't come on the big boat, big boat, I mean she better not laugh
Mmmmm, mmmm, mmmm
Lord, if she don't come on the big boat, I mean, she better not laugh.
I expect it is not all right, but I think it is mostly pretty close.
All best,
Johnm
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The first two sections may explain where expatriate Eddie Boyd got material for his 1950s hit "Third Degree."
FYI,
Jed
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Hi all,
I was thinking about this tune and realized this, and the other tunes Lonnie Johnson did backing Texas Alexander are just about my favorite blues playing by Lonnie. It is such an original approach to accompaniment--almost no chords, just melodic lines answering the voice and taking advantage of that great tone that he (Lonnie) had. It's great to hear him operating outside of his normal bag.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi John:
Welcome back.
I don't think Lonnie dared to chords with Texas Alexander, he varies the arrangement every verse in this tune. Safer with single notes.
tough man to follow!
Alex
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Hi Alex,
You make a good point--I think I'd be nervous about landing a little too heavily if I was backing up Texas Alexander. Little Hat Jones takes a more conventional accompaniment role, and while he does fine, I don't think his approach works as well as Lonnie's did..
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
I've been listening to Texas Alexander a lot recently and was particularly struck by "Sabine River Blues". It's one of the prettiest blues melodies I have heard, and Texas Alexander sings it magnificently (as he did just about everything he sang). It was recorded in New York on August 16, 1927, and the ultra-slick pianist Eddie Heywood backed Alexander on the song. It is a fascinating pairing, because Heywood's sophisticated harmonic sense is at some odds with Alexander's very "country" sense of phrasing and unpredictability. They make it work, though, and in a lot of ways, Heywood's approach is really flattering to Alexander's singing.
The notes to the Matchbox CD, "Texas Alexander, Vol. 1", where I heard this cut, include an interesting quote from Lonnie Johnson to Paul Oliver re the difficulties he encountered in accompanying Texas Alexander:
"He was a very difficult singer to accompany; he was liable to jump a bar, or five bars, or anything. You just had to be a fast thinker to play for Texas Alexander. When you been out there with him you done nine days work in one! Believe me, brother, he was hard to play for. He would jump--jump keys, anything. You just have to watch him, that's all."
Listening to "Sabine River Blues", you do come to sympathize with Johnson and Heywood, for it took all of their knowledge and expertise to make the pairing work musically. "Sabine River" is set up as a 16-bar blues, but Alexander switches to a 12-bar form in the second verse, catching Heywood, who lands on a IV chord as you would in a 16-bar blues on the downbeat of the 9th bar, off-guard. Heywood makes such a instantaneous recovery, going right to the V chord, that you really have to listen to catch it. In the third verse, Alexander switches back to the 16-bar form; Heywood finesses the question of what form is going to be sung by having an instant of silence on the downbeat of the ninth bar. Alexander hums the fourth verse as a twelve-bar blues, and Heywood follows with his solo, which must have been a relief for him, in a way. Alexander maintains a 16-bar form for the verse following the solo, and Heywood is just guessing as the ninth bar rolls around. Alexander switches back to a 12-bar form for the final verse, and Heywood goes right along with him. In many ways, I find Heywood's playing on this tune more impressive than a note-perfect rendition accompanying a singer who phrased more regularly would be. It is sensational playing, really, as good as the singing, and that is saying something, with a great deal of improvisation and harmonic variation. It's a terrific performance all the way around.
Alexander pronounces Sabine with a short a, like "sad" in the first syllable, and a long E sound, like "heat" in the second syllable.
https://youtu.be/xXzHMMvzDBk
Sabine River, mama, so deep and wide, oh Lordy,
Sabine River, mama, so deep and wide (2)
I can see my baby on the other side
Some cookin' cabbage, some cookin' collard greens, oh Lord, there is
Some cookin' cabbage, some cookin' collard greens
My woman got the best old garden, mama, 'round New Orleans
I'm goin' to New Orleans, babe, what you want me to bring you back? Oh Lordy,
Goin' to New Orleans, what you want me to bring you back? (2)
A new pair of shoes and a Merry Widow hat
Mmmmmmm (hummed verse)
SOLO:
Iron my duckings, you can press my overhall (sic), oh Lord, you can
Iron my duckings, you can press my overhalls, you can
Iron my duckings, press my overhalls
'Cause I'm just in time to catch that midnight Cannonball
I'm leavin', sweet mama, don't you want to go? Oh, Lordy, I am
Leavin', sweet mama, don't you want to go?
'Cause my house is hainted (sic) and I can't stay there no more
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Another Texas Alexander performance I've been enjoying is "Deep Blue Sea Blues". He recorded it, backed by Lonnie Johnson, in San Antonio, on March 9, 1928. Listening to these recordings is making crystal clear what a wonderful player Lonnie Johnson was, and being placed in the position of constantly having to be ready to go someplace unexpected or jump the form had the effect of making his playing very fresh and in-the-moment at all times (certainly moreso than when he accompanied himself). It's hard to think of any other recordings in which the singer and the accompanist both have such beautiful tones on their instruments.
It's becoming apparent in listening to Texas Alexander that his lyrics, like Lemon's, turned up everywhere after he recorded them. It would really be interesting to look at the lyrics of Blues players who survived into the '60s but were of the older generation, like John Hurt and Mance Lipscomb to see earlier appearances of lyrics they recorded in the '60s. I've already encountered several instances of this, though, of course the lyrics may have been out there shared by everybody.
God, Texas Alexander sang well. Almost every one of his songs includes a hummed verse, and it is a treat every time.
https://youtu.be/ekVgW0buEPw
I followed my woman from the station to the train (2)
Says the blues fell down like midnight showers of rain
I left her at the station, wringin' her hands and cryin' (2)
I told her she had a home, long as I got mine
Mmmmm, Mmmmm
Mmmmm, Mmmmm
I told her she had a home, long as I got mine
You can search that ocean, go across that deep blue sea (2)
But you cannot find not 'nother man like me
I'm goin' to be arraigned, gonna sign my initials down
I'm goin' to be arrained, gonna sign my initial down
Says these women don't like me, these men don't want me 'round
Edited 9/27 to pick up correction from dj
Edited 9/27 to pick up correction from Uncle Bud
Edited 6/16 to pick up correction from dingwall
All best,
Johnm
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I'm goin' to Berry, gonna sign my initials down
Anyone have any idea what this line means? There's a Barry, Texas about 30 miles south of Dallas, just west of Corsicana. It looks to be a pretty small town - about 10 streets, most of them about 2 blocks long. Is that where Texas is going, or is there somewhere else that makes more sense? And what's he going to sign up for there? I guess it could be farm work or sharecropping. Or could this song be a relic from World War I and he's going to sign up for the army? If so, Barry, Texas seems a pretty small and out-of-the-way place to do that.
By the way, that's one beautiful set of lyrics. I haven't heard that much from Texas Alexander - just the few cuts that showed up on the Sony anthologies. I guess I'll have to seek him out.
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Thanks, dj, for tracking Barry down. I'm sure that is the spot of which Texas Alexander was singing. I find a lot of the "goin' to _______" lyrics in Country Blues mysterious because it is so difficult at this point to have any sense of what the allure of the places was at the time in which the songs were sung. Robert Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues" gets high points in this regard; to most of us, what are Friar's Point and Rosedale but dots on a Rand McNally Road Atlas?
All best,
Johnm
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It's one of the prettiest blues melodies I have heard
I'm sure there's a Ma Rainey song that uses this melody almost exactly... one of the songs with a 12-string guitar player providing accompaniment (Miles Pruitt?)... can't place the title, though.
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John M,
I keep thinking about that "sign my initials down" line. The last line of the verse makes it seem that Texas won't be around anymore after he signs his initials, which keeps making me think of military service - something that will take him far away, and possibly across the "deep sea". I'm going completely on conjecture here, since I don't have a copy of "Deep Sea Blues" to listen to, but might the first two lines in the last verse actually be "I'm goin' to barracks, gonna sign my initials down"?
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Sure sounds like Berry/Barry to me (actually more like Berry). No chance that it's "bury"? Doesn't make sense, really.
BTW, you can listen to a fair amount Texas Alexander using RealAudio (or faking RealAudio like I do with less invasive software called RealAlternative) at redhotjazz.com: http://www.redhotjazz.com/talexander.html. Deep Blue Sea Blues is there. Is it Deep Blue Sea or Deep Sea?
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Hi all,
dj, I'm certain Texas Alexander is not saying "barracks", or rather, that if he is saying it, he is pronouncing it "Barry". Could not the meaning of this line simply be "I'm leaving here, going to Barry, and I will swear to that, sign an affidavit if necessary. I'm not kidding around!"?
The title I have on the CD is "Deep Blue Sea Blues", Uncle Bud. Whoops, good catch! I see why you asked the question and I will make the change.
If you think of the title of that Ma Rainey tune, Frank, could you let me know? My listening to her music is way too sketchy. I realized that the melody to "Sabine River Blues" sounds like a variant of "C.C. Rider" to me. Sung as a 16-bar blues, its bars 5--16 are pretty much identical to the melody of "C.C. Rider" you hear most often (not John Hurt's).
All best,
Johnm
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Could not the meaning of this line simply be "I'm leaving here, going to Barry, and I will swear to that, sign an affidavit if necessary. I'm not kidding around!"?
I had a listen to this at the Red Hot Jazz Archive (thanks, Uncle Bud!). Alexander's enunciation is remarkably good and johnm obviously has the lyrics transcribed correctly, so I think his surmise on the meaning of "sign my initials down" is probably correct.
It's funny, whenever you read about Texas Alexander, the author gets in a line about how "primitive" his style is, but he recorded with some great accompanists, he had remarkably clear diction, and from the small sample of songs I've listened to or read the words to, his lyrics were poetic and held together into a cohesive and logical whole. In other words, he really doesn't sound primitive at all to me.
I guess it was the lyric cohesiveness of the rest of "Deep Blue Sea Blues" that made me so anxious to make sense of the final verse.
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Boe Hog Blues" with Lonnie Johnson backing him, in San Antonio on March 10, 1928, the day after they recorded "Deep Blue Sea Blues". The sessions those two days were remarkably productive; March the ninth resulted in 9 issued songs, and March tenth yielded an additional three cuts.
By this time, Lonnie Johnson sounds comfortable accompanying Texas Alexander, at least as comfortable as you could ever be. Lonnie is getting into some harmonic innovation here, too. On several songs from these sessions, he is going to the IV chord in the second bar of the 12-bar form, a move I always thought showed up much later in the evolution of the blues. Moreover, in a couple of instances, he goes to IVminor add9 in the second half of the second and sixth bars, the fingering of which, in his preferred DGDGBE tuning turns out so:
X-0-0-3-3-5
It's really a pretty sound, and gives things a nice color there.
Texas Alexander had a vocal mannerism of repeating the tag line of a verse occasionally, usually waiting until four bars after the completion of the verse to start the repetition, coinciding with the arrival of the IV chord in the next pass through the form. He does that here coming out of what looked like it was to be a hummed verse. The dilemma for Lonnie Johnason as an accompanist is whether he should finish out the form he has started, playing the final four bars of the pass, or bet on Texas Alexander starting his next verse at the conclusion of the four bars containing the repetition. On "Boe Hog Blues", Lonnie made the second choice, and it turns out perfectly. On some of the other songs, he opts to complete the form and ends up having Texas Alexander start a new verse over the V chord, in the ninth bar of the pass through the form containing the repetition. It appears that by this point Lonnie had figured out that you needed to be ready to bail out on the form, if the accompaniment was to match the singer's phrasing.
Texas Alexander's performance is terrific. His lyrics are superlative, and cover so much ground that there's almost no way to tie them all together. To my taste, at least, the frankness of his sexual lyrics is welcome, especially when compared to standard "party" material, which at my time of life is starting to seem like kid's stuff. As for his last verse, wow.
https://youtu.be/KAN5Bcm61SY
Oh, tell me, mama, how you want your rollin' done. (2)
Set your face to the ground and your noodle up to the sun
She got little bitty legs, gee, but them noble thighs (2)
She's got somethin' under yonder, works like a boe hog's eye
Wanta be your doctor, and I'll pay your doctor bill
I'll be your doctor, pay your doctor bill
Says, if the doctor don't cure you, I've got somethin' will
Mmmm, Mmmm, Lawdy, Lawdy, Lawd
I say if the doctor don't cure you, I've got somethin' will
Says, I looked up at the Good Lord in the sky
Says, I looked up at the Good Lord's in the sky
Says, I heard a keen voice, says, "Papa, please don't die."
SOLO:
SPOKEN: Ah, tell it to me!
All best,
Johnm
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Boe Hog Blues, as someone pointed out to me a little while ago (perhaps Bunker Hill or Chezztone), was a source for Geeshie Wiley's Skinny Leg Blues. I can't hear it properly right now from redhotjazz.com, but the line from Geeshie's tune, as we had settled upon in that thread, coming from the second verse here was
I got little bitty legs, keep up these noble thighs
I have to say, John, your timing is excellent (or bad) as I had just been looking for some Texas Alexander and it seems to be out of stock. Might be able to find the Catfish release somewhere.
One nice thing about Texas Alexander is you get to hear Lonnie Johnson with a different singer. :P Sorry, but he's often dreadfully dull, IMO, for such an astonishing musician. Little Hat Jones freaks should also take note that Little Hat accompanies TA on some tracks as well, essentially extending the much smaller (compared to Lonnie Johnson) Little Hat repertoire.
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I'm in agreement with you, Uncle Bud, on the musically beneficial effects of hearing Lonnie Johnson accompany a singer other than himself. From my point of view, Texas Alexander was the greatest thing that ever happened to Lonnie Johnson in terms of performing blues. If you hear Lonnie sing Standards from his '60s recordings, he really seems to get into them more than the blues, and they suit his voice and vocal delivery better, too. He always had a good voice, but with blues he sometimes seems to disappear emotionally, at least in his singing.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "98 Degree Blues" in 1929, backed by the great Texas guitarist, Little Hat Jones. I have the song on the early Yazoo anthology "Tex-Arkana-Louisiana Country".
Little Hat Jones backs Texas Alexander out of A in standard tuning, and the Texas sound of that position really suits Alexander's singing. The two seem very locked in; there are no instances of tentativeness on either one's part. Jones starts with a very up-tempo intro that concludes with a controlled deceleration into the singing tempo, which is considerably slower. The song, until the last two verses, follows a 16-bar form that is not like any one we have encountered prior to this. Instead of repeating the move to the IV chord like most 16-bar blues, this one has four bars of the I chord at the back end of the form to accompany a reiteration of the tag line of the verse. It works exceptionally well, and flowing into it right after the conclusion of the first 12 bars seems to eliminate much of the guesswork you encounter in tunes with Lonnie Johnson where Alexander waits four bars before repeating the tag line.
Texas Alexander really raises the rafters here, even by his standards. Once again, his lyrics showed up elsewhere later. The first verse showed up in Sleepy John Estes's oddly titled, "Who's Been Tellin' You, Buddy Brown Blues". Re the second verse: when you're right, you're right.
https://youtu.be/XUjD1Dqrczw
I'm gonna get up in the morning, do like Buddy Brown
Gonna get up in the morning, do like Buddy Brown
I'm gonna eat my breakfast, God, and lay back down
I say I'm gonna eat my breakfast, man, and lay back down
When a man get hairy, know he needs a shave (2)
When a woman get musty, you know she needs to bathe
I say, when a woman get musty, oh, you know she needs a bathe
I've got somethin' to tell you, make the hair rise on your head (2)
Got a new way of lovin' a woman, make the springs screech on her bed
I've got a new way of lovin' a woman, make the springs screech on her bed
If you don't b'lieve I love you, look what a fool I've been (2)
Woman, if you don't b'lieve I love you, ah, look what a shape I'm in
Says, I love my baby, my baby, Lord, better than I do myself
I says I love my baby, better than I do myself
If she don't love me she won't love nobody else
Edited 9/29 to pick up correction from frankie
All best,
Johnm
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If you think of the title of that Ma Rainey tune, Frank, could you let me know?
The Ma Rainey song I was thinking of is "Farewell Daddy Blues." MR sings it consistently as a 12-bar blues, though. I guess they could both be variants of CC Rider.
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Texas Alexander recorded "98 Degree Blues" in 1929, backed by the great and under-recorded Texas guitarist, Willie Reed.
Is this really Willie Reed? It always sounded like Little Hat Jones to me - he even does that slowdown thing on songs he sings himself.
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Hi Frank,
Thanks for the title on the Ma Rainey tune, I will have to find that one. As to whether Willie Reed is the accompanist on "98 Degree Blues", you make a good point about Little Hat starting fast and slowing down on his solo tunes. The touch sounds a bit more like Willie Reed to me than Little Hat Jones, but I don't have access to the session information on that tune, and just assumed that the personnel reported on the Yazoo anthology was correct. Do you have information on the session in which "98 Degrees" was recorded, dj? Thanks for any help.
All best,
Johnm
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The notes to the Yazoo CD (I'm guessing you're working from vinyl, John?), Don't Leave Me Here - the Blues of Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, say that it is Little Hat accompanying Texas A. here, so Stephen Calt must have revised them?
I agree that the fast intro, slow down to do the tune is very Little Hat. But you're right, John, the balance of the tune sure sounds a lot like Willie Reed's style of playing in A to me now that you point it out. Am curious to know the answer.
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Texas Alexander recorded "Ninety-Eight Degree Blues" as part of an 8 song session on Saturday, June 15, 1929. The master numbers assigned to the session were 402639 - 402646. Little Hat Jones was also in the studio that day, recording two titles, master numbers 402647 and 402648 (so immediately following Alexander's masters. Jones's titles were "New Two Sixteen Blues" and "Two String Blues"). It is not known that Willie Reed recorded anything between December 8, 1928 and December 5, 1929. This circumstantial evidence points to Jones playing the guitar on "Ninety-Eight Degree Blues".
The fourth edition of Blues And Gospel Records has Jones as the accompanist on Alexander's sides recorded on this date. This may be based on the evidence cited above or on something more concrete.
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Thanks for the clarification, dj. It does certainly make the most sense that Little Hat Jones was the accompanist on "98 Degree Blues". Good catch, Frank. I will make the change.
All best,
Johnm
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Attached samples both Texas Alexander's Sabine River Blues and Ma Rainey's Farewell Daddy Blues, just for comparison. They sound uncannily similar to me in the first strain - then ultimately diverge. I'm probably thinking too hard, again.
