Country Blues > Country Blues Lyrics
Andrew and Jim Baxter Lyrics
Johnm:
Hi all,
Andrew and Jim Baxter recorded "Done Wrong Blues" at a session in Atlanta on November 20, 1929. The tune can be found on the Document CD, "Black Fiddlers", DOCD-5631. For the tune, Jim Baxter, the singing and guitar-playing nephew of fiddler Andrew, is playing out of G position in standard tuning sounding at E, so he was tuned C#-F#-B-E-G#-C#. Andrew sounds to be tuned correspondingly low on the fiddle. The song has an unusual 18-bar form, in its sung version (instrumentally, the form is different). It opens with a 12-bar lyric break, rocking back and forth between E and G with D in the bass (relative to the pitch at which the guitar is tuned), before finally going to the IV chord in the thirteenth bar. Jim Baxter, in addition to being a fine singer, must be one of the most interesting and musical practitioners of "boom-chang" back-up guitar. The form for the first verse looks like so, and the slash chords show the chord above the slash and the bass note being hit below the slash. The song, except where otherwise indicated is in cut time, 2/2.
| E G/D | G G/D | E G/D | E G/D |
| E G/D | G G/D | E G/D | G G/D |
| E G/D | E G/D | E G/D |3/2 D G G/D |
| C | C |3/2 G G/D G/B |
| G G/D |3/2 G E E |3/2 G G G/B |
Jim maintains a pretty straight boom-chang movement in the bass behind the opening 12 bars, but once he goes to the IV chord in the 13th bar, he hits a lot of spiffy connecting bass runs which are well worth copying.
It seems possible that the song had Pop origins, because Jim sings essentially the same lyric pass three times. It sure wears well, though. The combination of his singing, his Uncle Andrew's fiddling, and his own interesting accompaniment choices make the performance really winning. It's worth seeking out if you haven't heard it, as are all of the duo's recordings.
INTRO
Look here, mama, I've come to take you back
I don't want you to talk no-ways slack
I'm going to the gypsy if I have to walk across the world
When I come back, gonna have you bottled up in a jug
You'll find these keys hangin' by the kitchen door
Come on back, mama, I'll do wrong no more
Well I know I've done wrong, I won't do wrong no more
I've done wrong, I won't do wrong no more
INTERLUDE
Look-a here, mama, I've come to take you back
I don't want you to talk no-ways slack
I'm going to the gypsy if I have to walk across the world
When I come back, I'm gonna have you bottled up in a jug
You'll find these keys hangin' by the kitchen door
Come on back, mama, I'll do wrong no more
Well I know I've done wrong, I won't do wrong no more
(Last line instrumental)
INTERLUDE
Look-a here, mama, I've come to take you back
I don't want you to talk no-ways slack
I'm going to the gypsy if I have to walk across the world
When I come back, I'm gonna have you bottled up in a jug
You'll find these keys hangin' by the kitchen door
Come on back, mama, I'll do wrong no more
Well, I've done wrong, I won't do wrong no more
(Last line instrumental)
All best,
Johnm
Johnm:
Hi all,
Andrew and Jim Baxter recorded "Goodbye Blues" the day after they recorded "Done Wrong Blues". "Goodbye Blues" was played out of C position on both guitar and violin, and sounded at B flat, so both instruments were tuned a whole step low rather than the step-and-a-half low that they were for "Done Wrong Blues". For the instrumental sections of "Goodbye Blues", Andrew Baxter plays the melody of "Corinna, Corinna" on the fiddle and Jim harmonizes it very distinctively, as was his wont.
The sung portions of "Goodbye Blues" have an altogether different melody and form than the instrumental solos. It employs a 16-bar form utilizing only the I and V7 chords, like so:
| I | I | I | I |
| I | I | V7 | V7 |
| V7 | V7 | I | I |
| I | V7 | I | I |
What shows as the third and fourth lines in the lyric transcription actually end up filling the third four-bar phrase. Son House later used some of these lyrics for his song, "Was I Right Or Wrong?", recorded for the Library of Congress. This song has an exceptionally pretty melody and Jim Baxter sang it beautifully.
INTRO SOLO
Goodbye, honey, goodbye
Goodbye, honey, goodbye
You needn't to think you's the only thing
My girl, she wears a diamond ring
Goodbye, honey, goodbye
SOLO
Goodbye, honey, goodbye
Goodbye, honey, goodbye
You needn't to think because I'm black
I'm gonna beg you to take me back
Goodbye, honey, goodbye
SOLO
Goodbye, yella woman, goodbye
Goodbye, yella woman, goodbye
You needn't think because you yella
I'm gonna give you my last gold dollar
Goodbye, yella woman, goodbye
Edited 3/12/24 to pick up correction from altaltcountry
All best,
Johnm
Johnm:
Hi all,
Andrew and Jim Baxter recorded "Treat Your Friends Right" the same day they recorded "Done Wrong Blues", and they were still tuned a step-and-a-half low, so playing out of C position on both fiddle and guitar, they sounded in A. The song is a 16-bar blues, and seems like a precursor to the kind of 16-bar blues that Blind Boy Fuller did so many of, but without the circle of fifths progression that Fuller used. The Baxters harmonized the whole progression with just I, IV and V7 chords, and it ends up sounding really sweet. "Treat Your Friends Right" works out like so:
| I | I | IV V7 | I |
| I | I | IV | V7 |
| I | I7 | IV | V7 |
| I | I | IV V7 | I |
Like the Fuller sort of raggy 16-bar circle of fifths blues, the lyrics to "Treat Your Friends" really only change in the third 4-bar phrase when going from one pass through the form to the next. It would be interesting to take some of those raggy 16-bar blues and give them the Baxters' chordal treatment.
I'm not sure I have the opening of the fourth line of the verse correct, so any correction/corroboration would be appreciated.
INTRO
If you've got a friend, you can treat him right
Be sure he's out on the street
You can carry him home, treat him nice
Who he will be glad to meet
He will look all around, begin to give signs
He says, "Look-a here, Miss, when are you coming to town?"
If you've got a friend, treat him right
Be sure he's out on the street
SOLO
If you've got a friend, you can treat him right
Be sure he's out on the street
You can carry him home, treat him nice
Who he will be glad to meet
When he gets something on you, you don't want nobody else to know
He will tell your wife at your own back door
But if you've got a friend, treat him right
Be sure he's out on the street
SOLO
If you've got a friend, you better treat him right
Be sure he's out on the street
You can carry him home, try to treat him nice
Who he will be glad to meet
He will look all around, begin to give signs
He say, "Look-a here, Miss, when you're comin' to town?"
If you've got a friend, you can treat him right
Be sure he's out on the street
Edited, 8/30, to pick up corrections from uncle bud
All best,
Johnm
uncle bud:
Hi John - Wondering if that 4th line is "WHO he will be glad to meet". That what it sounds like to me but admittedly the quality makes it tough to nail down. The WHO referring to the woman he'll be glad to meet, in an awkwardly phrased way.
Thanks for the analysis, it's indeed a sweet tune, and that "simplified" approach really makes it. And as usual, the Baxters great musical sensibilities.
Johnm:
Thanks very much for the help, Andrew. I re-listened, and it is "Who he will be glad to meet", just as you suggested. A bit awkward, as you noted, but it makes sense. I will make the change.
I'm finding with these Baxter cuts that I can listen through the performance and focus on the whole thing, or just Andrew's fiddling and the way he made his notes, or just Jim's back-up guitar and his choices, or just Jim's singing, and be perfectly entertained. It's such a treat when a small ensemble recordings in this style from that era rewards that kind of careful listening and scrutiny.
All best,
Johnm
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