Topic: Lil' Son Jackson Lyrics

[uncle bud]

Bonjour,

le dernier couplet, je ne le comprend que par passages, mais le premier et le second couplets sont:

Hey now, mister ticket agent, can a broke man ride your train
Hey now mister ticket agent, broke man ride your train
You know I ride the road, just to see my little girl again

He said buy your ticket cause the train ain?t none o? mine
He said buy your ticket, this train ain?t none of mine
I see my girl again if I have to ride the blinds

in Houston??
in Houston??
And when I get to Dallas you know .........

Pour le troisi?me couplet, j'entends:

He got his oil in Houston and the gas at the Beaumont [??]
He got his oil in Houston and his gas at the Beaumont [??]
When I pass through Dallas, oh man, I'll wave farewell

mais il me manque le dernier mot de la premi?re ligne.

Anybody hear what he sings after Beaumont? I assume it is Beaumont, Texas, being referenced here, if I am hearing right.

[banjochris]

From memory, I believe it's the Beaumont well.

[Dom94]

Thanks all, 

Ticket Agent Blues (Arhoolie):

Hey now, mister ticket agent, can a broke man ride your train
Hey now mister ticket agent, broke man ride your train
You know I ride the road, just to see my little girl again

He said buy your ticket cause the train ain?t none o? mine
He said buy your ticket, this train ain?t none of mine
I'll see my girl again if I have to ride the blinds

Got his oil in Houston and his gas at the Beaumont well
He got his oil in Houston , his gas at the Beaumont well
And When I passed through Dallas, you know, I waved farewell

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Lil' Son Jackson's song "Disgusted" can be found on the briefly available Capitol set, "Lil' Son Jackson-The Complete Imperial Recordings".  Many of the songs on the set utilize larger ensembles that don't show off Lil' Son's style to best advantage, at least as I hear it, but "Disgusted" is a solo number with a sound that hearkens back to his wonderful Gold Star recordings.  Lil' Son played it out of E position in standard tuning, and it works a lot of the same musical territory as his version of "Groundhog Blues".  The lyrics perfectly match the title--he really sounds at odds with himself and everyone around him.

You know, I been lookin' for my little woman
Yeah man, I can't find her nowhere
You know, I believe I'll go to Chicago
And look around Worl'y Fair, and if I don't find her
Goin' to the river and set right down
Well now, that woman keep on worryin' poor me
I'm gonna jump overboard and drown

You know, my little baby, she come set down
Yeah, she set down up on my knee
She said, "Now Son, I'm gon' be good,
If you just don't whup me."
Know I'm gon' whup my baby
Like a farmer whup a Jersey cow
Well now, you know I don't have to ask her no question
Man, because she know the reason why

SOLO

Well now, you know I'm so disgusted
People, you know I don't know what to do
You know, I'm goin' downtown and try to find me
Somethin' new, I want meet with a
Woman with a Cadillac
Whoa man, I mean plenty money, too
Well now, I want her to wake up early in the mornin'
Oh man, and I won't have nothin' in the world to do

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Lil' Son Jackson recorded "Travelin' Alone" for Imperial, accompanying himself out of the DGDGBE tuning that was one of his favorites.  The song has an eerie cast in its melody, for it strongly emphasizes an Eb note in the key of G, which implies a minor IV chord, giving the song a faint tinge of the sound of Lemon Jefferson's "Wartime Blues", which also had a IV minor chord.  I assume he is talking about railroad car or engine numbers in verse two.  If there was ever a musician whose musical impact greatly exceeded the sum of his parts, it was Lil' Son Jackson--his singing and playing combined for an unforgettable sound.  Here is the track.



SOLO

You know, I ain't gonna tell nobody what that Santa Fe have done for me
I ain't gonna tell nobody what that Santa Fe have done for me
If you want to know, baby, and you sure have to come and see

81's in the yard, 82's out on the road
81's in the yard, 82's out on the road
81 makes your livin', 82 puts you out of doors

Nobody knows my trouble but the Good Lord above
Nobody knows my trouble but the Good Lord above
Well, you know just howr I feel, you ever have been in love

TURN-AROUND

You know, I can't go down this big road by myself
You know, I can't go down this big road by myself
If you don't come and go with me, can't take nobody else

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Lil' Son Jackson's recording of "Peace Breaking People" is also included on the Imperial recordings set.  He played the song out of A position in standard tuning, capoed up, and he employs a great-sounding device where he shifts his long A chord up three frets intact to get a minor tonality.  His tracks from this era are really short, most just over two minutes long.

