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Country Blues => Country Blues Lyrics => Topic started by: blueshome on April 07, 2004, 09:39:06 AM
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I'm most of the way through working out Sam Collins' "Slow Mama Slow", but I'm having trouble with the words of the 3rd verse:? help?
Pull down your window, lock up all your doors 2x
I got ways like the devil, I'm ..............?
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Can you post an mp3?
All for now.
John C.
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Hiya Blueshome,
Sackheim in The Blues Line has the third verse as:
Pull down your window, lock up on your door
Lock up on your window, lock up on your door
I got ways like the devil, I'm slipping on the floor
Haven't compared it to the recording....
cheers,
uncle bud
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Hi all,
This response isn't directed to "Slow, Mama, Slow", but rather another Sam Collins tune with the same title as another song discussed elsewhere in this section by Frank Stokes, "It Won't Be Long". I'm sorry I don't have the computer capability to post an mp3 file of it, but it is really an amazing song and performance. It has this weird "talking-to-itself" quality, and at two or three different points, Sam sounds like he is grinding to a halt, only to start up again. He does some unbelievable singing, too, in a class with Robert Pete Williams for hitting eerie notes. Seek it out if you can, it's kind of a one-of-a-kind cut.
All best,
Johnm
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Hello. My name's Dan and this is my first post on this site. I'd like to say that WeenieCampell.com is amazing! This site really blows away BigRoadBlues, which is a website/forum I've been reading and participating in for years. To me, it sounds like Crying Sam Collins is singing "I got ways like the Devil, I'm creepin' on all fours." :)
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Welcome to Weenie Campbell Dan!
To me, it sounds like Crying Sam Collins is singing "I got ways like the Devil, I'm creepin' on all fours."
Oooh, I like that! ;D
cheers,
slack
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Hi Dan. Welcome aboard!
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I read online that Crying Sam Collins recorded about 80 songs. However, there are only about 23 songs of his that are available on cd. Does anyone know what the story is?
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According to G&D and the fact my counting went slightly amiss at the end, he did no more than 50 sides.
And, of those he recorded more sides as Big Boy Woods than Sam Collins also just to confuse he also recorded as Jelly Roll Hunter and Jim Foster ::)
Is the CD any good?
rt
ps BigRoadBlues ... no comment!
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The Crying Sam Collins cd on Document Records is pretty good. His real strength is pure slide guitar blues, as well as his haunting, hi-pitched voice. His covers of more traditional, folk music-ish pieces aren't as impressive as his straight-ahead blues: "Devil in the Lion's Den," "Jailhouse Blues," "Loving Lady Blues," "My Road is Rough and Rocky (How Long, How Long?)," "Slow Mama Slow," and "Signifying Blues." And of course, "Lonesome Road Blues" is gorgeous.
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This interesting novelty tune is undecipherable on the ragged dub I've got (very poor cond. 78) & I haven't seen it on any CD comps (like Yazoo) where care was taken in audio restoration.
Other than the refrain "Need a Pork Chop poultice and a stewing beef in your stomach three times a day" and the (common) couplets (Preachers in the cornfield etc.) the lyrics are obscure.
Any lyric ideas or direction to a clean copy?
https://youtu.be/ik3k2-syBhY
Bruce Nemerov
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Here is "Pork Chop Blues":
https://youtu.be/4sOQOgvdYUo
PORK CHOP BLUES
I went out west just about a year ago.
I've taken sick and I'm like to die.
Had the rheumatism all in my breast.
It's caused bruises all in my spine.
I went to the doctor, doctor said,
"Boy, what's the matter with you?"
That doctor looked around at me.
I said, "Oh, doctor, what do I need?"
That doctor shook his head and said,
"You need a pork chop porter sendin' a soothin' balm,
To your stomach three times a day.
If you hadn't have been doney-in' all the time,
You'd have been a healthy child today.
When a man gets sick and is about to die.
A cupful of your first calf's cream in his chocolate pie.
You need pork chop porters, soothin' balm,
To your stomach three times a day."
Lord, some folks say that a preacher won't steal.
And I caught two in my cornfield.
One went a-butcherin' and the other one had a sack.
They both had duffle bags around their neck.
Pork chops porters send a soothin' balm,
To your stomach three times a day.
"Needs a pork chop porter to send a soothin' balm,
To your stomach three times a day.
If you hadn't have been doney-in' all the time,
You'd have been a healthy child today.
When a man gets sick and is about to die,
Cupful of your first calf's cream into his chocolate pie.
You need some pork chop porters, soothin' balm,
To your stomach three times a day."
Do you know last winter when the time was tough,
Pork and beans in the kitchen was the Sunday stuff?
Pork chop porters sends a soothin' balm,
To your stomach three times a day.
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OK Dingwall,
Thanks for the starting place. I'd like to modify some of what you hear with what I think I hear and indicate some other places where I don't hear what you hear, but I don't know what I'm hearing either. I hope that's clear (as mud?) The copy I'm listening to has some stripped grooves and is really tuff going, which is why there are places where I don't think it matches the Dingwall transcription, but I have nothing better to offer. [my thoughts in brackets.]
PORK CHOP BLUES
I went out west just about a year ago.
I've taken sick and I'm like to die.
Had the rheumatism all in my breast.
[So far this is also what I hear]
It's caused bruises all in my spine.
[I don't hear this as the last line; but ????]
I went to the doctor, doctor said,
"Boy, what's the matter with you?"
That doctor looked around at me.
I said, "Oh, doctor, what do I need?"
[This all sounds right]
That doctor shook his head and said,
"You need a pork chop porter sendin' a soothin' balm,
[You need a pork chop poultice and stewin' meat (beef??)]
To your stomach three times a day.
[In]
If you hadn't have been doney-in' all the time,
You'd have been a healthy child today.
When a man gets sick [and is about to die.]
[?????????????????]
A cupful of your first calf's cream in his chocolate pie.
[Again, I don't hear this line this way but ????]
You need pork chop porters, soothin' balm,
[poultice, stewing meat/beef]
To[In]your stomach three times a day."
Lord, some folks say that a preacher won't steal.
And I caught two in my cornfield.
One went a-butcherin' and the other one had a sack.
[One had a bushel and the other had a (sack/peck?)]
They both had duffle bags around their neck.
[They both had croaker sacks round their neck]
Pork chops porters send a soothin' balm,
[Pork Chop poultice and stewin' meat/beef]
To [In] your stomach three times a day.
"Needs a pork chop porter to send a soothin' balm,
To your stomach three times a day. (same as above)
If you hadn't have been doney-in' all the time,
You'd have been a healthy child today.
When a man gets sick and is about to die,
Cupful of your first calf's cream into his chocolate pie.
You need some pork chop porters, soothin' balm,
To your stomach three times a day."
[as above, I hear "When a man gets sick" but after that ???]
Do you know last winter when the time was tough,
Pork and beans in the kitchen was the Sunday stuff?
Pork chop porters sends a soothin' balm,
To your stomach three times a day.
[This sounds good to me with changes in last two lines as above]
Anybody else want a crack at this??
Thanks Dingwall.
bruce
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I also transcribed the Two Charlies version from later in the '30s, which is related and easier to understand.
Collins' version:
I went out west just about a year ago.
I've taken sick and I'm like to die.
Had the rheumatism all in my breast.
It's caused bruises all in my side.
I went to the doctor, doctor said,
"Boy, what's the matter with you?"
That doctor looked around at me.
I said, "Oh, doctor, what I need?"
That doctor shook his head and said,
"You need the pork chop poultice and the stew and beans [or stewin' beans]
To your stomach three times a day.
If you hadda been doin' it all the time,
You'd have been a healthy child today.
When a man gets sick and about to die.
Pop in my swell cafe and eat his chocolate pie.
You need a pork chop poultice, stew and beans,
To your stomach three times a day."
Lord, some folks say that a preacher won't steal.
And I caught two in my cornfield.
One had a bushel and the other one had a peck
They both had croaker sacks around their neck.
Pork chop poultice and the stew and beans
To your stomach three times a day.
"Needs a pork chop poultice and the stew and beans
To your stomach three times a day.
If you hadda been doin' it all the time,
You'd have been a healthy child today.
When a man gets sick and is about to die,
Pop in the swell cafe and get his chocolate pie
You need some pork chop poultice, stew and beans
To your stomach three times a day."
Do you know last winter when the time was tough,
Pork and beans in the kitchen was a-struttin' they stuff.
Pork chop poultice and the stew and beans
To your stomach three times a day.
The Two Charlies' version:
Folks you ought to know three weeks ago
I was sick and was 'bout to die,
I had a stomach trouble from missing my meals
I feels all in my side.
The doctor he came and he felt-a my pulse
And he sat down on my bed
And just the time when mother walked in,
This is the word he said:
You need some pork chop poultice, and some pork and beans
To grease your stomach three times a day.
If you hadda been doin' it three weeks ago,
This boy'd been well today.
When the man is sick
And about to die
Just mix him up some
Of the potato pie
I heard the voice of a pork chop say
Come unto me and rest, I mean
Come unto me and rest.
Yeah!
Folks you ought to know three weeks ago
I was sick and was 'bout to die,
I had a stomach trouble from missing my meals
I feels all in my side.
The doctor he came and he felt-a my pulse
And he sit down on my bed
And just 'bout time when mother walked in,
This is the word he said:
He needs some pork chop poultice, and some pork and beans
To grease his stomach three times a day.
If you hadda been doin' it three weeks ago,
This boy woulda been well today.
When the man is sick
'Bout to die
Just mix him up some
Of the potato pie
I heard the voice of a pork chop say
Come unto me and rest, I mean
Come unto me and rest.
Edited 6/18 with corrections/suggestion from dj
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I substantially agree with banjochris's transcription of Collons's version of "Pork Chop Blues", with one minor and one fairly major exception:
The minor one: "stew and beans" is pronounced "stew an' beans" by Collins. While I'd agree that "stew and beans" makes better sense, "stewin' beans" also makes sense in the context and could be what Collins is singing.
The major one: I love the word "doney-in'", but I just don't hear it. I don't hear any hint of the "y" sound, and the final syllable sounds to me like it cuts off more sharply than an "n" sound would. So as much as I love the term "doney-in'", I think Collins is singing "doin' it", with "doin'" being pronounced "doan'".
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Thanks banjochris and dj---and dingwall for jumping in first---I hear it now. I agree with dj about "doin' it" rather than the doney reference.
Sure glad there's a Weenie-site!
bruce
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Congratulations to Bruce, dingwall, banjochris and dj for putting this one together. When Bruce first posed the question, I was dubious of the possibility of a good transcription, for this has always seemed one of the most unintelligible recordings of the early country blues era to me. Well done, guys!
All best,
Johnm
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The minor one: "stew and beans" is pronounced "stew an' beans" by Collins. While I'd agree that "stew and beans" makes better sense, "stewin' beans" also makes sense in the context and could be what Collins is singing.
Certainly could be. Either would make good sense.
