Topic: St. Louis Jimmy lyrics

[Chezztone]

This is one of the most-covered blues (Howlin Wolf and Mance Lipscomb recorded great versions) and the original by singer St. Louis Jimmy Oden, with piano by Roosevelt Sykes and some kind of bass by Alfred Elkins, is stellar.
But what is the meaning of the line, "On the next train south, look for my clothes home"? Was it really a tradition to send the clothes of a deceased person home, by train, without the body accompanying it? And even if so, would a poor person really have much worth sending? Or is it "closed home," a term for the casket, as one of my students figures? Other ideas? Thanks.
 

[banjochris]

I figure it was and is a lot cheaper to ship someone's belongings than to ship a body and that if his body wasn't there, that meant he was buried a long way from home and they wouldn't be able to have a proper funeral.

[Stuart]

Are you sure it's not, "my clothes' home"--"clothes'" being a possessive, with "my clothes' home" perhaps meaning where my clothes reside--or resided? (maybe even "my body," that is, where my clothes normally reside?). Given the following line, it would mean look for my body, but if you don't see it, all you can do is moan. At first it struck me as far fetched and a wild guess, but who knows? Anyway, I thought I'd post it and let you be the judge.

It might have been a usage or euphemism that simply fell out of circulation. I haven't done a search, but it might show up in texts of that era that contain vernacular usages, etc. Jimmy Oden might have simply used it for rhyming purposes. But obviously, I don't know.

Great song, Chezz--Thank's for posting.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I thought I had remembered "Goin' Down Slow" being a Song of the Month, and sure enough, it was, in November of 2019. If you'd like to hear more versions, go to: https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=12084.msg107181#msg107181
All best,
Johnm

I've always heard the lyrics as "clothes home". No particular mystery.

[Stuart]

Hi John:

"Clothes home" is what I hear in the original and in the other recordings of the song I've listened to. I was responding to Steve's question as his inquiry indicates uncertainty re: the meaning. Taken at face value, it's a usage that I'm not familiar with, although my familiarity isn't exactly comprehensive. However, understanding it as "clothes [going] home" makes sense (as Chris pointed out). But that's bending Jimmy Oden's usage to fit my interpretation, something I'm not 100% comfortable with.

[Johnm]

What bending, Stuart?

[Stuart]

"Modifying" would have been a better choice of words, John. I'll rephrase to say, "modifying by adding '[going]' to fit my interpretation and expectations." Jimmy Oden didn't sing "going," something I would expect to hear. But that says more about my expectations than it does about Jimmy Oden's way of expressing himself through the lyrics of the song.

[Blues Vintage]

Why would anybody who's sick and dying be concerned about sending his clothes back home?
My guess would be that the traveling musician (who's sick) is trying to catch the next train south to die at home with his family (in his room where his clothes are).
If he dies before he got aboard/back home, his body is not there (at home) and all you can do is moan (like Stuart suggested).

[Stuart]

Why? In anticipation of death, he might want his clothes returned home to his mother, who is mentioned earlier in the song, after he's gone. --Just one possible explanation.

[Johnm]

How many angels can fit on the head of a pin? That seems to be the territory in which we're operating. Get the meaning out of it you want.

[Stuart]

How many angels can fit on the head of a pin?

At least one more, John. 

You're right, John, but we're simply trying to come up with a reasonable interpretation of the line in question in the song Jimmy Oden created. Again, it's a great song. A lament written in the first person.

[Blues Vintage]

Why? In anticipation of death, he might want his clothes returned home to his mother, who is mentioned earlier in the song, after he's gone. --Just one possible explanation.

Yes, I understand that, Stuart. I meant that if you were sick and dying it's likely you won't care about something like that.

How many angels can fit on the head of a pin? That seems to be the territory in which we're operating. Get the meaning out of it you want.

Agree to some extent, but we're trying to find out the original meaning of Jimmy Oden, there's nothing wrong with that I believe.
I too wondered about that line ever since I heard it first by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band (The Original Lost Elektra Sessions).

[MarkC]

Maybe there was an old custom to send back clothing as a memento, at a time when shipping someone’s body home was too costly, particularly for poor black people? Maybe he’s talking about one good suit he was proud of? Who knows. I do know even today some people keep pieces of clothing as a memento. I listened to a couple of other versions of the song, and that wording was the same.

[Stuart]

Yes, I understand that, Stuart. I meant that if you were sick and dying it's likely you won't care about something like that.

Hi Blues Vintage: Perhaps unlikely, but not impossible. It's important to bear in mind that these are song lyrics that may or may not accurately reflect the actual thoughts and experiences of an individual or individuals. Jimmy Oden was exercising poetic license and didn't have to tightly conform to what other people may have thought, including me.

MarkC: I held on to some of my father's clothing after he died in 1997. My son, who I named after my dad, sometimes wears his grandfather's ties to work. Obviously, intelligence and good taste skipped a generation.

[Chezztone]

He's going down slow, not quickly. So why would his clothes be on the next train south? I still don't get it. This isn't about angels on a pin. Just trying to understand the lyric, as we do around here. "Clothes home" is not a familiar phrase to me, or a common one in the blues. Thanks to all who have given it some thought! Let's keep thinking...

[Johnm]

The singer has been going down slow but realizes he's approaching the end. His clothes are the sole item of his estate with value, and he would like to make them available to his family, both for re-use and because they may have some sentimental value for them. They are not notably expensive to ship and he still has enough energy to take care of that before his demise. They are his final bequest to them. By saying "look for my clothes home" he's saying, "You should be expecting a delivery from me, and this is what it will be. And you may take receipt of the clothes as an indication that I have succumbed to my illness at last."

[Stuart]

Hi Chezz: I agree that this isn't a case of solely discussing personal interpretation, but trying to figure out what Jimmy Oden specifically had in mind when he sang "clothes home." I listened to the 1947 Bullet version and he sings, "clothes home," which is evidence that he didn't leave out [going] in his earlier recording.



Railway Express used to be one way (if not the major way) things were shipped or sent, so looking for one's clothes being shipped by rail and/or coming in on a train makes sense. But like you, I have never heard or read "clothes home" before, so I'm guessing by context. I'm still leaving open the possibility that it's slang or an idiosyncratic usage (unknown to me), perhaps meaning suitcase or trunk. But I honestly don't know. John's take on the meaning is certainly appealing and one I wouldn't discount. But as for myself, I can't say for sure, given the unusual usage of "clothes home" (or maybe, "clothes' home"). Thank you for your patience.

[waxwing]

 I agree that “going down slow“ likely indicates a long period of denial before the realization that death is near.

I think it’s important to look at the other line in the verse “if you don’t see my body, all you can do is moan“ to get the full context of the meaning. I think that he is indicating, in a very roundabout way, that he will catch the next train south with the foreboding that he will not survive the train trip. If someone dies on a train, the body will be put off the train at the very next stop. But his suitcase will be checked through and reach home.  I think it is the image of the suitcase arriving without the passenger that he is trying to create. The yearning to be home, but the fear that he will not make it.

Wax

[Blues Vintage]

I like this explanation the best, Wax. 

[Stuart]

Sounds good to me, Wax. I agree that the image of his clothes arriving home by train without him is spot on. I've been focusing Steve's initial question, something I think I'll never have an answer to.