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Thanks for posting the Ma Rainey track, Frank. I'm away from home for a week, and not on my own computer, so I'll wait to download it, but I think the real beauty in the "Sabine River Blues" is in that opening strain, really the first four notes of the melody, so if that's where the similarity lies, good on Ma Rainey.
I packed the Texas Alexander CD (I thought) in my luggage to keep doing transcriptions while I was gone, and actually left the CD itself in my CD player at home, so I'm temporarily dead in the water in terms of doing more transcriptions. Arggh! I get excited about this stuff and just want to keep going. Oh, well, soon enough, I suppose.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi All,
Texas Alexander recorded "Double Crossing Blues" in 1929, backed by Little Hat Jones. I found it on the old Yazoo anthology, "Blues From The Western States". Little Hat backs Alexander out of the E position in standard tuning, and as was his wont, begins the song with an up-tempo intro, simultaneously flashy and sloppy, before bringing the tempo back down to the singer's preferred pace. Little Hat's accompaniment for "Double Crossing Blues" makes it a good candidate for "The Influence of Lonnie Johnson" thread over on the Main Forum, for Little Hat apes Lonnie's preferred IV chord back-up lick (though Lonnie did it out of D rather than E), and also plays Lonnie's signature D run (though, once again, in E) throughout the number. I have heard post-rediscovery recordings by Eugene Powell (Sonny Boy Nelson) adopting a very similar approach to playing like Lonnie Johnson out of E, in standard tuning.
Texas Alexander is in magnificent voice, here, and seems a perfect example of a "country" Bluesman rather than a "city" one, for sticking to his personalized sense of the blues form rather than conforming to a received sense of the form. His pet habit of repeating the tag line of a verse after waiting 8 bars flummoxes Little Hat a couple of times. When Alexander repeats the line, "I says I likes me a woman that do not run around", he is clearly feeling it as the ninth bar of the form, but Little Hat treats it as the first bar of the form, following the end of the line to the IV chord, from where the pass moves abortively into the next verse. I bring up these issues, not to point up errors or say they should have rehearsed more, but out of interest in what is involved when people make music together, how prior musical experiences condition them to make particular choices in a given context, and how gifted players work to accommodate a great singer whose sense of phrasing does not always mesh with their own.
Texas Alexander had a quality I associate with Lightnin' Hopkins: the ability to sing cliched blues lyrics and make them seem perfectly fresh and personal. I don't know how you do that exactly, except perhaps by being so heavily invested and focused on your singing that you own everything you do, emphatically.
https://youtu.be/9cTJV9OgB8c
Some mens like doggin', I just declare I don't (2)
Baby, if you think I'm gon' stand you mistreatin' me, I declare I won't
PARTIAL SOLO:
I say, if you think I'm gonna stand you mistreatin' me, woman, I declare I won't
Let's stop our foolishness, baby, and try to settle down
Let's stop our foolishness, and try to settle down
Says, I always wants a woman that do not run around
PARTIAL SOLO:
SPOKEN: Jam it! Jam it!
I says, I likes me a woman that do not run around
I used to have me a woman, good as any in this town (2)
She had so many men, she kept me always a-cryin'
Mmmmm, Mmmmmmmmm
She had so many men she kept me always cryin'
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
For "I Am Calling Blues", recorded on November 20, 1928 in New York City, Texas Alexander was accompanied by the great early Jazz guitarist Eddie Lang. Lang backs Alexander, as his sometime playing partner, Lonnie Johnson, did, out of D, though Lang used standard tuning where Lonnie used his modified dropped-D tuning. Lang's approach to accompaniment is more chordal and less linear than Lonnie's, and his time has less tension and snap than did Lonnie's, but Lang's chordal approach is really beautiful, and he gets some nifty transitional passages. He varies the chordal progression somewhat as he goes, but in the main, it goes like this. I've indicated how many beats each chord is held in the progression with the vertical marks above the chords:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| D over F# Daug over F#| G Gmin| D Fdim7 A7overE| D over F# D9/A |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| G | G Gmin| D over F# Fdim7 A7overE| D/F# Eflat dim7|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A7 |Bflat7 A7| D over F# Fdim7 A7/E | D/F#Eflatdim7 A7/E D dim7/Aflat|
For those of you who are interested, Lang uses the following chordal positions:
* D over F# (his "home" chord): X-X-4-2-3-2
* D aug over F# (or F# aug): X-X-4-3-3-2
* G: 3-5-5-4-3-X
* G Minor: 3-5-5-3-3-X
* F dim 7: X-X-3-4-3-4
* A7 over E: X-X-2-2-2-3
* D9 over A: X-0-4-5-5-5
* Eflat dim 7: X-X-1-2-1-2
* B flat 7: X-1-3-3-3-4
* D dim7/Aflat: 4-X-3-4-X-X
Lang moves between these chords with a wonderful economy. He resolves the D dim7/Aflat at the end of the form up by a half-step into D7 over A. Interestingly, a lot of these moves turn up later in the work of some of the more sophisticated blues guitarists. Scrapper Blackwell uses the D dim7/Aflat to D7 over A resolution, one whole step up, in his '60s recording of "Going Where The Monon Crosses The Yellow Dog", and Snooks Eaglin often uses the Eflat dim7 to A7 over E move, but in the key of A rather than D, where it ends up being Bflat dim7 to E7 over B. Lang plays some nice linking runs in his accompaniment, too. Like everyone else who accompanied Texas Alexander, he gets caught one time, for Alexander begins the final verse in the ninth bar of a hummed solo pass.
https://youtu.be/ju6zUHcT75E
Listen here, woman, I'm calling on your name
Oh, listen here, woman, calling on your name
You've got me in trouble, and you say you ain't to blame
Mmmmmm, Mmmmmmm guitar answers
Mmmmmm, Mmmmmmm guitar answers
Now you've got me rin (sic) trouble and you say you ain't to blame
Don't you never drive a stranger from your door (2)
He may be your best friend, mama, says, you don't know
Mmmmmm SOLO:
My woman got somethin' and I ain't ashamed (2)
When I loves my woman it puts me in a trance
SOLO:
All best,
Johnm
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...the ability to sing cliched blues lyrics and make them seem perfectly fresh and personal. I don't know how you do that exactly.
Reading the lyrics you've posted in this thread, John, I think one of the ways to do this is to form the cliches into a coherent narrative. Texas Alexander is remarkably good at this. I'm not nearly familiar enough with Texas Alexander, but from what I've read here he didn't tend to "start singin' about that shoe there and wind up singin' about that banana", as Son House accused Charley Patton of doing.
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Hi all,
Thanks, dj, for that insight, and that's a wonderful quote from Son House, by the way, that I had never heard before.
In a slight change of topic, I wondered if any of you were who are more conversant than I with the Classic Blues knew whether the first verse of "I Am Calling Blues"--
Listen here, woman, I'm calling on your name
You've got me in trouble, and you say you ain't to blame
was originally sung by a woman blues singer, with "daddy" or whatever else might be appropriate, substituted for "woman". I ask, because the lyric's stance seems more appropriately sung by a woman. I'm just wondering.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
"Range In My Kitchen Blues" is the first number ever recorded by Texas Alexander; he recorded it on August 11, 1927 , in New York City, backed by Lonnie Johnson. Lonnie sounds like a million bucks and weathers whatever unexpected events that were encountered in the course of the tune with great aplomb. Texas Alexander begins his repetition of the tag line of the first verse after a two-bar (!) guitar solo. The ending of the song is just great. Texas Alexander begins a pass humming with Lonnie playing answering runs. After the first four bars of the pass Alexander stops humming and lets Lonnie play out the pass as a solo, concluding the whole thing with a pretty little coda.
https://youtu.be/WWnZhp2_4yY
I've got a range in my kitchen, ain't doin' me no good
I've got a range in my kitchen, and ain't doin' me no good
I'm gon' get me a New York woman to burn my coal and wood
SOLO: 2 bars
I'm gonna get me a New York woman to burn my coal and wood
I've got a brand new skillet, gonna get me a brand new lid (2)
Gonna get me a New York woman for to burn my southern bread
Mmmmm, Mmmm w/ guitar for 8 bars
Gonna get me a New York Woman, gonna burn my Southern bread
Lordy, Lordy, dear me, what am I to do?
Oh Lordy, dear me, what am I to do?
Tryin' to make some money for to bring back home to you
Mmmm, Mmmm w/guitar for 4 bars
Guitar finishes pass w/tag
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander and Lonnie Johnson recorded "Section Gang Blues" on August 12, 1927, their second day in the studio together. It immediately preceded the (I believe) better-known "Levee Camp Moan Blues", and in many ways is a companion piece to it. Both share the freer phrasing and lack of chordal content of the work song, and it is in keeping with the origins of such songs, sung without instrumental accompaniment, that Lonnie Johnson came up with an inspired accompaniment approach: to treat the guitar as another voice, responding to Texas Alexander's sung lines in kind, just as a work gang responds to the lead singer on the gang. The approach works as well as it did, it must be acknowledged, in great part because of Lonnie's sumptuous tone on the guitar. His beautiful vibrato, bends and sustain compliment Alexander's singing so well, whereas another accompanist with a more conventional tone production and way of making notes on the instrument probably could not have pulled it off. Alexander sounds as though he is perfectly in his element. Nothing against present-day musicians, or for that matter, musicians of the future, but this is one tune I hope fervently never to hear covered.
As for the lyrics, I assume in verse three that "What's the matter wit' you?" is the captain responding to the singer. I assume Battle Axe was a chewing tobacco brand. Otherwise, I guess I'm just hearing it wrong. The way in which the repetitions in the lyrics work changes from verse to verse.
https://youtu.be/F1boVpUQoXQ
I'm been workin' on the Section, Section 32
I'll get a dollar and a quarter, I won't have to work hard as you
Lord, I'll get a dollar and a quarter, I won't have to work hard as you
Oh, nigger licks molasses, and the white man licks 'em, too
I wonder what in the world is the Mexicans gonna do?
Lord, the nigger licks molasses, the white man licks 'em too
"Oh, Captain, Captain?" "What's the matter wit' you?"
"If you've got any Battle Axe, please, sir, give me a chew."
"Lord, Captain, Captain?" "What's the matter with you?"
Waterboy, waterboy, bring your water 'round
If you ain't got no water, set your bucket down
Waterboy, waterboy, bring your water 'round
"Oh, Captain, Captain, what time of day?"
Oh, he looked at me and he walked away
Mmmmmm, mmmmmm w/guitar
"Lord, Captain, Captain?" "What's the matter with you?"
"If you've got any Battle Axe, Battle Axe, please, sir, give me a chew."
Mmmmmm, mmmmmm w/guitar
Lord, ah Lord, oh Lord
Edited 1/3/21 to pick up correction from neville
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
I have merged an earlier thread, in which Hard Luck Child requested the lyrics to Texas Alexander's "Levee Camp Moan Blues" with this thread, so that all the Alexander lyrics will be in one thread.
All best,
Johnm
-
I assume Battle Axe was a chewing tobacco brand. Otherwise, I guess I'm just hearing it wrong. The way in which the repetitions in the lyrics work changes from verse to verse.
Indeed was. I remember that when the song appeared on a 1968 Roots LP somebody responding to the review noted that a shop in London's Charing Cross Road London, had a sign in its window stating they were stockists of Stockton Battle Axe Chewing Tobacco.
The shop, Smiths, then a snuff and tobacco specialist of longstanding, were still occupying the same premises a couple of years back. Don't know if they still sell Battle Axe though! Is this useless information, or is this useless information? ;D
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Thanks for the information, Bunker Hill, from my point of view it is far from useless. I have not yet caught on to doing searches on the internet, and so am glad to hear the way I heard the lyric corroborated
All best,
Johnm
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I keep thinking about that "sign my initials down" line. The last line of the verse makes it seem that Texas won't be around anymore after he signs his initials, which keeps making me think of military service - something that will take him far away, and possibly across the "deep sea". I'm going completely on conjecture here, since I don't have a copy of "Deep Sea Blues" to listen to, but might the first two lines in the last verse actually be "I'm goin' to barracks, gonna sign my initials down"?
The late Keith Briggs in his Words, Words, Words column for Blues & Rhythm tackled this topic prompted by a reader who was interested in Blind Willie McTell's use of "I'm going to Savannah mama sign my initials down". I'll see if I can locate it.
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I keep thinking about that "sign my initials down" line. The last line of the verse makes it seem that Texas won't be around anymore after he signs his initials, which keeps making me think of military service - something that will take him far away, and possibly across the "deep sea". I'm going completely on conjecture here, since I don't have a copy of "Deep Sea Blues" to listen to, but might the first two lines in the last verse actually be "I'm goin' to barracks, gonna sign my initials down"?
The late Keith Briggs in his Words, Words, Words column for Blues & Rhythm tackled this topic prompted by a reader who was interested in Blind Willie McTell's use of "I'm going to Savannah mama sign my initials down". I'll see if I can locate it.
I'm reliably informed that this appeared on pages 24-5 of Blues & Rhythm 198 (April 2005) but was more of a discussion of McTell's other verse concerning writing his initials on a wall. Unfortunately I don't possess the issue to ascertain what is what...
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "West Texas Blues" on March 9, 1928, in San Antonio, backed by Lonnie Johnson, in a particularly productive session that yielded 9 sides. Like many of Alexander's songs, it is unclear why it was given the title it ended up with, since there is nothing in the lyric that pertains particularly to West Texas. Perhaps the record company thought (rightfully, I would guess) that it didn't matter what title the song was given.
"West Texas Blues" is one of the smoother Alexander/Johnson collaborations and the first I have transcribed in which Alexander does not hum even a four-bar phrase. Lonnie Johnson also takes no solo, a rarity for the records he made with Alexander. Quite often, the songs Texas Alexander and Lonnie Johnson recorded together have three verses, "West Texas Blues" has five, so perhaps that left less time for soloing or humming. Once again, many of these lyrics turned up quite often in later recordings. That tag line on the third verse sure is a beauty.
https://youtu.be/uVT0dqLS0Yw
Don't the moon look pretty, shinin' down through the trees? (2)
I can see my woman, but she can't see me
I'm gonna build my house on Jackson Avenue (2)
So I can see everything that my rider do
I laid down last night, I was tryin' to take my rest
I laid down last night, tried to take my rest
Then my mind kept a-ramblin', like the wild geese in the West
I ain't got nobody to talk sweet talk to me (2)
And I ain't got nobody to jump me up and down
I used to have a woman, good as an' in this town (2)
Says, she quit me this mornin', don't want me hangin' around
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Don't You Wish Your Baby Was Built Up Like Mine?" later on in the same day he recorded "West Texas Blues". The tempo Lonnie Johnson sets up is wonderfully suited to Alexander's singing; it's a slow-to-medium tempo, but with a terrific internal tension and snap. Lonnie's playing here is just masterful. A lot of his runs have quick little hitches in them that would make them very difficult to copy, and impossible to play better than he did, I would guess. Texas launches into a humming pass, accompanying Lonnie's solo after the second verse. As they reach the ninth bar, Lonnie resolves into the V chord just as Texas Alexander begins his third verse. Oh well. Texas Alexander switches to a different melody for the final verse, with a heightened emotional feel, and phrases way in front of the beat, as well as short. The way Lonnie follows him is nothing short of miraculous.
God, Alexander had some good lyrics! The second verse is a killer, that I have not heard elsewhere. Any help with the bent bracketed phrase in verse three would be appreciated.
https://youtu.be/oHYeq4WssMU
Don't get mad at me, woman, because I stays by myself
Don't get mad at me, woman, I stays by myself
Say, you know by that I can't use me no one else
Don't get mad at me, woman, I kicks in my sleep
Don't get mad at me, woman, 'cause I kicks in my sleep
Says, I may dream things, cause your heart to weep
Mmmm, mmmmmm w/guitar for 8 bars
Don't you wish your woman built up just like mine? (2)
She look chunky and squatty, built up from the ground
Did you ever wake up in the mornin', found out just a little 'fore day?
Did you ever wake up in the mornin', just a little 'fore day?
Look on your pillow where your mama used to lay
Edited 10/11 to pick up correction from Bunker Hill
All best,
Johnm
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Don't you wish your woman built up just like mine? (2)
She low [charchy] and squatty, built up from the ground
I've only got this on a 60s TA Fontana EP, the transcription given there is:
She look chunky and squatty, built up from the ground
and, fwiw, on listening I tend to agree. ;D
over to you...
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Thanks for the help, Bunker Hill. Your suggestion works for me. I will make the change.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Sittin' On A Log", backed by Lonnie Johnson, on March 10, 1928, in San Antonio, Texas. The song is based on a pretty slim lyric concept, expressed in the first verse. I reckon songs have been built on less than that. Alexander's second verse turned up all over the place after he recorded it--Skip James' version of "Catfish Blues", several Lil' Son Jackson songs and numerous other places.
Lonnie Johnson takes up a lot of solo space on this number, starting and ending it with solos that complete a full pass through the form. His concluding solo is particularly masterful, especially in it's first four bars, when he plays the following progression, fingering partial chordal positions on the top three strings (the song is played out of D).
| D | G7flat9 | D | Daug/F# |
Lonnie's chordal positions are as follows:
D: X-X-X-X-7-5
G7flat9: goes from X-X-X-X-6-4 to X-X-X-X-6-7
D augmented: X-X-X-X-7-6
F#: X-X-X-6-7-6
Give them a try (in D-G-D-G-B-E tuning). They sound great! Here is the performance's lay-out.
https://youtu.be/bsgP3cMEuF0
SOLO:
I was sittin' on a log, just like a doggone dog (2)
Says, the mean old woman come and crossed my heart
Says, I went to church and they called on me to pray (2)
I fell down on my knees and forgot just what to say
Mmmm, mmmmm w/guitar, 8 bars
I fell down on my knees and forgot just what to say
Oh, Lawdy, Mama, what am I to do?
Lawdy, mama, what am I to do?
I'm gonna stay right here, wait on somethin' new
SOLO:
Edited 10/12 to correct chord positions
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Work Ox Blues" in New York City on November 15, 1928, backed by both Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang. The song starts with Lonnie working in a support capacity and Eddie playing fills and soloing. As the song goes along the roles reverse. Texas Alexander has some of his characteristic early entrances, but his accompanists roll through the bumps very smoothly.
https://youtu.be/SvDUk4uXFSc
Mama, I ain't gon' be your old work ox no more. (2)
You done fooled around, woman, and let your ox get bored
SOLO:
She'll get up early in the morning, just a while 'fore day
She get up early in the morning, just a while 'fore day
Then cook your breakfast, man, rush you away
"Come in, daddy, know my ox is gone." (2)
You can never tell when your ox is comin' back home
You can never tell what these double-crossing women will do (2)
Says, they will have your buddy, then play sick on you.
