Hi all, Blind Boy Fuller recorded "Black Bottom Blues" at a session in Memphis on July 12, 1939, accompanying himself out of C position in standard tuning. It came in the midst of a session in which he was, for the most part, joined by Sonny Terry and or Bull City Red. I think Fuller's accompaniment here shows a Lonnie Johnson influence, in as much as he plays a C version of Lonnie's signature lick. Here is "Black Bottom Blues":
INTRO SOLO
Say you travel water, mama, I say you travel land I say you travel water, mama, I say you travel land Yeah, you can't find nobody to love you, mama, just like the way I can
I say, you must remember, oh Lord, I once been called your friend Say you must remember, baby, I once been called your friend Hey, I believe you'd help me, mama, if you waren't in the shape you's in
I sent for you yesterday, baby, and here you come today Says I sent for you yesterday, and here you come today Yeah, mama, if you can't do better, you might as well to shake away
I got a call in Black Bottom, hey, mama, and I got to go I got a call in Black Bottom, mama, and I got to go Yeah, I wanta have a little talk, with my gal, so-and-so
Hi all, Blind Boy Fuller recorded "Painful Hearted Man" at a session in New York City on April 5, 1938, accompanying himself out of D position in standard tuning. Musically, the song strongly resembles his "Working Man Blues" and has substantially the same accompaniment. Here is "Painful Hearted Man":
INTRO SOLO
Said I was standin' at the station, waitin' on that evening train I was standing at the station, waitin' on that evening train Says my head hangin' low, mama, my heart was growing in pain
Says I get my money, and give it to you free Says I take my money, mama, and give it to you free I'm gwon tell you this morning, mama, you ain't what you intend to be
Please hurry down, sunshine, see what that morrow brings Hey, hey, see what that morrow brings May bring down my woman, ridin' on that southbound train
Mmmm-mmmm, mmmm-mmmm-mmm Hey, hey, mmmmm-mmmmm-mmm-mmm May bring down the woman I'm lovin', ridin' on that eastbound train
Yeah, feel like walkin', feel like lyin' down Said I feel like walkin', mama, feel like lyin' down You know I feel just like lovin', my rider ain't nowhere around
Yeah, went to the station, I sure didn't see no train Says I went to the station, mama, I didn't see no train Say I didn't see the woman I was lovin', no one to call for 'er name
Hi all, Blind Boy Fuller recorded "Bulldog Blues" twice, and both versions were 8-bar blues played out of A position in standard tuning. Here is the first version, which was recorded at a session in New York City on July 12, 1937. (Fuller sure became voluble when the cop asked him his right name.):
INTRO SOLO
Gonna buy me a bulldog, watch you whilst I sleep Keep these here men from makin' this early mornin' creep
I got me a bulldog, shepherd and two or three hounds Takes all them dogs to run my crooked woman down
Then I'm goin' uptown, have a talk with the Chief Police Says my gal done quit me, I can't see no peace
Says my gal went away, and she wouldn't even write to me Say that made me lonesome, worried as I can be (Spoken: What you do, boy?)
Yes, she wrote one line, and she lied that pencil down Says her heart struck sorrow and the tears come rollin' down
Hey-hey, hey-hey, Lord-Lord, Lord-Lord Lord, Lord, Lord, Lordy-Lordy, Lord
Then I feel just like snappin', my pistol in your face Let some lonely graveyard be your restin' place
SOLO
Says I was standing, on the corner, Lord, Fifth and Main Say that police rid by, said, "Tell me your right name."
Then I told him, "My name, writ in the bosom of my shirt." Says, "I'm a woman lover, sure don't have to work."
Says, "It ain't, no use, sir, set me, workin' so hard." Says, "I got too many women in the white folks' yard."
Says, "They kill that chicken, and they save me the wing." Say, "They think I'm workin' and I ain't doin' a doggone thing."
Now, bye-bye, baby, gonna leave you here myself Say you done quit me, and I gotta get me someone else
CODA
Fuller re-recorded the song again, shortly thereafter, at a session in New York City on September 7, 1937. Here is that version, and note how different the opening solo is:
INTRO SOLO
Gonna buy me a bulldog, yeah, shepherd and two, three hounds Got me two high yella women, one black and one brown
Gwonna buy me a bulldog, yeah, watch you whilst I sleep Just to keep these men from makin' this early-mornin' creep
Then I'm goin' uptown, have a talk with the Chief Police Says my woman I love quit me, I don't see no peace
She got my mind all worried, like water in the deep blue sea Says that's all right, mama, way you treat poor me
Mmmm-mmm, mmmm-mmm, mmmm-hmmm Mmmmmmmm, Lordy-Lordy, Lord
Then I feel like snappin' my pistol in your face Let some lonely graveyard be your restin' place (Spoken: Ah, play it a long time!)
