Topic: Mystery Titles

[Richard]

Ah, Loonie...  I used to like Loonie 

[Bunker Hill]

Ah, Loonie...  I used to like Loonie 

Sorry Richard it's actually "Lonney" and on spine, I've amended my post accordingly. My little grey cells ain't what they were....

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I just encountered another "mystery title", i.e. one in which the title phrase appears nowhere in the song's lyric.  Clifford Gibson's "Brooklyn Blues" makes no reference to Brooklyn at any point.
All best,
Johnm

[LD50]

Another example would be Ishman Bracey's Saturday Blues, which doesn't mention 'Saturday' anywhere in the lyrics. I think I read somewhere someone theorizing that the guys at Victor thought that was a sexier title than 'Shaggy Hound Blues'. Or also, I think Paul Oliver first pointed out how Blind Willie Johnson's The Rain Don't Fall On Me is a mishearing for (Latter) Rain Done Fell On Me.

One could also mention how Paramount misheard Skip James' 'Get Your Habit In Your Hand' as 'If You Haven't Any Hay' (which I know has been mentioned here before)... Even tho James confirmed that to Fahey directly, it still seems not to be widely known, and I've never seen it mentioned in any liner notes.

[Gumbo]

I can't hear 'Devil Sent The Rain' anywhere in the Charley Patton song of that name, not even in the indecipherable lines ...

[uncle bud]

First line of the song, "The Lord sent the sunshine, Devil he sent the rain".

[Gumbo]

that explains a lot, uncle bud. The song must be mis-titled in my iTunes!! so which song is this?
http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=128&topic=7588.msg60839#new

EDIT OK it's 'When Your Way Gets Dark' which i have two versions of from the jsp set - feel free to delete these post, uncle bud. sorry for the confusion.

[oddenda]

The superbly beautiful "Mississippi Blues" by William Brown recorded by Alan Lomax at Sadie Beck's Plantation ca. 1940 never refers to the title in the lyrics. OK, though! Alan told me that Brown was a leftie, too... probably standard-strung guitar.

Peter B.

[LD50]

OK it's 'When Your Way Gets Dark' which i have two versions of from the jsp set

Actually, one of them is probably When Your Way Gets Dark while the other is Magnolia Blues. Those two songs ended up getting released with different titles even tho they're really just alternate takes of one and the same song.

[Gumbo]

yep. Devil sent the rain and Magnolia Blues had their titles swapped round in my iTunes. And when i looked for a song title that might fit When your way gets Dark showed up as promising but it was a different take.
I would have taken forever figuring out the proper title.

So by a circuitous twist of fate, Magnolia Blues, the song i originally was listening to, is, as uncle bud said, a Mystery Title.

Ta Dah!

[dj]

Charley Jordan's "Twee Twee Twa" is either a mishearing or a deliberate obfuscation of "Sweet Sweet Twat".  See the Charley Jordan Lyrics thread for complete lyrics to the song.

Regarding Ishmon Bracey's "Saturday Blues", which has come up twice in this thread, it strikes me that "Saturday" is probably a mishearing of "Shaggy".  Say them both together, barely moving your tongue when you say each word and pronouncing "Saturday" "Sat'd'y", and they sound pretty similar.     

[dj]

Another song title resulting from misunderstanding is Bo Carter's "Sue Cow".  The title should be "Soo Cow", as "soo, cow" is what you'd say to calm a balky animal, which is what Carter is doing in the song: "Soo, cow, you better not kick, I'll break your leg with a stick".  Whoever noted the title had obviously never been in a barn and thought Sue was the cow's name.

[waxwing]

Ah, found it. (this topic, that is)

As mentioned in the Patton Lyrics topic, Charley never mentions Summer in Some Summer Day (Part 1), but he does mention Spring, and pretty clearly, too. Go figure?

Looks like Charley, understandably, may hold a strong lead with the most mentions in this thread. I scanned pretty quickly for Some Summer Day, but I also don't remember seeing Down the Dirt Road Blues mentioned as falling into the misheard category, since Charley sings, relatively clearly, Dark Road.

Wax

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Edward Thompson's "Seven Sisters Blues" falls squarely in this category, for the lyrics never mention seven sisters at any point.
All best,
Johnm

[oddenda]

William Brown was recorded by Alan Lomax ca. 1940 across the river from Memphis. His masterpiece recorded for the LofC was entitled by Alan "Mississippi Blues" - there is no mention of the state in the lyrics that I can hear. Lomax did mention to me that Brown was quite tall and played left-handed: I neglected to ask him if Brown's guitar was standard strung, or re-strung, and I didn't ask where the title came from. It was a busy time!

pbl