Topic: Geeshie Wiley's Last Kind Words

[Bill Roggensack]

It's actually "bolted meal" - which can still be purchased at [among other places] the grist mill that operates intermittently for tourists at Mabry Mill, VA. The term refers to a screening process (the bolter) used to separate finely ground corn flower from the grits and bran.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Re bolted meal, I remember that when it was first suggested that this was what was "brought" in the lyrics to "Last Kind Words", there was skepticism in some quarters.  I was listening to Walter Roland singing "Red Cross Store" tonight, and one of his verses began:
   Say, you go up there early in the mornin', say they ask you, "Boy, how you feel?"
   Gettin' ready to give you a nickel's worth of rice and a bag of that bolted meal
Finding a reference to bolted meal in another song's lyrics seemed a good corroboration that it wasn't too arcane a term to show up in blues lyrics after all.
All best,
Johnm

[Slack]

And don't forget, we're all still waiting for corroboration on "Bougelois"   

[GhostRider]

And don't forget, we're all still waiting for corroboration on "Bougelois"   

(placing stick firmly in anthill) 

Alex

[Mr.OMuck]

And don't forget, we're all still waiting for corroboration on "Bougelois"   

"I met a bourgeois girl about four foot four said c'mon daddy and give me some more of your Diddy Wah Diddy......."

There are countless other examples!

[lindy]

And don't forget, we're all still waiting for corroboration on "Bougelois"   

Good Cajun band, up for a Grammy this year I understand.

[Slack]

It seems we cannot have too much fun with these lyrics.  This thread is fun to read through again - loved Yves, the Frenchman's response, ha!

But I should congratulate Johnm for finding another reference to "bolted meal" - good work. 

[Rivers]

Yes, good score, that puts it beyond dispute in my mind.
 
Glad to hear you've gotten over your Red Cross Store phobia JM

[mr mando]

Hi all,
Re bolted meal, I remember that when it was first suggested that this was what was "brought" in the lyrics to "Last Kind Words", there was skepticism in some quarters.  I was listening to Walter Roland singing "Red Cross Store" tonight, and one of his verses began:
   Say, you go up there early in the mornin', say they ask you, "Boy, how you feel?"
   Gettin' ready to give you a nickel's worth of rice and a bag of that bolted meal
Finding a reference to bolted meal in another song's lyrics seemed a good corroboration that it wasn't too arcane a term to show up in blues lyrics after all.
All best,
Johnm

Johnm, it seems dingwall has already given this example in reply #57:

As for boulted(Chambers)/bolted(Merriam-Webster) meal occurring in blues, here are some instances:
 
RED CROSS BLUES Walter Roland
Gettin' ready to give you a nickel worth of rice and a bag of that boulted meal.

WELFARE BLUES Speckled Red
Give one little can of this tripe, some o' that boulted meal.

THE RED CROSS Brownie McGhee
They'll give you a bag of tomatoes, a peck of boulted meal.

THE RED CROSS STORE Pete Harris
They give you a nickel's worth of rice and a dime of that boulted meal.

[Johnm]

And mr. mando, it seems like I would not have made the post or the point had I read dingwall's post any time recently, doesn't it, especially when it's so easy for everyone else to check?  Examples don't mean much to me until I hear something for myself.  I was not going to wade through the whole thread prior to posting something I had just heard and was excited about--shame on me! 
All best,
Johnm

[mr mando]

And mr. mando, it seems like I would not have made the post or the point had I read dingwall's post any time recently, doesn't it, especially when it's so easy for everyone else to check?  Examples don't mean much to me until I hear something for myself.  I was not going to wade through the whole thread prior to posting something I had just heard and was excited about--shame on me! 
All best,
Johnm

Sorry for being the smartass. Shame on me indeed!

