Hi all,
Rube Lacy only recorded two titles, which is really a shame, for he was a tremendous singer and player. He played "Ham Hound Crave" out of E position in standard tuning. Vocally, he is notable for his intense, buzzy headtone, a vocal choice he shared with his fellow Itta Bena native, Ishmon Bracey. It would be interesting to know if the headtone enjoyed a particular vogue in Itta Bena, or whether it was just happenstance that the two best known singers from there sang with one. The key word in the lyric in terms of determining Rube Lacy's rhythmic placement is the interior "now" he places in each line--his phrasing just jumps across that word.
When re-discovered, in the '60s, Lacy had become a preacher in the intervening years, as had several other Country Blues players, and based on excerpts from his interviews with John Fahey, he was notably forgiving of Blues singers, including Charley Patton, and came across as an an open-minded and extremely likable man. Here is "Ham Hound Crave":
You can read my letter, now you sure don't know my mind
You can read my letter, now you sure don't know my mind
When you think I'm lovin' you I'm leavin' you all the time
I ain't got nobody, now I'm all here by myself
I ain't got nobody, I'm all here by myself
I ain't got nobody, I'm all here by myself
SPOKEN: Who you tellin'? Tell him!
Let me be your sometime, now, 'til your always come
Let me be your sometime, now, 'til your always come
And I do more for you, now, your always ever done
I don't want no hog head, don't eat no chittlin's, don't want no spare ribs, don't eat no backbone, Mam' I got a hambone, I wonder can I get it boiled? 'Cause these Chicago women, now, it's 'bout to let my hambone spoil
Church, the bell's a-ringin', the preacher's preachin', secretary's a-writin', the members shoutin', the dirty deacon done taken my gal and gone. And all little children, now, papa, tryin' to sing my song
Let me be your rocker, now, 'til your straight chair come
Let me be your rocker, now, 'til your straight chair come
And I'll rock you easier than the straight chair ever done
All best,
Johnm
Rube Lacy only recorded two titles, which is really a shame, for he was a tremendous singer and player. He played "Ham Hound Crave" out of E position in standard tuning. Vocally, he is notable for his intense, buzzy headtone, a vocal choice he shared with his fellow Itta Bena native, Ishmon Bracey. It would be interesting to know if the headtone enjoyed a particular vogue in Itta Bena, or whether it was just happenstance that the two best known singers from there sang with one. The key word in the lyric in terms of determining Rube Lacy's rhythmic placement is the interior "now" he places in each line--his phrasing just jumps across that word.
When re-discovered, in the '60s, Lacy had become a preacher in the intervening years, as had several other Country Blues players, and based on excerpts from his interviews with John Fahey, he was notably forgiving of Blues singers, including Charley Patton, and came across as an an open-minded and extremely likable man. Here is "Ham Hound Crave":
You can read my letter, now you sure don't know my mind
You can read my letter, now you sure don't know my mind
When you think I'm lovin' you I'm leavin' you all the time
I ain't got nobody, now I'm all here by myself
I ain't got nobody, I'm all here by myself
I ain't got nobody, I'm all here by myself
SPOKEN: Who you tellin'? Tell him!
Let me be your sometime, now, 'til your always come
Let me be your sometime, now, 'til your always come
And I do more for you, now, your always ever done
I don't want no hog head, don't eat no chittlin's, don't want no spare ribs, don't eat no backbone, Mam' I got a hambone, I wonder can I get it boiled? 'Cause these Chicago women, now, it's 'bout to let my hambone spoil
Church, the bell's a-ringin', the preacher's preachin', secretary's a-writin', the members shoutin', the dirty deacon done taken my gal and gone. And all little children, now, papa, tryin' to sing my song
Let me be your rocker, now, 'til your straight chair come
Let me be your rocker, now, 'til your straight chair come
And I'll rock you easier than the straight chair ever done
All best,
Johnm