INTRO

Who-o-o-o, who been tellin' you?
Who-o-o-o, who been tellin' you?
Everything I say, every little thing I do

I know why we can't get along no more
I know why we can't get along no more
You got someone watchin' me every place I go

Nothin' that she seen, something that the poor girl heard
Nothin' that she seen, something the poor girl heard
She left me this morning, she didn't even say a word

These peace-breakin' people made you turn your back on me
These peace-breakin' people made you turn your back on me
One day you gon' be sorry, you just wait and see

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Lil' Son Jackson accompanied himself out of A position in standard tuning, capoed up, for "Restless Blues".  His lyrics on the solo tracks he did in this period are mostly pretty down, not at all exuberant party music.  In that regard, they remind me of Henry Townsend's lyrics from late in his career.  It's not consciously innovative music in any way, but as an expression of how Lil' Son Jackson felt, heard, played and sang the music, it is so very strong.  What a singer!

INTRO

It was four o'clock this morning, I couldn't even go to sleep
It was four o'clock this morning, I couldn't even go to sleep
I was worried about my little baby, I was walkin' up and down the street

Go ahead on if you don't want me, and try to do yourself some good
Go ahead on if you don't want me, try to do yourself some good
Well now, little girl, if I didn't love you, I'd be the same way if I could

SOLO

Give me one more drink, baby, maybe it'll ease my restless mind
Give me one more drink, little girl, maybe it'll ease my restless mind
Yes now, before four o'clock in the mornin', I'll be wringin' my hand and cryin'

All best,
Johnm   

[Johnm]

Hi all,
The previously unreleased "Can't Keep A Good Man Down", included on"Lil' Son Jackson-The Complete Imperial Recordings", is a real departure for Lil' Son, in a number of ways.  For one thing he is playing out of E position and sounding in Eb, not by tuning down one-half step, but rather by capoing to the eleventh fret!  His electric guitar sounds great up there too, it's not at all woofy or indistinct sounding.
"Can't Keep A Good Man Down" is also interesting in that it copies the melody and structure of "Motherless Children", but for a secular song.  Lil' Son gives the song an additional wrinkle by going long on the refrain lines of his form, the first, second and fourth to allow an extra bar in each of those lines for a longer instrumental response.  "Motherless Children" is most often phrase like this in its refrain lines:

   Motherless children see a hard time, when the mother is dead  (instrumental response)
   |                                     |                               |                             |                           |

Lil' Son phrased "Can't Keep A Good Man Down" like this:

You just can't hardly keep a good man down no matter what you do  (instrumental response . . . . . .)
      |                                   |                                        |                       |                       |                     |

So it is, then, that he ends up with a 19-bar form rather than a 16-bar form like "Motherless Children", despite having the same melody and basic phrasing model.
The only reason I can think this performance was not released in the first place, for it is really fine, is that his final verse is interrupted by the end of the recording, and he plays a little tag.  At that it is only 2:15 long--they could have sprung for the tape to let him finish his song!  Shame on you, Imperial Records!  Because the set is no longer available, I'll attach an .mp3 of the song for interested parties.

INTRO

You just can't hardly keep a good man down no matter what you do
Oh, you just can't hardly keep a good man down no matter what you do
You can treat him like a low-down dog, but one day, woman, he make you walk the log

You just can't hardly keep a good man down no matter what you do
You just can't hardly keep a good man down no matter what you do
He may be sleeping out of door, maybe you can't have no place to go
You just can't hardly keep a good man down no matter what you do

You just can't hardly keep a good man down no matter what you do
You just can't hardly keep a good man down no matter what you do
You may be sleeping in the rain, but one day, woman, you can call your name
Just can't hardly keep a good man down no matter what you do

Just can't hardly keep a good man down no matter what you do
Just can't hardly keep a good man down no matter what you do

OUTRO

All best,
Johnm
 

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[Johnm]

Hi all,
It occurred to me that Lil' Son Jackson need not necessarily have been capoed to the eleventh fret to play out of E position and sound in Eb as he did on "Can't Keep A Good Man Down", if he were tuned in standard tuning, but tuned high.  For ever half-step he was tuned above E on his sixth string (and all his other strings) the capo would move down one fret.  So if he was tuned a full step high, F#BEAC#F#, he would only have to capo to the ninth fret and play out of an E position to sound in Eb.  It seems like tuning high would make the playing of "Can't Keep A Good Man Down" more plausible, at the very least, it would give him more room to maneuver way up there.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
For "All Alone", Lil' Son Jackson is playing out of E position in standard tuning, capoed to sound in A.  His playing of the song includes IV7 and V7 chords, which he generally did not play on his songs that he accompanied out of the DGDGBE tuning.  He sounds to be singing right near the bottom of his vocal range on "All Alone", and it really suits the song, giving a kind of confidential tone to his delivery that Lightnin' Hopkins so often had.  Lil' Son's solo plays fast and loose with the form, he's just holding things as long as he feels them, and generally vacating chords earlier than expected.  Here is Lil' Son's performance:



INTRO

I may be wrong, I will be right someday
I may be wrong, oh but I'll be right someday
Well now, the way I treated my little darlin', drove that little girl away

I wonder why she don't write to me
I wonder why, well, that she don't write to me
Well now, if I have been a bad fella, well I wasn't intent to be

Now she gone, but she be back someday
Now she gone, but she be back someday
Well now, I know that she comin' home to me, I wonder, did she change her way?

