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I hope it done did all it's gonna do - George Higgs after taking a sip of the Dark Corner's best product before going on stage

Author Topic: Smoky Babe Lyrics  (Read 2171 times)

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Offline ScottN

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Smoky Babe Lyrics
« on: October 20, 2014, 11:15:16 AM »
I was surprised I didn't see a thread on this already. If there is one and missed it, please merge.  Anyway, I'm really enjoying the newly released album Way Back In The Country Blues.

Any help on 4.3 or other parts I missed would be appreciated.


I'm Goin' Away Baby

Well I'm goin baby just to worry you off my mind
Well I'm goin baby just to worry you off my mind
Well you a sweet little woman but you don't pay me no mind

Well now that's alright baby that's alright for you
Well now that's al (guitar) that's alright for you
Well now that's alright baby any old way you do

I woke up this morning same thing on my mind
I woke up this (guitar) same thing on my mind
Well you keep me worryin bothered all the time

I said goodbye baby if I don't see you no more
I said goodbye (guitar) don't see you no more
Well now way that you treat me [gon'] go back in your door


Thanks,
           Scott
« Last Edit: October 20, 2014, 11:18:57 AM by ScottN »

Offline ScottN

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2014, 03:19:48 PM »
From '61 Essential Blues Masters. Lots of room for improvement. Not sure if it's Frank Road or Plank Road - I here both in different places. Also "royal" vs "roar" - I don't hear either clearly but I'm sure someone will hear it better or maybe remember the advertising slogan. Thanks for any help.



Hottest Brand Goin'

Well I was down working at the Conoco station
On sixteen sixty-eight [Frank / Plank] Road
I working for Mister Domain
I say now Conoco oil station
Happy motor super service
You know it got the hottest brand goin

You want super service come to the Conoco station on Frank Road
You want super service station come down on sixteen sixty-eight Frank Road
I said come to Mister Ed Domain service station he got the best gas company all over

You want your car to be served
Want it served just right
Put some of that [royal / roar] gasoline in there
Roll all night or day
Sixteen sixty-eight Frank Road that's where Robert Brown work

You might need a tune up job
Your brakes might be out of place
I recon you might need tires
Everything's alright

Come to sixteen sixty-eight sixteen sixty-eight Frank Road
I say down by that Conoco station I know
People you know what I'm talkin about
I'm talkin about the hottest brand goin
Get that royal feelin buy that royal gasoline

Come down on sixty-eight sixteen sixty-eight
Sixteen sixty-eight Frank Road
Say you want super service [bring it in to] Mister Ed Domain
I'm talkin about my boss now that's my boss where I work at
Sixteen sixty-eight Frank Road
You want super service come right there

Buy that royal gasoline
Get that royal feelin royal ridin
And I'll tell you it's the hottest brand's goin'
Just a minute [???] Mister Robert Brown
And he knows me and that's my boss

Come down on sixteen sixty-eight Frank Road
Buy the hottest brand goin
Now you want your car super serviced
Get your super right there
Talkin 'bout the Conoco station

Thanks,
           Scott
« Last Edit: February 18, 2023, 12:04:26 PM by Johnm »

Offline ScottN

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2014, 04:53:09 PM »
From Way Back In The Country Blues



Terraplane Blues

Well I feel so lonesome won't you hear me when I moan
Well I feel so lonesome won't you hear me when I moan
Been drivin my Terraplane here for babe for you since I been gone

I flash your light mama babe your horn won't even blow
I flash your light mama babe your horn won't even blow
Well now you got a loose connection babe you found way down below

Mmm highwayman hollerin please don't block the road
Mmm highwayman hollerin please don't block the road
Well I made a cool one hundred you know I'm booked and I got to go

Deep down connection babe I'll tangle with your doggone wires
Mmm deep down connection babe I'll tangle with your doggone wires
Say I mash down on your spark plug and your car wouldn't even fly


Thanks,
           Scott



« Last Edit: February 18, 2023, 02:21:43 PM by Johnm »

Offline ScottN

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2014, 04:36:48 PM »
From Louisiana Country Blues



I'm Broke And I'm Hungry

Well I'm broke and I'm hungry ragged and I'm dirty too
Well I'm broke and I'm hungry ragged and I'm dirty too
Well if I clean up for you mama can I stay all night with you

Well now here I am standin in front of your door
Well now here I am standin in front of your door
Well I'll leave so early in the mornin 'til your real man never know

Well now I love you baby love you for myself
Well now I love (guitar) love you for myself
Well now I love you now little woman I want nobody (guitar)

If I can't come in let me sit down in front of your door
If I can't come in let me sit down in front of your door
Well I'll leave so early in the mornin 'til your real man never know

Thanks,
           Scott
« Last Edit: February 18, 2023, 12:06:24 PM by Johnm »

