Topic: Charley Jordan Lyrics

[Slack]

Welcome to WeenieCampbell da Blue!

[Rivers]

I hear "Your sister was a teddy, your daddy was a bear'. 'Teddy' pronounced 'taddy', it's the accent. In case anyone doesn't already know, it's a sidelong reference to the Dozens, the insult game, where you trash people's family.

The other line I hear as "If you wanna get the rabbits out o' the L-O-G, You got to put on the stump like a D-O-G, now". I believe "put" is probably meant to be "pull". Triple entendre? The rest of the song is pure hokum after all.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Like all but one of Charley Jordan's solo numbers, "Dollar Bill Blues" was recorded at his first session, in Chicago in June of 1930, and like all but two of the songs from that session ("Just A Spoonful" and "Raidin' Squad Blues") it was played out of E position in standard tuning, pitched slightly sharp of A.  "Dollar Bill Blues" is a very unusual number both instrumentally and in terms of its lyrics.  It is a 16-bar blues, with a notably nervous touch from Charley's right hand, which was uncharacteristic for him.  The piece it is probably closest to, instrumentally, is Lemon's "One Dime Blues", and it is not very close to it, for "Dollar Bill Blues" has a much more complex accompaniment. 
Lyrically, the song is really diffuse, all over the map, and seems most closely related to various songs from the Old-Time tradition, like Riley Puckett's "Poor Boy".  A lot of the verses are the sort you'd expect to hear Kelly Harrell or Emry Arthur singing.  "Dollar Bill Blues" is a piece I've never heard played or covered by anyone after Charley's initial recorded version, and I can see why. It's an elusive sort of song.



   SOLO

   Says, I went down to the freight depot
   Lord, the trains come a-rollin' by
   And I looked out the window, and spotted there my love
   And I hung down my head and I cried

   Cryin', "Baby, don't leave me here, darlin',
   Lord, honey, don't leave me here
   Lord, darlin', don't leave me here
   And it's, babe, don't you leave me here."

   SOLO

   But my mother and father both are dead
   My sister's in some far and distant land
   My brother's in some free sporting house
   In this World's gonna become of me?

   And it's what's gwine become of me, baby,
   Lord, what's gonna become of me?
   Lord, what's gwon' become of me?
   And it's what's gon' become of me?

   My woman give me money to play coon can
   One dollar bill was all she had
   One dollar bill was all she had
   One dollar bill was all she had

   When I set down to play coon can
   I couldn't hardly play my hand
   For thinkin' 'bout the girl I loved so well
   She's gone with another man

   She's gone with another man, baby
   She's gone with another man
   She's gone with another man
   She's gone with another man

   Which-a-way do that Red River run, baby,
   Lord, which-a-way do Red River run?
   Lord, which-a-way do Red River run?
   Which-a-way do the Red River run?

   There's some say it's both east and west, darlin',
   And some say it's both north and south
   Well, baby, it must-a be so
   When it runs by my baby's door

Edited 9/22 to pick up corrections from uncle bud

All best,
Johnm

[uncle bud]

Hi John - thanks for transcribing this. I've fooled around with several Charley Jordan tunes but not this one, mainly because it is very tricky IMO, but there are many days when I think it might be Jordan's best tune. I offer a few very hesitant alternatives.

Says, I went down to the freight depot
Lord, the trains come a-rollin' by
And I looked out the window, spotted the 'un I love

I like this and can't say for sure what I believe he's singing here, but offer as possible alternative "AND spotted THERE MY love". I think AND is there for sure.

But my mother and father both are dead
My sister's in some far and distant land
My brother's in some free sporting house
And this World's gonna become of me

Not sure, but offer as a possibility "IN this world's gonna become of me". I.e. he swallows the What of What in this world.

There's some say it's both east and west, darlin',
And some say it's both north and south
Well, baby, it must-a be sore

"must-a be SO"? Again, not sure.