[bccmdl]

Yet another transcript of this great song:


The last kind words I heared my daddy say
Lord, the last kind words I heared my daddy say
"If I die, if I die, in the German war
I want you to send my body, send it to my mother, lord"

"If I get killed, if I get killed, please don't bury my soul
I thought just leave me out, let the buzzards eat me whole"
"When you see me comin', look 'cross the rich man's field
And if I don't bring you flour, I'll bring you bolted meal"

(instrumental)

I went to the depot, I looked up at the sun
Cried, some train don't come, gonna be some walkin' done
My mama told me just before she died
Lord, sit there daughter, don't you be so wild

The Mississippi River, you know it's deep and wide
I can stand right here, see my babe from the other side
What you do to me baby, it never gets out of me
"I may not see you, ’have to cross the deep blue sea"


The quotation marks refer to the lover's words (her "daddy"). The way I see it, in the first two quotes her lover is talking to god. He's scared, he thinks he will die in the war. In the third quote, he talks to her, saying he will come back from the war alive. I understand these two verses as: "do you know how I will come back? In great style (across the rich man's field), and I won't have my hands empty, I'll be ok."
After the instrumental solo, there is a depiction of her hard life, maybe now even harder without her lover. The train is not coming, she'll have to walk; she remembers her mother's last words: "don't you be so wild".
In the last part she mentions the Mississippi River, deep and wide. Like the ocean, right? And her lover is on the other side of the Atlantic. It's the perfect local metaphor for her separation. She stands on the edge of the Mississippi and "sees" (in her mind) her lover on "the other side" - of the Atlantic! She can't get over what her lover did to her - he did go to war (maybe he could have stayed if he decided to desert the army). The song ends with the memory of her lover saying that he has to go away.

Hope you liked my ideas on this song. I’d love to hear some comments…

All the best

[Rivers]

Welcome to weenie campbell there bccmdl and thanks for keeping this thread alive, it's always a good one.

Your post made me think of another unexplored, so far as I can remember, which admittedly isn't that far, possibility.

Could the second part of v1 be a Twenties early-Thirties mother-in-law joke? That would be pretty funny, in a 'dark, Last Kind Words' way. I'm thinking Peetie Wheatstraw and the "Devil's son-in-law" tag he had for himself.

Agree that LKW just invites creation of narratives, some of them quite unexpected, see: Beaujolais. That's what makes it great and fabulous poetry, with some nice political angles, "rich man's field". My first take on the last line of the song had a "mean iron steamer" in it. I was, and still am, laughed at, can you believe that?  

I imagine in the "rich mans field, bolted meal" verse Geeshie reporting the person still saying goodbye as he's heading off to war. He's still considering he might get killed, talking to her saying "I'll be watching over you and make sure you have something to eat, even if I get killed". So Geeshie is introducing the reported speech in the first two lines as in "this is what he said", followed the guy's last kind words, right up until the instrumental after which it flips back to Geeshie, describing more recent events at home as she waits for him.

My interpretation is pretty close to yours. The "River - deep, wide - see your face on the other side" image is used in another song or perhaps more. No specific examples spring to mind right now though. The sense of time is pretty massive in the song as you point out, with all the either actual or implied flashbacks.

[bccmdl]

Hey, I really liked your mother-in-law-joke interpretation! It makes sense to me, considering the acid humor some songs of those days had… That way the guy talks twice about his dead body in a humorous way. I buy it!
I just thought about another possible interpretation for the “rich man’s field” and “bolted meal” verses. Maybe “when you see me comin’” could mean “when you see me going away [to war]” and “look ‘cross the rich man’s field” could simply mean “look away” – he indicates a place not related to them (they are not rich). A better place, by the way. Something like “don’t think about me going away, think of something good”, or simply: “forget me”.
Maybe the verse “and if I don't bring you flour, I'll bring you bolted meal” was at that time a common expression (this could be just a stupid guess, I admit it), meaning something like “I will give you something good, you can be sure of that”. It has already been argued in this forum that bolted meal could be a substitute to flour… Taking this line of thought even further (sorry), this “expression” could mean simply “everything will be ok, I promise”. On the song, it would be used on this last sense.

In short: forget me / everything will be ok

I’m sorry my theories are not really based on facts… it’s just that I really enjoy building theoretical puzzles out of loose pieces of information! Maybe I try too hard to see things making sense…

[doctorpep]

On the album, Negro Folklore From Texas State Prisons, Joseph "Chinaman" Johnson sings about "bolted meal" on "Three Moore Brothers", which appears to related to our friend, Tom Moore. I'm just curious if anyone else has ever come across this. It's amazing how a lot of this information related to lyrics and Blues players' lives sits right under our noses the whole time. It's creepy, actually.