Topic: Gabriel Brown Lyrics

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Gabriel Brown recorded "Doing My Best" at a session in New York City on October 26, 1944, accompanying himself out of the A position in standard tuning.  Like many of his other songs, "Doing My Best" is a chorus blues in which Gabriel Brown starts the song with the refrain.  The song has a low-down feel as did most of Gabriel Brown's songs played out of A.  It's troubled only by his ongoing problems with tuning his guitar.  I go back and forth on how much I think it matters; it's not drastically out, but it is out enough to be a bit puckerish.




   REFRAIN:  I'm gettin' tired now, 'cause I ain't that kind of man
   I ain't gonna beg you, 'cause I'm tryin' to do the best I can

   Now, I'm a easy person, I don't have much to say
   Don't take me for a fool, baby, because I let you have your way
   REFRAIN:  I'm getting tired now, 'cause I ain't that kind of man
   I ain't gonna beg you, 'cause I'm tryin' to do the best I can

   Now, you's a lovely person, your perfection can't be beat
   But if you make your bed hard, baby, that's where you'll have to sleep
   REFRAIN:  I'm getting tired now, 'cause I ain't that kind of man
   I ain't gonna beg you, I'm tryin' to do the best I can

   SOLO:

   I'll work myself down, I've done everything I could
   The only thing I can see now is that you don't mean me no good
   REFRAIN:  I'm getting tired now, 'cause I ain't that kind of man
   I ain't gonna beg you, I'm tryin' to do the best I can

   Now, I'm between two opinions, and I don't know what to do
   But if I thought that you was right, baby, I'd go down in hell for you
   REFRAIN:  I'm getting tired now, 'cause I ain't that kind of man
   I ain't gonna beg you, I'm tryin' to do the best I can

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Gabriel Brown recorded "I'm Just Crazy" at a session on October 30, 1952, fairly near the tail end of his recording career.  He plays the song out of A position in standard tuning, and puts the guitar pretty firmly in an accompaniment role, for he doesn't even take one solo.  His guitar was not in tune for the song, as was normal for him, but it's not bad enough to make your teeth hurt, like it is on some of his performances.  After the first verse, the song evolves into a chorus blues.  Gabriel Brown almost always had original lyrics on his songs, and he delivered them well.  He does a falsetto leap on the first syllable of the second "crazy" in the tag line to his choruses.



   I've got a girl, see what she has done to me
   I've got a girl, see what she has done to me
   Got me crazy, crazy as I can be

   But I woke up this mornin', everything was turnin' 'round and 'round
   I put my clothes on, baby, but I put my pants on upside down
   REFRAIN: Hey, hey, mama, see what you have done to me
   Got me crazy, crazy as I can be

   I've had them a little thin and also nice an fat
   But I ain't had nothin' in my whole life that was stupid just like that
   REFRAIN: Hey, hey, mama, see what you have done to me
   Got me crazy, crazy as I can be

   I've got to get myself together, 'cause this love's gonna be my ruin
   I've just about reached the place now that I don't know what I'm doin'
   REFRAIN: Hey, hey, mama, see what you have done to me
   Got me crazy, crazy as I can be
   
   I always ran my own train, but that was what you see
   'Cause there's on thing sure, buddy, there's no love that's doggin' me
   REFRAIN: Hey, hey, mama (guitar finishes line)
   Got me crazy, crazy as I can be

   I admit that I am crazy, well, that's plain enough to see
   But I have found a real gone baby and she sure is sweet to me
   REFRAIN: Hey, hey, mama, see what you have done to me
   Got me crazy, crazy as I can be

All best,
Johnm
   


   

[Gumbo]

His guitar was not in tune for the song, as was normal for him, but it's not bad enough to make your teeth hurt, like it is on some of his performances.

I guess it says something that this makes me want to listen to him! 

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Gabriel Brown recorded the oddly titled "Baby, Boy, Baby" on October 26, 1944 in New York City, accompanying himself out of his favorite, dropped-D tuning.  The title seems more plausible as "Baby Boy, Baby".  In any event, it tells the tale of a street operator.  Like many of Brown's songs, it is a chorus blues, and for this number, he liked to double the chorus.  I remember reading that "gage" was Louis Armstrong's favored term for marijuana.