SOLO:
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Mama, I Heard You Brought It Right Back Home" in New York City on August 16, 1927, backed by the stellar pianist Eddie Heywood. The song has an unusual two-part structure. It opens with a complex 16-bar progression backing the song "Fare Thee", in which only the third four-bar phrase varies lyrically from verse to verse. After the second pass through this 16-bar form, Alexander and Heywood switch to a 8-bar "break blues" for three stanzas. It is this break blues section that contains the title phrase. After three of these breaks, the duo goes back to the opening 16-bar structure and repeats the first two verses. This is the Poppiest-sounding song I have heard yet from Texas Alexander and it suits him really well--surprisingly well, in fact. I suspect that Heywood's complete comfort and familiarity with the song had a grounding effect, though for all I know, Alexander may have introduced Heywood to the song. This is an exceptionally pretty song, with a host of good ideas for anyone interested either in piano blues or piano blues adapted for guitar, and I will discuss the progression in more detail on the Rag Blues and Circle of Fifths thread on the Main Forum.
https://youtu.be/h_cnCDIVu-Q
Fare thee, my babe, fare thee
It's fare thee, my babe, fare thee
I've done everything that a poor old man could do
Well it's fare, thee, my babe, fare thee
Well, it's fare, thee, my babe, fare thee
It's fare, thee, my babe, fare thee
Said I bought you a new pair shoes and you left me with those blues
Well, it's fare thee, my babe, fare thee
Way last summer, times was tough
You was on the corner, mama, struttin' your stuff
Mama, mama, mama, I heard you brought it right back home
Way last winter, times was good
You was on the corner, mama, catchin' what you could
But mama, mama, mama, I heard you brought it right back home
Now I'm young and in my prime
I can get a woman most any time
Mama, mama, mama, I hear you brought it right back home
It's fare thee, my babe, fare thee
Well, it's fare thee, my babe, fare thee
I've done everything that a poor old man could do
Well, it's fare thee, my babe, fare thee
Well, it's fare thee, my babe, fare thee
Well, it's fare thee, my babe, fare thee
Said I bought you a new pair shoes and you left me with those blues
Well, it's fare thee, my babe, fare thee
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
The next song Texas Alexander recorded on August 16, 1927, after "Mama, I Heard You Brought It Right Back Home", was "Farm Hand Blues", and it likewise featured Eddie Heywood supplying piano accompaniment. Heywood's harmonic sophistication has the effect of lightening the feel of the blues on which he accompanied Alexander. Alexander also seems to regularize his phrasing with Heywood in a way he did not when accompanied by a guitarist, whether Lonnie Johnson or someone else.
Texas Alexander continues his trend here of mixing very familiar verses with striking ones I've not heard elsewhere. I particularly like the second and fifth verses. I think I have these words right, but would be interested if someone hears the tagline of the third verse differently, in particular.
https://youtu.be/P3PbNwrE2tw
If I leave here runnin', mama, don't you follow me (2)
If I leave here walking, you can go with me
Sally went to cookin', man, but she didn't know how (2)
Says, she put cayenne pepper, mama, in my hot bow-wow
Says, I'm goin' up the country, mama, don't you want to go?
I'm goin' up the country, mama, don't you want to go?
Said I need another dozen, right on my right side, sho'
If I'm get lucky, mama, should happen to work (2)
I'm gonna carry my money right on back home again
'D'rather see my coffin easin' through the world
I'd rather see my coffin easin' through the world
Than to see my woman do me like she does
Mmmmm, mmmmm w/piano soloing, 8 bars
Than to see my woman do me like she does
I'm scared to go down that big road by myself (2)
'Fore I go, baby, I'll carry me someone else
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
The third song that Texas Alexander recorded with Eddie Heywood on August 16, 1927 was "Evil Woman Blues". Musically, it is quite close to "Farmhand Blues", which immediately preceded it in the studio. Heywood stays active throughout the rendition and goes into stop-time very effectively for the first line of the last verse. Hearing how well Texas Alexander and Eddie Heywood worked together makes me wish that Alexander had recorded more with pianists. I would particularly have liked to have heard him with someone more eccentric, like Romeo Nelson or Little Brother Montgomery.
https://youtu.be/RF1-HCpy9SQ
I'm so glad, so glad, this world wasn't made in one day (2)
'Cause see, how come my woman don't quit her evil ways?
These women 'round here I just can't understand (2)
They run around here with one another man
Don't you never take one woman to be your lady friend (2)
She will dig your grave and help them to heave you in
A brownskin woman is evil, black women are evil, too
A brownskin woman are evil, black women are evil, too
I'm gonna get myself a yellow gal, see what she will do
Mmmm, mmmm w/piano solo, 12 bars
I'm just in time to catch that midnight Cannonball (2)
When I was leavin' you oughta hear my woman squall
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander and Lonnie Johnson recorded "Bell Cow Blues" in San Antonio on March 9, 1928 at the end of an extremely productive day--nine songs recorded! "Bell Cow Blues" sounds like the last song to be recorded in a long session in the best possible way: both Lonnie And Texas Alexander are loose as can be and trying all sorts of things. "Bell Cow Blues" is a particularly adventurous cut in terms of approach, for it mixes the non-chordal, purely linear accompaniment style of "Section Gang Blues" and "Levee Camp Moan Blues" with the chordal accompaniment more often employed by Lonnie. As a result, the cut has a very exciting unpredictability, and Lonnie's playing on it is superlative, not only with regard to execution, where he always shone dependably, but in conceptual terms as well. On a cut like this, I think he is rivaled only by Lemon for having such an abundance of great ideas in such a compressed period of time. If your only previous exposure to Lonnie Johnson's playing is his self-accompaniment, where he sometimes seemed to mail it in, you owe it to yourself to hear this material, because it is a revelation.
Texas Alexander's singing is so consistently great that you almost come to take it for granted. Some of the lyrics here are a bit hard to understand. Any help with bent bracketed passages, either through corroboration or correction, would be appreciated.
https://youtu.be/fXy4ahhjS2U
Mmmmm, mmmmmm w/guitar
Lord, my woman caught the [O.C.] Delta, I grabbed the bellcow's horn
She caught the O.C. Delta, I grabbed the bellcow's horn
Lord, and I sent it to my old girl, uh, tell her I'll be there 'fore long
Oh, I'd rather be in Lou'siana with the whippoorwill
Oh, then to be here in Texas with these two bell
Mmmmmm, mmmmmm w/guitar
Oh, I told my captain, "Billy's the best thing"
Oh, "Doggone Billy, put the harness on Dan"
Mmmmm, mmmmmm w/ guitar grooving
You can fool the captain, you can fool the straw
But the jughead manager gonna fool us all
Mmmmm, mmmmm w/guitar grooving
Lord, but the jughead manager gonna fool us all
Mmmmmm, mmmmmmm
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander and Lonnie Johnson recorded "Mama's Bad Luck Child" in San Antonio on March 10, 1928, and their momentum from the strong session of the previous day was holding with them. They both sound like they have the kinks worked out, and Lonnie, in particular, sounds like he has gotten to the point where nothing surprises him and he is ready for anything. In the guitar solo with hummed accompaniment following the third verse, Texas Alexander is early to the IV chord and then short; Lonnie hits the V chord dead on the money as Alexander phrases a repetition of the tagline from the previous verse. Alexander is similarly short to the IV chord in the final verse and once again, Lonnie is right there with him, despite having to interrupt a line in mid-flight. Lonnie's solo is tremendous and his accompaniment ideas continue with the abundance of "Bell Cow Blues", recorded the day before.
Some of the lyrics are a bit hard to hear. Any help with the bent bracketed portions would be appreciated. Sleepy John Estes used a slightly re-worked version of verse two in his "Jack And Jill Blues".
https://youtu.be/cszIEpL2BY4
I b'lieve to my soul, I'm mama's bad luck child
I b'lieve to my soul, I'm my mama's bad luck child
If I wasn't, these women wouldn't drive me wild
I ain't got no wife, neither got no triflin' kid
I ain't got no wife, got no triflin' kid
The reason I've got nobody, mama, to be bothered with
Says, I laid down laughin', woke up hollerin' and cryin' (2)
Says, I ain't got nobody, mama, to worry my mind
Mmmmmm, mmmmm w/guitar solo
Says, I ain't got nobody, mama, to worry my mind
SOLO
Says, I wonder where did my rider go? (2)
Says, I b'lieve to my soul she went to her man below
Edited 10/16 to pick up corrections from Bunker Hill
All best,
Johnm
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Lord, my woman caught the [O.C.] Delta, I grabbed the bellcow's horn
She caught the O.C. Delta, I grabbed the bellcow's horn
Anyone know whether O.C. in this usage was a reference to the Old Colony Railroad which operated out of Boston, Mass from 1900? Given the "Delta" usage I guess not but have often wondered...
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander and Lonnie Johnson recorded "Mama's Bad Luck Child" in San Antonion on March 10, 1928, and their momentum from the strong session of the previous day was holding with them. They both sound like they have the kinks worked out, and Lonnie, in particular, sounds like he has gotten to the point where nothing surprises him and he is ready for anything. In the guitar solo with hummed accompaniment following the third verse, Texas Alexander is early to the IV chord and then short; Lonnie hits the V chord dead on the money as Alexander phrases a repetition of the tagline from the previous verse. Alexander is similarly short to the IV chord in the final verse and once again, Lonnie is right there with him, despite having to interrupt a line in mid-flight. Lonnie's solo is tremendous and his accompaniment ideas continue with the abundance of "Bell Cow Blues", recorded the day before.
Some of the lyrics are a bit hard to hear. Any help with the bent bracketed portions would be appreciated.
FWIW this is transcribed by Guido van Rijn in his super booklet to the LP Texas Troublesome Blues (Agram 2009, 1982) and he hears the song thus:
I b'lieve to my soul, I'm mama's bad luck child
I b'lieve to my soul, I'm my mama's bad luck child
If I wasn't, these women wouldn't run me wild
I ain't got no wife, neither got no triflin' kid
I ain't got no wife, got no triflin' kid
Means I've got nobody, mama, to be bothered with
Says, I lay down laughin', woke up hollerin' and cryin' (2)
Says, I ain't got nobody, mama, to worry my mind
Mmmmmm, mmmmm
Says, I ain't got nobody, mama, to worry my mind
Says, I wonder where did my rider go? (2)
Says, I b'lieve to my soul, she went to her man below
Smokey Hogg recorded this for Modern in 1950 (Believe To My Soul) but unissued. When eventually released on a Kent LP in late 60s the title had become, I Bleed Through My Soul!
The wonderful thing about the Agram booklet is that Van Rijn incoporated into his notes most of Lawrence Brown's 1981 research conducted with friends and relatives in Richards, Texas (TA's last residence 1951-4). I think this is still the only source where that research can referenced.
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Anyone know whether O.C. in this usage was a reference to the Old Colony Railroad which operated out of Boston, Mass from 1900?
I searched lists of railroads from Texas Alexander's part of the world, and the closest I can find to an OC is the Oklahoma Central Railroad, which operated for about 10 years from 1907 to 1917. But "Delta" wouldn't seem to fit with the Oklahoma Central (nor the Ohio Central, Oregon Central, or Oil Creek (in Pennsylvania), either). Perhaps the reference is to a steamboat or a steamboat line?
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Thanks very much, Bunker Hill and dj, for your help. When I listened again to "Mama's Bad Luck Child" after reading Guido van Rijn's transcription, all of the difficulties in my hard parts disappeared, and I felt "Wow, why didn't I hear that in the first place--it's as plain as day!". That's the way it works sometimes.
Re your suggestion that the OC Delta might be a steamship line, I think you may have a good possibility there, dj, because I originally heard in the first line of that verse
Lord, my woman caught the Ov'sea Delta
In the repetition of the line, it sounds more like "OC". I suppose the Oversea Delta could even have been a particular vessel, though the name sounds more suitable for a line.
All best,
Johnm
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Re your suggestion that the OC Delta might be a steamship line, I think you may have a good possibility there, dj, because I originally heard in the first line of that verse
Lord, my woman caught the Ov'sea Delta
In the repetition of the line, it sounds more like "OC". I suppose the Oversea Delta could even have been a particular vessel, though the name sounds more suitable for a line.
It's times like this that I regret having loaned and lost my copy of Mary Wheeler's Steamboatin' Days (1944). I did look at the list of steamship names in Botkin's A Treasury Of Mississippi River Folklore (1955) but nothing remotely possible amongst them.
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander and Lonnie Johnson recorded "No More Women Blues" in the middle of their most productive day, March 9, 1928 in San Antonio. Of all the songs they recorded that day, it's the one where they seem to have had their wires most thoroughly crossed, for it seems like almost every opportunity they had to make a choice, they made different choices.
After a brief intro, Alexander enters with humming, accompanied by Lonnie soloing. At the ninth bar, Lonnie goes to complete the pass, landing on the V chord as Alexander makes his entrance with the first verse. In the humming-accompanied guitar solo after the third verse, Alexander is early to the IV chord and then starts a new verse on the early ninth bar, which Lonnie mis-anticipates again. At the conclusion of that first line, Lonnie aborts the proceedings by playing a little concluding lick. One suspects he must have head-signaled Alexander to indicate, "We are done!" Deeper into this same session, by "Bell Cow Blues" and "Mama's Bad Luck Child", Lonnie had figured out that Texas Alexander would almost never allow him a full 12-bar solo pass, so he was always ready at the ninth bar, either to stay the course and finish the pass with Alexander repeating the tagline from the most recent verse, or ditching the pass prematurely and starting a new verse. It must have been a nerve-wracking way to make music, though it sounded so great when it was working and the two musicians' impulses matched.
https://youtu.be/iswDb0_5nYY
Mmmmm, mmmmm w/guitar solo for 8 bars
Lord, she won't pick cotton, girl won't pull no corn
She won't pick cotton, girl won't pull no corn
Says, I don't see why she wanta hang around me so long
Ah, and it's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine
And it's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine
When I've count them blues, that many women is mine
Darned, if I get lucky, mama, in this world lucky
If I get lucky in this world again
I ain't gonna fool with no more women and a mighty few men
Mmmmm, mmmmm w/guitar soloing 8 bars (less)
Lord, I walked all last night, all last night before
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
"Bantam Rooster Blues" is yet another song from Texas Alexander and Lonnie Johnson's big session in San Antonio on March 9, 1928. This one has exceptionally cool lyrics. Alexander's final verse was re-used and slightly edited by Curley Weaver for his '50s recording of "Ticket Agent Blues". Lonnie Johnson's accompaniment travails continue here: Texas Alexander comes out of his humming following the third verse after only four bars, hitting his tagline from the previous verse at the fifth bar of the pass, rather than the ninth bar, as was his wont. He then launches into the next verse on the ninth bar of the pass and you can hear Lonnie plainly landing on the V chord, switching to the IV and then reverting to the I chord for the new verse. Whew!
I'm so thankful this music was issued, because the way things operate in the music business today, with the technological capacity to fix virtually everything that might go wrong in a take, you never hear these kind of glitches. The technology may eliminate mistakes but it also takes you out of the moment of the music-making and deprives the listener real access to what went on in the course of making the music, in real time. The music on these tracks is magnificent enough to withstand criticism on the basis of a few cosmetic failings, and the chance-taking involved in accompanying a singer who is both sensational and capable of making you look like a screw-up at any time has earned Lonnie Johnson my lasting admiration. As far as that goes, I have long felt screwing up is not the worst thing that can happen in music--not taking chances is far worse. Just a thought.
https://youtu.be/ZjUuHfB9GiA
Wonder why that rooster flaps their wings and crows?
Wonder why the rooster flaps their wings and crows?
Let the kid-boys know when to get their clothes and go
Says, the rooster's outdoors, playin' to the hen upstairs (2)
You get you another man, I've got me another gal
I'm tell my woman what the banty told the hen (2)
"I ain't had no lovin', rider, in God knows when."
Mmmmm, mmmmmm w/guitar for 4 bars
"I ain't had no lovin', rider, in god knows when."
I've got a hen at home, lays sixteen eggs a day
I've got a hen at home, sixteen eggs a day
Says, the rooster got jealous and he walked away
Mmmmmm, mmmm w/guitar
Lord, and the rooster got jealous and he walked away.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander and Lonnie Johnson recorded "Yellow Girl Blues" early in their March 9, 1928 session in San Antonio. It's a smooth performance that goes off pretty much without a hitch. Alexander recycles a couple of verses from the "Evil Women Blues" he recorded with Eddie Heywood seven months earlier. Really, considering how prolific Texas Alexander was, he repeated his verses surprisingly little. Musicians such as Henry Thomas and Charley Lincoln had favorite verses that showed up over and over again in their songs. Verse three is a beauty.
https://youtu.be/IbGLLsHCt8Q
Some of these women I just can't understand
Oh, some of these women I just can't understand
They run around here with one another's man
Oh, black woman evil, brownskin evil, too (2)
Gonna get me a yellow woman, see what she will do
Mmmmm, mmmm w/guitar solo, 8 bars
Gonna get me a yellow woman, see what she will do
Gonna get me a heaven, have a kingdom of my own (2)
So as these brownskin women can cluster around my throne
Mmmmm, mmmm w/guitar
So these brownskin women can cluster 'round my throne
SPOKEN: Let me down easy
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "The Risin' Sun" on November 15, 1928, in New York City, backed by Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang. The two guitarists had a great musical rapport and it sounds like they really enjoyed playing together. Somehow, having two accompanists seems to have the effect of reducing the tension normally surrounding a Texas Alexander performance. I believe the song starts with Lonnie providing chordal accompaniment and Eddie playing fills, along with the first solo, during which he rips off an amazing ascending run. It sounds as though they trade off roles toward the tail end of the performance, with Lonnie taking the final solo. The two of them handle with perfect poise Texas Alexander's going to the ninth bar early after his humming following the third verse.
