Topic: Mississippi Sheiks Lyrics

[waxwing]

Stop and Listen Blues - Mississippi Sheiks
Actual pitch: C
Main guitar position: Dropped D
Fiddle position: D
Mandolin position: n/a
Second guitar position: n/a



Lyrics:
Every day have been a long old lonesome day
Yeah, don't you-a-hear me talking, pretty mama, well
Day have been a long old lonesome day
Crying, seems like tomorrow is the same old way

Crying, smokestack's black, baby and the bell it shine like gold
Now don't you-a-hear me talking, pretty mama, oh
Smokestack's black, bell it shining like gold
Crying, I found my baby laying on the cooling board

Don't a hearse look lonesome, mama, rolling 'fore your door
Now don't you-a-hear me talking, pretty mama
Don't a hearse look lonesome rolling 'fore your door
Crying she gone, she gone, won't be back no more

Oh, stop and listen, hear how the bell did tone
Now don't you-a-hear me talking, pretty mama, oh
Stop and listen, hear the bell did tone
I had a sweet little faro but she's dead and gone

Crying, followed my baby down to her burying ground
Now don't you-a-hear me talkin, pretty mama
I followed my baby to the burying ground
It was hackney horses standing all around

The penultimate side from the February 17, 1930 session in Shreveport, LA is Stop and Listen Blues, one of the Sheiks’ best known numbers and, similarly to Sitting On Top Of The World, was later rerecorded twice as S&LB No 2 and New S&L. WV on guitar and vocal and LC on violin.

Wax



Stop and Listen Blues

Ever’ day have been, baby, long old lonesome day
Now, don't you a-hear me talkin’, pretty mama, yeah, ever’
Day have been long o-old lonesome day
Cryin’, it seems like to-oooomor’ is the-ooo same old way-eee

Cryin’, smokestack black, baby, bells they shinin’ like gol’
Now don't you a-hear me talkin’, pretty mama, o-ooh
Smokestack black, bells they shinin’ like gol’
Cryin’, I found my baby layin’ on the coolin’ bo’

Don't a hearse look lonesome, mama, rollin’ 'fore your do’
Now don't you a-hear me talkin’, pretty mama, don’t a-aah
Hearse look lonesome rollin’ 'fore your do’
Cryin’ she’s gone, she-eeee’s ‘one, won't be-eee back no mo’-oo

Oh, stop and listen, hear how the bell it to’
Now don't you a-hear me talkin’, pretty mama, o-ooh
Stop and listen, hear the bell it to’
I had a sweet little faro but she's dead and gone

Cryin’, followed my baby down to the buryin’ groun’
Now don't you a-hear me talkin’, pretty mama, I-ee
Followed my baby to the buryin’ groun’
It was hackney-eeee horses standi-iin’ all aro-ooun’

[Blues Vintage]

I haven't listened closely to everything but I think in verse 4;

hear the bell it to’ intone

[Johnm]

"Stop And "Listen Blues" has already been transcribed and entered in Weeniepedia, so it's not necessary to transcribe it again.

[waxwing]

I believe that entry was a direct upload of frankie's origional post, to which it links. It was never given a second listen.

Wax

[Johnm]

Hi wax,
If it was posted in Weeniepedia, it was given a second listen before entering it. Nothing has been entered in Weeniepedia intact without listening first.

[waxwing]

Hi Johnm,

Well, in the spirit of a wiki, things that are in error should be changed.

I think anyone who gives a close listen would noticed immediately that in the second verse the bells are plural and it should be something close to "bells they shinin' like gol'" not "bell it shine like gold" as it is in Frank's transcription and on Weeniepedia. The link at the bottom of the wiki page links to Frank's post where there is no discussion. A couple years ago I did my own transcription when working the song up to do with a fiddler, and then I noticed it was in Weeniepedia. I posted to this topic at that time, hoping for discussion and requesting a correction to Weeniepedia. I received no response and there was no correction. I thought that in the course of working through Frank's posts this one deserved the discussion it never received, unless it is somewhere else in this topic that I have not seen.

My goal, as always here, is to help make sure we have the best transcriptions on Weeniepedia that multiple ears can produce, as I'm sure is yours. As in any wiki, the material is open for all to edit. So far few have chosen to do so. I found that it was relatively easy to learn the process and feel strongly that others should as well.

Wax

[Johnm]

Hi wax,
I think the approach that has been taken to making changes to lyric transcriptions already posted in Weeniepedia to date has been to post specific changes to the words themselves, not re-transcribing such songs from beginning to end, and not second-guessing the choice of phonetic exactitude with which the original transcription was done. I find the phonetic renderings in your re-done transcription of "Stop And Listen Blues" excessive to the point of rendering it unintelligible. Are the words to the song, in fact, "gol'" "do'", ""mo'", etc.? The transcription really seems to be venturing into Joel Chandler Harris territory. And as such, I think it serves to emphasize the otherness of the transcriber from the singer.

I'm not suggesting that transcriptions in Weeniepedia be considered sacrosanct, but rather that changes that are made be confined to mis-heard words which alter the meaning of what the original performer sang. Edits are made to lyrics in Weeniepedia with a fair degree of frequency, often many years after a song was originally posted there.   

[waxwing]

I'm not suggesting that transcriptions in Weeniepedia be considered sacrosanct, but rather that changes that are made be confined to mis-heard words which alter the meaning of what the original performer sang. Edits are made to lyrics in Weeniepedia with a fair degree of frequency, often many years after a song was originally posted there.   

I did exactly that in the beginning of my post two years ago: https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=430.msg107557#msg107557 No discussion, no correction.

Thank you for such open criticism of my "phonetic exactitude". I won't bother to look up Joel Chandler Harris. I think I know an insult when I hear one and I find this level of bullying by someone who wields the power that you do on this site is highly inappropriate for Weenie Campbell.

Wax

[Johnm]

You're welcome, and I don't consider it bullying, just my own opinion, clearly expressed.

[waxwing]

So, is anyone else interested in giving this transcription the discussion it deserves?

Wax

[Stuart]

Hi Wax:

I am, but give me a chance to get caught up a bit--or at least not fall so far behind as fast.

[Blues Vintage]

I am too.

[Stuart]

Hi Wax:

I listened multiple times last night and again this morning, going over Frank's original post of the lyrics, your post from two years ago and your most recent post. I don't hear any differences I consider are at a level of confidence that would override what you have represented in your most recent transcription of "Stop And Listen Blues."  In the first verse I would move "ever'" to the beginning of the following line, but that's a minor quibble.

I have some thoughts on organization, transcriptions (representations), and the usefulness of variorum transcriptions, etc., but this is a discussion separate from any individual thread or specific song, IMHO. And I want to stress that the last thing I want to do is add another brick to the load, not for you, or for John or for anyone else. Your contributions are already more than sufficient. If anyone is interested in discussing these things, please let me know and I'll start a separate thread--Or you can start one.