The major one: I love the word "doney-in'", but I just don't hear it. I don't hear any hint of the "y" sound, and the final syllable sounds to me like it cuts off more sharply than an "n" sound would. So as much as I love the term "doney-in'", I think Collins is singing "doin' it", with "doin'" being pronounced "doan'".
Going back and listening again, I agree with you, but now I think the line is essentially the same as what the Two Charlies sing -- "If you hadda been doin' it all the time," which also makes more sense. I'll go back and make the changes.
Thanks dj
Chris
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The discussion of "Pork Chop Blues" earlier this week made me pull out my Sam Collins CD. After a few plays through on my way back and forth to work, I decided to try my hand at playing and singing two of his songs. I present them here because 1: they're interesting lyrics and 2: I'm completely lost in a few places and hope someone with fresh ears can help. :)
"Lonesome Road Blues" was the first song that Sam Collins recorded at his final session, which was held in New York City on October 8, 1931. He's playing in C standard, tuned one whole step low, so sounding in Bb. (Note: I don't mind being corrected on this, too.) The tune sounds like a variant of the country song "In The Pines". Verses 9 and 10, with someone getting killed by a streetcar, are reminiscent of Peg Leg Howell's "Coal Man Blues", while the last two verses relate an even more gruesome accident. I think that verse 11, about going to the water's edge, is the singer contemplating suicide and then deciding against it.
I'm fairly sure the bracketed words in verses 8 and 10 are correct, but I'm just completely lost in verse 2. And does anyone have any idea what the "long plank walk" in verse 4 could refer to?
LONESOME ROAD BLUES
I'm walking down that lonesome lane
Hung down my head and cried
I weeped and I cried on the way they treat me 'n'
My fate's the deep blue sea
My mama's dead, papa can't be found
And my brother's on the county road
Says I done been to that long plank walk
And I'm on my way back home
You did cause me to weep you did cause me to moan
You did cause me to leave my home
I cried last night and the night before
And I swore not to cry no more
You did cause me to weep you did cause me to moan
You did cause me to leave my home
I got no money and they call me no honey
I have to weep and moan
In eighteen hundred and ninety nine
He got killed on that streetcar line
They took him down that smoky road
Brought him back on that coolin' board
Instrumental verse
Says I been down to that water's edge
That's as far as I care to go
Then run here mama 'n' fall in your daddy's breast
These blues gonna let me rest
Your fast mail train comin' round the curve
It done killed my little brownskin dead
Her head was ground in that drivin' wheel
And her body have never been seen
Instrumental verse
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"My Road Is Rough And Rocky (How Long, How Long)" was the last song Sam Collins ever recorded. Like "Lonesome Road Blues", it's in C standard tuned a whole step low. The song was not released on 78, which is astonishing to me, as I think it's Collins' masterpiece. It has a simply beautiful tune - in the same family as John Hurt's "Louis Collins" - interesting words, and is just an all-around great performance. Unfortunately, it's not on the Juke yet. We'll have to see if we can get that fixed.
For my bracketed "zoomin'" in verse 7, I originally had "shootin'", but after a few dozen listens at various speeds, I think that "zoomin'" fits what Collins is singing, even though it's an unusual term to find in a prewar blues. Does anyone have a better suggestion?
My Road Is Rough And Rocky
(How Long, How Long)
You don't b'lieve I'm travelin' on the road somewhere
Get your book and pencil and count the days I'm gone
I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
You can go to Memphis, find me there
Catch the first train smokin' find me on the road somewhere
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
You've been talkin' 'bout your brick house but you ought to see mine
It ain't pretty but it's built up fine
I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
I got up this mornin' looked at the risin' sun
Can't nobody run me like those bloodhounds done
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
I got up in my stockings, tippin' 'cross the floor
[There] them bloodhounds were rappin' up on my door
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
My chicken's on my back and the hounds on my track
I dropped my hat 'n' I couldn't stop to look back
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
I could hear them pistol balls [zoomin'] by my head
I b'lieve to my soul they gonna kill me dead
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
I got up this mornin' just about the break of day
I could hear them there bloodhounds a comin' down my way
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
I got up this mornin', fell down 'cross my bed
I could hear somethin' [perchin'] all around my head
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
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dj -- I think Collins is a little confused on that second verse of "Lonesome Road" and ends it differently than perhaps he intended to. However, the first part, which undoubtedly is pronounced and accented very oddly, is "I weeped and I cried on the way they treat[ed] me and" with me and and sung almost as one syllable. The rest sounds like "I be la? deep blue sea." The second part just doesn't make any sense, unless someone else can wring some meaning out of it. Also, the line later should be "I got no money and [they] call me no honey."
I would assume that the long plank walk refers to the construction of a plank road, presumably by convict labor, as in Uncle Dave Macon's "Way Down the Old Plank Road."
Chris
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Thanks for that line, Chris. Great ears, as usual. I've made the change. With the first part of the verse in place, the rest of the verse suddenly popped out at me. Collins is singing "My fate's the deep blue sea", which fits in with the contemplation of suicide theme he brings out later in the song.
And thanks for picking up my dropping the "no" in "call me no honey".
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Hi dj,
Those certainly are beautiful tunes you've picked. I used to think "My Road Is Rough And Rocky" was not released due to Collins being so out of tune, but it is really not worse than many of his other tracks, so it is a mystery why it was held back. I have always heard the line in the first verse as,
Get your book and pencil and count the days I'm gone
but am not sure I have that right. Let me know what you think.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi, John,
I think your suggestion of "Get your book and pencil" is correct. Thanks. I've made the change.
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I've always heard it as "I weeped and I cried under a willow tree".
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I've always heard it as "I weeped and I cried under a willow tree".
That's what I hear, too.
And the last verse sounds to me like "Her head was found in the driving wheel." (But that is the standard text for this part of the song.)
On "Rough and Rocky," it sounds exactly like "zoomin'" to me. I tend to think "perchin'" might be "pushin'." "[There] them bloodhounds were rappin'" is pretty surely "H'year them bloodhounds a-rappin'." It's the same way he pronounces "hear" elsewhere in the song.
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There's one or two minor points maybe worth considering.
LONESOME ROAD BLUES
I walkin' down that lonesome lane.
Hung down my head and cried.
I weeped and I cried under a willow tree.
And then I faced the deep blue sea.
My mama's dead, papa can't be found.
And my brother on the County road.
Says I've done been to that long plank walk.
And I'm on my way back home.
You did cause me to weep, you did cause me to moan.
You did cause me to leave my home.
I cried last night and the night before.
And I swore not to cry no more.
You did cause me to weep, you did cause me to moan.
You did cause me to leave my home.
I've got no money, and they call me no honey.
I have to weep and moan.
In eighteen hundred, and add ninety-nine.
He got killed on that streetcar line.
They took him down that smoky road.
Brought him back on that coolin' board.
Says I've been down to that water's edge.
That's far as I care to go.
Said run here mama and fold in your daddy's breast.
These blues gonna let me rest.
The old fast mail train comin' round the curve.
It done killed my little brownie dead.
Her head was found in that driver wheel.
And her body, it have never been seen.
MY ROAD IS ROUGH AND ROCKY
You don't believe I'm travelin' on the road somewhere,
Get your book and pencil and count the days I'm gone.
And I am gone, I'm long gone,
My road is rough and rocky on my way.
You can go to Memphis, find me there.
Catch the first train smokin', find me on the road somewhere.
And I am gone, I'm long gone,
My road is rough and rocky on my way.
You've been talkin' about your brickhouse but you ought to see mine.
It ain't so pretty but it be loved fine.
And I am gone, I'm long gone,
My road is rough and rocky on my way.
I got up this mornin' looked at the risin' sun.
Can't nobody run me like them bloodhounds done.
And I am gone, I'm long gone,
My road is rough and rocky on my way.
I got up in my stockin's, tippin' 'cross the floor.
Heared them bloodhounds a-rappin', Lord, upon my door.
And I am gone, I'm long gone,
My road is rough and rocky on my way.
I have chickens on my back and there's the hounds on my track.
I dropped my head and I couldn't stop to look back.
And I am gone, I'm long gone,
My road is rough and rocky on my way.
I could hear those pistol balls zoomin' about my head.
I believe to my soul they's gonna kill me dead.
And I am gone, I'm long gone,
My road is rough and rocky on my way.
I got up this mornin' just about the break of day.
I could hear a bundle of bloodhounds a-comin' down my way.
And I am gone, I'm long gone,
My road is rough and rocky on my way.
I got up this mornin', fell down across my bed.
I could hear somethin' perchin' all around my head.
And I am gone, I'm long gone,
My road is rough and rocky on my way.
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Listening again just to note one word in particular, I think he sings 'porter'.
Porter-house is/was a chop-house serving mutton chops and beefsteaks.
(The porterhouse-steak is a well-known choice item.) A pork chop porter wouldn't be an unusual phrase for a delicious meal normally out of reach. However, so be it.
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Dingwall -- it still sounds like "poultice" to me in Collins' recording, and the Two Charlies definitely sing "poultice." Since it's advice from the doctor to apply a pork chop like medicine, I think that makes sense.
Chris
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banjochris - I've checked The Two Charlies, and yes, I agree that it is 'pork chop poultice'.
The more doubtful word in Sam Collins version has to be 'poultice', too.
Thanks.
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Been listening to My Road Is Rough and Rocky lately so am reviving this thread. Besides, Sam Collins deserves it. :)
A couple of very small differences I hear in the lyrics to this song:
verse 3, it should be "It ain't so pretty but it's built up fine"
verse 5:
I got up in my stockings, tippin? ?cross the floor
Heared them bloodhounds a-rappin? upon my door
And I am gone, I?m long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
verse 6:
I have chickens on my back, b?lieve the hounds on my track
I dropped my hat ?n? I couldn?t stop to look back
And I am gone, I?m long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
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Here's Riverside Blues, perhaps my favourite Sam Collins tune. It's like some hybrid Blind Lemon-Jimmie Rodgers-King Solomon Hill thing. A great tune. Played out of C position. Here is "Riverside Blues":
https://youtu.be/6jspyQlDK-c
Riverside Blues Sam Collins
I went down to the river, spent thirty-one days and night(s)
I went down to the river, spent thirty-one days and night(s)
I?m lookin? for my good gal, come back and treat me right
I ain?t got me nobody carry my troubles to
I ain?t got nobody carry my troubles to
I tell you peoples, I don't know what to do
Just as sure as your train, Lord, backs up in your yard
Just as sure as your train backs up in your yard
I'm going to see my baby if I have to ride the rods
I went away last summer, got back in the fall
Went away last summer, got back in the fall
My mind hadn?a changed, I wouldn?a come back at all
You can press my jumper, iron my overhall
You can press my jumper and iron my overhall
I'm going to the station, meet the Cannonball
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The Sam Collins tag at the bottom of this thread took me back to JohnM's review of the Yazoo Sam Collins - Jailhouse Blues CD from a couple years ago, where I discovered that John not only mentions Lemon, but Jimmie Rodgers and King Solomon Hill. So obviously there's something weird going on in my head. At least nothing original, anyways...
But I do recommend reading John's review (or rereading, as was the case for me), which has some great insight into Sam Collins' style.
