Topic: Brother Son Bonds and Hammie Nixon Lyrics

[Johnm]

Hi all,
One of the really nice surprises on the 2015 Blues Images Calendar CD is "I Want To Live So God Can Use Me", performed by Brother Son Bonds and Hammie Nixon.  Son Bonds generally went by Brownsville Son Bonds for his blues recordings, and I guess went with the more religiously acceptable monicker Brother Son Bonds  for this song.  Son Bonds plays a forceful guitar part and Hammie Nixon kicks in with some fine jug playing.  The nicest thing about the song, for me at least, is how the two of them sing together.  The song essentially puts a new set of lyrics to the melody of "When I Lay My Burden Down".  Here are the lyrics:

INTRO

I wants to live so God can use me, anywhere, Lord, any time
I wants to live so God can use me, anywhere, Lord, any time

SOLO

I wants to talk so God can use me, anywhere, Lord, any time
I wants to talk so God can use me, anywhere, Lord, any time

I wants to walk so god can use me, anywhere, Lord, any time
I wants to walk so God can use me, anywhere, Lord any time

SOLO

I wants to moan so God can use me, anywhere, Lord, any time
I wants to moan so God can use me, anywhere, Lord, any time

SOLO

I wants to pray so God can use me, anywhere, Lord, any time
I wants to pray so God can use me, anywhere, Lord, any time

SOLO

All best,
Johnm

[alyoung]

The song is not unique to Bonds and Nixon. Earlier versions were recorded by Blind Benny Paris and Wife and Rev D.C. Rice, and other assorted versions were recorded after them, including by Rosetta Tharpe and steel guitar scorcher Willie Eason. It's a style of song sometimes known as a "church song"; one with simple repetitive lyrics that a congregation could quickly pick up from a song leader and sing along with -- very handy in days when hymn books were an expensive luxury in some churches (and even if they had them, many of the flock couldn't read them). The style became less widely used as hymn books and literacy became more common, but it has never died out and "I'm Gonna Live..." kept on cropping up on occasional recordings until as late as 1998. The range of artists that recorded it and the similarities (and differences) between their versions suggest it was a fairly well-known piece.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Judging just by the sound of it, Brother Son Bonds (Brownsville Son Bonds when performing blues) and Hammie Nixon were paired again for "In My Father's House", with Son Bonds playing out of C position in standard tuning and Hammie playing jug.  I remember John Jackson often performing this hymn in the later years of his life.  Here is the duo's performance.



SOLO

Oh, come and go with me, Lord, to my Father's house
Ahh, to my Father's house, ahh, to my Father's house
Oh, come and go with me, Lord, to my Father's house
There is peace, peace, peace

Oh, there's no lyin' up there, Lord,in my Father's house
In my Father's house, ah, in my Father's house
Oh, there no lyin' up there, Lord, in my Father's house
There is peace, peace, peace

Oh, I has a mother there, Lord, in my Father's house
Now, in my Father's house, now, in my Father's house
Oh, I has a mother there, Lord, in my Father's house
There is peace, peace, peace

Oh, I got a father there, Lord, in my Father's house
Now, in my Father's house, now, in my Father's house
Oh, I has a father there, Lord, in my Father's house
There is peace, peace, peace

Oh, there no drinkin' up there, Lord, in my Father's house
Ahh, in my Father's house, ah, in my Father's house
Oh, there no drinkin' up there, Lord, in my Father's house
There is peace, peace, peace

Oh, no more mournin' up there, Lord, in my Father's house
Ahh, in my Father's house, ahh, in my Father's house
Oh, no more mournin' up there, Lord, in my Father's house
There is peace, peace, peace

All best,
Johnm

[frailer24]

John, Muddy Waters recorded a version of "I'm Gonna Live" for Alan Lomax in 1941 as a bottleneck number in Vastapol. Also, the Carter Family recorded "In My Father's House" as "There'll Be Joy, Joy, Joy" in 1935.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Yet another collaboration of Son Bonds with Hammie Nixon on a religious song is their rendition of "Give Me That Old Time Religion", which once again found Son Bonds accompanying himself out of C position in standard tuning and Hammie backing him on jug.  While Son Bonds appears to have favored C position for his accompaniments to religious songs (as did John Hurt), he was enough of a blues player to consistently go for the bent blue third at the fourth fret of his second string as opposed to choosing to play the "sweet" major third to be found on the open first string.  Here is the duo's performance:



INTRO SOLO

REFRAIN: 've me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It's good enough for me

It is good for my old mother
It is good for my old mother
It is good for my old mother
It's good enough for me

REFRAIN: Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It's good enough for me

It is good when I am hungry
It is good when I am hungry
It is good when I am hungry
It's good enough for me

REFRAIN: Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It's good enough for me

It is good for Paul and Cyrus [sic]
It is good for Paul and Cyrus
It is good for Paul and Cyrus
It's good enough for me

REFRAIN: Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It's good enough for me

It is good when I am thirsty
It is good when I am thirsty
It is good when I am thirsty
It's good enough for me

REFRAIN: Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It's good enough for me

It is good for my old sister
It is good for my old sister
It is good for my old sister
It's good enough for me

REFRAIN: That old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It's good enough for me

It is good for my old father
It is good for my old father
It is good for my old father
It's good enough for me

All best,
Johnm