[Johnm]

Thank you for the help, uncle bud.  I think you're right with "so" for the third line in the last verse--"sore" is just silly, though it sounds like what he says.  "So" makes sense, and I'll make the change.
In the first verse, it sounded like he was saying "spotted then I love", which made no sense to me.  I like the sense of your suggestion better than what I came up with and will listen again.
Your suggestion of the swallowed "what" makes sense, too.  I will make the change.  This really is a great song, isn't it?  The guitar is really intricate to be doing behind your singing.  I haven't tried it, but it sounds like it would be really tough to play and sing at the same time.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Charley Jordan recorded "Big Four Blues" two songs after "Dollar Bill Blues" on the same day, and like "Dollar Bill Blues", it was played out of E position in standard tuning, capoed up a ways.  The accompaniment to "Big Four" is spectacular, in a class with any E blues ever recorded.  When you hear how inventively Charley Jordan played in E, you don't feel at all cheated or disappointed by the fact that he played (or recorded) almost exclusively in that position--he had an enormous bag of tricks.  I love the opening line of the third verse; it seems little enough to ask.



   And that Big Four, Big Four, it's a mean old train to ride
   And this Big Four, the Big Four, is a mean old train to ride
   She took my babe away and left me dissatisfied

   Baby, it's all I want, mama, just one more crack at you
   I say, it's all I want, baby, just one more crack at you
   And if I don't make you love me, then I don't care what you do

   Please hold my head, baby, and let my whiskey run down
   Want you to hold my head, baby, and let my whiskey run down
   So as I can catch that Big Four and beat it on back to town

   When I asked that woman, Lord, to let me be her kid
   I say I asked that woman to let me be her kid
   She say, "You might get buggish, Lord, you won't keep it hid."

   SOLO

   I've got the blues for my baby, my babe's got the blues for me
   I've got the blues for my baby and my babe's got the blues for me
   'Cause she went 'n' caught that Big Four, she beat it back to Tennessee

   Just a few more days and a few more nights ain't long
   Just a few more days, baby, no, and a few more nights ain't long
   You're gonna reach for your boiler and your blade will be gone

Edited by Johnm, 5/5 to pick up correction

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Charley Jordan recorded "Two Street Blues" two tunes after "Big Four Blues", and along with "Dollar Bill Blues" and "Big Four Blues", "Two Street Blues" may be considered as comprising a sort of great triumvirate of un-played Charley Jordan tunes in E position.  "Two Street Blues" may be the most sporting of the bunch to play, for Charley fills his arrangement with very difficult-to-control bends behind his singing, bending to a unison with the open B string and a neutral blue third, between G and G# (relative to capo placement).  His pitch on the bends is beautifully controlled and is all the more impressive for not impeding his rhythmic flow in any way.  It is really spectacular playing, and in some ways is reminiscent of Robert Wilikins' playing on "Rolling Stone", though working at a much quicker tempo.
Like most St. Louis musicians of his era, Charley Jordan consistently had interesting and distinctive lyrics.  The next-to-last verse is a beauty.



   Every time I start drinkin', my babe roll 'cross my mind
   Every time I start drinkin', my babe roll 'cross my mind
   She keep my poor heart achin', you see I'm bothered all the time

   That's never was but the one thing, ever started me to drink
   Never was but the one thing, that's ever started me to drink
   Baby, and that's when I sat down, Lord, and I begin to think

   I sent for you yesterday, baby, here you come pokin' up here today
   Sent for you yesterday, mama, here you come pokin' up here today
   Babe, I just think you treat your daddy this-a-way

   I got a plumb good woman, Lord, in this town somewhere
   I got plumb good woman, Lord, in this town somewhere
   Just puttin' it down on Two Street, think I'll find my good gal there
   
   SOLO

   Well, it's down there on Two Street, that's where I always long to go
   Well, it's down there on Two Street, that's where I long to go
   Well, my baby went down on Two Street, said she wasn't comin' back home no more

   Says, the Good Lord forgive me for everything I do
   The Good Lord forgive me for everything I do
   If the Good Lord forgive me, how come my baby can't forgive me, too?