Offline ScottN

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #4 on: October 24, 2014, 04:47:49 PM »
From Country Negro Jam Session



Cotton Field Blues

I might pick some cotton baby and I might pull some corn
I might pick some cotton baby and I might pick some corn
I say I'm way up there in old Mississippi I'm up there on Mister Walter's farm

But one thing about it now people's the work is so hard
Look at here now people's somebody [had got in the barn???]
I work hard everyday I get no play or rest
Look here now people's I'm gettin tired of this old cotton pickin mess I say

I may pick some cotton I, I may pull some corn
Look at here now people's I'm way up here on (guitar)
Way up here on Mister Walter's farm

I say my mother she raised sweet potatoes
Well she got a she got a garden planted all around her house
Look at here now tellin you people's I just can't feel myself
I can't be [???]

I ain't gonna go hungry
I might not wear no clothes
We have food and water
She got a shelter to go

I may pick cotton
I may pull some corn
Well now you know now people that the field ways got to go on

Thanks,
           Scott
« Last Edit: February 18, 2023, 12:07:17 PM by Johnm »

Offline ScottN

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #5 on: October 24, 2014, 04:59:14 PM »
From Country Negro Jam Session



Going Downtown Boogie

Yes I talkin to my baby the other night
Told her lets go out awhile
Said ??? here broke down ??? go all for the drive

She said look at here daddy I ain't dressed just right
I said look at here baby put on what you got we gon make everything alright

Going out get myself a drink have myself a time
Going out get myself a drink have myself a time, that's you and I
We gon have a good time we gonna feel awhile

I'm just talkin to my baby ??? layin in my bed
I tell on her here the thing you have said
You my lovin no one else but you
What you mean honey
I don't need nobody nobody else but you

Play it on me play awhile then say
Look out daddy must have got the blues
No honey I ain't think of no one
No one else nobody but you

Spent all my money buy you nice fine clothes
Spent all of my money buy you nice fine clothes
Say now don't want no other woman but you that I never know

That's alright daddy you don't want nobody but me
Let's have a good time
Settle down be ourself

Yea yes cool it daddy
Long time ???

(laughter)


Thanks,
            Scott
« Last Edit: February 18, 2023, 12:08:17 PM by Johnm »

Offline Johnm

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2015, 11:30:13 AM »
Hi all,
Included on the recently released "Smoky Babe-Way Back in the Country Blues, the Lost Dr. Oster Recordings", on Arhoolie, Arhoolie CD 548, is "Goin Home Blues".  Smoky accompanies himself in Spanish tuning, as was most often the case for him, with tremendous driving rhythm and a wealth of ideas.  The lyrics seem to be in the semi-improvised style of "Hottest Brand Goin'", a mode he was really comfortable working in.



Well, I jump this blues, I jump it all over town
Well, I jump this blues, well, I jump it all over town
I say, now you know this old, old Robert Brown playin' blues on down

Hope this be my mother, and my sisters and brothers, too
Hope this be my mother, and my sisters and brothers, too
I get to thinkin' about my mother sometime, don't know what to do

She might hear me singin' somewhere over the air
She might hear me singin' somewhere over the air
Well, this is dedicated to Addie Brown, she in old Mississippi somewhere

She in Vere, Mississippi, last place I knowed
She in Vere, Mississippi, last old place I knowed
Well, if you should spy Robert Brown's mama, I'm gon' soon be walkin' in your door

Well, I'm a day too late, I should-a have been home
Mama, a day too late, I should have done been home
Well, you know how the world tore up now, man just hardly can't get along

I'm gon' see my sister, gonna see my brother, too
I'm gon' see my sister, I'm gon' see my brothers, too
I been sad and lonesome and I don't know what to do

OUTRO

All best,
Johnm
« Last Edit: February 18, 2023, 12:09:27 PM by Johnm »

Offline Johnm

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2018, 03:25:45 PM »
Hi all,
One of the high points of the Arhoolie release "Smoky Babe-Way Back in the Country Blues, the Lost Dr. Oster Recordings", is "If I Had Listened to What My Mama Say", spoken of at some length in the review of that CD at:  https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=11705.msg103777#msg103777 (the track can be listened to at that location as well).  The piece is essentially a version of "Catfish Blues" without any catfish verses, and Smoky Babe played it out of E position in EADF#BE tuning, but tuned about a minor third low, at C#F#BD#G#C#.  The low tuning really adds to the spooky sound as well as assisting in doing finely nuanced bends.  After the intro, Smoky Babe plays no solos, but his accompaniments to his singing in the different verses are so rich and varied that a solo would not have added anything more.  The tuning and what he did with it are amazing--one would not have thought that simply altering the pitch of one string by a half-step would have opened up such a world of new possibilities in sound.  Seek the recording out, for it is really special, one of my all-time favorites in the genre.
In the singing of the song, in the last two lines of each verse, Smoky Babe concludes or answers many of the words with his guitar.