The lyrics to this one are a bit cryptic--not that they're particularly hard to hear, just hard to interpret in a way that makes sense.
https://youtu.be/_J_q0ly7sQE
My woman got somethin' just like the rising sun
My woman got somethin' like the rising sun
You can never tell when that work is done
SOLO:
It's no use to worryin' 'bout the days bein' long (2)
Neither worries 'bout your rollin' because it sure goin' on
She got somethin' round and it look like a bear
She got somethin' round and it look just like a bear
Some time I wonder, "What in the hell is there?"
Mmmmm, mmmmm w/guitars
Sometime I wonder, "What in the hell is that?"
SOLO:
Edited, 2/3/07 to pick up correction from mmpresti
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Johnny Behren's Blues" in San Antonio on June 15th, 1929, accompanied by Little Hat Jones. Little Hat's accompaniment is in A, standard tuning, and he runs through a great deal of variation in the course of the rendition. He begins quickly, as was his habit, and then slows to Alexander's singing tempo.
It may just be my imagination, but it sounds as though Texas Alexander feels more securely oriented rhythmically by the way Little Hat plays time than he was with some of his accompanists. Alexander makes one late entrance, coming out of his humming following the last verse, and it doesn't throw Little Hat Jones for an instant. I like the way Texas Alexander borrows from the lyrics of other singers, like Blind Lemon in verse 4, yet alters his tag lines to make the verses his own. This is a very strong track.
https://youtu.be/E7-8xmKlHnk
When I was a sailor, sailin' on the deep blue sea (2)
Say, I learned all the women, man, them ocean ways
Says, I learned a way that every woman crave
I learned a way that every woman crave
Say, it must be a new way that really won't behave
When I was a jockey, I learned my baby how to ride
When I was a jockey, I learned her how to ride
Say, I learned her how to ride, man, from side to side
Says, I want to go home, ain't got sufficient clothes
I want to go home ain't got sufficient clothes
Said, my woman, she got mad, Lord, throwed my rags outdoors
She left me standin', wonderin', matchbox hold my clothes
Ah, left me wonderin', matchbox hold my clothes
Say, I didn't want to be worried, Lord, with these things no more
Mmmm, mmmmm w/guitar solo
Says, I didn't want to be worried with these things no more
All best,
Johnm
-
Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "St. Louis Fair Blues" with the backing of Eddie Lang, on November 20, 1928, in New York City. Lang takes the same accompaniment approach as he does on "I Am Calling Blues", working out of D in standard tuning; his harmonic imagination is seemingly inexhaustible, but his time does not have the drive or snap of other accompanists of Alexander like Lonnie Johnson or Little Hat Jones.
Texas Alexander delivers his customary great vocal. It is interesting the way he uses the same word at the conclusion of the taglines in verses one and two as he uses for the end of the set-up lines. It makes for a curiously flat sort of lyric resolution. I like the usage of "carried" in the first verse, where most people nowadays would simply say "took".
https://youtu.be/PjpbSQ-ismU
I carried my woman to the St. Louis Fair (2)
She got stuck on every man that was in the Fair
I brought her back to Dallas with a travelling show (2)
She had men hangin' around like a circus show
Mmmm, mmmmm w/guitar, 8 bars
She had men hangin' around like a circus show
When I leave this time, hang crepe on your door (2)
Say, you know by that I can't use you no more
Mmmmm, mmmmm
Says, you know by that I can't use you no more
All best,
Johnm
-
Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Gold Tooth Blues" backed by Little Hat Jones, in San Antonio, on June 15, 1929. Little Hat's accompaniment, played out of E in standard tuning, is much like the one he used for "98 Degree Blues", transferring many of Lonnie Johnson's licks into the position that was more comfortable and familiar for him. You can hear Little Hat using a dissonant A7flat9, X-0-X-3-2-3, that he similarly used in his own "Kentucky Blues" in the sung line following Alexander's hummed passage.
There are interesting variations on familiar Blues lyrics themes here. I am not sure I have the last word in the song correct, and any help would be appreciated. I do not get the sense of the tag line in the third verse.
https://youtu.be/_ujljHhGymc
I used to have a woman wit' a front tooth crowned with gold
I used to have a woman, Lord, Lord, front tooth crowned with gold
Says, I wouldn't mistreat her, not to save nobody's soul
Oh, tell, me, woman, what's gettin' the matter with you? (2)
You been actin' so funny and I ain't done nothin' to you
SOLO: 12 bars
Woman, the way you've been doin', y' know you can't harm poor me
Says, the way you've been doin', you can't harm poor me
Says, the way you got done, you can't stop the Santa Fe
Mmmm, mmmm w/guitar, 4 bars
Lord, the way you got doin', can't stop the Santa Fe
Says, I can beat you doin' what you're tryin' to do to me
Says, I woke up this mornin', 'tween midnight and day
I woke up this mornin', 'tween midnight and day
Say, I thought I heard my woman when she kindly [stayed]
All best,
Johnm
-
FWIW Eric Townley in his Tell Your Story: A Dictionary of Jazz & Blues Recordings 1917-1950 (Storyville, 1976) on page 296 identified the historical background of the title, St. Louis Fair Blues, thus:
"St Louis, Missouri, was the city chosen for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 which was held on a 1400 acre site in Front Park. This international exposition was held to commemorate the hundreth anniversary of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France."
I'm sure chapter and verse about this event can found on the internet but I'll leave that for others to investigate.
-
I wonder if the 1904 fair is the one Alexander is referring to. That would have occurred 24 years before St Louis Fair Blues was recorded, when Texas Alexander was four years old. Of course this could be a song that Alexander learned from some older source, or the 1904 Fair could have still been on peoples' minds in 1928. But was there some annual fair at St Louis that would have been well known as far away as Texas? The Missouri State Fair has been in Sedalia since it's inception in 1901, so it wouldn't be that. There is a Fairgrounds neighborhood in St Louis, on the site of the old St Louis County Fair, which was last held in 1902. Could Alexander have been singing about a visit to a neighborhood in St Louis and not to an actual fair?
-
The length of time between the 1904 Fair and the Alexander recording struck me, too, dj and Bunker Hill. This song seems a good candidate for some earlier version whose lyrics, at least in the first couple of verses, were lifted by Texas Alexander for his version. It's hard to believe people would even know what Fair he was singing of, twenty-four years after the fact. Hmmm.
All best,
Johnm
-
There's a St Louis, Texas, which is now a part of Tyler, about 50 miles east of Dallas, halfway between Dallas and Shreveport, LA. Was there a fair held there in the 1920s? Research is ongoing...
-
The East Texas State Fair is held in Tyler (which is actually 91 miles from Dallas). I haven't been able to determine if it was held there in the 1920s and if so if it was held in or close to St Louis. If it was, I'd be willing to bet that this was what Texas Alexander was singing about.
Hey, Slack, don't you have vast knowledge of Texas historical trivia? Help us out here! :P
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Hey, Slack, don't you have vast knowledge of Texas historical trivia? Help us out here!
No, I'm form El Paso, not Texas. :P
But I know someone who is a Texas trivia expert -- I'll run it past her.
-
Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Deceitful Blues" in Ft. Worth, Texas, on September 30, 1934, backed by the duo guitar team of Willie Reed and Carl Davis, who is a new name to me. The duo gets a very smooth sound with a nice lift in the back-beat that I'm inclined to attribute to Willie Reed. Both guitarists sound to be playing in dropped-D, a tuning rarely encountered in Texas players apart from Mance Lipscomb. Carl Davis, who I think is handling the lead guitar and fills, has a nice touch with a pick, and sounds as though he had heard Lonnie Johnson, Walter Vinson and Gene Campbell, though without being obviously derivative of any of them.
Texas Alexander's singing at this stage of his career continues to sound great, but he appears to be developing a mannerism of eliminating internal pauses in his lines, so that he often ends his lines early, in funny places relative to the pulse. I suspect this may have been a little disconcerting to his accompanists, for in such instances you begin to doubt your own orientation as to where you are in the form. Probably the best thing is to listen and accommodate the singer, but not let it worry your mind to much. Easy advice from our present vantage point!
https://youtu.be/Oh-qNKSFM08
Some people say, worried blues, they ain't bad (2)
But they's the worst old feeling, man, I ever had
I said, the brownskin woman deceitful, yellow gal, she is worse
Oh, brownskin woman deceitful, yellow gal she is worse
I'm gonna get myself a black gal, then play safety first
Don't you wisht your woman was built up just like mine?
Don't you wish your woman built up just like mine?
I say she's tailor-made and she ain't no hand-me-down
I'm gonna trade this Lincom (sic), get me a Cadillac 8 (2)
It takes all of my time, tryin' to keep my business straight
Every time I need my woman, that's the time she's gone
Every time I need her, that's the time she's gone
I'm goin' get my baby, baby, gonna carry it back home
All best,
Johnm
-
I wonder if the 1904 fair is the one Alexander is referring to. That would have occurred 24 years before St Louis Fair Blues was recorded, when Texas Alexander was four years old.
Yeah, point taken. I've just dug out two LPs the song was first reissued on. Guido van Rijn in his 1982 notes to the Agram just quotes the Storyville entry without comment. GvR is the most punctilious person for fact checking I know and would have done his damnedest to verify this, but no internet then.;D
The other LP is the second of four TA volumes released by Matchbox (1984) but Paul Oliver skates over the topic with the observation "...even if he was only four years old when the St. Louis Fair took Place". I guess he must have been skeptical, too. As others here have observed, TA probably was referencing a more recent, local event.
-
Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Long Lonesome Day Blues" backed by Lonnie Johnson at their first session together, in New York City on August 11, 1927. Lonnie sounds in very fine form and they work well together.
Alexander's opening verse is very similar to that used by the Carter Family in their song "Sad And Lonesome Day", but diverges from that point onward, with the Carter Family hewing to a version of "One Kind Favor" and Alexander moving on to more conventional Blues concerns. I am not sure about the bent bracketed word in the last verse; any clarification, corroboration or correction would be appreciated.
https://youtu.be/HAKlZh7OlGU
Said, today have been a long old lonesome day (2)
But it seem like tomorrow gonna be the same old day
Ahh, tell me, sweetie mama, how you want your rollin' done?
Ohh, tell me, sweetie mama, how you want your rollin' done?
Says, I want to do just like my old-time rider done
Ahh, umm, Lordy, Lordy, Lord
Mmmm, mmmm w/guitar, 8 bars
I want to do, do do like my old-time rider done
Don't a woman act funny, she's gonna put you down? (2)
She jumps in the bed with her face all full of frowns
Woman, you done [jelly] your last old time for me (2)
I said, you done jelly your last old time for me
All best,
Johnm
-
Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Texas Special", backed by Carl Davis at a session in San Antonio on November 27, 1929. It is the only Alexander song I have heard thus far in which his accompanist backed him out of C position in standard tuning. Carl Davis gets off to an odd start on this one; after playing a fairly elaborate turn-around in G, Texas Alexander comes in singing in the key of C, and Davis goes right with him. Davis sounds very well like he might be flat-picking. His playing is reminiscent of some of Lemon Jefferson's playing in C, some of Ramblin' Thomas's, like "Sawmill Moan", and some of Memphis Willie B.'s playing on the two Bluesville albums Samuel Charters recorded of him in the '60s, without being obviously beholden to any one player for his style. He has a lot of nice individual touches.
Texas Alexander is in magnificent voice and comes up with some terrific original (as far as I know) verses here. I particularly like verses one and three. The set-up line for verse two occasions a resounding "Huh?". For the second joint humming/guitar solo, Alexander hums a melody I now realize he sings from time to time on his recordings (I will check which other songs he sings it on) during his hummed solos. It is quite beautiful, and goes like this, with the note of the scale indicated over the chord against which it is sung:
III IV V flatVII
| I | I | I | I |
VI V-IV III
| IV | IV | I | I |
In the ninth bar, Alexander comes back in singing the tagline from the previous verse.
I have been fortunate to have been loaned, by Ryan Leaf, the Agram album of Texas Alexander that Bunker Hill alluded to earlier in this thread. I have never seen a better put-together Country Blues re-issue, it really is superlative, full of quotes and anecdotes from a variety of friends and family remembering Alexander, including Lightnin' Hopkins, and interesting biographical information, e.g. Alexander's given name was Alger, he died in Richards, Texas, and is buried in the Longstreet Cemetery in Grimes County, Texas. Photos are included, as well as guitar analysis and lyrics, which I have resisted looking at. The album has the additional advantage of being a selection of performances recorded by Alexander throughout his career, so there is not the heavy dose of particular accompanists you get from a purely chronological re-issue of his recorded performances. For anyone who is seriously interested in Texas Alexander, I think this re-issue would be cheap at anything less than $50.00 if you can find it on e-Bay or in a store--it is that good.
https://youtu.be/a135Kin2fz4
When the Blues come to Texas, they come 'round through the woods (2)
Then they stopped by my house, done all the harm they could
When I leave this time, paint your windows green
When I leave this time, paint your window green
Said, if I don't never die, woman, I'll be-e-e seldom seen
I'd rather see my coffin rollin' up to my back door
I'd rather see my coffin come rollin' up to my back door
Than to hear my woman say she can't use me no more
Mmmm, mmmm w/guitar, 8 bar solo
Than to hear my woman say she can't use me no more
I'd rather see my brother come in staggerin' drunk (2)
Than to see my woman, Lord, packin' up her trunk
Mmmmm, mmmmmm w/guitar, 8 bar solo
Than to see my woman packin' up
All best,
Johnm
-
Hi all,
Willie Reed and Carl Davis collaborated as accompanists for Texas Alexander again on "One Morning Blues", recorded in Fort Worth on September 30, 1934. Reed takes the lead here, I believe, with a very smooth archetypal-sounding "Texas A" accompaniment. Davis's seconding is very discreet, he gives the back-beats a nice lift and the two guitarists really listened to each other exceptionally well.
I love Alexander's opening line; his invocation of God in non-conventional contexts in a lot of his verses is unusual and striking, I think. The set-up line in verse two sounds like it is describing hysteria. I can't recall such language elsewhere in blues lyrics. Any help with the bent bracketed phrase at the tail end of the tagline of the second verse would be appreciated.
https://youtu.be/WLZPWOmwm_4
One morning, one morning, when God began to break his day (2)
I was settin' here wonderin', "Where is my babe today?"
She went away laughin', wringin' her hands and cryin' (2)
Says, "I believe my man, he's on the [Johnny run]."
One morning, one morning, when God began to break day
One morning, one morning, when God began to break his day
Says, I wonder, I wonder who's been layin' in my old woman's place?
I said the graveyard, graveyard, is a low-down dirty old place (2)
They'll put you in it, pat dirt all in your face
What in the world's gettin' the matter, I can't sleep at night? (2)
I had the blues so bad 'til I losed my appotite (sic)
All best,
Johnm
-
Any help with the bent bracketed phrase at the tail end of the tagline of the second verse would be appreciated.
She went away laughin', wringin' her hands and cryin' (2)
Says, "I believe my man, he's on the [Johnny run]."
Guido van Rijn in his transcription in the Agram booklet gives "Johnny Ryan" which was a topic of discussion some years prior to that LP's release when the usage was discovered in another song. Trouble is at present I can't for the life of me think of the context/explanation given. I'll worry away at it and the light bulb might glow!
-
Hi Bunker Hill,
If anyone can remember where else Johnny Ryan appeared, I reckon you can. I will wait for the other shoe to drop.
All best,
Johnm
-
Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Texas Troublesome Blues" in San Antonio on June 9, 1930, backed by the Mississippi Sheiks, or at least a version of the Mississippi Sheiks. The Angram release alluded to earlier in this thread cites the Sheiks' personnel for this session as Bo Chatman (sic), violin, Sam Chatman, guitar, and Walter Vinson, guitar. If this is, in fact, Bo playing fiddle on this track, he played a hell of lot like his brother Lonnie, the Sheiks' regular fiddler, and I mean a hell of lot. The fiddle tone on this track is identical to Lonnie's. The guitars back the fiddle out of Bflat with Walter Vinson, I believe, doing the heavy rhythm playing, and Sam, if it is indeed him, doing a high guitar part living on the top four strings. There is a thread on the site entitled "Sheiks Mystique", I believe, that gets into the rhythm-playing approach of the Sheiks' rhythm guitarist (most often Walter Vinson).
On the face of it, the pairing of the Mississippi Sheiks with Texas Alexander was an odd one; they were from two different parts of the world and the Sheiks' background was much stronger in Pop than Alexander's. His forte was certainly blues. The combination turned out great, though. Texas Alexander sounds perfectly comfortable backed by the heavy time of Walter Vinson, and I think his degree of comfort is indicated in the extent to which he sings the repetitions of his set-up lines with variations almost every time. He doesn't sound like he feels he needs to adhere strictly to his script. This is a very strong track.
https://youtu.be/OfmV-GmKrMw
Says, I've been worried, almost bothered in mind
I've been worried, almost bothered in mind
Says, I want to see my woman that I left behind
Sometime I think my woman to good to die
I say, sometime I think my woman too good to die
Then again I think she ought to be buried alive
Said, love me, woman, love your good man just right
I said, love me, woman, love your man just right
You can give me plenty lovin' but we won't have no fuss and fight
SOLO
My woman, she told me, told me, 'fore I ever left home
I said, she told me, told me, 'fore I ever left my home
Say, you got a new way of jellyin', I declare, carry you away from home
Says, I know my baby, baby, sure gonna jump and shout
Lord, I know my baby, baby, sure gonna jump and shout
Ahh, when the train rolls 'round, Lord, I come walkin' out
All best,
Johnm
-
Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Last Stage Blues" on the same day as "Texas Troublesome Blues", and he is backed by the same Mississippi Sheiks line-up on it. It is also pitched in B flat. The Sheiks work some nice variations on the 12-bar blues form in the course of the song, like so:
| Bflat | Bflat | Bflat | Bflat (Aflat, solo only) |
| Eflat | Eflat | Bflat | G7 |
| C7 | F7 | Bflat | Bflat |
The G7 and C7 chords make for an extended circle-of-fifths turn-around feel, and the Aflat in the fourth bar of the solo is a particularly nice touch--it makes for a suspended "IV of IV" resolution as it moves into the Eflat of the fifth bar. The Sheiks also used this move on "Tellin' You 'Bout It" on the first Bo Carter re-issue on Yazoo, and Buddy Moss used it on his "New Lovin' Blues". It's a great sound.