   Said, my mama told me, Lord, when I was a child
   Say, my mama told me, baby, when I was a child
   "Have you a good time now, but they gonna kill you after a while."

Edited to pick up correction from uncle bud, 9/23

All best,
Johnm
   

[uncle bud]

Thanks for highlighting Two Street Blues, John. It was one I hadn't paid that much attention to and has some very cool playing, as you say.

The most minor of changes to suggest:

3.1  I sent for you yesterday, BABY, here you come pokin' up here today

Re. Dollar Bill Blues discussed earlier. For those seeking a better transfer, there's a nice one of this on Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol. 1.

[Johnm]

Hi uncle bud,
Thanks, I didn't hear that at first, but now I do.  I'll make the change.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Charley Jordan played "Raidin' Squad Blues" out of G position in standard tuning.  The song takes its melody and phrasing from "TB Blues", with some elements from "Backwater Blues", too.  Charley Jordan sounds every bit as comfortable playing in G position as he did in E Position.  His niftiest touch here comes in the fourth bar, where he goes to a G7 before resolving to C in the fifth bar, and he voices the seventh of the G7 chord down low, at the first fret of the sixth string.



   It's too late, too late, too late, too late, too late
   It's too late, too late, too late, too late, too late
   People we're on our way to the hold-over and we cannot hesitate

   Mmmmm, these boards is killin' me
   Mmmmm, these boards is killin' me
   Say, I know I am a prisoner but I always wanted to be free

   SOLO

   When I was on my feet, I couldn't walk down the streets,
   Well, the police lookin' at me from my head to my feet
   But, ohhh, now, these raids is killin' me
   See, I want my body buried, Lordy, down in Tennessee

   Mmmmm, these raids is killin' me
   Mmmmm, these raids is killin' me
   I got the raidin' squad blues, the holds-over is killin' poor me

   When the raid began, the people begin to squall
   When the raid began, the people begin to squall
   The sergeant say, "You needn't to squallin', the captain says to bring you all."

   When I had money my friends all ganged around
   When I had money my friends all ganged around
   Now I'm in these raids, my friends have all thrown me down

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Charley Jordan recorded "Just A Spoonful" at the same June, 1930 session in Chicago that yielded all of the solo performances that have recently been discussed in this thread, all of which can be found on "Charley Jordan, Vol. 1", Document Records DOCD-5097.  "Just A Spoonful" and "Raidin' Squad Blues", are the only ones of Charley's solo numbers that were not played out of E position in standard tuning; both were played out of G position in standard tuning.  "Just A Spoonful" is the closest version of "Spoonful" to Charlie Patton's version, and this despite the fact that Patton's version is played with a slide and Charley Jordan's is conventionally fretted.  Theirs are the only two versions of the song that I've heard that employ a circle of fifths progression, and they have the same melody, too.



   SOLO

   All I crave, this Creation, is a spoonful
   Big pair of mules, little plantation, and a spoonful

   Spoonful, just a spoonful
   Just a spoonful, just a spoonful

   SOLO

   I'd smack the judge and I'd go to jail for a spoonful
   I'd go to jail, I don't want no bail, for a spoonful

   My baby says, I couldn't get that spoonful
   I said, "Look here, gal, don't you fool with me 'bout my spoonful."

   SOLO

   I walk the streets all night long lookin' for my spoonful
   Spoonful, for my spoonful

   I said, "Look here, gal, don't you fool with me 'bout that spoonful."
   It's a spoonful, just a spoonful

   My baby cried all night long for a spoonful
   She thought that she wasn't gonna get that little old spoonful

   SOLO

   Police collared me, he knocked me down for a spoonful
   I caught the train and I left this town for a spoonful

   SOLO

Edited 5/5 by Johnm to pick up correction

All best,
Johnm 

[uncle bud]

I happen to have the next two songs lying around my computer. "Gasoline Blues" was recorded September 1930, and as John notes, was one of the many songs Jordan played out of E position, capoed up. This is one I've been playing lately, which is why I can never remember Keep It Clean.   