   REFRAIN: Baby Boy, baby, Baby Boy, baby
   I'm the Baby Boy, baby, and I'm always on the ball

   REFRAIN: Oh, Baby Boy, baby, Baby Boy, baby
   I'm the Baby Boy, baby, and I'm always on the ball

   Now, I am the hepcat of this town
   You'll find me on the corner, jack, take it on down
   REFRAIN: Baby Boy, baby, Baby Boy, baby
   I'm the Baby Boy, baby, and I'm always on the ball

   REFRAIN: Oh, Baby Boy, baby, Baby Boy, baby
   I'm the Baby Boy, baby, and I'm always on the ball

   Now, if you wanta keep straight, you've got to be wise
   You got to follow all corners, diggin' all kind of jive
   REFRAIN: Baby Boy, baby, Baby Boy, baby
   I'm the Baby Boy, baby, and I'm always on the ball

   SOLO

   REFRAIN: Oh, Baby Boy, baby, Baby Boy, baby
   I'm the Baby Boy, baby, and I'm always on the ball

   Now, if you need to fib it ain't no sin
   Just to pull yourself together and fall in my den
   REFRAIN: Baby Boy, baby, Baby Boy, baby
   I'm the Baby Boy, baby, and I'm always on the ball

   REFRAIN: Oh, Baby Boy, baby, Baby Boy, baby
   I'm the Baby Boy, baby, and I'm always on the ball

   Now, I can get tea, that stuff they call gage
   Anything I can't get, it sure ain't made, 'cause
   REFRAIN: Baby Boy, baby, Baby Boy, baby
   I'm the Baby Boy, baby, and I'm always on the ball

   SOLO

   REFRAIN: Oh, Baby Boy, baby, Baby Boy, baby
   I'm the Baby Boy, baby, and I'm always on the ball

All best,
Johnm
   

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Gabriel Brown recorded "Stick With Me" at the same October 26, 1944 session at which he recorded "Baby, Boy, Baby".  "Stick With Me" is an 8-bar chorus blues played out of A position in standard tuning, working out of the "Worried Life Blues" mold.  Gabriel Brown uses an unusual version of the A7 chord  behind his verses: 0-0-5-6-5-0, a voicing that was similarly utilized by Robert Johnson in his A position blues in the seventh and eighth bars.  (Johnson also used the position moved down in pitch one fret for an A diminished 7 chord.)  Like many players of 8-bar blues, Gabriel Brown shows a predilection for "going long" instrumentally at the tail end of the form.  At the end of the second verse and chorus, he does this to spectacular effect , riffing for seven bars (!) before going into a brief solo.  I admire Gabriel Brown's way of coming up with new lyrics all the time.



   Well, this world weren't never that way
   You've got to stick together from day to day
   REFRAIN: Don't leave me, baby
   We've got to stick together all the time

   Don't leave me, baby, you'll go astray
   I need you so much to go my way
   REFRAIN: Don't leave me, baby
   We've got to stick together all the time

   SOLO

   I want you to know, you can't never go
   My love for you, dear, you can never know
   REFRAIN: Don't leave me, baby
   We've got to stick together all the time

   Has been hard feeling and some tears
   We've had so much fun, dear, all through the years
   REFRAIN: Don't leave me, baby
   We've got to stick together all the time

   If you leave me and leave my home
   I can't help but miss you when you're gone
   REFRAIN: Don't leave me, baby
   We've got to stick together all the time

All best,
Johnm

 

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Gabriel Brown recorded "Youngster's Blues" at a session in New York City on October 30, 1952, accompanying himself out of dropped-D tuning.  The song is a real poser, for Brown's sound is notably "dirty", and his tuning is dire, even by his standards.  The sound of the accompaniment is very much at odds with the song's lyric, which is really strange, venturing into Willie "61" Blackwell territory.  He definitely was not re-treading the same old blues cliches.



   I'm gonna build me a playhouse, and I'm build it up on the hill
   I'm gonna build me a playhouse, and I'm gonna build it up on the hill
   Now, if you don't have me, I know somebody else will

   I'll have myself a sand pile, get my sand from the deep blue sea
   I will have myself a sand pile, get my sand from the deep blue sea
   I have myself some pretty little girlies to play in my sand pile with me

   We'll make some mud pies, let them bake in the broiling sun
   We'll make some mud pies and let 'em bake in the broiling sun
   I'll be arrangin' my playhouse, Lord, 'til my pies get done

   I'll have a grass rope swing, hangin' from my back yard tree
   I'll have a grass rope swing, hangin' from my back yard tree
   I'll let my little playmates push my swing for me

   I was born a playboy, 'cause my Mommy used to play with me
   Yes, I was born a playboy, 'cause my Mommy used to play with me
   She say, "You better learn how to play, Junior, or your life will be misery."