Texas Alexander sounds completely secure in the Sheiks heavy back-beat, slow cut time feel. I like the way he hands off the vocal for the solo, which is really an ensemble solo; the guitars get involved as well as the fiddle.
https://youtu.be/XXoE0CihZ-8
I've been lookin' for you, days have passed and gone (2)
It seem like you oughta leave me somethin', woman, for to travel on
My time is numbered, I can't stay here long
Ahh, my time is numbered, I can't stay here long
Says, I know you're gonna miss me, woman, when I'm dead and gone
I wouldn't treat a dog like you people treat poor me (2)
You treat me just like a man you ain't never seen
SPOKEN: Have your way
SOLO
When mama gets to lovin', I gets in my old last stage
Oh, when she gets to lovin', gets in my last old stage
Says, I believe to my soul it's gonna carry me to my grave
Mmmm, mmmm w/ensemble for 8 bars
Says, I believe to my soul, gonna carry me to my grave
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
I found the Texas Alexander recording of "Easy Rider Blues" on the great old Yazoo anthology, "Buddy Boy Hawkins and His Buddies". That album contained little or no discographical information, but by looking at the Document Records catalog, I was able to figure out that "Easy Rider Blues" was recorded on September 30, 1934 in Ft. Worth, Texas, with accompaniment by Willie Reed and Carl Davis, in the same session that yielded "One Morning Blues" and "Deceitful Blues". As on those two earlier takes, Reed and Davis work together beautifully on "Easy Rider Blues". Played in A position in standard tuning, Willie Reed's lead accompaniment part might almost be taken as a clinic on how to base a new accompaniment on the ideas of a previous musician (in this case, Blind Lemon). Though many of the ideas are Lemon's, the touch and timing are Willie Reed's and the sound is as fresh as paint.
Texas Alexander sounds great as always, and on this song, as on "Boe Hog Blues" and several of his other titles, when his songs included sexual content, he tended toward frankness rather than clever or humorous double entendre. Indeed, in the notes to the great Angram Texas Alexander re-issue, there is a quote from Lightnin' Hopkins in which he intimates that Alexander was actually thrown in jail for singing "Boe Hog":
"He got songs, you know, not on the bus and tubes and things, so he sung that bad song and sittin' down, see: "Some Works under cover like a boe hog's eye." Yeah, yeah, they put him in the can for a little while, but he sung all out of that, he got out, he wasn't in there too long, 'cause he come back, but he never been singin' that kind of song again. . . . "
https://youtu.be/yxqhFZk_WXo
Says, I wonder where my easy rider gone
Said, I wonder where my easy rider gone
She's a easy rider, but she do ride hard so long
Some give her a nickel, some give her a lousy dime (2)
She's a easy roller, but she do ride hard some time
I wonder what's the matter you ain't got no settled mind
Says, I wonder what's the matter you ain't got no settled mind
Says, I got a little woman, she shakes it so, behind
Says, in the mornin', early in the night
I says, in the morning, so late at night
When she keep lovin' you, man, she loves you just right
Says, a-every time that evenin' sun goes down
I say, every time that evenin' sun goes down
We gets in the bed and we stays there a great long time
Take midnight waters, early risin' sun
It takes midnight water, early risin' sun
I looked out the window, says, "Here my baby come."
What you gonna do, mama, when your thing give out?
What you gonna do, Lord, when your thing give out?
I'm gonna telephone you to jump and shout
I ain't gonna tell you no story, tell you no doggone lies
I ain't gonna tell you no story, neither tell you no lie
Says, when you get to lovin', man, I never die
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Another song that Texas Alexander recorded in San Antonio on June 9, 1930, backed by the Mississippi Sheiks, is "Days Is Lonesome". Like "Last Stage Blues" and "Texas Troublesome Blues" it is in the Sheiks' favorite key, B flat. The song is almost a conventional 12-bar blues, except for a little two-line mini-refrain that follows all but the last verse. The harmonic formula of the refrain is simplicity in itself: I-I-V7-V7-V7-V7-I-I. Texas Alexander's singing of the refrain is wrenching; he sounds like it is really tearing him up.
https://youtu.be/pX3LAoyO_xo
Well, the days they lonesome and the nights so long
The days so lonesome and the nights so long
And I left my woman with her layin' in another man's arms
REFRAIN: Then I cried, "Pretty mama, how long, how long?"
Then I cried, "Sweet mama, how long, how long?"
She had me sittin', sittin' to wait for her (2)
Said, my mind comes to ramblin' just like the stars above
REFRAIN:
Baby, I went at night. I said, "I want her by my side."
I, if I went at night, I thought, "I want her by my side."
She treats me so bad I can lay right down and die
REFRAIN: The I cried, "Sweet mama, how long, how long?"
Then I cried, "Sweet mama, how long, how long?"
I never will forget that day she held me in her lovin' arms (2)
Says, I b'lieve to my soul, I'll never no more to roam
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "'Frisco Train Blues" on November 20th, 1928, in New York City, backed by an all-star Jazz trio consisting of King Oliver on cornet, Clarence Williams on piano, and Eddie Lang on guitar. It is perhaps an indication of the high esteem that Alexander's label held him in that he was in the studio on three different occasions between November 15 and November 20, 1928, recording two titles each in the following configurations:
* 11/15--"Work Ox Blues" and "The Risin' Sun" backed by Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang
* 11/16--"Penitentiary Blues" and "Blue Devil Blues" backed by Lonnie Johnson
* 11/20--"Tell Me Woman Blues" and "'Frisco Train Blues" backed by the trio named above
* 11/20--"St. Louis Fair Blues" and"I Am Calling Blues" backed by Eddie Lang
"'Frisco Train Blues" is played out of E flat, a good horn key and singing key, but not necessarily the guitarist's best friend. It certainly posed no problems for Eddie Lang, who is all over the instrument, sometimes in ways that are impressive from the standpoint of pure musicianship, but are not notably tuned in to the singer he was accompanying. Clarence Williams, on the other hand, is the soul of restraint in his accompaniment, to the point of self-effacement. King Oliver is just tremendous, and perfectly negotiates the balance between playing fills that acknowledge the Blues singer being backed and expressing some of the Jazz ideas that were grabbing him at the time, particularly when he goes to the V chord on his solo. He makes me wish there were more tracks of him accompanying country blues singers.
Texas Alexander sounds wonderful, as per usual. He hums his totemic "spirit melody" following the cornet solo, and takes it for a full 12 bars, which he did not often do. His lyrics show a nice degree of innovation, too, while often working from the common pool that most blues singers shared. I particularly like his tag-line on verse two, and have not heard it elsewhere.
For those of you who are interested in such things, this track can be found on "Texas Alexander, Volume 2" on Matchbox, a CD currently out of print which I was nonetheless able to purchase recently from VenerableMusic.com, after striking out trying to order it from another CD mail order house who had it in their catalog but then couldn't deliver it. I don't know how many more copies Venerable has of the CD, but if you are interested in purchasing it, you might consider contacting them.
https://youtu.be/nqwt8GAvGY8
I went to the station, laid my suitcase down (2)
Asked the depot agent, "How long my woman been gone?"
He looked at me and begin to moan (2)
"Describe your woman, I'll tell you what road she's on."
Where was you, pretty mama, when the 'Frisco train left town? (2)
She blowed so loud 'til it blowed the station down
CORNET SOLO
Mmmm, mmmmm, mmm f/12 bars
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
The first song Texas Alexander recorded with the trio of King Oliver, Clarence Williams and Eddie Lang on November 20, 1928 was "Tell Me Woman Blues". Like "'Frisco Train Blues", it is played in E flat, and is, from the point of view of the accompanists, virtually the same piece. Clarence Williams plays a bit more aggressively here than on "'Frisco Train Blues". Dave Van Ronk told me once that he met Clarence Williams late in Mr. Williams's life, and that he learned a lot from Mr. Williams and held his knowledge of music and musicianship in the highest regard. Eddie Lang is featured on the solo here, and takes a beautiful one, with King Oliver playing fills just as he would behind a vocalist.
Texas Alexander is his normal great-singing self. Is anyone aware of an earlier appearance of the opening line in verse three in recorded Country Blues? It was a shock to hear it here, and I don't know of any earlier appearances of that line. Texas Alexander does his favorite humming melody after the third verse, and enters in the eighth bar of the pass to reiterate the tag-line from the previous verse, catching the trio up short, though they recover quickly. Sophistication protects you only up to a point, and I reckon that's the way it should be.
https://youtu.be/3yvJIyaTMyQ
Oh, tell me, woman, whatcha got on your mind? (2)
It must-a-be trouble, you wouldn't be here a-cryin'
Sometime I think I'm 'bout to lose my mind (2)
Says, I'm down with the blues, then I just can't keep from cryin'
CORNET SOLO w/guitar fills
I'm goin' to Lousiana (sic), get me a mojo hand (2)
Just to see when my woman got another man
Mmmm, mmmm f/8 bars
Just to see when my woman got another man
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Blue Devil Blues" backed by Lonnie Johnson at a session in New York City on November 16, 1928. Lonnie plays 12-string guitar on the number, and to hear him, you would never guess that 12-string is more unwieldy to play than a 6-string guitar. Lonnie is absolutely on top of his game, and sounds perfectly comfortable accompanying Alexander, with no mis-steps or problems along the way. When Alexander enters with the tag-line of the first verse in the eighth bar of the humming/guitar solo that follows verse one, Lonnie is right with him.
Alexander's lyrics here are mysterious. Does verse two have some foundation in folklore or superstition? I don't know. I also wonder who was the first to sing the lyric to verse three. It certainly gained a wide currency over the years. John Hurt used the opening line of the last verse as the title for one of his own songs.
https://youtu.be/hJ3FC99FFWg
I heard a mumblin' deep down in the ground (2)
Says, musta been the devil, turnin' them women 'round
Mmm, Lawdy, Lawdy, Lawd
Mmmm, mmmm, mmm w/guitar for 7 bars
Says, it must been the devil, turnin' them women 'round
When you see that smoke, settlin' to th', a ground
When you see the smoke, setllin' to the ground
Says, some married woman is gone and she cain't be found
Sometime I think my woman too good to die (2)
Then again I think she oughta be buried alive
You talk about trouble and I had it all of my days
You talk about trouble, had it all of my days
Says, I ain't got but one woman, man, that trouble my grave
Mmmm, mmmmm
Mmmm, Lawdy Lawd
I ain't got but just-a-one woman, man, to trouble my grave
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Broken Yo Yo" at a session in San Antonio on November 27, 1929, backed by Carl Davis on guitar. Check the Main Forum for a new thread on Carl Davis started by Bunker Hill. Davis provides a very adroit flat-picked accompaniment played out of G in standard tuning, proving himself adept at the right-hand technique often employed by Rockabilly guitarists in which they play with their fingers while using a flat-pick. I believe Lonnie Johnson played everything this way, as well.
Davis utilizes very few fully-sounded chords in his accompaniment. He never sounds a IV chord at the fifth bar of the form, nor does he play a V7 chord in the ninth bar of the form. Instead, he maintains a constant stream of single-string riffing, always resolving to G. For this reason, and also because Alexander repeats the tag-line of two of his verses immediately after having concluded the verse, the sense of formal orientation is very elusive here; you're not altogether sure, in listening to "Broken Yo Yo" that Alexander's, Davis's, and one's own sense of the form are in agreement. This intimation of confusion is perhaps corroborated by the song's peculiar ending, in which the duo grinds to a halt after the repetition of the opening line of the final verse, before the tag-line could even be sung. Possibly the recording engineer signaled an end to the song.
Alexander's lyrics express a Blues commonplace of wisdom: that intentions to treat a woman well always result in trouble and bad behavior.
https://youtu.be/SyX4DD_6p5Q
When you get a good woman and wants to treat her right (2)
Says, she will get mad and stay on late all night
I've got somethin' to tell you, seem mighty doggoned strange (2)
You done fooled around here, made me break my yo yo string (2)
Mmmm, mmmmm
You done fooled around here, made me break my yo yo string
When you get to thinkin' and mean to do things that's nice
When you get to thinkin' and want to do things that nice
Then your woman, she gets funny, and stay away from home all night
I say, your woman gets funny, and stay away from home at night
When you think about trouble, thing you ought not to do
When you think about trouble, things you ought not to do
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Another song recorded by Texas Alexander on November 27, 1929, with Carl Davis providing accompaniment is "Peaceful Blues". There is nothing in the lyrics that suggests why the song should should have such a title, so it is a good candidate for the "Mystery Titles" thread over on the Main Forum. Carl Davis once again backs Alexander out of G, in standard tuning, and indeed, the song is musically virtually identical to the take of "Broken Yo Yo" that the duo recorded earlier on the same day. Alexander quotes Lemon in his final verse, something that happens much more rarely than you might expect.
It should be noted that Alexander and Davis, on both this tune and "Broken Yo Yo", intermittently go to a 16-bar form of a type I've not previously noticed. Most 16-bar blues are like 12-bar blues with the second four-bar phrase, with its movement to the IV chord, repeated. The Alexander/Davis 16-bar formal archetype repeats the third four-bar phrase in the 12-bar form rather than the second. The effect of the repetition of the tag-line is oddly non-emphatic, because Davis provides so little harmonic information; you don't hear anything like the strong movement to the V7 chord you would normally expect at that place in the form. Davis's primarily linear approach to backing Texas Alexander perhaps draws on Lonnie Johnson's earlier accompaniments to such songs as "Levee Camp Moan", "Section Gang Blues" and "Bell Cow Blues", though Davis is working out of an entirely different position than Lonnie was, and the sound is different.
https://youtu.be/rSYaZJiD5U8
Said, mama told me, told me, papa sat and cried
Mama told me, told me, papa, he sat and cried
Say, "You're too young a man to have that many women your side."
She said, "You're too young a man to have that many women your side."
Says, I woke up laughin', went down the road a-flyin' (2)
Says, I always had Miss Margie on my mind
I'm gonna climb my woman's belly like a yoyo do a string (2)
If I don't fix her up, I'll be in a dirty name
I love my woman better than a cow loves to chew her cud (2)
Lord, that fool, she got mad, moved to the piney wood
Mmmmm, heeeumm,
Hee-ehhh, ummmuhh
Lord, that fool, she got mad and moved to the piney woods
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Water Bound Blues" on June 15, 1929, at a session in San Antonio on which he was accompanied by Little Hat Jones. Little Hat accompanies Alexander in E standard, using pretty much the same accompaniment as he employed for 3 or 4 other tunes on that date. Jones's accompaniment draws heavily on Lonnie Johnson's playing for basic material, but when the material is filtered through Little Hat's altogether different touch, playing position and own musical signature licks, the effect is quite different from that achieved by Lonnie Johnson. Little Hat Jones worked exceptionally well with Texas Alexander. On their cuts together they sound very grounded and sympatico, like they share the same sense of bearing in the form.
As in many of Alexander's songs, the relationship of the song's title to its lyrics is enigmatic. I assume the title derives from the first verse, which is pretty mysterious in its own right. What is Alexander talking about? Did he ever work as a sailor, live on a houseboat, what? The next-to last verse would seem to come from "New Minglewood Blues". Alexander sort of swallows the last word in the last verse. Any help would be appreciated.
https://youtu.be/iAeAd0oVOC4
Now, my home's on the water, spendin' a while on land
My home's on the water, spendin' a while on land
I'm tryin' to find a woman that ain't got no man
Says, I used to have a friend, by the name was Sam
Says, I used to have a friend by the name of Sam
Said, we was ragged and dirty, some called us the tramps
Says, I stole my woman from my friend, they called him Sam (2)
Says, that scound'el, he got lucky, stole her back again
SOLO: 12 bars
I was raised on the desert, borned in a lion's den
I was raised in the desert, borned in a lion's den
Says, my chief occupation, takin' monkey men's women
Says, I never had a woman, couldn't get her back again
I never had a woman couldn't get her back again
Says, I traveled over this country, every kind of [man]
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Another song that Texas Alexander recorded with Little Hat Jones in San Antonio on June 15, 1929 is "Someday, Baby, Your Troubles Is Gonna Be Like Mine" There's no mystery with regard to this title. Little Hat is once again in E, standard tuning employing his accompaniment du jour. Little Hat's predeliction for an A7flat9 chord for his IV chord when playing in E
(X-0-X-3-2-0) is one of the most identifiable characteristics of his sound. I don't know anyone else who used that chord that way.
Many of Texas Alexander's lyrics turn up elsewhere earlier, but I've never heard his opening line in the final verse before. It's a beauty, reminding me of Ishmon Bracey's closing verse in "Woman, Woman Blues".
https://youtu.be/Pt6QCouhDTM
Someday, woman, your troubles gonna be like mine
Someday, woman, your troubles gon' be like mine
I'm gonna break your heart, just like you broke mine
SOLO f/8 bars
I say, I'm gonna break your heart just like you broke mine
When I first met you, woman, you would not run around (2)
Say, you'd come home early at night and you'd lay back down
If I had wings, fly like Norah's (sic) dove (2)
Says I'd flied away to the woman I love
Mmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmmm
Says, I would flied away to the woman I love
She's at home with her mama, right here on my mind (2)
She kept me worried and bothered, stay drunk all the time
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Two more songs recorded by Texas Alexander with Little Hat Jones's backing were "Awful Moaning Blues--Part 1" and "Awful Moaning Blues--Part 2". Both were recorded in the long session of June 15, 1929 in San Antonio that yielded 9 songs--a very hefty day's work! Little Hat accompanies both takes out of E, standard tuning, using the accompaniment archetype he employed on most of the songs that day.
Part 1 features more and more varied moaning by Alexander than does Part 2. He starts the song with his "spirit melody", but after the first verse, true to his word, finds a "new way of moanin'". He returns to the "spirit melody" for the humming prior to the last verse.