SOLO
I was standing on the corner, yeah, call it Broad and Main Say that police rid by, asked me my right name (Spoken: what you tell him, boy?)
Then I told him, "My name, is written in the bosom, my shirt." Says, "I'm a woman's lover and I sure don't have to work."
Hey-hey, hey-hey, mmmmm-hmmm Says, "I'm a woman's lover, sure don't have to work."
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: November 28, 2021, 09:50:31 AM by Johnm »
Hi all, Blind Boy Fuller recorded "Where My Woman Usta Lay" at the same July 12, 1937 session as he recorded the first version of "Bulldog Blues", and like "Bulldog Blues", it was accompanied in A position, standard tuning, capoed up. The song appears to be a sort of semi-cover of "Mamie", which he recorded four months earlier. I'm perfectly happy to hear Fuller play this kind of material as often as he wished. Here is "Where My Woman Usta Lay":
INTRO SOLO
Say it was early one morning, mama, just 'bout the break of day Hey, Lord, 'bout the break of day Hey, I try to hug that pillow, where my woman used to lay
Yeah, she done gone and, sure does grieve my mind Hey, sure does grieve my mind Hey, I don't do nothin', but cry, cry all the time
Say that woman that I'm lovin', woman that I crave to see Hey, hey, woman that I crave to see Hey, my gal's in Texas and she won't write to me
Says I don't see why Papa Fuller can't be treated just right Hey-ey, Papa Fuller can't be treated just right Hey, the woman I love give me the blues, have to walk them streets all night
Says I may be wrong, mama, but I'll be right someday Hey, I'll be right someday Hey, nobody made me believe, my gal would treat me this-a way
Says she leave me all night long, I can not hear myself I say hey-hey, can not hear myself If I don't get the woman I'm loving, Lord, I don't want me no one else
Edited 11/28 to pick up corrections from Blues Vintage
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: November 28, 2021, 03:42:38 PM by Johnm »
Hi Blues Vintage, Thanks for the suggestion but there is absolutely no "l" sound at all at the front end of that line. If anything different, it would be
Hi all, Blind Boy Fuller recorded "Stealing Bo-Hog", a chorus blues played out of A position in standard tuning, at the September 7, 1937 session in New York City which also yielded the second version of "Bulldog Blues". In its intro, the song sounds like it's going to be played in C position in standard tuning based on the sliding double stop with which Fuller began it, but his resolution into A comes as a bit of a surprise. That move comes right from Buddy Moss. That having been said, you'd never mistake the rendition in the whole as being by anyone other than Fuller, as always seems to have been the case when he utilized ideas that came from other players. I'd very much appreciate help with the bent bracketed word in the final verse. Here is "Stealing Bo-Hog":
INTRO SOLO
I'm not a elephant, baby, my snout is large and round, come to see me, mama, when your love come down REFRAIN: If you see my pigmeat mama, tell 'er I said, "Hurry home." Says, some low-down bo-hog, mama, yeah, strayed my sow-pig from home
Yes, the reason why I like pigmeat, you know it's nice and sweet, my gal, she got something sure is, hard to beat REFRAIN: If you see my pigmeat mama, tell 'er I said, "Hurry home." Says, some low-down bo-hog, mama, yeah, strayed my sow-pig from home
Yes, she's large in the body, she's neat in the waist, my gal, she got something I know you would like to taste REFRAIN: If you see my pigmeat mama, tell 'er I said, "Hurry home." 'Cause, some low-down bo-hog, mama, yeah, strayed my sow-pig from home (Spoken: Ah, play it a long time, now)
SOLO (Spoken during solo: Yeah!)
Say, you get away from my window, don't knock at my door, I got me a pigmeat woman, don't need sow belly no more REFRAIN: If you see my pigmeat mama, tell 'er I said, "Hurry home." Says, some low-down bo-hog, mama, yeah, strayed my sow-pig from home
CODA
Edited 11/30 to pick up correction from banjochris
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: November 30, 2021, 10:32:45 AM by Johnm »
Hi all, Blind Boy Fuller recorded "Steel Hearted Woman" the day after recording "Stealing Bo-Hog", July 8, 1937, accompanying himself out of E position inn standard tuning. It has a very lively accompaniment that hearkens back to Buddy Moss's "Oh Lawdy Mama". I'd very much appreciate help with the two bent bracketed passages. Here is "Steel Hearted Woman":
INTRO SOLO
Says I don't see why, my baby don't write to me I say hey, hey, she won't write to me Yeah, that make me just as lonesome, blue as a man can be
Now she wrote one line, she, lied that pencil down I say hey, hey, lied that pencil down Yes, her heart struck sorrow, the tears come rollin' down
Now, my woman done quit me, come around here to stay I say hey, hey, come around here to stay Gonna get my .45 and blow her straight face away
Mmm-hmmm, Lordy-Lordy, Lord Hey, hey, Lordy-Lordy, Lord Gonna get my .45 and blow her straight face away (Spoken: Aw, play it!)