INTRO

Well, if I, had a-listened, Lord, to what my old Mama, she said
I would've been at home, playin' a boy-child,
Listen to what my Mama said, listen to what my Mama said, listen what my Mama said
Sure 'nough, sure 'nough, sure 'nough

Well, my Mama, Lord, she told me, and my Father sot [sic] 'n' he cried
"You got too many women,
Be the man your size, be the man your size."
Well, sure 'nough,

Well, I went, out one night, well, I have a great long time
Now come somebody, somebody
Come to worry my mind, come to worry my mind, sure 'nough worried my mind
Well, sure 'nough he

Well, I hopes, hope now, peoples, this won't never happen no more
That little woman come and got me
Never knowed me before, never knowed me before, never knowed me before
She, well, well-hell, sure 'nough, she did not know

Well, I wonder, peoples, I wonder, well, I wonder, Lord, to myself
That little woman I'm crazy about, she's
Lovin' somebody else, lovin' somebody, lovin' somebo--, lovin' somebo--

All best,
Johnm
 

 

 
« Last Edit: June 14, 2020, 12:02:13 PM by Johnm »

Offline lindy

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #8 on: June 11, 2020, 09:32:49 PM »
John,

I've been listening closely to this song to practice singing it, and offer this minor change: in verse 2, first line, it sounds like he's singing

Well, my Mama, Lord, she told me, and my Father, "Son," he cried,
"You got too many women, ..."

Lindy

Offline Johnm

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #9 on: June 14, 2020, 12:06:10 PM »
Hi Lindy,
I went back and listened a bunch of times, and I'm hearing two syllables there, with the first one ending in a "t".  I think it's more "sot 'n' he cried" than "sot and", but I do think it's what he was singing.  I also base this on other singers, whom I can't think of right now, singing the past tense of "sit" as "sot", without "sot" having any reference to being a drunkard.
all best,
Johnm

Offline catyron

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #10 on: June 15, 2020, 12:18:45 AM »
I agree. Sot is one of three optional past tenses of sit -- set, sat, and sot. I have heard both set and sot as past tenses in my lifetime, so they are not entirely obsolete.

Offline Forgetful Jones

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #11 on: June 15, 2020, 09:26:49 AM »
Smoky Babe played it out of E position in EADF#BE tuning

The tuning and what he did with it are amazing--one would not have thought that simply altering the pitch of one string by a half-step would have opened up such a world of new possibilities in sound.

I've never heard of this. What is the main benefit of playing in this tuning?
I tuned my 3rd string down a half step and goofed around for a couple minutes. I found myself hammering into an Em chord (played in a standard E shape) and also using the 3rd fret of that 3rd string as well. There were some similarities to playing in Am (standard). I also felt a little lost and didn't really give it a lot of time to get comfortable.

Great song, by the way.

Offline Johnm

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #12 on: June 15, 2020, 10:46:27 AM »
Hi Forgetful Jones,
The main benefit of the tuning is the strikingly different sounds it makes available in E position in what is otherwise standard tuning.  Hammering to the minor third at the third string first fret makes for a considerably darker sound than is available when playing in E in standard tuning.  It also makes a bVII chord, D major, available on the open fifth, fourth and third strings which is unavailable in standard tuning in E position, as well as a minor V chord, B minor, easily playable on the fifth, fourth and third strings at 2-0-0.  The sound of this tuning ends up being much darker in general than it seems like it would be, based on altering the pitch of only one string one half-step. 

Incidentally, I offer a lesson on "If I Had Listened To What My Mama Say", which I have transcribed from beginning to end at my website.  You can find out how to order the lesson at:  https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=5181.msg108042#msg108042 .

All best,
Johnm

Offline Forgetful Jones

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #13 on: June 16, 2020, 02:01:41 PM »
Hi John-
It's definitely a dark sound. I really like this song a lot. Thanks for the specifics (string/fret) regarding the chords you mentioned. I'm not great at instantly interpreting chord names, so that helps a lot. I got sucked into repeating the intro over and over. I love the segment from from about :07-:11 where he's first hammering into the note and then plays it straight without the hammer-on. He builds tension there that carries through the whole song.
 
He plays some great chords in the break from about 2:40-2:52.
Apologies for the non-musical descriptors. I just know what my ears like and then fuddle around trying to put my fingers in the right spot. I plan on playing with this one in the next couple days. Thanks again for the tips. Now if only I could sing like that!
Take care

Offline David Kaatz

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Re: Smoky Babe Lyrics
« Reply #14 on: June 16, 2020, 11:02:33 PM »
If I Had Listened to What My Mama Say is on YouTube

Tags: Smoky Babe 
 


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