SOLO

Sometime I wonder, why don't she write to me?
Sometime I wonder, why don't she write to me?
If I have been a bad fella, I wasn't intent to be

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Lil' Son Jackson accompanied himself out of A position in standard tuning, capoed up a ways, for "Spending Money Blues.  The song is one of his relatively rare slow blues, though he played with the underlying triple, "swung eighth" feel that all of his music had.  He goes into a lyric break over the first four bars of his second verse.  His solo on this song is really exceptional, so low-down sounding.

INTRO

You want to spend my money, baby, you spend it all the time
You know you spend my money, oh Lord, you spend it all the time
Well now, you in love with another man, you don't want to pay me no mind

You spend my money, baby, oh like you spin your top
But the way you spend my money, I swear you got to stop
Now, you have spend my money, oh babe, I swear you got to stop
Well now, you want to spend my money, baby, oh, like a little boy spin his top

SOLO

So bye-bye baby, if you call that gone
Well now, bye-bye baby, oh Lord, if you call that gone
Well now, I know someday, someday, woman, oh Lord, you will come back home

OUTRO

All best,
Johnm

[ScottN]

Groundhog Blues was transcribed earlier in this thread. It is a great song and if you are a fan, there is a second version on Arhoolie "Blues Come To Texas" that has two additional verses (as well as a really cool signature lick).

Verse 1 - Listen, listen...
Verse 2 - If I catch...

Well there's a groundhog for tomorrow, groundhog for the next day, too
Well there's a groundhog 'cross the country partner, you don't know what he's going to [do]
There's a groundhog rootin, oh man rootin in your back yard
Well now there ain't nothin in the world can stop him, oh Lord but the ground when it gets real hard

I catch a hog in my yard, just awhile before day
I'm gonna get my shotgun man and drive him away
If I catch a hog in my yard, oh man just awhile before day
I'm gonna get my double barrel[ed] shotgun oh and drive that mule away

Thanks,
           Scott

[Johnm]

Thanks for those additional verses to "Groundhog Blues", Scott.  The only problem with many of Lil' Son Jackson's renditions is that they're too short!  I'll add the verses to the transcription in Weeniepedia with an indication that they came from the Arhoolie recording.  Thanks!
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Lil' Son Jackson accompanied himself out of A position in standard tuning, capoed up, for "Tough Luck Blues".  On his slower blues like this one, Lil' Son Jackson tended to sing very long lines, which resulted in his delivery having a conversational quality.  I really like the way he repeats the first half of the first line of each of his verses; it sounds so spontaneous, but then he does it every time, so it must have been by design to some extent.  His solo for "Tough Luck Blues" is a one-chorder.

INTRO

You know I love you, I love you, babe, I done everything I could
You know I love you, I love you, oh Lord, I done everything I could
Well now, little girl, I swear you don't love me and you don't mean me no good

You can go ahead on, go ahead on, baby, and, Lord, you can do the best you can
You can go ahead on, little girl, you can do the best you can
Well now, your heart is bound to strike sorrow, oh, when I come back to town again

SOLO

You know, I got to leave you, I got to leave you, babe, and I hate to say goodbye
I got to leave you, I got to leave you, you know I hate to say goodbye
Well now, I know it'll be my day baby, my day is bound to come, by and by

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Lil' Son Jackson accompanied himself out of DGDGBE tuning for "Movin' To The Country", and the accompaniment figure he played behind the first two lines of his first verse really gave the song a striking sound.  It would be interesting to know if his playing in that tuning was based on the style of someone he encountered early in his musical life, because I'm not aware of anyone who sounded like Lil' Son in that tuning prior to his own recordings.  The performance is a bit unusual for him in that it does not include a solo.  Here it is:



Movin' to the country, movin' there to stay
Movin' to the country, movin' there to stay
Well, our jump won't be jivin', we'll be jumpin' every day

Well, I'm movin' to the country, sorry that I can't carry you
Yes, I'm movin' to the country, sorry that I can't carry you
There ain't nothin' in the country that a little town girl can do

Yes, I'm movin' to the country, sick and tired of town
Yes, I'm movin' to the country, sick and tired of town
Well, the girl I was lovin', then she have th'owed me down

Well, I'm movin' to the country, movin' there for good
Yes, I'm movin' to the country, I'm movin' there for good
The little girl I was lovin', she don't mean me no good

You done movin' to the country, movin' there for good
Yes, I'm movin' to the country, movin' there for good
I say the girl that I was lovin', she don't mean me no good

All best,
Johnm