In Part 2, Little Hat encounters some of the accompaniment difficulties that plagued Lonnie Johnson from time to time when backing Texas Alexander. In the moaning that follows the second verse, Alexander re-enters after four bars, singing the tag-line from the previous verse and then launches into the next verse. Little Hat, meanwhile is finishing out the final four bars of the pass that began with the moaning. As Alexander repeats his opening line from the new verse, Little Hat starts the next pass through the form, four bars behind him. When Alexander goes to the tag-line, Little Hat moves to the IV chord, still four bars behind him in the form. In the space following Alexander's conclusion of the verse, Little Hat rights the ship, and gets back in sync with Alexander. It is one of the few instances I've encountered in the tracks on which Little Hat backed Alexander that he ran into these kind of difficulties.
https://youtu.be/W7enNdanWgo
"Awful Moaning Blues--Part1"
Mmmmm,mmmm, mmmmm f/12 bars
I've been moanin', moanin', ev'ry since you been gone (2)
Gonna find a new way of moanin', bring my woman back home
Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm
Lord, I been moanin', woman, ev'ry since you've been gone
Says, I went back home and I looked upside the wall
And I went back home and I looked upside the wall
Says, I could not find my woman' clothes at all
Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmm f/4 bars
Lord, and I could not find my woman' clothes at all
Said that's why I been moanin' ev'ry since you been gone
Mmmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm
Lord, I've been moanin' ev'ry since you been gone
https://youtu.be/3L1IGtfb5yM
"Awful Moaning Blues--Part 2"
Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm f/8 bars
I've been moanin', woman, ev'ry since you been gone
Says, I went back home and I looked up on the shelf (2)
Says, I'm gettin' mighty tired, sleepin' by myself
Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmm f/4 bars
Lord, I'm gettin' mighty tired, sleepin' by myself
Says, I went back home and I walked up and down the hall (2)
Says, I spied another mule, crawlin' in my stall
Says I moaned early in the mornin', moaned it late at night
Moaned early in the mornin', moaned it late at night
I was tryin' to moan to your satisfaction 'til I treat my woman right
Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmm f/8 bars
Says, my moan's gonna moan 'til I treat my baby right
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "When You Get To Thinking", backed by Carl Davis, at a session in Ft. Worth, Texas on November 27, 1929. Like most of the songs recorded that day, "When You Get To Thinking" is played by Carl Davis out of the G position in standard tuning. Davis gets such a clean sound that he really provides some inspiration to try out playing with a flat-pick and fingers; it sounds so great when he does it. For the first verse of the song, Alexander and Davis go to their unusual 16-bar form in which the tag-line is repeated. Thereafter, they adhere to a more conventional form. It would be interesting to find out why, of all the accompanists Alexander had worked with up to that point, Davis was the only one to spark this 16-bar off-shoot form.
I really like the lyrics to this song, and especially like the opening line to the second verse; I'd be perfectly happy to have it done in the old style, in which the same line was sung three times.
https://youtu.be/9jjgUSpQ620
A married woman, best woman ever been born
I say a married woman, best woman ever been born
Only trouble you have is tryin' to keep her at home
Only trouble you have, tryin' to keep her at home
My woman left me this mornin', but I blame myself (2)
That back-bitin' man taken my woman, now he's goin' to the West
Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmm
I say, he taken my woman, now he's gone to the West
I can't sleep at night when I lay down to take my rest (2)
Says, the woman I love, Lord, she is not for no mess
Mmmmmm, mmmmmm
Boy, the woman I love is not for no mess
Edited 12/16 to add: I realized late last night that the 16-bar form with both the opening line and the tag-line repeated does occur earlier in Texas Alexander's work, prior to his session with Carl Davis, in "98 Degree Blues", on which he was accompanied by Little Hat Jones. The transcription of that song occurs earlier in this thread.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander was accompanied by Carl Davis on "Thirty Day Blues", recorded in San Antonio on June 5, 1929. Davis backs Alexander out of C position in standard tuning, and like "Texas Special" recorded earlier in the same session, "Thirty Day Blues" features an intro that sets up a turn-around to G, only to have Alexander come in singing in C. Davis sounds a bit less surprised than he did on "Texas Special" and recovers (if recovery was necessary) instantly. Davis's approach is slightly more chordal-sounding working out of C than his characteristic accompaniment sound was in G, where he focused almost exclusively on single-line work.
Alexander sounds in great form, and has some interesting lyrics. In the first verse, "anybody" sounds just about as much like "a bottle", which makes no sense, so I opted for "anybody".
https://youtu.be/HDbgDMU1s6c
If I ever get anybody to pay this debt I owe (2)
Says, I never will in this world get in debt no more
Says, I been listen' at you, woman, for the last five-thirty days
I've been listen' at you, woman, for the last five-thirty days
If I listen any longer won't be nothin' but a slave
Says, I laid down laughin', woke up hollerin' and cryin'
I laid down laughin', woke up hollerin' and cryin'
Says, I never got Jimmie, rider, off of my mind
Mmmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmmm
Says, I never got Jimmie, I say, off of my mind
Don't you never let one woman worry your mind (2)
Keep you four and five women, bothered all the time
Mmmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm
Keep you four and five women, bothered all the time
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Death Bed Blues" with the backing of Lonnie Johnson at a recording session in San Antonio on March 9, 1928. Lonnie sounds in fine form, though he gets foxed momentarily by Alexander's entrance with the first verse in the ninth bar of a pass. Texas Alexander's singing of this song is just wrenching, and his first verse, in particular, is beautiful and sad. The final verse is somewhat mystifying; the relationship of the opening line to the tag-line is enigmatic--maybe there is no connection, and the opening line is apropos of nothing, like some of Lemon's lyrics.
https://youtu.be/hEuQPZXmsd0
Mmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmm w/guitar for 8 bars
Mama's dead, mama's dead, papa's gone astray
You left me in this world, nothin' but her face (2)
Mama told me, told me, when she was on her bed a-dyin'
Mama told me, told me, on her bed a-dyin'
Says, these fast-life women surely get you down
Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmm w/guitar
Says, these fast-life women surely get you down
I'm gonna buy me a rubber, great big rubber ball (2)
I'm gonna kill my woman just to see her fall
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Seen Better Days" at a session in San Antonio on June 9, 1930 for which he was backed by the Mississippi Sheiks. Like the two other songs from that session that I have heard thus far, "Seen Better Days" is played out of Bflat, and it works out to be a terrific key for Alexander's singing. God, the Sheiks had great time! The tempo is not that fast, but it lands so heavily, it is a stellar example of the much-to-be-sought-after "heavy time". Alexander sounds absolutely moored to the beat, too. He doesn't pull any of his standard accompanist-disorienting phrasing surprises, either.
https://youtu.be/f-YhJ9ECd1U
I seen better days, when times wasn't so hard
I seen better days, when time wasn't so hard
Says, my woman got mad and drove me out of her yard
I wonder what's gettin' the matter, with poor Bessie Mae? (2)
Darn, she got mad and drove poor me'r away
Says, I wonder what's the matter with my troublesome mind?
I says, I wonder what's the matter with my troublesome mind?
Says, I must be thinkin' about my woman, I left behind
SPOKEN: Step on 'er!
SOLO
My woman, she got something, work like sleeping pills
I says, my woman, she got something, work like sleeping pills
It takes all of my time to try to keep my backbone still
That's why I can't keep from thinkin', time I used to have
I can't keep from thinkin' about the time I used to have
Sometime I think, "Lord, I declare, I declare!"
All best,
Johnm
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Hey JohnM,
Been sick for a few days and it's amazing how many lyrics you are going thru these days. Hmmm? I don't know if that's a good sign or not?!?-G-
Anyway in the first line of Thirty Day Blues where you said it sounds sorta like "a bottle", I thought it might be "If I ever get a bundle to pay this debt." Don't have the recording but just trying to make sense of what you said.
All for now.
John C.
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Hi John C.,
Thanks for the suggestion for the lyric on "Thirty Day Blues", I will give it a listen, and see if your suggestion matches up phonetically--it certainly works in terms of making sense. I think the lyric transcriptions I've been doing are a good sign, but I don't exactly have a lot of perspective on the situation. I get the feeling that not many people have Texas Alexander's re-issue recordings, since he is generating almost nothing in the way of comments. If so, it's a shame, because he was a hell of a singer, one of my very favorite singers in the style, and he worked with some terrific accompanists.
All best,
Johnm
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I get the feeling that not many people have Texas Alexander's re-issue recordings
This thread has given me a real desire to hear Texas Alexander's recordings, but the Documents are out of print. :( Every so often I try emailing Document about possible availability of recordings I'm interested in, but never get a response. I see from Malcolm Vidrine's post in the Document thread that these may be available as CD-R's now. Maybe I'll try that route.
-
Hi dj,
I was able to get Texas Alexander, vol. 2 from Malcolm recently, though I don't know if he has any more left of that relict stock. I think Texas Alexander, vol. 1 is available from Malcolm, Down Home Music and Roots and Rhythm--at least it was in the very recent past. I'm stuck on trying to get vol. 3 now, but am hoping it will turn up somewhere yet. The tip I received a while ago from Stuart about out-of-print Documents still being out there if you can track them down has been very helpful. I've since found Sleepy John Estes, vol. 2, and vols. 1 and 2 of Texas Alexander, and all are currently listed as being out of print, I think, by Document. Good luck finding them. What would really be great would be if JSP did a set that had all of Texas Alexander's titles on it.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Bottoms Blues" in 1950, in Houston, with backing by Buster Pickens on piano and Leon Benton on electric guitar. The next previous Alexander recording before this one that I have heard was from 1934, and it is somewhat shocking to hear how much Alexander had aged in the intervening sixteen years. His voice had lost much of its characteristic richness by 1950, though he still had a tremendous expressive focus to his singing.
"Bottoms Blues" is pretty much of a shambles. First of all, the sound quality is as ugly as you are ever likely to hear, really hideously bad. I am no audiophile, having grown up listening to a lot of acoustic recordings, but this is really butt-ugly, considerably worse than the worst sound on any Lemon or Papa Charlie title. Secondly, Alexander is rushing all of his phrasing and his non-listening accompanists are apparently none the wiser. By the time Alexander starts his third verse, he is a full four bars ahead of Leon Benson. The ensemble sounds almost like they were given a downbeat with no count and then played their parts in isolation, without being able to hear or see each other. Whew!
Despite all this, Alexander's lyrics are excellent. For this transcription, I ended up using Guido van Rijn's transcription that accompanies the Agram Texas Alexander re-issue as a starting point for the last four verses, since I couldn't face the repeated listenings that would be normally involved in transcribing a performance like this. Since van Rijn only transcribed the initial version of the opening line in each verse, a lot of listening was still required, since Alexander almost always changed his repetitions in some way. Lil' Son Jackson used the opening verse for his "Homeless Blues", but it sounds like he got it from an earlier Alexander recording, "Justice Blues", that I have not been able to hear yet.
https://youtu.be/roMkSnaN7bo
Take me out of this bottom, 'fore the high water rise
Take me out of this bottom, people, before the high water rise
You know I ain't no Christian man and I don't want to be baptized
I went to church this morning, and they called on me to pray
I went to church this morning, Lord, they called on me to pray
I fell down on my knees and forgot just what to say
I cried, "Lord, my Father, Lord, our kingdom come"
"Lord, my Father, Father, Lord, our kingdom come"
"If you got any womens in Heaven, will you please, sir, save me one?"
Dear God, I never been to Heaven, but a black man sure been told
Lord, I never been to Heaven, black man sure been told
They got women up there, they got their mouths crammed full of gold
I want to build me a Heaven, Lord, a kingdom of my own
Build me a Heaven, Lord, a kingdom of my own
So all these brownskin women can cluster around my throne
You know a married woman, married woman, is the best woman ever been born
I say a married woman is the best woman ever born
Only trouble I have, tryin' to keep my woman at home
All best,
Johnm
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The ensemble sounds almost like they were given a downbeat with no count and then played their parts in isolation, without being able to hear or see each other.
This happened a lot after 1945. Not just to Texas Alexander but to Smokey Hogg, John Lee Hooker, Homesick James, Eddie Kirkland (listen to his "It's The Blues, Man!" LP to see just how far apart a singer and backing band could get), and others. It seems like during WWII a switch got flipped and suddenly instead of a band listening to and following the singer, the singer was supposed to follow the band. I suppose what really happened is that the singers I listed above were considered hopelessly "country" and old-fashioned by that time, and the bands figured "We'll play these blues the right way, even if the singer doesn't know what he's doing".
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Hi dj,
I'm sure your assessment as to why so many Blues recordings from that post-War period are execrable is correct. The approach of "We're going to play these blues right, even if this singer can't sing them right!" never seemed to yield very much worth listening to, did it? And hearing a recording in which the accompanists make no effort to accommodate the individual phrasing habits of the singer they are accompanying makes you appreciate all the more the extent to which Alexander's earlier accompanists, Lonnie Johnson, Little Hat Jones and Carl Davis, did their very best to make him sound good, despite occasionally being caught off-guard or blind-sided by his phrasing. The issue of the non-listening back-up band is one reason I've gotten stalled in transcribing the Lil' Son Jackson Imperial recordings. Many of those records are prey to that unfortunate trend. Thanks for your insight.
All best,
Johnm
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Such recordings also throw direct light on the drift away from rural free format songs to the more formulaic and predictable structures that evolved in the 30s, as discussed in an earlier thread.
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Penitentiary Moan Blues" in New York City on November 16, 1928, with Lonnie Johnson backing him on 12-string guitar. Lonnie sounds sumptuous; he never sounded better. The song is in the work song format that the duo had explored previously on "Section Gang Blues", "Levee Camp Moan Blues", and "Bell Cow Blues", with Lonnie treating the accompaniment as another melodic voice and eschewing chordal back-up. It is a beautiful and distinctive sound and shows off the strength of Alexander's singing to great advantage. The verses, for the most part, employ an ABAB format, with Alexander humming the repetition of the A line, and coming back in singing lyrics for the repetition of the B line. A lot of the work songs sung by Alexander and his contemporaries devote lyric space to mules; they were a major part of their work life, after all, and I think that the Annie Lee spoken of here is a mule.
https://youtu.be/_0Cb4ZQxwn0
SPOKEN: Mama, she told me to stay at home and I wouldn't. She told me to stay at home and I couldn't. But now, Mama, Bud Russell has got me and I cannot help myself. Lord have mercy.
Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmm
Mmmmmmm, oooh, mmmmm
Mmmmmm
SPOKEN: If I had-a listened, Mama, when you was tellin' me these things, I wouldn't have to worry with these old rusted chains
SUNG: I wonder what's the matter with poor Annie Lee?
Lord, the Captain whupped here and she ain't been seen
Mmmmm, mmmmmmm
Lord, the Captain whupped her and she ain't been seen
Oh, if it hadn't've been for the red mule's head
Lord, the Captain'd killed ol' Annie dead
Mmmmmm, mmmmmmmm
Lord, the Captain killed ol' Annie dead
If you get buggy want to see Red River red
Lord, Bud Russell will take you and you won't be dead
Mmmmm, mmmmmm
Lord, Bud Russell will take you and you won't be dead
Got my kitchen, got my kitchen door
That's where they laid the poor boy low on
Mmmmm, mmmmmm
Out in the rain, out in the cold
When your Captain call you, you have to go
Mmmmm, mmmmmmm
Boys, when the Captain call you, you have to go
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Corn-Bread Blues", with the backing of Lonnie Johnson, at the second session for the two of them, in New York City on August 12, 1927. It was immediately followed on the same day by "Section Gang Blues" and "Levee Camp Moan" (some day!) and in "Corn-Bread Blues" you can hear Lonnie Johnson beginning to work through some of the melodic accompaniment ideas he used to such advantage on the two later songs. Lonnie is almost imperceptibly flummoxed by an early entrance by Alexander at one point, but his recovery is so instantaneous and done with such finesse, that unless you were listening extra hard you might not even notice it. Alexander allows Lonnie a full solo through the form at the conclusion of the song, something that happened with surprising rarity in all the titles they recorded together.
I am stymied by the second half of the opening line of the second verse. What I will post is the closest I can get phonetically to what Alexander is saying; as for sense, there is none. In the first half of the same line, Alexander refers to a "box-back middy" or "nitty", an item of women's apparel that Mance Lipscomb likewise refers to in his great "Shake, Shake Mama". Alexander sounds like he is saying "middy" in the first statement of the line and "nitty" in its repeat. There's no problem understanding Alexander's tag-line to the second verse, for it's as plain as day. As usual when talking about sexual matters he goes for frankness over the more commonly encountered double entendre. It's refreshing, for me at least. Any help with the bent bracketed portion of the lyrics would be greatly appreciated.
https://youtu.be/SxiF9QpTzFs
I've got a brownskin woman, she lives up on that hill (2)
Lord, that fool's tryin' to quit me, man, but I love her still
She wears a box-back middy, Lord, and a gamblin' striped hose
She wears a box-back middy, a gamblin' striped hose
She's got a new way of gettin' down, you have to get low as a toad
Mmmm,mmmmm w/guitar solo
Lord, she got a new way of gettin' down, you have to get low as a toad
SOLO
Some of these women, I just can't understand
Some of you women, I just can't understand
They cook cornbread for their husband, and biscuits for their man
SOLO
Edited 1/16 to pick up correction from FrontPage
Edited 1/17 to pick up corrections from waxwing and banjochris
All best,
Johnm
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I will have to listen to the tune to see whether I can help out with missing/questionable lyrics in the second verse. However, I can confirm that you have the first phrase in the line correct; a middy is a sailor's blouse, and a box back is a type collar that is square on the back (like a sailor's tunic). So any woman's garment incorporating those features makes a good fit.
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John:
I hear "middy" on both lines. And I hear "gambling stripe it holds" - which, unfortunately, remains as an equally inexplicable lyric.
For anyone else wanting to give "Corn Bread Blues" a listen, you can hear it here without digging through your CD collection:
http://www.redhotjazz.com/talexander.html (http://www.redhotjazz.com/talexander.html)
Lonnie gives us some really pleasant guitar work there.
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Thanks for the help, Bill. I will make it "middy" in both lines and hold off on the second half of the line.
All best,
Johnm
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Thanks for the link, FP. I've been in the dark as to all these Texas Alexander recordings and I see there are quite a few at that site.
It occurred to me that perhaps he is saying "gamboling" which according to Mirriam-Webster Online means (gambol) to skip about in play, synonyms being frisk and frolic. He could be saying she's frisky.
It further occurred to me that this might be the case in several blues songs where a woman is inexplicably referred to as gambling? If it could be shown that this word was in usage in the South in this era, which is quite possible , I don't think it would be so far fetched.
Now, is it possible that by referring to her as a "stripe" he means that she is thin?
All for now.
John C.
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I'm not sure about the "gamblin'" -- I think waxwing's "gamboling" suggestion is a good one -- but the last two words are "striped hose" with the "ed" pronounced as a separate syllable -- he's still talking about what she's wearing.
