Topic: Miller's Breakdown

[Prof Scratchy]

This is probably wrong, but what I hear is 'under the Union shed'. Was there a Union railway with sheds where trains were maintained?

[Prof Scratchy]

For Country Girl Blues and Fandango, I'll agree with mr mando on G standard and open D respectively. I don't know the answer to the question about the vocal scale on Country Girl Blues, but the sound he achieves is really haunting and effective. I'm going to suggest Breakdown as another possibility for the Fandango title?

[Johnm]

Thanks very much for "under the Union shed", Prof., it is spot on!  I would guess it was at Union Station, a common name for train stations in the U.S.  I will make the change.  Thanks!
All best,
Johnm

[Stuart]

There's a line in a Jimmy and Mama Yancy tune: "...when the Centipede left the shed," referring to either when the engine or train left the station or the yard. I don't have the album on CD, so I'm going to have to dig out the LP (Atlantic SD 7229) and give it a spin to find out the specific song. Thanks to Google, I  learned that "The Centipede" was the nickname for the Baldwin DR-12-8-1500/2 locomotive, and perhaps was also used to refer to other engines and trains--at least by some.

[waxwing]

Rather than referring to the station or the yard, I think "shed" refers to the shed, which is the round house, a great turntable, and the individual engine sheds that radiate out from it. I don't know the particular context of the songs, but hearing an engine, like the Centipede, pull out of the shed would be distinctive in that the sound would be enclosed and then become much louder as it moved into the open. This would be a signal to hobos that a train had been made up by smaller yard engines and once coupled to the larger engine, was about to leave the station. Time to find an open empty boxcar or sneak into the blinds, or worse yet, strap yourself to the rods, if you wanted to be on that train. The significance of "the Centipede" would be that it likely drove a specific route and so it's individual sound would mean certain destinations to the hobos, just like a stationmaster calling destinations to ticket holders.

Wax

[Stuart]

Edited  to add: I found it, it's "Santa Fe Blues" and it's on Youtube. You can listen for yourself and decide on the meaning:



--at least in the context of the Yanceys' song.
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Original post:

In literal terms, I think you're correct Wax. It's most probably not a generic reference. I'm going to have to listen to the LP to identify the song and pin down the context--and try to locate lyrics if they are available. There was/is a railroad yard in the next town over from where I grew up in NJ (the "Loop" in Bay Head), but there weren't any sheds as it was the southern end of the Jersey Coast Line and the maintenance was done up north. However, there were stations with long cavernous covered platforms, like Newark, that might have been thought of, or referred to as a shed. Who  knows? Not I. I remember hearing "Centipede" 40+ years ago when I got the LP and thinking it was some general Blueism for a train--and didn't know that it was a specific reference.

There's a Bay Head Loop YT vid that brings back old memories of my taxi driving days. I used to drive the crews who would overnight at the railroad bunkroom around town to the various gin mills and greasy spoons. Some real characters and the stuff the Blues is made of.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Any other takers for George Boldwin's "Country Girl Blues" and Bill Tatnall's "Fandango"?  Come one, come all!
All best,
Johnm

[uncle bud]

I think Boldwin's Country Girl is in Spanish and agree about the maj7 in the melody. What a weird one. Fandango sounds like Vestapol to me.

Re. Union shed - Belton Reese sings about "standing in the Union Shed" in McKenzie Case.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Thank you for your responses.  Here are the answers for the puzzlers.  For George Boldwin's "Country Girl Blues":
   * Boldwin's playing position was G in standard tuning.  At about :16-:18, he does a couple of drag-throughs with his thumb from the fifth to the fourth strings, going from the II note of his scale on the fifth string to the V note of the scale on his fourth string.  This would suggest G, standard tuning, where the fifth string is tuned to A and the fourth string is tuned to D.  The same notes could be gotten in Spanish by fretting the fifth string at the second fret, but both strings sound open as he plays them.  Also, around the :28-:29 point, he plays a IV chord with its root in the bass that is voiced like a C chord in standard tuning, and which would be very awkward to play in Spanish.
   * The primary and most consistent oddity in Boldwin's scale that he sings the major seventh note, as mister mando and uncle bud had it.  The first time he sings it is when he sings the line, "Tell me where did you stay last night."  He sings no bVII notes in the course of his rendition, and the effect is an odd one, certainly not the norm in a song with blues phrasing.  It's the kind of sound you might expect to (but as far as I know, never did) hear from Robert Pete Williams.

For Bill Tatnall's "Fandango":
   * His tuning was "Vestapol", as you all had it.
   * I phrased my second question poorly, but the name I was thinking of for the tune was "Vestapol", which is sort of the identifying instrumental played in that tuning vs. Tatnall's title of "Fandango" which is usually the identifying title of an instrumental in Spanish tuning.  Mister mando essentially got at this point in his answer.

Thanks to all for your participation and well done for mister mando, who was spot on with his answers.  I'll look for some more puzzlers to post.