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hi everyone
for verse two of in lonesome road blues i hear
i weeped and i cried on the willow tree
and i filled the deep blue sea
not positive but it makes a lot of sense. very poetic.
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yeah It sounds like that to me to tenderfoot84
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Is it just me or can anyone else hear any lyrical similarities between "My Road is Rough and Rocky" and Henry Thomas's Shanty Blues?
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Is it just me or can anyone else hear any lyrical similarities between "My Road is Rough and Rocky" and Henry Thomas's Shanty Blues?
They're both variations on a song best known as "Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy." The Sheiks also recomposed it somewhat as "Bootlegger's Blues." It's most associated with Uncle Dave but was known on both sides of the color line in the middle South.
I remember reading many years ago in the Lomaxes' 1940s book Folk Music USA an assertion that "Skillet," "Reuben's Train/900 Miles," and "In the Pines" were all fairly closely related. I really don't see it, myself, and they gave no evidence beyond the assertion, but in his two "Road" songs, Collins mixes "Skillet" and "Pines" with a bit of railroad song that might have some kinship with "Reuben."
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Hi all,
I've been meaning for some to to transcribe the lyrics to my favorite Sam Collins song, "It Won't Be Long". His performance of it is amazing, really one-of-a-kind, with a trancey, ruminative, sort of somnambulatory quality. He plays it with a slide in his version of Vestapol and surrounds everything with instrumental fills, some of which are really wild. I'd appreciate help with the bent bracketed section. Here is "It Won't Be Long":
https://youtu.be/6OK5bZIq_Fg
I had a gal in this town, now, but she throwed me down, she done throwed me down
I give her some clothes, she bought a diamond ring, but she can beat me, now,
And it won't be long, and it won't be long, and it won't be long
I can take my gun, lay it out in your face, gonna let some graveyard be your resting place
A-and it won't be long, and it won't be long
Oh, you gonna miss me when I'm gone, honey, and it won't be long
You gonna miss me when I'm gone, honey, and it won't be long
When you think I'm goin', I'm standin' right chere, wit' your water on
And it won't be long, and it won't be long
SOLO
Yeah, and then it won't be long, and it won't be long
I tell you now, honey, it won't be long
When I'm gone, don't grieve after me
Don't you forget I went away
Edited 1/29, to pick up correction from banjochris
All best,
Johnm
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I think 'all the yon' is right, as in 'all the yonder while'. I have no idea where or when I heard that phrase.
You're right, that is an incredible song, how did I miss that one. Shimmers like a hot summer day.
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I think the end of that phrase is "with your water on".
Chris
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I agree with Banjochris that it's "with your water on". Sam sings it "water yon". Coincidentally, this phrase was the subject of one of Chris Smith's Words, Words, Words columns recently, in which numerous examples were cited, though not Collins. A fabulous tune.
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So come on, tell us, what does it mean?
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So come on, tell us, what does it mean?
Well, that's complicated. :P It depends somewhat on the song. Smith cites occurrences from Susie Edwards (Butterbeans and Susie), Leroy Carr ("Papa's Got Your Water On"), Bill Gaither ("I Got Your Water On"), Baby Bonnie ("I Got Your Water On"), the Memphis Jug Band (Papa's Got Your Water On), The Two Charlies (Got Your Water On), etc etc. Basically it comes down to context. In some, it is the threat of violence, like "I've got a .44 to put your waters on" - Lil Johnson, "New Shave 'Em Dry". In others, a more mild "I'm ready to deal with you" kind of meaning, which was Honeyboy Edwards' explanation of the phrase. Smith quotes Gene Tomko, who said Honeyboy explained "it could either be in a good way or a bad (violent) way. Honeyboy told me it came from the time long ago when they had to draw baths for someone - you had to prepare it ahead of time."
Many of the examples are the sort of man/woman bickering kind of violent threat. But then it's used again by the Memphis Jug Band in Fourth Street Mess Around to mean "we're ready to entertain you."
It makes no difference where you were born
The jug band has got your water on
While they're playing that Fourth Street Mess Around.
So, it's complicated. I'd say though that Sam Collins means no good by it.
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Thanks, banjochris, for the correction and uncle bud for the clarification. I was not even in the ballpark. Re Sam Collins' fell intent, I've always had the feeling with his rendition that there's no threat like an empty threat. It sounds like muttering after everybody has left the party and gone home, though no less compelling for that. This is one of my absolute favorite Country Blues cuts. He was really an incredible singer and player.
All best,
Johnm
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One of the great things about this board and threads like this is discovering a tune for the first time -- I've played the Collins Yazoo CD quite a few times but my attention tends to wander. For me at least, he's one of those artists best appreciated one tune at a time. John, thanks for bringing my attention to "It Won't Be Long" -- it really is an arresting performance.
Chris
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Yea, I had to go back and listen as well - wow, to have absolute control over one's vocal chords like that. It seems that at the beginning of the song he is vocally freely sliding up and down at will, like he is showing off :D -- and toward the end of the song he settles in. Fantastic.
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Hi all,
Sam Collins recorded "Midnight Special Blues" in C position in standard tuning, and took it at a pretty quick clip. His approach to harmonizing the melody is unusual and varied and is discussed in some detail in this post: http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=60&topic=707.msg8114#msg8114. I think I have most of his lyrics, but as usual there is a bent bracketed portion I could use some help with. Note that in the first full verse, only the words "Lord" and Lordy" are spoken. Here is "Midnight Special Blues":
https://youtu.be/i4i4nvs3B5c
So let the Midnight special Shine your light on me
Let the Midnight Special shine your ever-livin' lights on me
Then you get up in the mornin', when the ding-dong ring, Lord-spoken
You'll make it to the table, see the same old thing
Ain't nothin' on the table but the forks in the pan, Lordy-spoken
Ya say anything about it you have trouble with the man
Let the Midnight Special shine your light on me
Let the Midnight Special shine your ever-lovin' lights on me
Yonder come a-little Nora, how do you know?
I know by the ap'on and the dress she wear
Umbarella over 'er shoulder, piece of paper in her hand
Lookin' for some sergeant to release her man
You get up in the mornin', when the ding-dong ring
You make it to the table, see the same old thing
If y' say anything about it, you have trouble with the man
Let the Midnight special shine your light on me
Let the Midnight Special shine your ever-lovin' lights on me
SOLO--2 CHORUSES
Yonder come a-little Nora, how do you know?
I know by the ap'on and the dress she wear
Umbarella over 'er shoulder, piece of paper in her hand
Lookin' for some sergeant to release her man
Let the Midnight Special shine your light on me
Let the Midnight special shine your ever-lovin' lights on me
SOLO
Let the Midnight Special shine your ever-lovin' lights on me
SOLO
Edited, 1/31 to pick up correction from banjochris
All best,
Johnm
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John -- I think it's "forks and the pan."
Chris
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Thanks for the help, Chris. I've made the change.
all best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Sam Collins played "New Salty Dog" out of C position in standard tuning, and it features some exciting hot picking by him. I find that as I listen to more of his music I'm progressively less bothered by his laissez faire approach to tuning, especially on his non-slide pieces. As usual, I could use some help with the lyrics--the bent bracketed portion is as close as I could get it phonetically; sense is an altogether different matter. If he is in fact saying "stuck", he pronounces it"stook", and similarly "dovetails" would be pronounced "doovetails". He was really terrific on this type of material, and it's quite different from his sound on slide. I don't know if I can think of another player in the style whose non-slide playing worked such an entirely different sort of repertoire from his slide repertoire. Here is "New Salty Dog":
https://youtu.be/N2SGPpz1luo
INTRO:
If-a you don't shake, you won't get no cake, you ol' salty dog
You old salty dog, now baby, you salty dog
You gonna keep on hangin' around, you old salty dog
Gonna keep on hangin' and take into town, you salty dog
Well, come in here, you shut that door, you old salty dog
He got shot with a .44, you old salty dog
SOLO
Got a brand new pistol and a box of balls, you old salty dog
Gonna shoot that woman just to see her fall, you salty dog
SOLO
You stuck those stitches in the forks and knives, you old salty dog
He dug those 'tatoes with the pocket knife, you old salty dog
SOLO
I'm goin' to town, hurry back, you old salty dog
I'm gonna show your peoples how to ball the jack, you old salty dog
She got good jelly and she sells it high, you old salty dog
I know hit's something that a man can buy, you old salty dog
SOLO
Twenty-five cents is her regular price, you old salty dog
Says, fifty cents you can buy it twice, you salty dog
She pulls her dress up above her knees, you old salty dog
She shakes her shimmy to who she please, you old salty dog
SOLO
Edited 2/4, to pick up correction from banjochris
All best,
Johnm
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Hi John,
What I hear so far for this:
[You stuck dark stitches in the fault sea knife], you old salty dog
[He dug dovetails with the pocket knife], you old salty dog
is something like:
You/You're stooped down, stitches, in the forks and knives, you old salty dog
Eased up to his table with the pocket knife, you old salty dog
Not exactly an improvement, as far as meaning is concerned!
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Thanks uncle bud, I think that's quite a lot better than what I had. At least it seems like it could make some sense with tweaking. If he is saying "forks and knives" in the first line, I really have a problem recognizing how Sam Collins pronounced "forks", since I missed it in the last song, too. It's disorienting to be able to understand a singer perfectly well through 90% of a song and be so completely baffled in one place. Oh well.
All best,
Johnm
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I think the first line in question is more like:
You [stooked] our [stitches] in the forks and knives...
"Stooked" could be a variant of "stuck". What I hear as "our [stitches]" could alternatively be a person's name.
The sense of the line that I'm getting is that the old salty dog stabbed someone who was sitting and eating. Now if I could only figure out who was stabbed...
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Man that's a good one. I have a theory it might be a nonsense rhyme about sewing, with crazy stuff. I remember vaguely one that involved cutting hair w/fork & knife, apply that to sewing.
I hear two soft 'z' endings to words in the second line where you have 'dove tails', as in "He [?] 'doze tears wit' the pocket knife". 'Tears', as in clothes, goes with 'stitches in the first line. 'Dug...' could be 'darned' perhaps? sounds more like 'durd', skipping the 'n' sound. So the meaning of line 2 could be "He darned those tears with a pocket knife, you old salty dog".
So what about "stooked [?] stitches"? 'Stook' is a pile of straw, and 'stooked' is the noun 'verbed' in the past tense. From wiktionary:
stook (plural stooks)
1. (agriculture) a pile or bundle, especially of straw
* 1958: The wheat, tawny with ripeness, had been cut and stood in tented stooks about the fields, while a few ghostly poppies lingered at the edge of the path. ? Iris Murdoch, The Bell
to stook (third-person singular simple present stooks, present participle stooking, simple past and past participle stooked)
1. (agriculture) to make stooks
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FWIW, Michael Taft has "He dug those potatoes with a pocket knife" in line 2. Plausible, though would be 'tatoes or taters, IMO, if accepted.