Chris
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Thanks, John C. and banjochris for the help. I am dubious with regard to "gamboling"--not phonetically, but in terms of meaning and plausibility of its use. "Striped hose" seems right on. As a description of hose, I don't see how either gamboling, or gambling, for that matter, makes sense. Is it possible that Alexander is talking about some kind of fabric that the hose are made of, and doing a phonetic approximation? The closest thing I can think of is gaberdine. I will make the change, subject to future change if any of us has a blinding flash of insight. It's great to have all this help.
All best,
Johnm
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Thinking more about "gambling," it could be an expression of approval, meaning something along the lines of "that's the type of flashy item a gambler would wear."
Chris
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Hi Chris,
Yes, I could see that--sort of like saying it's sporty. It's a tough one, because he definitely is saying "gamblin'", and once you identified "striped hose", I could clearly hear that, too. It's one of those unfamiliar usages you run into from time to time with this music.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi, I just found this forum on the "Keys to the Highway" lyrics page. I just read over this discussion and am fairly impressed with the work you all have done. However, I have a gripe with johnm's transcription of "Risin' Sun Blues". Both me and Paul Oliver think this lyric goes,
She's got something round and it looks like a bear
She's got something round and it looks like a bear
Sometimes I wonder, what in the hell is there?
johnm, maybe you have a recording of this song that I haven't heard? If you still check this forum please get back to me.
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Hi, mmpresti,
It's swell that you are fairly impressed with the transcriptions. I reckon you are talking about the lyrics to "The Risin' Sun". I agree with your hearing of the line and will make the change. It's nice that Paul Oliver agrees with you.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Justice Blues" at a session in Fort Worth on September 29, 1934 for which he was backed by the guitar duo of Carl Davis and Willie Reed. For "Justice Blues", both Davis and Reed are playing out of C position in standard tuning, with Davis providing the very stylish flat-picked lead and Willie Reed providing a chordal back-up with a Western Swing sound, strumming chords four-to-the-bar with the second and fourth beats damped and nifty connecting runs. Davis and Reed do an exceptionally strong job of keeping Alexander feeling oriented in his phrasing, and even towards the end of the song, where he starts phrasing "short", they go right with him seamlessly.
With the exception of the first verse, Alexander is working with verses he recorded on more than one occasion, and some of these verses were later picked up and used by Lil' Son Jackson. This song is a good candidate for the "Mystery Titles" thread, for it is not at all clear what the title has to do with the lyrics.
https://youtu.be/5NXF0y5_Vg8
When you see a woman with a cigarette in her hand
When you see a woman with a cigarette in her hand
She'll misuse her husband for her little kid man
Take me out of this bottom, before the high water rise
Take me out of this bottom, before the high water rise
You know I ain't no Christian, and I don't wanta be baptized
I've cried, "Lord, my Father, Lord, our kingdom come."
I've cried, "Lord, my Father, Lord, our kingdom come."
"Send me back my woman, then my will be done."
I never been to Heaven, people, but I've been told
Says, I never been to Heaven, people, but I've been told
Oh Lord, it's womens up there got their mouths chock full of gold
I'm gonna build me a Heaven, have a kingdom of my own
Gonna build me a Heaven have a kingdom of my own
So these brownskin women can cluster around my throne
Edited to pick up correction from mmpresti, 6/14
Corrected 6/17
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Katy Crossing Blues" at the same session he recorded "Justice Blues" and with the same accompanists, Carl Davis and Willie Reed. Carl Davis and Willie Reed are playing out of dropped D on "Katy Crossing", with Davis working very much out of Lonnie Johnson's characteristic sound; Davis even does his own version of Lonnie's signature descending triplet lick. Divergences from standard blues phrasing on "Katy Crossing" can not all be attributed to Texas Alexander, for his accompanists seem somewhat at odds with each other on the introductory solo, which they play so:
| I | I | I |
| IV | IV + 2 beats | I |
| V7 | flatVI7 / V7 | I | I |
Part of whatever difficulties the guitarists encounter may be a result of Davis's erratic placement of the signature lick. Lonnie always starts it on the + of the first beat in the third, seventh or eleventh bar of the form, but Davis starts it variously on the + of the third beat in the sixth bar, the + of the second beat in the seventh bar and elsewhere. When a lick has been played as much as Lonnie played that lick, it operates almost like a signpost indicating placement in the form. Thus, when it occurs other than where Lonnie placed it in the form, the result can be confusing.
Texas Alexander is in great voice, as per usual. On both "Katy Crossing Blues" and "Justice Blues" he uses "I've" in a place where you would expect him simply to say "I". Alexander hums his "spirit melody" during the solo following the third verse.
https://youtu.be/Vf-rL4c8_qU
Where were you, where were you, when that Katy whistle blow?
Where were you, where were you, when that Katy whistle blow?
Says, I was standin' at the crossin', wishin' to the good Lord that I couldn't go
Lord, that Katy train is a low-down, triflin' old thing
Lord, that Katy train is a low-down, triflin' old thing
Lord, she taken my woman and she left me all in a strain
If I just can holler like that Katy can blow
If I just can holler like that Katy can blow
Then I would call my baby, baby, and I would not have to go
Hummed, during 8-bar solo: Uhh, ohh, mm, yeah, umm, uhh
If I just can holler like that Katy can blow
I've got up this mornin', couldn't hardly put on my shoes
I've got up this mornin', couldn't hardly put on my shoes
I thought about that Katy and I couldn't get in my blues
All best,
Johnm
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Hi, Johnm, In "Justice Blues" he's saying,
Lord, my father, lord, thy kingdom come (2x)
Give me back my woman, and thy will be done
This song is probably called "Justice" blues because in the final verse, he is going to build a heaven of his own.
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Hi mmpresti,
In "Justice Blues" he does say,
"Give me back my woman, then my will be done"
The tag line you suggest makes sense with reference to the Lord's Prayer, but it is not what he said.
I've listened to this lyric very carefully, and he elides the "th" sound on both singings of the opening line of that verse. The sound of what he sings is,
Lord, my father, Lord, I will be done
The intent may be "thy will be done", but it is not what he sang.
All best,
Johnm
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Okay, but surely you here him singing, "Kingdom come" in the first two lines. It doesn't make since to me, even if he's eliding the "th", that he is saying, "Lord, my father, lord, I kingdom come". I don't here "will be done" at all in the first two. Still, we may be listening to different songs. I've posted a clip of these lines from the song recorded on September 29, 1934.
Despite the reference to the Lord's prayer, he could, as you suggest, in the concluding line really be singing, "Send me back my woman, then I will be done". I'm hearing an urgent stop at the beginning of the "I" sound when he sings it, as if he is intending "thy". Since we both agree that he is eliding the "th" sound on "thy", it wouldn't be so bizarre for him to add a "th" sound to "then" in "and (th)y will be done". But I'm hearing more a guttural sound on "then", like he were throwing his voice.
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Hi mmpresti,
Yes, he is saying "kingdom come" in the first lines, I made a typing error there. I think the whole point of the verse, and the lyric as a whole, is that he is riffing on the Lord's Prayer and religion in general. Anyone of Alexander's background who would say, of the prospect of being caught in flood waters,
"I ain't no Christian and I don't want to be baptized"
is abnormally unafraid of God, simply to make a joke of it. The point of the verse we've been discussing is not God's will being done, but Alexander's. He is saying to God, "Give me back my woman, then MY will will be done.". Similarly, his concluding two verses show a singular lack of pious awe for Heaven as it is conventionally imagined. The primary interest Heaven holds for Alexander is the women there with mouths chock full of gold and those who will cluster around his throne.
Looking at the lyrics as a whole for this song, there was no reason for Alexander to quote scripture or prayers, except to twist the quotation on its head. It would be out of character with the rest of the verses of the song to make a scriptural quote and take it at face value. Alexander would appear to be a rarity for his time, place and background--a sincerely unreligious man.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Lonesome Blues" immediately following "Katy Crossing Blues", in the same session. For "Lonesome Blues", Carl Davis and Willie Reed move to A position in standard tuning. The rhythmic feel of "Lonesome Blues" closely approximates that of "Justice Blues", with Willie Reed damping his strums on the second and fourth beats of the measure. Carl Davis plays some beautifully clean lead lines, but he seems not much more secure with the 12-bar form than Alexander himself. The interplay of the two guitars in the solo that precedes the last verse is pretty darn confused, and the last verse grinds to a tentative halt with Alexander leaving his tagline unsung. That having been said, Alexander sings magnificently and really sounds torn up. I'm sure he drove the musicians who accompanied him crazy on occasion, but his sound was worth it. He really delivered.
https://youtu.be/tUmBnesIDNE
When you get to feelin' awfully sad and blue
When you get to feelin' awfully sad and blue
You ain't got no mama to carry your troubles to
I used to have a little woman, good as any in this town
I used to have a little woman, good as any in this town
Now, I ain't got me no good woman, and none can be found
Ain't gonna tell you no story, y'know I sure can't lie
I ain't gonna tell you no story, you know I sure can't lie
Says, I ain't got no good woman, Lord, I'll tell you the reason why
Every mornin', every mornin', I thought I could hear you sit and cry
Every mornin', every mornin', I heard you sit and cry
You oughta seen me watchin', when you went a-passin' by
SOLO:
Every mornin', every mornin', babe, I thought I had you by my side
Every mornin', every mornin', I thought I had you by my side
All best,
Johnm
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"Alexander would appear to be a rarity for his time, place and background--a sincerely unreligious man."
I know of no other blues singer who sang secular religious songs, who in his life was as unrepentently hostile to the religious values of the Church as Alexander. But it is not uncommon for blues singers to use the Lord's prayer jokingly. Both Frank Stokes and John Byrd and his congregation did it in the line,
Now our father,
who art in heaven,
The preacher owes me ten dollars, he gave me seven.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
If I hadn't took the seven, lord, I wouldnt' a got none
Amen
And that last line about building a heaven of his own was already widely in use when Son House sung it in "Preachin' Blues" in 1930. When he sings the Lord's prayer, I think he's singing "thy" because he identifies with God's will in that last line. It's almost like he's singing to the devil, God on earth, under the false name of "God", while he is going to be God in his own heaven. Either way, his message is the same. Let's shake on it, I'll be down to see the Mothers now, ha, ha, ha... >:D
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Hi mmpresti,
I continue to favor "then my will be done" because it matches the sound that's on the record. You're right, though, that in either interpretation, Alexander comes across as aggressively irreligious, especially when you hear his vocal delivery. What he's communicating is a far cry from the light-hearted anti-clerical humor of lines like, "Some folks say that a preacher won't steal, but . . . .". Blues lyrics that twit preachers are not uncommon, but those that twit God are really rare.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Stealing To Her Man" in San Antonio on June 9, 1930, backed by an unusual assemblage of the Mississippi Sheiks. This version of the Sheiks, according to the liner notes of "Texas Alexander, Volume 3", Matchbox, MBCD2003 (licensed by Document), was missing the Sheiks normal fiddler, Lonnie Chatmon, and instead featured Bo Carter (Lonnie's brother) on violin, along with Walter Vincson and Sam Chatmon on guitars. It's amazing to hear how little a drop-off there is in the quality of the band's fiddling with Bo substituting for Lonnie. Bo sounds sensational, and his tone sounds so much like Lonnie's that I find myself wondering how accurate the session records were with regard to the band's personnel that day. Walter and Sam handle their twin guitar arrangements smoothly, with Walter generally playing first position chords (except for when the band plays in B flat) and Sam playing up the neck out of an uncapoed D position. "Stealing To Her Man" is backed by Walter out of the G position in standard tuning, and he hits some terrific bass runs.
Texas Alexander sounds very rhythmically secure and grounded in this context. All of his numbers backed by the Sheiks are very strong.
https://youtu.be/C7lXc6L6Us0
Says, I've got a mind I never had before
I've got a mind that I ain't never had before
I feel like kickin' down windows, rider, and knockin' down doors
I asked my woman did she love me, she never told me so
I asked my woman did she love me, she never told me so
She don't treat me no better, I ain't coming here no more
Says, I b'lieve to my soul my woman's got a brand new man
Lord, I b'lieve to my soul my woman's got a brand new man
I can see trouble coming, rider, in every land
SPOKEN, INTRODUCING SOLO: Step on it
My baby left me this morning, with her socks in her hand
Lord, she left me this morning, with her socks in her hand
Said, I b'lieve to my soul she's stealin' to her man
Says, I b'lieve I'll get just like Mister Henry Ford
I said, I b'lieve I'll get just like Mr. Henry Ford
Gonna have me a woman runnin' on every road
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "She's So Fair" backed by the Mississippi Sheiks immediately following the recording of "Stealing to Her Man". For "She's So Fair", the band returns to its favorite key, (at least when backing Texas Alexander) B flat. I particularly like Alexander's tag line for the third verse. I had never heard it before. Alexander had a phrasing mannerism that he used on occasion of repeating a word in the tagline to verses. He does that in the third and final verses here, and it's a device that builds intensity very effectively.
https://youtu.be/HNtlTk6-9-w
I know you won't want me, woman, by the way you do
I know you don't want me, woman, by the way you do
Lord, the way you treat me, woman, com' back home for you
It's T for Texas, T for Tennessee
Ah, it's T for Texas, T for Tennessee
It's T for my woman, she don't come back home to me
I've got a little low woman, 'bout five feet from the ground
I've got a little low woman, five feet from the ground
Says I love my woman, woman, from her necklace string on down
You don't believe I love you, woman, look what a fool I've been
You don't b'lieve I love you, woman, look what a fool I've been
You don't b'lieve I love you, look what a shape I'm in
SPOKEN, INTRODUCING SOLO: Have your way
Says, I wonder what's the matter, with my troublesome mind?
Says, I wonder what's the matter with my troublesome mind?
Lord, it must be trouble, trouble, else I wouldn't be here a-cryin'
Edited 5/14 to pick up correction from WhiskyMan
All best,
Johnm
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Just a thought on 'Deep Blue Sea Blues'.
"I'm goin' to be arraigned, gonna sign my initial down."
It is clearest (if that is the word!) in the first line. It does make sense, too.
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Thanks for the suggestion re "Deep Blue Sea Blues", dingwall. You're right, "be arraigned" does make sense with the tail end of that line. It makes less sense with the tagline, which is usually used with an opening line in which the singer threatens to move elsewhere. The existence of Barry, Texas in fairly close proximity to Dallas makes it a tough call. As for the sound of it, I can make my ears hear "be arraigned" in the first singing of the line, as you say; in the repetition of the line, I can't hear it at all. In neither line do you get a long E sound for the word "be".
I think the sense in terms of signing his initials down tilts the interpretation in favor of "be arraigned", since he wouldn't need to sign his initials down to go to Barry. I will make the change.
Thanks also for the suggested corrections on the John Estes lyric thread. I will work my way through them soon. It's kind of time-intensive work, as you know.
all best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Yet another song that Texas Alexander recorded on June 9, 1930 with the backing of the Mississippi Sheiks was "Rolling And Stumbling Blues". For this and several of the other songs the Sheiks backed Alexander on, Walter Vinscon does a nifty variation on the 12-bar form, much favored by Leecan & Cooksey, in which he substitutes a VI7 chord for the I chord normally played in the eighth bar and a II7 chord for the V7 chord normally played in the ninth bar. The substitutions give the song a raggy sound.
Alexander really sings the hell out of this one. He draws out the ending of the word "you" at the end of the opening line of the third verse, and the same thing with "know" at the end of the opening line of the last verse, in a way that gets to you. His tagline on the next to last verse is striking, in the sexually frank style he employed throughout his career.
https://youtu.be/eFC_RYewhIg
This life I'm living, so unhappy to me
This life I'm living, so unhappy to me
I'm gonna get me another woman, so I will be well-pleased
A good life to live, I'm just as wild about
Boys, a good life to live, I'm just so wild about
I'm gonna get me another woman, so I can live right
You had me, woman, settin' on the bed with you
I say, you had me settin' on the bed with you
Say, your mind comes to ramblin' and you didn't know what to do
SPOKEN, TO INTRODUCE SOLO: Have your way
I've been rollin', I've been stumblin', I've been fallin' for the last five, six long weeks
I've been rollin' 'n' stumblin' for the last five, six long weeks
Some man's taken my woman, I can see where he's dirtied my sheets
I've been a good man, all you women know
Says, I've been a good man, all the women know
Says, I give one hundred dollars for my woman, a suit of clothes
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
"Frost Texas Tornado Blues" is an unusual topical blues that Texas Alexander recorded with the Mississippi Sheiks. The second verse suggests that if Alexander got scared enough he was capable of getting religion. He had a habit of shortening up his opening lines when he repeated them; you can see it here and in many of his other songs. Alexander's singing of the opening line of the last verse is wonderfully rhythmic, really funky.
https://youtu.be/uMjaq6uHWUk
I was settin' and lookin', way out across the world
I was settin', lookin', way out across the world
Says, the wind had sands twistin' almost in a swirl
Says, I've been a good fella just as good as I can be
Says, I've been a good fella, good as I can be
Says, it's Lord, have mercy, Lord have mercy on me
Hum 8 bars
Says, I've been a good fella, just as good as a man could be
SPOKEN, BEFORE SOLO: Have your way
Some lost their babies, were thrown for two, three miles around
Some lost their babies, thrown for two, three miles around
When they come to thei' right mind, they come on back to town
The roosters was crowin', cows was lowin', never heard such a noise before
Oh, oh, Lordy Lord
Said, it seemed like Hell was broke out in this place below
All best,
Johnm
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I don't find anything irreligious about Texas Alexander. It sounds like he was a devout Texas Alexandrian. In Texas or elsewhere...
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Prairie Dog Hole Blues" at a session in San Antonio on April 9, 1934 for which he was backed by "His Sax Black Tams", a combo consisting of an un-named pianist, guitarist, and on this number, clarinetist. The guitarist, who is flat-picking out of C a bit low-tuned, does not sound to be any of the guitar accompanists used by Alexander on his other sessions. The clarinetist really works well with Alexander, and the swingy-sounding combo suits Alexander's singing quite well.