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I have a new puzzler for you. The song is "Thunder in Germany", as performed by Joel Hopkins.  I know nothing about Hopkins or the circumstances in which the song was recorded, but I know Country Blues tracks 8:13 long are quite rare.  Here is his performance:



Says, I was stud'in' in Germany, Red Cross on my arm
Says, I was stayin' in Germany, baby, with the Red Cross on my arm
I never heared nobody say, "Lord, son, I'll take you home."

You know, I'm motherless and fatherless, yes, I'm brotherless too
Yes, I'm motherless and fatherless, yes, I'm brotherless too
That's the reason I tried so hard, baby to make this trip with you

Got the blues so bad it hurt my feet to walk
Got the blues so bad, baby it hurts my feet to walk
And it settled on my brain, Lord God, hurts my tongue to talk

I got drunk last night, kicked the cover all on the floor
Got drunk last night, baby, cover all on the floor
If that ain't bad luck, Lord God, baby, I'd like to know

I'm gonna leave here walking, talkin' to myself
I'm gonna leave here walking, baby, talkin' to myself
I don't get the woman I'm looking for, don't want nobody else

I'm goin' to West Texas, jump down a prairie dog's hole
I'm goin' to West Texas, baby, jump down a prairie dog's hole
'Cause the East Tex women hate to see me go

Mmmmmmmmm, Lord have mercy on me
Hey hey, baby, Lord have mercy on me
Some of you brownskin women don't know what mercy means

SOLO

Yes, wished I was a catfish in the ol' sea
Says, I wished I was a catfish in the sea
Boy, these brownskin women be draftin' after me

Mmmmmmmmm, Lord have mercy on me
Hey hey, baby, Lord have mercy on me
Some of you brownskin women don't know what mercy means

SOLO

Got a brownskin woman, scared to call her name
Got a brownskin woman I'm scared to call her name
'Cause she's a married woman, love her just the same

Got a woman, lives up on the hill
Got a brownskin woman, she lives up on the hill
Said, that fool tried to quit me, man, I love her still

SOLO

One of these, ain't comin' back no more
Gonna leave this time, baby, ain't comin' back no more
Say, you know how you treated me when I was here before

Gonna take me and get me a rockin' chair
You gonna take me, baby, and get me a rockin' chair
That's, the blues overtake me, rock away from here

The questions are:
   * What playing position/tuning did Hopkins use to play "Thunder In Germany"?
   * Where did he play his signature lick, :06-:07 and throughout the rendition?  Place the lick in the meter and place it relative to the pulse.
   * Where does he fret and play what he plays under the first line of each verse?
   * Where is he fretting the portion of his solo that falls 3:50--3:57?
   * Where is he fretting what he plays from 5:09--5:15?

Please use only your ears and instruments to arrive at your answers, and please don't post any answers until Thursday morning, November 20, so that plenty of people have a chance to listen to the track before answers are posted.  Thanks for participating.

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I've been trying to get the lyrics to all of the songs in this thread transcribed, and one of the most difficult ones has proven to be Big Boy's "Blues", which can be found at http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=10188.msg87891#msg87891 .  This might be my favorite performance in the entire thread, and I think it is every bit at the level of quality of such great train songs with narration as Booker White's "Special Streamline" and "Panama Limited" and John Hurt's "Talking Casey".  I believe I have most of the transcription done at this point, but I'm sure I've made some mistakes, and there are still some spots in bent brackets.  I'd very much appreciate some help with the transcription, and if you haven't listened to Big Boy's performance yet, you're in for a treat.  He had die-happy time.  Thanks for any help with the lyrics.
All best,
Johnm

[waxwing]

Johnm, thanks for pointing me back to this, I'm not able to follow all the songs on this thread. This gets such drive from the swung eighth notes which I hear as great right hand work, but the slide comes into it, too.

In the spoken part I think he is saying HOME FLYIN' FREIGHT, which makes it one he wants to catch.

After the whistle blows I think he sorta stumbles on saying CLEAR OF THE CROSSING, and it comes out sounding like CLAR, or it could be a local pronunciation, which I think is the case with ACCUSIN', which sounds like ACCOOZIN', and I think is right. I don't think it's A COUSIN!?! (wink)

The last one is tough. I hear two words with SORRY the first word and then something like MAYDEE or MAYJEE? I thought maybe like MAJOR, but that seems weird. Since I can't think of anything that works it does throw SORRY into question, but that's sure what it sounds like to me.

Some help, I hope.

Wax

[Johnm]

A very big help, Wax, thanks so much!  I really love this song and performance, but had wondered if it would be possible to transcribe it.  I think "home flyin' freight" and "clear" the crossing are spot on, and I've made the changes.  Now if we can just get that whatever it is "on some battlefield".  Thanks!
All best,
Johnm

[dj]

"Like a SOLDIER [LAYING?] on some battlefield" is as close as I can get.  Laying makes sense, but it sounds like Big Boy puts a d in there and says "lading".

[Johnm]

Thanks very much for that, dj.  Could it be, "Like a soldier laid me on some battlefield", i.e., laid me down, wounded?  "Soldier" is terrific, and is right, I'm sure.  Good listening!
All best,
Johnm