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Agreeing with some of what's been offered, I think it's
You stuck those stitches in the forks and knives
and
He dug those 'tatoes with a pocket knife
The only thing I can offer for the first line -- unlikely, perhaps, but who knows? is that fork and knife is, at least according to the internet, Cockney rhyming slang for wife. I'm not suggesting that Collins used rhyming slang knowingly (that's so unlikely as to be silly, I think), but that this couplet may have originated way back and been transmitted via the good old oral tradition, ending up in a moderately salacious song. If this is the meaning, then it seems to have a sexual connotation, with a needle going in and out to make stitches and the usual potato-digging metaphor.
I think it's also interesting how much Collins sounds like Frank Hutchison on this track, particularly the way he sometimes changes chords unexpectedly early and shifts the accent to the bass.
Chris
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I'm wondering if the couplet might be something like:
You's tooked our dishes 'n' the forks 'n' knives, you old salty dog
Eased up to the table with the pocket knife, you old salty dog
Admittedly, what I have as "dishes" sounds more like "stitches", but if Collins actually sings "ours dishes", and pronounces the "dishes more like "ditsches" (which I actually tend to do when I try to sing the line at speed), it pretty much works phonetically. And the couplet actually makes sense.
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Hi all,
Thanks for your suggestions. I'm going to go with banjochris's interpretation, with one tiny change, "the" pocket knife, rather than "a" pocket knife in the second line. After listening to Sam Collins sing this verse many, many times, I think it is just about an exact fit phonetically, very close to the nonsense I had originally, actually, and I believe the meaning of this verse is going to remain open to interpretation, perhaps until one of us comes across the same usage, "in the forks and knives", in another blues verse where the context makes the meaning more clear.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi dj,
I've been looking at your transcription of "Lonesome Road Blues", preparatory to putting it in Weeniepedia, and I have a couple of questions:
* I hear the first word of the eighth verse as "I", rather than "I've"
* I hear the first line of verse nine as "In eighteen hundred, in that ninety-nine", rather than "In eighteen hundred, and add ninety-nine"
* The third verse from the end sounds like it may open, "Said, run here mama, fall in your daddy's breast", rather than "fold in your daddy's breast"
I wondered how you were hearing these spots in the lyrics now.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Sam Collins performed "Loving Lady Blues" with a slide in Vestapol tuning. It is a song, like his version of "Yellow Dog Blues", that almost seems to show the blues in a formative, still transitional, state as a musical style. He has a phrasing device he uses here in which he treats the tagline of one verse as the opening line of the next verse, getting a sort of chained stanza effect, like:
A
A
B-A
A
B
Occasionally, as in the first verse, he omits the tagline altogether. Taken in conjunction with his customary omission of the V chord altogether from the progression, you end up with a really different sounding blues from what we have become accustomed to hearing. Here is "Loving Lady Blues":
https://youtu.be/D8y7CEWbNx8
I never felt so worried 'til I found the lovin' lady blues
I never felt so worried 'til I found the lovin' lady blues
I can't sleep for dreamin', I can't eat for-hor cryin'
I can't sleep for dreamin', I can't eat for cryin'
I laid down last night with that gal all on my mind
I got nineteen bird dogs, got one old floppy-headed hound
I got nineteen bird dogs, one old floppy-headed hound
It just takes them twenty run my fair brown down
I got a good gal in town but she don't treat me right
I got a good gal in town but she don't treat me right
I feel like goin' to the cemetery, layin' right down and dyin'
Feel like goin' to the cemetery, layin' right down and dyin'
For I done got worried with that gal of mine
All best,
Johnm
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I've been looking at your transcription of "Lonesome Road Blues", preparatory to putting it in Weeniepedia
Hi, John,
I really need to go back and update both the transcriptions I did. I'll try to get to it over the weekend.
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Well, I might's well get in on this.
This is the only Sam Collins tune I have (I guess he's not a big favorite on anthology compliers), Graveyard Digger's Blues.
Very unusual. The repeated line (I ain't got no lovin' baby now) is the last line of one verse and the first line of the next.
Guitar could use a tuning.
I have trouble with the bracketed parts. I'll post an .MP3 a bit later. Here is "Graveyard Digger's Blues":
https://youtu.be/UIKf3Xc4LHs
Graveyard Digger's Blues
Sam Collins
Introduction (2 bars)
1) I went to the grave and I fell down on my knees.
I said "Graveyard digger, give me back my fair brown please".
Lord I ain?t got no lovin? baby now.
2) I ain?t got no lovin? baby now.
I went to the line, Lord some old train will run.
Take me back, to my baby, honey where I come from, Lord.
I ain?t got no lovin? baby now.
3) I ain?t got me no mo? lovin? baby now.
I?d rather be dead, and buried in my grave.
Then to be ?round here, mama treated this a-way, honey.
I ain?t got no lovin? baby now.
4) Instrumental verse
5) I ain?t got no lovin? baby now.
Said I dreamed last night, my bed was fallin? down.
But it ?twas my woman, she was makin? her last go round, Lord.
I ain?t got no lovin? baby now.
6) ?Cus I ain?t got no lovin? baby now.
I?d rather see my coffin come rollin? in my door.
Hear my woman say, that she don?t want me no more, Lord.
I ani?t got no lovin? baby now.
7) I ain?t got no lovin? baby now.
My baby done quit me, b?lieve she throwed me down.
It would hurt me so bad, but the talk?s all over town, Lord.
I ain?t got no lovin? baby now.
Alex
Note: edited to reflect Johnm comments below.
[attachment deleted by admin]
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Good on you, Alex, thanks for joining in. I'll give it a listen, too, and see what I hear.
all best,
Johnm
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Alex, I think you've got a typo in there. The last line of verse 2 should be:
I ain?t got no LOVIN? baby now
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Hi Alex,
I heard just a couple of things differently in "Grave Yard Digger's Blues". I'll use the method of citing stanzas and capitalizing the changed words that dingwall and uncle bud have been using in the Lemon Jefferson Lyrics thread.
5.2 Said, I DREAMED last night, my BED was falling down
7.3 It WOULDN'T HURT ME so bad, but the talks all over town, Lord
Those two places were all that I could hear differently from your transcription, and I think the parenthetic "line" you have in 2.2 and "mo'" you have in 3.1 are both correct.
all best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Sam Collins recorded "The Jailhouse Blues" in Vestapol, playing with a slide. It remains something of a mystery how he could play so impeccably in tune with his slide when his second and third strings were notably flat when strummed open. This is particularly mysterious when he plays a barred IV chord, which sounds fine but which should by all rights be just as compromised as the strummed open strings were. Perhaps his instrument had some sort of intonation problem at the nut that required a weird tuning of the open strings to obtain in pitch playing up the neck. Of course a slide is more forgiving than are frets--you can just go to the in-tune spots, even if they don't coincide with the fret placements. "The Jailhouse Blues" follows a more conventional AAB lyric phrasing scheme than do his "Yellow Dog Blues" and "Loving Lady Blues", but it is still very loosely structured harmonically, with IV chords in some verses but not others and no V chords in sight. Here is "The Jailhouse Blues":
https://youtu.be/H1Gt3j_nDW8
When I was layin' in jail with my back turned to the wall
When I was layin' in jail with my back turned to the wall
I could'n' lay down and dream, I could hear my good gal squall
Lord, she brought me coffee and she brought me tea
Lord, she brought me coffee and she brought me tea
Fell dead at the door with the jailhouse key
I'm going down to the courthouse, see the judge and the Chief Police
Going down to the courthouse, see the judge and Chief Police
My good gal fell dead and I sure can't see no peace
I'll tell you what I'll do and I, sure God, won't tell no lie
Tell you what I'll do and I, sure God, ain't gonna lie
I b'lieve I'll lay down, take morphine and die
All best,
Johnm
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Hi Alex,
I heard just a couple of things differently in "Grave Yard Digger's Blues". I'll use the method of citing stanzas and capitalizing the changed words that dingwall and uncle bud have been using in the Lemon Jefferson Lyrics thread.
5.2 Said, I DREAMED last night, my BED was falling down
7.3 It WOULDN'T HURT ME so bad, but the talks all over town, Lord
Those two places were all that I could hear differently from your transcription, and I think the parenthetic "line" you have in 2.2 and "mo'" you have in 3.1 are both correct.
all best,
Johnm
John:
I think your hearing of 5.2 is right on.
In line 7.3 the addition of "me" is correct, but I still hear "would" rather that "wouldn't", although "wouldn't" would make much more sense.
I'll make the changes.
Alex
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After almost two years, I've finally gotten around to listening to everyone's suggestions and corrections of my two Sam Collins lyrics. Here's what I'm hearing now. Thanks to everyone who contributed way back then and to Johnm for reminding me that there was still work to do. First, here's "Lonesome Road Blues":
https://youtu.be/fTgTCmKPirI
LONESOME ROAD BLUES
I'm walking down that lonesome lane
Hung down my head and cried
I weeped and I cried under a willow tree
'n' my fate's1 the deep blue sea
My mama's dead, papa can't be found
And my brother's on the county road
Says I done been to that long plank walk
And I'm on my way back home
You did cause me to weep you did cause me to moan
You did cause me to leave my home
I cried last night and the night before
And I swore not to cry no more
You did cause me to weep you did cause me to moan
You did cause me to leave my home
I got no money and they call me no honey
I have to weep and moan
In eighteen hundred in that ninety nine
He got killed on that streetcar line
They took him down that smoky road
Brought him back on that coolin' board
Instrumental verse
Says I been down to that water's edge
That's far as I care to go
Then run here mama 'n' fall in your daddy's breast
These blues gonna let me rest
Your fast mail train comin' round the curve
It done killed my little brownie dead
Her head was ground in that driver wheel
And her body it have never been seen
Instrumental verse
1 Could be "I faced"
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And here's "My Road Is rough And Rocky (How Long, How Long)":
https://youtu.be/gvcgxWDEfOA
My Road Is Rough And Rocky
(How Long, How Long)
You don't b'lieve I'm travelin' on the road somewhere
Get your book and pencil and count the days I'm gone
I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
You can go to Memphis, find me there
Catch the first train smokin' find me on the road somewhere
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
You've been talkin' 'bout your brick house but you ought to see mine
It ain't so pretty but it's built up fine
I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
I got up this mornin' looked at the risin' sun
Can't nobody run me like them bloodhounds done
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
I got up in my stockings, tippin' 'cross the floor
Heared them bloodhounds a-rappin' upon my door
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
I have chicken's on my back and there's the hounds on my track
I dropped my hat1 'n' I couldn't stop to look back
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
I could hear them pistol balls zoomin' by2 my head
I b'lieve to my soul they gonna kill me dead
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
I got up this mornin' just about the break of day
I could hear them there bloodhounds a comin' down my way
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
I got up this mornin', fell down 'cross my bed
I could hear somethin' perchin' all around my head
And I am gone, I'm long gone
My road is rough and rocky on my way
1 Could be "head"
2 Could be "'bout"
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Hi Alex,
I heard just a couple of things differently in "Grave Yard Digger's Blues". I'll use the method of citing stanzas and capitalizing the changed words that dingwall and uncle bud have been using in the Lemon Jefferson Lyrics thread.