Gasoline Blues - Charley Jordan

You can always tell, baby, when your woman gonna treat you mean
You can always tell, babe, when your woman gonna treat you mean
If you ask for a glass of water, she'll give you a glass of gasoline

Some of these women, they sure ought to be ashamed
Some of these women, they sure ought to be ashamed
They will go out and take money from a man walkin' with a walkin' cane

What makes you blow up, baby, every time I speak to you
What makes you blow up, baby, every time I speak to you
You make me think that you is full of gasoline too

I've got the trickiest woman that you ever seen
I've got the trickiest woman that you ever seen
Whenever she get mad, she blows up just like gasoline

Won't you let me tell you, pardner, what these gasoline women will do
Won't you let me tell you, pardner, what these gasoline women will do
They will stay out all night long then come home and blow up on you

Heyyy baby, you just full of gas as you can be
Baby baby, you just full o' gas as you can be
Because when you get drunk, you come home and blow up on me

Some of these gasoline women, I just can't understand
Some of these gasoline women, I just can't understand
They'll cook neckbones for their husband, they'll cook chicken for their man

[uncle bud]

"Stack O' Dollars Blues" was recorded at the earlier June 1930 session, and musically it is pretty much the same as "Gasoline Blues" (or vice versa), played out of E position and capoed up.

.

Stack O' Dollars Blues - Charley Jordan

Well it's too late to holler, baby, too late to weep and moan
It's too late to holler, too late to weep and moan
Too late to holler, great God, when that stack o' dollars done gone

Well it's mama, mama, mama, what's that you got hidden in that grip
Well it's mama, mama, mama, what's that you got there in that grip
Said, "It's nothin' but a stack o' dollars, your babe gonna take a little trip"

I'm sittin' on a stack o' dollars just as high as I am tall
I'm sittin' on a stack o' dollars just as high as I am tall
And if you be my little old baby, you sure can have them all

Well it's baby, baby, I'll tell you what I will do
Well it's baby, baby, I'll tell you what I will do
I will give you a stack o' dollars just to make one more night with you

You can mistreat me, baby, do anything you want to do
You can mistreat me, baby, do anything you want to do
Someday you're gonna want me, but your baby won't want you

Now I'm going to sing this verse, babe, and I ain't gonna sing no more
Going to sing this verse, babe, and I ain't gonna sing no more
For that stack o' dollars is worryin' me, Lord, and I got to go

[Johnm]

Thanks for saving me the work, uncle bud!  They look great.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Charley Jordan recorded "Running Mad Blues" at his second session, along with "Gasoline Blues", and those two songs were the last solo numbers he recorded.  "Running Mad Blues" has the same E position, standard tuning accompaniment as "Gasoline Blues".  As usual with Charley Jordan, there are some different twists in the lyrics.

 

   There's two freight trains, baby, runnin' side by side
   There's the two freight trains, they's runnin' side by side
   And you got my little old baby, now I guess you satisfied

   These blues I've got, babe, Lord, they're about to run me mad
   I say these blues I've got, babe, they about to run me mad
   You know, they're the worst old feelin', Lord, as ever I ever had

   And my mama told me when I was only seven years old
   And my mama told me when I was only seven years old
   She said, "When you get one year older, I'm gonna set your little old clothes outdoors."

   SOLO

   I can read and write, baby, you know I can spell your name
   I say I can read and write, babe, you know I can spell your name
   If you don't write to me, I'm gonna write to you just the same

   Lord, Lordy, Lordy, Lord
   Lord, Lord, Lordy, Lordy, Lord
   Babe, I swear I want dollar and a quarter with every cents your daddy draws

   Don't you let your baby know every place you go
   Don't you let your baby know every place you go
   Because she'll raise so much sand that you can't go back there no more

   SOLO

   When I come home this mornin', my baby asked where I, had I been
   When I come home this mornin', my baby asked where I, had I been
   Don't you know, I was scared to tell her 'cause I wanted to go back there again

All best,
Johnm