SOLO
Says my gal got a heart like a piece of railroad steel I say hey, hey, like a piece of railroad steel She passed by me this morning, didn't say, "Daddy, how you feel?"
What you want with a woman, can't cheat, beg, robbin' or steal? I say hey, hey, can't cheat, beg, robbin' or steal When you get in trouble, she can't bring you a decent meal
CODA
Edited 11/28 to pick up corrections from Blues Vintage
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: November 28, 2021, 03:46:40 PM by Johnm »
Hi all, Blind Boy Fuller recorded "Too Many Women Blues" at a session in New York City on December 15, 1937 for which he was joined on many tunes by Floyd Council on guitar and/or Sonny Terry on harmonica. "Too Many Women Blues" was a solo number for Fuller though, and he backed himself out of A position in standard tuning, anticipating the accompaniment and phrasing he would later use for "Thousand Woman Blues". In both songs, Fuller comes right in singing, without any instrumental intro at all, which was his more common practice. Here is "Too Many Women Blues":
Don't try, to mistreat me now, baby, just because I'm young and wild, mmm-mmm, woman, Just because I'm young and wild
Yes, you, must remember, that I am my mama's baby child, mmm-mmm, God knows I'm My mama's baby child
Then I know, my little woman, I know she's bound to love me some, yeah, God knows she's Bound to love me some (Spoken: Why, boy?)
'Cause she throws, her arms around me, like the circle 'round the sun, hey, God knows like the Circle 'round the sun
Then I'm going to write, me one letter, I'm going to mail it in the air, hey, God knows gwonna Mail it in the air
Says this, "People, in the world, know I got me a woman somewhere, Lord knows I got Me a gal somewhere."
Says my mama, she told me, and my daddy stood and cried, hey, Lord, and my Daddy stood and cried (Spoken: What's that, boy?)
Says, "You've got, too many women, for any man-boy of your size, hey, Lord, any Man-boy of your size."
My mama, she's dead, and my daddy, he is too, hey, Lord and My daddy, he is too
Hi all, I was surprised to find that "Weeping Willow" had never been transcribed in this thread or entered in Weeniepedia. Blind Boy Fuller recorded it in New York City on July 14, 1937, accompanying himself out of A position in standard tuning. The song has a very distinctive sound, due partly to his use of a minor IV chord. Here is "Weeping Willow":
INTRO SOLO
Lord, that weeping willow, and that morning dove That weeping willow, and that morning dove I got a gal up the country, Lord, you know I sure do love
Now if you see my woman, tell her I said, "Hurry home." (Spoken: Aw, pshaw) 'f you see my woman, tell her I says, "Hurry home." I ain't had no loving, since my gal been gone
Where it t'ain't no love, ain't no gettin' along Where it ain't no love, mama, ain't no gettin' along My gal treat me so mean and dirty, sometime I don't know right from wrong
Lord, I lied down last night, tried to take my rest I lied down last night, tried to take my rest (Spoken: What happened, boy?) You know my mind got to ramblin', just like the wild geese in the west
SOLO
Gwonna buy me a bull dog, watch you whilst I sleep Gon' buy me a bull dog, watch you whilst I sleep Just to keep these men from makin' this early-morning creep
Now if you see my woman, tell her I said, "Hurry home." 'f you see my woman, tell her I said, "Hurry home." I ain't had no lovin', since my little gal been gone
You're gwonna want my love, baby, some lonesome day (Spoken: Yeah!) You're gonna want my love, mama, some old lonesome day And it's be too late, I'll be gone too far away
Hi all, Blind Boy Fuller recorded "Corrine What Makes You Treat Me So?" at the same session at which he recorded "Weeping Willow", immediately following that song, and like "Weeping Willow", it was played out of A position in standard tuning. Fuller was soon afterward to use substantially the same accompaniment and melody for his version of "Careless Love". Here is "Corrine, What Makes You Treat Me So?":
INTRO SOLO
Corrine, Corrine, what makes you treat me so? Corrine, what makes you treat me so? Corrine, Corrine, what makes you treat me so? You done stopped me from knockin' at your door
Little girl, what have I did to you? Little girl, what have I did to you? Little girl, little girl, what have I did to you? For you to treat me just like you do, do, do
Lord, it's, Lord, have mercy on poor me And it's, Lord, have mercy on poor me Now it's, Lord, have mercy, I say, on poor me Lord, it's nothin' but trouble in the world I see
Lord, I'm going, I'm going, crying won't make me stay Yes I'm going, your crying won't make me stay Yes I'm going, and your crying, sure, Lord, won't make me stay I'm gwine stay away, all my days
Little girl, I wants to know, how can it be? Little girl, wants to know, how can it be? Little girl, little girl, how in the word can it be? You love someone and you don't love me