5.2 Said, I DREAMED last night, my BED was falling down
7.3 It WOULDN'T HURT ME so bad, but the talks all over town, Lord
Those two places were all that I could hear differently from your transcription, and I think the parenthetic "line" you have in 2.2 and "mo'" you have in 3.1 are both correct.
all best,
Johnm
John:
I think your hearing of 5.2 is right on.
In line 7.3 the addition of "me" is correct, but I still hear "would" rather that "wouldn't", although "wouldn't" would make much more sense.
Hi Alex - I hear "wouldn't". Collins sings it fast but it's there. It would also of course be the standard form of the familiar line, whereas, as you point out, "would" does not make sense.
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Hi all,
Sam Collins recorded "Devil in the Lion's Den" in Vestapol, playing with a slide. He does some extravagant fills here, and since he habitually went long on his instrumental reponses to his vocals he may have felt less of a need to play full solos than some players in the style. He does some beautiful singing here, as was his wont. Here is "Devil In The Lion's Den":
https://youtu.be/TjIwtqOTOgw
My mama's dead and my papa can't be found
My mama's dead and my papa can't be found
I ain't got me nobody, throw my arms around
Yond' come the devil, gonna set this town on fire
Yond' come the devil, gonna set this town on fire
"'Low me a chance, conductor, to bid this town good-bye."
I got ways like a devil, sleep in the lion's den
I got way like a devil, sleep in a lions' den
If I can find me a good gal, I'm gonna take her in
Let me tell you, mama, what you said last night
Lay down on my bedside, cried to treat me right
Lord, I'm goin' up the country, but cryin' won't make me stay
I'm goin' up the country, cryin' won't make me stay
More you cry, the further I ride away
All best,
Johnm
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Hi Alex,
I heard just a couple of things differently in "Grave Yard Digger's Blues". I'll use the method of citing stanzas and capitalizing the changed words that dingwall and uncle bud have been using in the Lemon Jefferson Lyrics thread.
5.2 Said, I DREAMED last night, my BED was falling down
7.3 It WOULDN'T HURT ME so bad, but the talks all over town, Lord
Those two places were all that I could hear differently from your transcription, and I think the parenthetic "line" you have in 2.2 and "mo'" you have in 3.1 are both correct.
all best,
Johnm
John:
I think your hearing of 5.2 is right on.
In line 7.3 the addition of "me" is correct, but I still hear "would" rather that "wouldn't", although "wouldn't" would make much more sense.
Hi Alex - I hear "wouldn't". Collins sings it fast but it's there. It would also of course be the standard form of the familiar line, whereas, as you point out, "would" does not make sense.
Hey Unkie Bud:
Strange 'cus I can't even hear a hint of the "n't" part of wouldn't. We need a tiebreaker. I've added a mp3 of this tune to the lyric page.
Alex
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Hi Alex,
I heard just a couple of things differently in "Grave Yard Digger's Blues". I'll use the method of citing stanzas and capitalizing the changed words that dingwall and uncle bud have been using in the Lemon Jefferson Lyrics thread.
5.2 Said, I DREAMED last night, my BED was falling down
7.3 It WOULDN'T HURT ME so bad, but the talks all over town, Lord
Those two places were all that I could hear differently from your transcription, and I think the parenthetic "line" you have in 2.2 and "mo'" you have in 3.1 are both correct.
all best,
Johnm
John:
I think your hearing of 5.2 is right on.
In line 7.3 the addition of "me" is correct, but I still hear "would" rather that "wouldn't", although "wouldn't" would make much more sense.
Hi Alex - I hear "wouldn't". Collins sings it fast but it's there. It would also of course be the standard form of the familiar line, whereas, as you point out, "would" does not make sense.
Hey Unkie Bud:
Strange 'cus I can't even hear a hint of the "n't" part of wouldn't. We need a tiebreaker. I've added a mp3 of this tune to the lyric page.
Alex
Well, I was backing up JohnM's hearing of it. :) Only in Calgary would 2-1 be a tie. :P But other ears always welcome!
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Hi Alex,
I re-listened, and I think you are right. Maybe what he meant was, "It would hurt me so bad, but the fact that the talk's all over town makes it hurt considerably less." Yeah, right. Actually, I think he probably just mis-heard or mis-spoke the conventional line, but in any event, I think your hearing of it was correct in the first place. I think your transcription is good to go.
All best,
Johnm
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I'm still hearing "wouldn't". Definitely hear an N. I'd vote for a note in Weeniepedia.
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Hi all,
Sam Collins recorded "Yellow Dog Blues", accompanying himself in Vestapol with a slide. The song is very, very loose in a formal sense, perhaps the loosest of all of his recorded numbers. He allows a great deal of time for instrumental responses to his vocal lines, going "long" routinely. The taglines to his verses often don't bear any obvious relationship to the opening lines, and the final verse is one of his "chain verses", in which the tagline of the previous verse serves as the opening line of the last verse. There are a number of places in the lyrics that I'm unsure of, and I could sure use some help with the bent bracketed passages, or anything else I have wrong. Here is "Yellow Dog Blues":
https://youtu.be/dgiV3RYRsJY
Be easy, mama, don't you fade away
Be easy, mama, don't you fade away
I'm goin' to where the Southern cross the Yella' Dog
I seed him here when he was fightin' all 'round the horn
Lord, I seed him in here when they were fightin' all 'round the horn
And I felt f-rightened and I didn't want to ride no train
"I want to ride the Yella' Dog", "Well, where did Mary change?"
"I want to ride the Yella' Dog", "Well, where did Mary change?"
I set deep in my saddle and I don't reny (sic) my name
Set deep in my saddle, Lordy, and I don't reny my name
Just as sure as the train leans around the curve
OUTRO
Edited, 2/18, to pick up corrections from banjochris
Edited, 2/26, to pick up corrections from dingwall
All best,
Johnm
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That "Yellow Dog" is a weird one. I think "hall" is right, but before the second line of that verse there's a "Lord..." And the last verse sounds like he's saying "where did Mary Jane?" or (esp. in the first line) "where did Mary change?" I think the first is more likely, and that he's asking where she went in a very elliptical fashion.
Chris
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Thanks Chris, that's terrific. I had "Lord" in my hand-written transcription but missed it when I was posting the lyrics. I think you are right about it being "Mary change" rather than "Mary Jane". Until you made that point I hadn't noticed that the consonant sound at the front end of the last word in that line is the hard "ch" sound rather than than softer "j" sound. Great hearing on your part, as usual.
That really is an odd song, isn't it? It has some of that sleep-walking quality of "It Won't Be Long", but hangs together less well, somehow. Still, there is some beautifully nuanced slide playing and the great singing you'd expect from Sam Collins.
All best,
Johnm
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FWIW, the Otis Brothers do this (nice version), and Pat Conte (I think) sings "hall" as well. I'll have to check as it's not cued up in iTunes, but I think he sings about riding the Mary Jane, as if it's a train name too. I don't know that that matches what I'm hearing from Collins, just throwing it out there in case it helps.
edited to add: went and checked the Otis Bros. recording and he sings "I went to ride the Yellow Dog, but, well I ride the Mary Jane." Again, just for what it's worth...
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Hi uncle bud,
Thanks for the cross-referencing of the lyric on "Yellow Dog Blues" to the Otis Bros. version. I've listened to Sam Collins' version of the song many, many times at this point. I believe that in the verse in question, two people are talking about which train to take. The first says, "I want to ride the Yellow Dog.", and the second responds, "Well, where did Mary change?", i.e., where did Mary change trains or train lines, the answer to which would affect whether or not the Yellow Dog was a good choice to follow her. I'm thoroughly convinced the lyric is "Mary change", NOT "Mary Jane", as I had always heard it in the past, partially but not only because I think the two words preceding are "where did". "Where did Mary change?" makes sense; "Where did Mary Jane?" does not. I know you weren't necessarily touting "Where did Mary Jane?", I'm just thinking out loud. The fact that the tagline has nothing to do with either possible interpretation just makes the choice that much more obscure.
Edited to add: I knew there was a verse in which the opening line consisted of a spoken exchange. Lemon's "Bad Luck Blues" has such an exchange:
"Mama, I can't gamble." "Then son, why don't you quit tryin'?"
I'm sure there must be many others.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Sam Collins accompanied himself with a slide in Vestapol on "Lead Me All the Way". He plays the song with a tremendous driving rhythm and does an admirable job of phrasing the melody instrumentally in unison with his singing. This is probably one of his most conventionally phrased performances, which is to say, he phrased "Lead Me All The Way" much as any number of other singers doing the same song would have phrased it. The same can not be said for most of his recorded performances. Here is "Lead Me All The Way":
https://youtu.be/BR3w5HCnqWc
INTRO
Let Jesus lead you, let Jesus lead you, let Jesus lead you all the way
All the way from Earth to Heaven
Let Jesus lead you all the way
He'll be your Father, he'll be your Father, he'll be your Father all the way
All the way from Earth to Heaven
He'll be your Father all the way
He'll lead you right, Lord, He'll lead you right, Lord, He'll lead you right, Lord, all the way
All the way from Earth to Heaven
He'll lead you right, Lord, all the way
Let Jesus lead you, let Jesus lead you, let Jesus lead you all the way
All the way from Earth to Heaven
Let Jesus lead you all the way
I have a Father, I have a Father, I have a Father all the way
All the way from Earth to Heaven
I have a Father all the way
I have a sister, I have a sister, I have a sister all the way
All the way from Earth to Heaven
I have a sister all the way
Let Jesus lead you, let Jesus lead you, let Jesus lead you all the way
All the way from Earth to Heaven
Let Jesus lead you all the way
He'll be your Father, He'll be your Father, He'll be your Father all the way
All the way from Earth to Heaven
He'll be your Father all the way
Let Jesus lead you, let Jesus lead you, (guitar finishes line)
All best,
Johnm
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Just some suggestions on Yellow Dog Blues. I'm reasonably confident about verse 2, but much less so at 3.1/2.
1.3 I'm goin' to where THE Southern cross the Yella' Dog
2.1 I seed HIM here when HE WAS FIRIN' all round the HORN(???)(The 'smokestack lightning' picture??, HIM/HE being the train)
2.2 Lord, I seed HIM here when HE WAS FIRIN' all round the HORN(???)
2.3 And I felt FOR RIDIN' and I didn't want to ride no train (Train versus his pony in next verse??)
3.1 I want to ride the Yella' Dog, WHERE RIDIN' MADE/MAKE ME A?? change(very tentative.)
3.2 I WANNA ride the Yella' Dog ---
3.3 I set DEEP in my saddle and I don't reny (sic) my name (I hear DENY both times)
3.4 Set DEEP in my saddle, LORD, ----
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Hi dingwall,
Thanks for the suggestions on "Yellow Dog Blues". Some I am hearing along with you and others not.
1.3 The vowel sound is the same as the word "that" but there is no concluding "t". I'll go with your suggestion of "the".