After the opening verse, the finest blues lyric ever to mention a prairie dog's hole, Alexander moves on to verses that he was to use six months later in "Justice Blues" and 16 years later in "Bottoms Blues". Because of Alexander's vocal volume relative to his accompaniment and the quality of the records used on the "Texas Alexander, Vol. 3" re-issue, his lyrics are easier to hear on "Prairie Dog Hole Blues" than on "Justice Blues". Hearing his tagline on the third verse makes it apparent that the mystery pronoun in "Justice Blues" where the "th" sound was elided was the word "our". I will make the change back there. Alexander employs a neat phrasing device in this recording. For the third verse, he hums the first four bars of the pass, and for the the last eight bars of the form reverses the order of his tag and opening lines from the previous verse. For the concluding verse, he lets the clarinet finish the final four bars of the pass.
https://youtu.be/h46xI9x4Sjg
I'm going out in West Texas, jump in a prairie dog's hole
I'm going out in West Texas, jump in a prairie dog's hole
If I don't find my baby, I ain't comin' here no more
I cried, "Lord, my Father, Lord, thy kingdom come"
I cried, "Lord, my Father, Lord, thy kingdom come"
"Send me back my baby, and my will be done"
Uhhh, uhh, eee, uhhh,
Send me back my baby, then my will be done
I said, "Lord, our Father, Lord, our kingdom come"
CLARINET SOLO:
Says, I went to church and the people all called on me to pray
I say, I went to church and they called on me to pray
I set down on my knees and forgot just what to say
Uhh, umm, uh, oh, uhh
Lord, I fell on my knees and forgot just what to say
CLARINET FINISHES PASS
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander and His Sax Black Tams recorded "Worried Blues" at their April 9, 1934 session in San Antonio. Alexander returns to lyrics that he used my years earlier for the second verse. The "safety first" line was used by Sara Martin in a tune she recorded with Sylvester Weaver in the mid '20s. The unnamed pianist does a great move in the fill following the line, "Every time that evenin' sun go down": he plays a series of ascending chords moving in contrary motion to the sun--pretty slick.
https://youtu.be/lH5vXJoVOp4
Some people say, worried blues, they ain't bad
Some people say, worried blues, they ain't bad
But it's the worst old feeling, I 'most ever had
Brownskin women are evil, yellow gal, she is worse
Lord, a brownskin woman are evil, yellow gal, she is worse
I'm gonna get myself a black woman, then play safety first
Uhh, umm, eee, umm, uhh
Get myself a black gal, then play safety first
CLARINET FINISHES PASS
CLARINET SOLO:
Every time that evening sun go down
Ahh, every time that evening sun goes down
Makes me think I'm on my last go-round
Uh, umm, eee, um, uh
Lord, every time that evening sun go down
Puts me on a wonder, make me think it's my last go-round
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Mistreatin' Woman" in San Antonio on April 9, 1934, backed by His Sax Black Tams. He sounded almost surprisingly comfortable backed by this more modern-sounding ensemble, especially since it was almost four years since he had last been in the studio.
In the opening line of verse three, Alexander smears "how I" together. He does a lot of simplification and shortening in his repetitions of his opening lines. Alexander used the last verse of "Mistreatin' Woman" to open the next song he recorded in the session, and with the insertion there of the word "from" between "hearin'" and "my", the sense of the verse comes through better. Here he uses "I've" in his own fashion, too.
https://youtu.be/AMMN2wqqZE8
She had me sittin', thinkin' I'd wait for her
She had me sittin', thinkin' I'd wait for her
My mind comes to ramblin' like the stars above
She's a mean old woman, won't do right no way
She's a mean old woman, won't do right no way
I'm gonna take my baby right back home and stay
Says, I wonder what's the matter how I can't get no mail
I wonder what's the matter how I can't get no mail
Lord, it musta been, musta been, a black cat crossed my trail
Sometime I think my baby's got it all
Sometime I think my babe have got it all
You can hear me howl, "Oh Lord, oh Lord!"
CLARINET SOLO:
Lord, I was sittin' here wonderin', "What in the world is gonna come of poor me?"
I was sittin' here wonderin', "What's gonna come of poor me?"
How I've can't get no hearin', my old time used-to-be
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander and His Black Tams recorded "Polo Blues" on April 9, 1934. The Black Tams' wind player switches to alto sax for "Polo Blues" and he sounds great. The "polo" of the title is not the horseman's game, but rather, according to Paul Oliver's liner notes for "Texas Alexander, Volume 3", "a "polled" animal whose horns had been removed so that its "strength" would go into beef and milk".
https://youtu.be/x52bwVRDL6s
I was settin' here wonderin', "What's in the world the matter with me?"
I was settin' here wonderin', "What in the world is the matter with me?"
I can't get no hearin' from my old-time used-to-be
She's at home with her mammy, she stays on my mind
At home with her mammy, she stays on my mind
Lord, she keep me wonderin', almost runnin' and cryin'
Uhh, uhh, uhh, ooo, ooo, uh (8 bars)
She almost runnin', wringin' my hands and cryin'
ALTO SAX SOLO:
You can hand me my pistol, shotgun and some shells
Uhh, get me my pistol, shotgun and some shells
I'm gonna kill my woman, send the poor gal to Hell
Get your milk from a polo, cream from a Jersey cow
Get your milk from a polo, cream from a Jersey cow
Your pigmeat from your pig, your bacon from a no-good sow
ALTO SAX SOLO
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
"Blues In My Mind" is the first tune that Texas Alexander recorded with His Sax Black Tams on April 9, 1934. It has a Pop-tune type feel and progression, but certainly not a Pop-tune type of construction. The only members of the ensemble who seem relatively sure of what is going on are the clarinetist and the almost-inaudible guitarist. The pianist seems no more certain of the song's structure than does Alexander. The lyrics are kind of a dog's breakfast, stringing together Pop and Blues cliches in a way that leads nowhere in particular. The phrase "in a strain" may be peculiar to Texas Alexander; I don't recall hearing it elsewhere.
https://youtu.be/_VAM2w4H6as
Where shall I go? How must I roam?
If she left me with these Blues in my mind
I can not go away, have not a word to say
I'm cryin' with tears in my eyes
How can I lose, with these things I use?
If she left me with these Blues in my mind
I'm goin' away, if I don't stay first one day
I'm cryin' with tears in my eyes
Since my babe been gone, she have left me all alone
But still she left me with those Blues in my mind
CLARINET SOLO
I have tried in vain to never more to call your name
You left me all in a strain
Since my babe been gone, she have almost told me wrong
But still you left me, with those Blues in my mind
CLARINET OUTRO
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Cross Roads" at his last session, with Benton's Busy Bees, consisting of Buster Pickens on piano and Leon Benton on guitar accompanying him. The session was in Houston in 1950, and it was sixteen years since Alexander had been in the studio. The ensemble sound is pretty tough, and Benton, in particular, sounds fairly clueless. It is somewhat reassuring to find via Paul Oliver's liner notes to "Texas Alexander, Volume 3" that Buster Pickens was not pleased with the session.
Despite all that, Alexander retains a lot of his earlier vocal glory, though he must have been a very ill man at this point, with tertiary syphillis, from which he was to die in a couple of years. The opening verse may have come from Robert Johnson; I don't know how wide a currency it had in the post-War era. Leroy Carr used the opening line of the last verse, but concluded it, "Don't lose your temper, when you've been drinkin' booze."
https://youtu.be/91NpqaSHtzM
Lord, I was standin' at the crossroad, I was tryin' my best to get a ride
I was standin' at the crossroad, I was tryin' my best to get a ride
Nobody seemed to know me, everybody was passin' by
Don't a man feel bad when all he's got is gone?
Don't a man feel bad, people, when all he's got is gone?
I haven't got nobody, holdin' on my right arm
Mama told me when I was a little boy, at home playin' in the sand
Mama told me when I was a little boy, down home, playin' in the sand
She said, "Be a good long time, Texas, before you get to be a man."
If I just had listened to what my mama said
If I just had-a listened to what my mama said
Yeah, I'da been at home asleep in mama's feather bed
You have a woman that you really hate to lose
You have any-a woman, I say, a woman you really hate to lose
Yeah, I had a little woman, I gave her all my money, too
All best,
Johnm
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The phrase "in a strain" may be peculiar to Texas Alexander; I don't recall hearing it elsewhere.
The Mississippi Sheiks have a song, "Livin' in a Strain," (on Vol. 2 of the Documents) that uses that phrase in the same way. That's the only other one I can think of -- the Sheiks' song is really a good one, too.
Chris
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Thanks for that information, Chris. Maybe Alexander picked up the usage from the Sheiks, or vice versa.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Cross Roads" at his last session, with Benton's Busy Bees, consisting of Buster Pickens on piano and Leon Benton on guitar accompanying him. The session was in Houston in 1950, and it was sixteen years since Alexander had been in the studio. The ensemble sound is pretty tough, and Benton, in particular, sounds fairly clueless.
As an aside the 78 (Freedom 153) was noted in Mike Rowe's "Rare Post War Records" series in Blues Unlimited (issue 126 Sept/Oct 1977, p.7) as there being only two known copies.
Wonder if any more have surfaced in the past three decades. ;D
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Lightnin' Hopkins also occasionally uses the "in a strain" phrase in his song "Fallin Rain".
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Good one, Matthew. So there's yet another Texas Alexander connection with the phrase, since Lightnin' accompanied him a good bit.
all best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
The last song Texas Alexander recorded at the September 30, 1934 session on which he was backed by Carl Davis and Willie Reed was "Good Feelin' Blues". The guitarists are working out of A in standard tuning on this one, with Carl Davis handling the flat-picked lead.
Texas Alexander inserts the "r" sound between consecutive syllables, the first ending and the second beginning with a vowel sound in verse one. The tagline on the final verse is really tough for me to hear. It sounds like Alexander turned away from the microphone while singing it. Any help with the bent bracketed phrase would be appreciated; what I have is a phonetic approximation and doesn't make a lot of sense.
https://youtu.be/N5uOI7cqtGo
You ever had the blues, you oughta know just how'r I feel
You ever had the blues, you oughta know just how'r I feel
Says, I feel just like I ain't never felt before
Feel like knockin' out windows, woman, draggin' down doors
Knockin' down windows, rider, draggin' out doors
I had the blues so bad 'til I didn't know where I was to go
Come here, pretty mama, set down on my knee
Come here, pretty mama, set down on my knee
I've got somethin' to tell you, keeps on worryin' me
Um, um ummm, um, uhh, uhhh, um (for 8 bars)
I've got somethin' to tell you, keeps on worryin' me
GUITAR SOLO, SPOKEN DURING SOLO: Play that thing, boy! Lord, it's good to be shakin'!
I've got up this mornin', couldn't hardly put on my shoes
I've got up this mornin', couldn't hardly put on my shoes
I've got-a rocks and gravel in my [sober blues]
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Lonesome Valley Blues" at a session in Fort Worth on September 29, 1934, with backing from Carl Davis and Willie Reed on duo guitars. For this number, which is played out of A in standard tuning, Willie Reed took the lead role. Working with a Lemon-influenced approach, Willie Reed's performance is stunning, and shows that being derivative is not necessarily synonomous with being tired or stale; he sounds as fresh as paint.
Texas Alexander, like Lemon, shows a capacity to suprise with his lyrics even after having previously recorded scores of tunes. I've never heard the tag line he uses in verse six before, and it's pretty tough. His opening line for verse three is beautiful. I think the tag line on verse four refers to bedsprings/strings. I have no idea what the opening line of the first verse means or refers to, but he enunciates it cleanly. Perhaps it is a train line, or I just mis-heard it.
https://youtu.be/Rn6qP7yRcVM
Keep on talkin' 'bout your F, F and your MCA
Keep on talkin' 'bout your F, F and your MCA
Because some black man done laid in my woman's place
I'm goin' home in the mornin' if I don't stay but one day
I'm goin' home in the mornin' if I don't stay but one day
And I ain't comin' back 'til you change your doggone ways
Long lonesome is the valley, deep blue is the sea
Long lonesome is the valley, deep blue is the sea
Said, "Looky here, pretty mama, would you quit that worryin' me?"
What you wanta do, mama, with your summer change?
What you gonna do, mama, with your summer change?
"Well, I ain't gonna do nothing but lay right on your strings."
Come here, mama, set down on my knee
Come here, mama, set down on my knee
Let me tell you somethin' how you worryin' me
What you want with woman, she won't do nothin' she say?
What you want with a woman, she won't do nothin' she say?
Take you home, sweet mama, beat you like a slave
Every time that evenin' sun go down
Yes, every time that evenin' sun go down
Puts me on a wonder, makes me think my last go-round
What you want with me, woman, wonder I treat you right?
What you want with me, woman, when I will not treat you right?
She'll take her some other man and go and stay all night
All best,
Johnm
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This thread is extremely informative! I was just wondering if anyone knows which Texas Alexander song contains the lyrics, "Some got six months, some got one solid year. But me and my buddy (partner?), we got lifetime here". I'm creating a blog and would very much like to know the title of this song, as that particular lyric amazes me. I know that Cannon's Jug Stompers used it too. I just listened to about 25 Texas Alexander songs in a row, but was unable to find it!
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The line appears in Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie's "Joliet Bound" as well. I can't think of the Texas Alexander song you're looking for.
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Also by Jab Williams in that song about going to the Big House.... damn my brain is going :-X I have a 78 of it and it was on the poor juke!!!
Oh, and tertiary syphillis was what HenrtyVIII died of so Texas Alexander was in good royal company :)
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Hi doctorpep,
Texas Alexander may have sung the verse, "Some got six months, some got one solid year, but me and my buddy, got that lifetime here", but he never recorded it.
all best,
Johnm
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Thank you very much, Johnm. I was beginning to think that it was a figment of my imagination, and you have helped confirm that. I probably caused you to listen to Texas Alexander for three straight hours, which sounds like a pleasant punishment to me (maybe I'm crazy haha).
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Ah, what a wonderful thread on of my favourite artists and singers. And especially with the great Lonnie Johnson! Just ordered this one:
Texas Alexander - 98 Degrees Blues (Catfish)
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Hi all,
Texas Alexander recorded "Normangee Blues" at a session in San Antonio on April 9, 1934, backed by his Sax Black Tams, the swingy band with anonymous personnel that backed him on six songs that day in the studio. This is the last remaining title by Alexander that has not previously been transcribed in this thread, and after returning to this thread after almost two years, I can see why it remained untranscribed. I could really use some help in several places, and as usual, they are indicated with bent brackets. Thanks for any assistance. And not having said it for quite a while, I'll reiterate: What a singer!
https://youtu.be/UMK4sguaxJM
I'm going to Normangee, tell Mr. Thatcher myself
I'm going to Normangee, tell Mr. Thatcher myself
Not to let my wife have nothing else
See, it's clothes, he's got 'em, bears them all in mind
See, it's clothes, he's got 'em, bears them all in mind
He's already taken my money, go to [DeWitt I]
Uh, oooo, hee, hoo, uh, uhhh, uhhh
Lord, have mercy on me
He'n already taken my money, I got to go to [DeWitt I]
I'm gonna rear back and holler, holler with all of my thrill
I'm gonna rear back and holler, holler with all of my thrill
Lord, if I get broke I'm gonna lean on [coal and well]
All the womens they likes me, 'cause I'm little and tall
All the women's they likes me, 'cause I'm little and tall
After I come back from New York, gonna wait for [her to show]
CLARINET SOLO
Blues come down the alley, they's wobble in my back door
Lord, the blues come down the alley, wobble in my back door
They said, "Look-a-here, [Jimmy D.], I wanta worry you some more."
Edited 7/18/20 to pick up correction from Johnm
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
It's almost four years later, and I've still never been able to figure out those couple of places in the lyrics to "Normangee Blues". The bent-bracketed passages are the ones I have not been able to get, and I'd sure appreciate some help. I'm attaching an .mp3 of the song so that you can give it a listen.
I'm going to Normangee, tell Mr. Thatcher myself
I'm going to Normangee, tell Mr. Thatcher myself
Not to let my wife have nothing else
See, it's clothes, he's got 'em, bears them all in mind
See, it's clothes, he's got 'em, bears them all in mind
He's already taken my money, go to [deal with I]
Uh, oooo, hee, hoo, uh, uhhh, uhhh
Lord, have mercy on me
He'n already taken my money, I got to go to [deal with I]
I'm gonna rear back and holler, holler with all of my thrill
I'm gonna rear back and holler, holler with all of my thrill
Lord, if I get broke I'm gonna lean on [coal and well]
All the womens they likes me, 'cause I'm little and tall
All the women's they likes me, 'cause I'm little and tall
After I come back from New York, gonna wait for [Hester Shaw]
CLARINET SOLO
Blues come down the alley, they's wobble in my back door
Oh, the blues come down the alley, wobble in my back door
They said, "Look-a-here, [Jimmy D.], I wanta worry you some more."
All best,
Johnm
[attachment deleted by admin]
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That one is a real puzzle! I think we'd have to know about Normangee to fill in some of those blanks. The name in the first verse sounds like Baxter or Batcher to me.
And it sure sounds like "Dewitt I" -- there is a Dewitt County near San Antonio -- some kind of reference to somewhere to work, maybe???
"Coal and well" could be a weird way of saying that if he gets broke he's going to have to go back to mining or oil work. Bit of a stretch but???
Hester Shaw sounds like a good transcription -- "heads to show" was the only alternative I could hear, which makes no sense.
Last one is really buried, not sure. Not any help on this one, sorry, but I'll keep listening...
Chris
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hmm I've nothing to offer on the bracketed sections, but the last verse line 2 starts with Lord ....
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Thanks very much, Chris and Gumbo, for giving "Normangee Blues" a listen. An alternative for "coal and well" might be some two-named pawnshop, Cole & Well, like Smith & Wesson. Most of the song is not too hard to hear, but the parts that are hard are really hard.
All best,
Johnm
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I hear the last part of the last line in verses 2 and 3 as "go to SEE REDEYE", where I'd assume that Redeye is the nickname of a guy who owns/works in a pawnshop.
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I don't know, dj. I hear a very clear and pronounced "d" sound at the front of the phrase in question, every time he sings it, and no "s".
All best,
Johnm
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Amazing that a song recorded so well would be so difficult, but it is. Like Chris, I hear Baxter in the first verse. And maybe Jimmy Green in the last verse.
That's a tough one for sure.
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Hi all,
I'd like to propose a slight change to the lyrics for "She's so fair",
I believe it's: "I've got a little *low* woman, 'bout five feet from the ground" rather than "I've got a little *old* woman, 'bout five feet from the ground".
It sounds like "low" to me and seems to make sense since he's telling us exactly how low she is (5ft); but also "little low" seems a fairly common phrase in blues for describing shortness e.g. Ishman Bracey: "I've got a long tall mama, little low mama too -I never tell my long tall mama what my little low mama do."
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Thanks for the catch, WhiskyMan. I re-listened to "She's So Fair" and made the edit you suggested.
All best,
Johnm