2.1 and 2.2 I agree with your initial "him" in both lines, and with "horn" as well, but I don't hear "firin'" at all, it seems "fightin'" pretty clearly to me. In 2.2, I think he changes the line to "they were fightin'"
2.3 I hear "f-rightened" and think it makes sense as a response to the "fightin'" above. "Felt for ridin'" is a very awkward locution that I have never heard used in either speaking or singing
3.3 I agree with "deep" in my saddle, but hear "reny" very clearly both times.
Thanks for your usual close listening, and I will make the changes.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
This post gets the thread back to where it started. Sam Collins recorded "Slow, Mama, Slow" backing himself with a slide in Vestapol. This is a very strong performance, vocally and instrumentally, and he accorded a tremendous amount of space for fills, really milking the instrumental responses for all they were worth. I'd appreciate corroboration/correction on the bent bracketed phrase; I like it, but I'm not at all sure of it, especially the last word. NOTE,3/4: The final word in the next-to-last verse is an elided pronunciation of the word "floor". Here is "Slow, Mama, Slow":
https://youtu.be/FdBgTQ4YFKU
Take your time, kind mama, I'm gon' do it just as slow as I can
Take your time, kind mama, I'm doin' it just as slow as I can
I might start shimmyin', don't let nobody in
Make your bed up higher, and turn your lamp way low
Make your bed up higher, turn your lamp way low
I'm gonna hug and kiss you, ain't comin' here no more
Pull down your window, lock up on your door
Lock up on your window, lock it up on your door
I got ways like a devil, I'm slippin' on the f'oo'
Make your bed up higher, a-and turn your lamp around
Make your bed up higher, turn your lamp around
Look out your back door, see me leave this town
Edited 3/4, to pick up correction from John D.
All best,
Johnm
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Great piece. I think the rest is right. The only alternative for the bent bracketed phrase I could come up with that made any sense was: "I'm sleepin' on a flo'"
Agree it sounds like "slippin'", "sleepin'" is just a theory about pronunciation that also fits with the bed imagery.
Not confident it's right though. Phonetically it sounds like "I'm sleepin' on a phone"
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I agree with you, Mark, that the last word in the phrase sounds like "phone", and what I have as "slippin'" sounds a hell of a lot like "sleepin'", as you say. The sense of it is tough to discern with that interpretation, though.
All best,
Johnm
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I think it is slippin' on a fo' (slipping on a floor), here is an earlier weenie reference:
http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=128&topic=331.msg2127#msg2127
it makes the most sense in the context of making ones bed higher. What is the other tune with imagery of either the devil or a snake crawling of the floor ... that we had problems deciphering..? BLJ's Black Snake Dream?
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Hi John D.,
Sorry to be slow responding to your post, I experienced a temporary Sam Collins burn-out. After a bunch of listening I'm ready to go with "slipping on the f'o'. This is an instance in which I think the phonetic-based, rather than meaning-based approach to lyric transcription seems unsatisfactory. Thanks for the help.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Sam Collins recorded "I Want to be Like Jesus in my Heart" backing himself with a slide in Vestapol. His accompaniment is excellent here, but his vocal is really unearthly. After the first verse he does a register change for the subsequent verses, dropping his voice down an octave for the line "In my heart, in my heart", and you find that like Blind Willie Johnson, his voice in repose was really beautiful. Here is "I Want To Be Like Jesus In My Heart":
https://youtu.be/7C4YyiaGgPc
And I want to be like Jesus in my heart
In my heart, in my heart
Lord, I want to be like Jesus into my heart
And I want to live a soldier in my heart
In my heart, in my heart
Lord, I want to live a soldier into my heart
And I don't want to be like Judas into my heart
In my heart, in my heart
And I don't want to be like Judas into my heart
And I want to die a Christian into my heart
In my heart, in my heart
(Guitar finishes verse)
And I want to be bapti-zed into my heart
In my heart, in my heart
Lord, I want to be bapti-zed into my heart
SOLO
And I want to die a-Holy into my heart
In my heart, in my heart
Lord, I want to die a-Holy in my heart
SOLO
And I want to be like Jesus into my heart
In my heart, in my heart
Lord, I want to be like Jesus into my heart
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Sam Collins recorded "Do That Thing", a very wild one-chord tune, accompanying himself with a slide in Vestapol. This is probably Collins' hottest slide number, and in portions of it he sounds almost like Kokomo Arnold. He never takes what you would call a solo, but he gives equal space or more to his instrumental fills than he does to his vocals, so you could almost describe the performance as an instrumental solo with incidental vocal accompaniment. Hearing this tune made me feel as though Sam Collins must really have been fun to see in person. And if he busked with a female dancer on this number, they would have done very well, I reckon. When he first comes in singing, the "Oohhhhh" he hits makes the microphone groan and beg for mercy. No one I've heard plays anything like this any more and it's really a shame. Here is "Do That Thing":
https://youtu.be/YtM1LjbGZ84
Ohhh, can't you do that thing?
We--ll, do that thing, do that thing
Gal, can't you do that thing?
Well, peoples comin' from miles around
Just to see you do that thing
She's long and tall, don't wear the diamond ring
But she can beat anybody doin' that thing
Oh, can't you do that thing?
Ah, do that thing
We--ll, do that thing, can't you do that thing?
You go to the ground and you rise like a kite
And throw your backbone clean out of sight
Can't you do that thing?
She's a gal of mine and she sure can do that thing
Ah, do that thing
Oh, do that thing, ah, do that thing
All best,
Johnm
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This number has always intrigued me. It strikes me as pre-WWI. Does anybody know its origins?
Sam Collins' version is wonderfully unique. I have never heard his lyrics anywhere else. (Most of the lyrics sung to this tune are hopelessly pedestrian.)
But I am helpless to figure out some of the verses. Here's my best interpretation. Any and all suggestions HUGELY appreciated.
She has the hesitation stockins, hesitation shoes,
Believe to my soul got my hesitation blues.
[Refrain:] How long now will I have to wait? Can I get you now? Honey, have to hesitate.
I can line the track and I can ball the jack
Beat anybody bring my good gal back.
(And) I got a gal (and) loves to move [moan?]
Sweet a woman as I have known.
[This verse later reprised, equally indecipherably]
Round the corner and around the bend
Yonder come that evenin? train.
Molasses on the table, coffee?s getting? cool,
My little gal grinds her meal at home.
[Hopelessly speculative interpretation?]
I?m not so good lookin?, got no curly hair
Her Elgin movements take me anywhere.
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Pre-WWI it is. "Hesitation Blues" published 1915 as by Billy Smythe and Scott Middleton; republished 1926 as by Billy Smythe, Scott Middleton, and Art Gillham. W.C. Handy's "Hesitating Blues" also published 1915. These three apparently use the same traditional melody, but in different arrangements and with different lyrics.
Sorry I can't help with the Sam Collins version. Wish I had it, but I don't.
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Somewhere in there I can hear in my head a verse along the lines of
Around the curve and around the ben(d)
Yonder comes that L&N.
That incomprehensible repeated verse used to be the subject of much speculation. I think the first line was postulated as something along the lines of "I've got a girl who's learned to be ruled"
....where's Dingwall when one wants him? ;)
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I think Bunker Hill is right about the L&N verse. Also I think it's Rations on the table...
which is a fairly common line. I think you've got everything else pretty much right (except that one mystery verse) -- can't help much there but I'll keep listening.
Chris
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Hey BB -- thanks for the historical background. I knew that someone claimed credit for the song, but believed (and believe) that the roots of the song are older.
Bunker Hill -- That is absolutely "L&N" ["evening train" made sense, but I was never happy with it!] Thank you for lifting those particular scales from my ears. Still having trouble making that "learned to be ruled" thing seem right, but am glad for the contribution. Also, I don't feel quite so useless to learn that this verse has been the subject of some study, debate, etc., by others before me.
Banjochris -- Many thanks for the "rations on the table" contribution. This has to be correct. (I had never heard the phrase in the old songs before, despite listening to about a million of 'em. The fact of its existing elsewhere is very compelling, obviously.)
Y'all have made my day. (Any other contributions, however speculative, still most welcome!)
Dr. G
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Should this be moved to the Sam Collins lyrics thread?
[edit, don't answer that, merged]
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Dr. G:
Give a listen to the earlier recorded versions available at Redhotjazz.com:
Jim Europe's Hellfighters: http://www.redhotjazz.com/hellfighters.html
Esther Bigeou: http://www.redhotjazz.com/Bigeou.html
Sara Martin: http://www.redhotjazz.com/martin.html
You'll have to scroll down a bit to find the tracks.
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I've just been driving myself nuts trying to decipher that repeated verse from my only source...the Origin LP!
I give up but just to throw a wrench in the works I reckon he sings in the first verse "She has the hesitatin' stockings, the hesitatin' shoes, the rich and the poor got the hestitatin' blues". Also I hear the start of the fifth verse as "supper's on the table, coffee's gettin' cold".
But what the hell, after all I'm using a 1965 LP as reference! :(
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I've appeared, Alan. Here's my version. Here is "Hesitation Blues":
https://youtu.be/8B5-0dAGioE
She has the hesitatin' stockings, the hesitatin' shoes.
The rich and the poor got the hesitatin' blues.
How long now will I have to wait?
Can I get you now, honey, have to hesitate?
I can line the track and I can ball the jack.
I can beat anybody gettin' my good gal back.
And I've got a gal who's learned to rule.
Seen her rule right by her door.
Around the curve and around the bend.
Yonder comes that L & N.
Supper's on the table, coffee's gettin' cold.
My little gal's from Illinois.
I'm not so good-lookin', got no curly hair.
And elegant movements take me anywhere.
I can line the track and I can ball the jack.
Beat anybody gettin' my good gal back.
I've got a gal who's learned to be ruled.
I've seen her ruled right by her door.
Notes
3.1/2 and 8.1/2 I'm convinced that the verses differ, as shown, and as a pure guess, he may have been correcting his earlier verse.
6.2 'elegant/Elgin'? Not clear, and could be either here, but I go for 'elegant' because, about 15 minutes earlier (Dark Cloudy Blues), in an almost identical verse, he sings 'elegant' very clearly.
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Thanks, all, for more entertaining discussion, tips, and interpretations.
Although I consider myself totally straightened out on a few of my earlier (mis)interpretations, I remain completely unconvinced on "the rich and the poor" [I think "believe to my soul" -- with "soul" pronounced "sool", the way CP does on "Screaming and Hollering the Blues"] is a better fit:
"She has the hesitatin' stockings, the hesitatin' shoes.
[The rich and the poor] Believe to my soul got the hesitatin' blues.
How long now will I have to wait?
Can I get you now, honey, have to hesitate?"
...and I still can't see either "learned to rule" or its accompanying rhyme. I still hear "loves to" in the first line, and stick to my interpretation "Sweet a woman as I have known" as closer to what's coming out of my CD.
"And I've got a gal [who's learned to rule] loves to (moan? move?)
[Seen her rule right by her door] Sweet a woman as I have known."
...I think banjochris got it right with "Rations" on the table (although I prefer my folk process "molasses" image), and no matter how I contort my ears, I cannot hear "Illinois" anywhere in that tag line.
When my "grinds her meal at home" suddenly blasted into my brain (when I was thinking about something totally unrelated) it felt like one of those once-every-few-years epiphanies in old blues lyric interpretation that just feels viscerally correct. I had the same rush that I did back in 1964 (when practically the only CB originals available to us mere mortals were on the Sam Charters' "The Country Blues" LP) and it occurred to me like a thunderbolt that Blind Willie McTell was singing "oughta saw that colored fireman...." and NOT "oughta saw that colafahmin...when he got them boilers hot".
Maybe I'm experiencing a fixed delusion, rather than aural clarity, but I'm sticking with "grinds her meal at home" until someone proposes a more compelling phrase...or gives me a shot of haloperidol. My version of the tag line would also seem to be more consistent with the home cooking imagery of the "rations" (or "supper") on the table and the coffee getting cold (or cool)...although when did consistency of lines A & B ever worry a country bluesman?
"[Supper's] Rations on the table, coffee's gettin' cold.
My little [gal's from Illinois] gal grinds her meal at home."
...and I hear still hear "Elgin", not "elegant". The similar-line-elsewhere theory is very compelling, I admit, and hard to discount. I guess Robert Johnson's "Elgin movements" from head to toe, and my feeling that "Elgin" is a more compelling image, tip the scales for me -- although I still don't HEAR "elegant", even a garbled version.
"I'm not so good-lookin', got no curly hair.
[And elegant movements] Her Elgin movement take me anywhere."
...The jury is obviously still out on a number of these interpretations -- but I sure do feel a lot less dumb about the lyrics than I did when I reprised the Sam Collins thread yesterday! Thank you again, one and all.
Dr. G
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Yes, Dr. G, I now agree with 'Believe to my soul', so,
She has the hesitatin' stockings, the hesitatin' shoes.
Believe to my soul, got the hesitatin' blues.
The rest I still hear as I put it, but in particular, (and apologies for repeating it), I think 'elegant' is very clearly heard in
I'm not so good-lookin', got no curly hair.
I'm not so good-lookin', got no curly hair.
My elegant movement will take me most anywhere.
which he sang minutes before he sang the similar verse,
I'm not so good-lookin', got no curly hair.
And elegant movements take me anywhere.
There also remains the variation in verses 3 and 8.
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Listening to both Hesitation and Dark Cloudy Blues, I don't hear any "g" sound at all in either verse for "elegant" or "Elgin". In Dark Cloudy it sounds clearly to me that he says "My L&N movement..." and it sounds like that could be the case, much faster, in Hesitation.
I think I've solved the mystery of verses 3 and 8, with the exception of one word that I'm moderately sure of but not 100%. The verse is:
I've got a girl on the Lexington Road,
C&O run right by her door.
He adds "The" at the beginning of the second "C&O" line.
He sings what I think is "Lexington" very quickly, but it seems reasonable to me since both the L&N and C&O went through Lexington, Ky.
Chris
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I hugely appreciate your persistence, Dingwall. And I hasten to admit that I don't HEAR "Elgin" -- I just like the image!
But I think banjochris makes a killer point in observing that there is no "g"-sound at all...neither hard ("elegant") nor soft ("Elgin"). His interpretation "L & N" is elegant in its simplicity -- and would certainly make perfect sense with the subsequent phrase "take me anywhere". Also, Collins has already mentioned "L & N" (as what's coming around the corner and around the bend) -- not "evening train", as I originally thought. I was obviously being "too helpful" in inserting consonants where they had no business being. I made the same mistake in deciding on "Elgin".) Collins SINGS "ellenen" [or "L & N"] in both instances...and I now am completely convinced that that's exactly what he MEANT to sing, and that there is no elision here.
And as for banjochris'
"I've got a girl on the Lexington Road,
C&O run right by her door."
I think that this rendition is both brilliant and correct (in no particular order), as is his geographical justification.
I will sleep very soundly tonight for seeing these mysteries solved. Thank you again, one and all, for sticking with this one to such a satisfying conclusion!
A very appreciative Dr. G
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Hi all,
I realized that we never transcribed Sam Collins's "Dark Cloudy Blues" when we were transcribing so many of his songs a couple of years ago. Sam played "Dark Cloudy Blues" out of C position in standard tuning, and you could say it falls into his eccentric hot guitar category, somewhat influenced by Lemon, but also with a lot of licks and ingredients that Lemon never recorded. In the first line of the second verse, I think Sam aborts his first attempt at saying "clearing" and follows through, minus the "c" at the beginning of the word. In the second line of verse three, I think Sam pronounces "until" like "intil", with an odd pause between the syllables. I agree with banjochris's comment re Sam's version of "Hesitation Blues", that Sam pretty clearly sings "L & N movement". Corroboration/correction of the lyrics is welcomed. Here is "Dark Cloudy Blues":
https://youtu.be/5GxfJIli65E
It's rainin' down, Lord, raining down from the sky
It's rainin' down, raining down from the sky
I done got wet all over, I'm gonna lay down and die
The sky is clear-learin' now, cloud has done gone to rest
The cloud is clear, Lordy, all done gone to rest
I b'lieve my soul my good gal done left this town
Let me be your sidetrack, mama, 'til your mainline come
Let me be your sidetrack, until your mainline come
I can do more switchin' than your mainline ever done
I'd rather be in Atlanta, Lord, any place I know
Rather be in Atlanta, any place I know
'Cause I got a home, Lordy, most anywhere I go
I'm not so good-lookin', got no curly hair
I'm not so good-lookin', got no curly hair
My L & N movement will take me 'most anywhere
Just as sure as my good gal gets back in this town
Just as sure as my good gal gets back in this town
I'm gonna quit grievin', it sure ain't gonna slow me down
Edited 12/19 to pick up correction from LD50
All best,
Johnm
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All looks dead on correct, with the extremely minor correction that in the 3rd verse, he says 'come' both times rather than 'come'. Other than that, perfect!
Hi all,
I realized that we never transcribed Sam Collins's "Dark Cloudy Blues" when we were transcribing so many of his songs a couple of years ago. Sam played "Dark Cloudy Blues" out of C position in standard tuning, and you could say it falls into his eccentric hot guitar category, somewhat influenced by Lemon, but also with a lot of licks and ingredients that Lemon never recorded. In the first line of the second verse, I think Sam aborts his first attempt at saying "clearing" and follows through, minus the "c" at the beginning of the word. In the second line of verse three, I think Sam pronounces "until" like "intil", with an odd pause between the syllables. I agree with banjochris's comment re Sam's version of "Hesitation Blues", that Sam pretty clearly sings "L & N movement". Corroboration/correction of the lyrics is welcomed.
It's rainin' down, Lord, raining down from the sky
It's rainin' down, raining down from the sky
I done got wet all over, I'm gonna lay down and die
The sky is clear-learin' now, cloud has done gone to rest
The cloud is clear, Lordy, all done gone to rest
I b'lieve my soul my good gal done left this town
Let me be your sidetrack, mama, 'til your mainline comes
Let me be your sidetrack, until your mainline comes
I can do more switchin' than your mainline ever done
I'd rather be in Atlanta, Lord, any place I know
Rather be in Atlanta, any place I know
'Cause I got a home, Lordy, most anywhere I go
I'm not so good-lookin', got no curly hair
I'm not so good-lookin', got no curly hair
My L & N movement will take me 'most anywhere
Just as sure as my good gal gets back in this town
Just as sure as my good gal gets back in this town
I'm gonna quit grievin', it sure ain't gonna slow me down
All best,
Johnm
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Thanks very much for the help LD50. As soon as I read your post, I could hear Sam singing "come" in that verse rather than "comes", just as you said. I've made the correction.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Sam Collins recorded "Signifying Blues" in 1931, accompanying himself with a slide in Vestapol. His playing is very strong here, and on a couple of occasions he goes to a two-fingered IV chord at the base of the neck, something he did not do on his earlier recordings. The way he goes long on the taglines to his second and third verses is unusual and really effective--in the second verse it's almost as though he did a lyrics break on that one line. I hadn't listened to him for a little while and returned the last two days--what a singer! Here is "Signifying Blues":
https://youtu.be/OBxcsPyDsn4
My woman signify that my blacksnake was dead
My woman signify my blacksnake was dead
But she never knowed it until I went to bed
I want to tell everybody what a signifyin' man will do
I'm gonna tell everybody what a signifyin' man will do
He will come to my house and he talk about you,
Go to your house and talk about me,
But he better learn, he ain't gonna signify no more
Lord, this signifyin' man, I'll tell you what it's all about
He's a signifyin' man, I'll tell you what it's all about
She looked down the street and seen me comin'
She put that low-down dirty rascal out
I'm gonna tell you what you ought to do
I'm gonna tell you what you ought to do
If you don't b'lieve me you can aks everybody in my neighborhood
Edited 9/19/21 to pick up correction from Tonybluesboy
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Sam Collins recorded "I'm Still Sitting on Top of the World" in 1931, accompanying himself with a slide in Vestapol. I realize that I'm inclined to assume that cover performances are by definition somewhat second-rate, despite having encountered numerous instances in which cover performances are superlative, like Robert Pete Williams' version of "Louise". "I'm Still Sitting on Top of the World" is another example of a terrific cover of a popular number. Sam Collins' singing is wonderful, as per usual for him, and his playing is every bit as strong. His lyrics are different than those of the original, too, except for the refrain, and are mostly not ones I've heard elsewhere. Once again, I'm having a tough time hearing some of the lyrics, and would very much appreciate help with the problem spots. Here is "I'm Still Sitting On Top of the World":
https://youtu.be/dBhQVGNedps
SOLO
The day you left me, you throwed me down
Went and hurt me so bad, babe, talk's over town
REFRAIN: And now she's gone, I sure don't worry
I'm sitting on top of the world
Because I'm broke, all down and out
You up and quit me and put me out
REFRAIN: And now she's gone, and I ain't gon' worry
I'm sitting on top of the world
Went to the Nations, lived town to town
Gonna catch me the first train, I've got to go
REFRAIN: And now she's gone, and I ain't gon' worry
I'm sitting on top of the world
You brushed my jumper, my overhalls
Goin' up to the station, meet the Cannonball
REFRAIN: And now she's gone, and I ain't gon' worry
I'm sitting on top of the world
I'd rather walk the streets all night
To be uneasy, be treated right
REFRAIN: And now she's gone, and I ain't gonna worry
I'm sitting on top of the world
I give 'er my money and a diamond ring
Now come her fatmouth, beat me shakin' that thing
REFRAIN: And now she's gone, and I ain't gon' worry
I'm sitting on top of the world
The day you left me, goin' almost blind
I write you a letter for speakin' back
REFRAIN: And now she's gone, and I ain't gon' worry
I'm sitting on top of the world
All best,
Johnm
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Well, I might's well get in on this.
This is the only Sam Collins tune I have (I guess he's not a big favorite on anthology compliers), Graveyard Digger's Blues.
Very unusual. The repeated line (I ain't got no lovin' baby now) is the last line of one verse and the first line of the next.
Guitar could use a tuning.
I have trouble with the bracketed parts. I'll post an .MP3 a bit later.
Graveyard Digger’s Blues
Sam Collins
Introduction (2 bars)
1) I went to the grave and I fell down on my knees.
I said "Graveyard digger, give me back my fair brown please".
Lord I ain’t got no lovin’ baby now.
2) I ain’t got no lovin’ baby now.
I went to the line, Lord some old train will run.
Take me back, to my baby, honey where I come from, Lord.
I ain’t got no lovin’ baby now.
3) I ain’t got me no mo’ lovin’ baby now.
I’d rather be dead, and buried in my grave.
Then to be ‘round here, mama treated this a-way, honey.
I ain’t got no lovin’ baby now.
4) Instrumental verse
5) I ain’t got no lovin’ baby now.
Said I dreamed last night, my bed was fallin’ down.
But it ‘twas my woman, she was makin’ her last go round, Lord.
I ain’t got no lovin’ baby now.
6) ‘Cus I ain’t got no lovin’ baby now.
I’d rather see my coffin come rollin’ in my door.
Hear my woman say, that she don’t want me no more, Lord.
I ani’t got no lovin’ baby now.
7) I ain’t got no lovin’ baby now.
My baby done quit me, b’lieve she throwed me down.
It would hurt me so bad, but the talk’s all over town, Lord.
I ain’t got no lovin’ baby now.
Alex
Note: edited to reflect Johnm comments below.
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I been playing this, and it's A position chord progression It's in standard but the tuning is lower than D, the chords are A, A7, D, Dm, E,E7, A,A, B7,E, A... B,B7,E, A. But you know... there's a lot of bridge single notes, alternating bass and other than simple chords...
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Hi all,
I got back in this thread and added links to Sam Collins' performances of all of the songs. Enjoy!
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Last week, I finally purchased my own copy of Dixon, Godrich & Rye, something I should have done long ago. I've presumed on the kindness and generosity of Weenies who already owned the book when I had questions regarding session dates or personnel for years. As those of you who already have the book know, it's an amazing work, and it must have taken an incredible amount of work to put it together. It's fascinating to see different players' recording careers put in a much more explicit time framework. And perhaps the most interesting feature of the book for me is the listing of songs that were either: released but have never been found, or that were recorded but never released.
In that second category, Sam Collins is notable. I thought it would be interesting to list, for a number of players, songs that they recorded but which, for whatever reason, were not released. For Sam Collins, that list of unreleased songs, and the dates they were recorded looks like this:
* From a December 14, 1927 session: Railroad Blues, I've Got No Lovin' Baby Now, and Lonesome Lane Blues, as well as Your Time Is Windin' Up, for which he accompanied John D. Fox. It seems plausible that I've Got No Lovin' Baby Now might have been the same song Sam Collins later recorded as Graveyard Digger's Blues.
* From a December 15, 1927 session: Rattlesnake Blues, Black Cat's Bone, Midnight Dream, Long Time Rubin, All Mourners, I'm Goin' Back to Jesus, and My Mother Took A Train One Mornin' and Hallelujah, with him accompanying John D. Fox on the last two titles
* From an October 8, 1931 session: Broken House Blues, Atlanta Fire, Troubled In Mind, Toenail Flang Dang (an instrumental), Flat Top Blues, Careless Love, Do That Thing, How Long How Long, and I Believe I'll Get Dirty
* From his last session, on October 9, 1931: Sad And Lonesome, Maybe Next Week Sometime, Mojo Blues, Lonesome Night Blues, Blue Heaven Blues
The listing, then, gives Sam Collins a total of 23 unissued solo recordings, as well as 3 unissued recordings on which he accompanied John D. Fox. Of Sam Collins' unissued titles, only two, based on the song titles, may have duplicated songs he recorded and did have released, Do That Thing and I've Got No Lovin' Baby Now.
Looking at the unreleased titles really sparks the imagination, and in the few instances in which one of the unrecorded titles was a version of a well-known or relatively well-known song, like Careless Love, How Long, How Long or Maybe Next Week Sometime, it's fun to try and put Sam Collins' sound in your head doing those numbers. With the one-off titles, of which there are so many, you're dealing with unknowable territory, unfortunately. Anyhow, I find this feature of D,G& R fascinating, and wonder if anyone else does, too.
All best,
Johnm
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Anyhow, I find this feature of D,G& R fascinating, and wonder if anyone else does, too.
I imagine every one of us who owns a copy feels the same way. You can exercise your imagination even more by looking for gaps in the master number sequence for a given session - there are 9 untraced masters in the Paramount sequence for May 28, 1930, when Son House, Willie Brown, and Louise Johnson were recording (though 2 of these are probably Grandma Blues and Sorry Blues). You can let your imagination run wild picturing who may have recorded what in that blank spot.
That book was last revised 23 years ago, and new information has continued to be uncovered. I know the economics of publishing aren't what they used to be, but I sure would spring for an updated book.
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I can see you're dealing with a level of analysis that hadn't yet occurred to me as a novice user of the book, dj. I will scout out that aspect of things, as well. Thanks!
All best,
Johnm
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I think about buying a copy too like I mentioned earlier. I'm working from the 1982 3rd edition now.
Maybe there's no reason to wait for the 5th edition. It might never happen.
Link to this book below;
https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=736.30 (https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=736.30)
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The one I purchased was the fourth edition.
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... Anyhow, I find this feature of D,G& R fascinating, and wonder if anyone else does, too...
Congratulations on the purchase, John. I don't own it, but have browsed through it a few times. Like you, I sometimes think about all that led up to, as well what was left out of, a recording session. The decision to record some songs and not others were A&R and marketing decisions, I assume, as I'm sure most musicians' repertoires exceeded what they recorded. And as you also pointed out in the Bertha Lee thread, the unreleased songs cause us to think that the musical world would have been much richer if they had been released, or at least, the masters preserved. Again, the business side of music at work.
I remember reading somewhere, maybe in Ralph Peer's biography, that some talented musicians knew a vast number of songs, but most had already been recorded by others and had sold well, so the A&R men only recorded their "unique" songs that they thought would sell. That may explain why we only have a few sides from those musicians who were obviously quite talented.
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I remember reading somewhere, maybe in Ralph Peer's biography, that some talented musicians knew a vast number of songs, but most had already been recorded by others and had sold well, so the A&R men only recorded their "unique" songs that they thought would sell.
And also the "unique" songs allowed said A&R men to copyright and publish those songs, which of course paid big dividends. Peer basically worked for free in exchange for those publishing rights.
Chris
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Hi Chris: There was definitely a personal economic incentive to do things that way, especially for a major player like Peer, but IIRC, there was also the consideration that it wasn't worth releasing--or even recording--a song that had already been a hit since potential sales weren't there for a version that was similar, with little to distinguish it.
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I agree, I was saying the profit was there in addition to that. That's one reason some fiddle tunes got recorded under weirdo titles – sometimes a band would want to record a standard tune and the A&R guy would say "we have that" and they'd just change the name. Of course some times weird titles got attached to tunes through the "folk process" as well.
It also was the case sometimes not just if a song had been a hit, but if it had been a hit for that label. Especially with the early hillbilly recordings there was a rush to make sure that, say, Vocalion had "Papa's Billy Goat" (by Uncle Dave Macon) since Okeh had Fiddlin' John Carson doing it. That thinking seemed to ease up over time.
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The appropriation of songs for the purpose of getting the publishing rights that you spoke of, Chris, happened in contexts other than commercial recordings, too. Think of all the songs that John Lomax "co-wrote" with Leadbelly.
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The appropriation of songs for the purpose of getting the publishing rights that you spoke of, Chris, happened in contexts other than commercial recordings, too. Think of all the songs that John Lomax "co-wrote" with Leadbelly.
Absolutely! I'm also not sure that it was always a bad thing – Peer did OK by many of his artists, for instance, certainly better than the way artists like Buddy Moss and Blind Boy Fuller were paid.
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Anyhow, I find this feature of D,G& R fascinating, and wonder if anyone else does, too.
I imagine every one of us who owns a copy feels the same way. You can exercise your imagination even more by looking for gaps in the master number sequence for a given session - there are 9 untraced masters in the Paramount sequence for May 28, 1930, when Son House, Willie Brown, and Louise Johnson were recording (though 2 of these are probably Grandma Blues and Sorry Blues). You can let your imagination run wild picturing who may have recorded what in that blank spot.
That book was last revised 23 years ago, and new information has continued to be uncovered. I know the economics of publishing aren't what they used to be, but I sure would spring for an updated book.
Being a jug band freak a section that interests me is the Index to Accompanists, which comes all the way at the end. A while back I used it to compile a list of jug and "imitation bass" players, as well as, in the following post, a discography of Alfred Elkins's career on the imb (imitation bass, or generally, washtub bass):
https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=11300.msg99742#msg99742 (https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=11300.msg99742#msg99742)
If you are interested in seeing the list of every artist that Lonnie Johnson accompanied, say, or Charley McCoy, just check their entry in this Index. If you then follow back to the discographies you can follow throuh their career, as I did with Elkins, and you get a real sense of the other musicians that they played with regularly, what companies and cities they recorded in, etc. I think it gives a richer understanding of the scene.
I remember Alan B talking about the unlikelyhood of a hard copy 5th edition being published as the obvious direction is for it to be digital and online. Who knows if someone will come forward to take up this task but it would sure make it easier to work with. I visually scanned every entry (30 pages worth) looking for a "j" or an "imb" to make the jug & washtub bass player list.
I turn to B&GR almost anytime there is a discussion on WC about the players in a specific recording.
Enjoy, Johnm!
BTW, which is the approved abbreviation: B&GR or DG&R?
Moderators: There seem to be two Tags for Alfred Elkins.
Wax
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I'm working on this song and want to suggest some changes in the Sam Collins version,
verse 3
Went to the Nations, lived town to town and the territor'
verse 4
You brushed pressed my jumper, my overhalls
last verse
The day you left me, goin' almost blind doesn't sound right, could it be gon'/won't wear no black?
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Hi Harry,
I'm pretty sure you're right about "territor'" in the first line of the third verse, though I'm just hearing, "the territor"", with no "and" preceding it. I think you're also right about "pressed" rather than "brushed" in the first line of verse four. In the final verse I'm now hearing:
The day you left me, GOIN' ON THOSE BLINDS
I write you a letter, COME SNEAKING BACK
All best,
Johnm
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Sam Collins - Signifyin Blues
'Tis a tiny thing, but I hear an extra word
She looked down the street and seen me comin'
She put that low-down DIRTY rascal out
Cheers
Tony
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Hi Tonybluesboy,
That's a good catch on "Signifyin' Blues". I have made the change, thanks!
All best,
Johnm
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Hi Harry,
I'm pretty sure you're right about "territor'" in the first line of the third verse, though I'm just hearing, "the territor"", with no "and" preceding it. I think you're also right about "pressed" rather than "brushed" in the first line of verse four. In the final verse I'm now hearing:
The day you left me, GOIN' ON THOSE BLINDS
I write you a letter, COME SNEAKING BACK
All best,
Johnm
"come sneaking back" is correct for sure. That first line, second part, really difficult to hear what Collins is singing.