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Gabriel Brown recorded "Don't Worry About It" at a session in New York City on May 2, 1945.  He backed himself out of C in standard tuning on the song, and it works a lot of the same musical territory as did "It's Getting Soft".  Lyrically, he's working in a sort of hipster mode, and it suits him.  Every time he speaks the title phrase, he precedes it with a chordal shot that sets it off nicely.



   You could be happy all the time, you take my advice
   Broaden your smiles and lose your frowns, treat everybody nice
   You ain't got a dime, just to keep from cryin', get that off your mind
   SPOKEN: Don't worry about it!

   Well, if you don't rate, let me get you straight, don't be nobody's bait
   SPOKEN: Don't worry about it!

   SOLO

   Now you can be happy all the time if you take my advice
   Broaden your smiles and lose your frowns, treat everybody nice
   If you roamin' 'round, ain't got a friend in town, don't let that get you down
   SPOKEN: Don't worry about it!

   SOLO

   You could be happy all the time, you take my advice
   Broaden your smiles and lose your frowns, treat everybody nice
   Take life as it stands, you can't please every man, but do the best you can
   SPOKEN: Don't worry about it!

   OUTRO

   SPOKEN: Don't worry about it!

All best,
Johnm

 

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Gabriel Brown recorded "I Get Evil When My Love Comes Down", at his first commercial recording session, in New York City in 1942 or 1943 (he had been recorded by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in Florida in 1935).  Brown accompanied himself out of dropped-D tuning in D, his favorite playing position, for the song.  His playing in that position was expert and original, at least among recorded players.  He was a guy who always sounded to be playing poor instruments, real tubs of guts, and he was not overly concerned with changing or tuning his strings.  His tuning for "I Get Evil When My Love Comes Down" is better than on many of his recordings.
The song is a chorus blues, and as was Brown's wont, he starts the form on the refrain.  He allows himself a lot of space for instrumental fills at the tail end of the form and routinely goes long.  His lyrics, as most often seems to have been the case, are original to him, a relative rarity in the blues world.



   REFRAIN: I get evil, hoo, evil
   Well I get evil, baby, when my love comes down

   Now look here, pretty mama, don't start foolin' around
   I gets awful evil, now when my love comes down
   REFRAIN: I gets evil, hoo, evil
   Well I get evil, baby, when my love comes down

   Now when I come home, think I'm doing well
   Keep me from bein' in trouble, you just start to raisin' hell, now,
   REFRAIN: That makes me evil, hoo Lord, so evil
   Yes, I get evil, baby, when my love comes down

   Hey, you told me that you loved me, but that was from the start
   Now ever since we've been together, you just keep on breakin' my heart, now,
   REFRAIN: That makes me evil, hoo Lord, so evil
   Well, I get evil, baby, when my love comes down

   You better wake up, pretty mama, 'cause you can never tell
   Now I may start out swingin', 'cause I ain't doin' so well, now,
   REFRAIN: You say I'm evil, hoo Lord, so evil
   Yes, I get evil, baby, when my love comes down

All best,
Johnm
   

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Gabriel Brown recorded "I Am Just Hard Luck" at a session in New York City on December 15, 1952.  He backed himself out of A position in standard tuning.  He had a distinctive sound working in A, because he always played a minor V7 chord, E minor 7, when playing in that position, which gave his sound there a dark cast.
As was most often the case with Gabriel Brown, his lyrics appear to be his own, rather than ones drawn from the common pool of blues lyrics.  He delivers them strongly, and his way of having a lot of little interior pauses in the delivery of the lines makes them seem more conversational and less driven by meter.  This track, as with all of the tracks discussed in this thread, can be found on the JSP set, "Shake That Thing!  East Coast Blues 1935--1953", which also includes the complete recorded works of Dan Pickett and Ralph Willis.



Oh, hey, hey, somebody foolin' 'round my door
Hey, hey, somebody foolin' 'round my door
It may be my landlord, baby I sure don't know

If my landlord comes around, you know just what to do
If my landlord comes around, well, you know just what to do
Just tell him, "Monday, we gonna move away from you."

SOLO

I'm gonna start playin' the numbers, because my number just won't come
I'm gonna start playin' the numbers, because my number just won't come
I'm gonna start playin' the horses, 'cause them poor nags just won't run

Now if it wasn't for dollars, I don't know what I would do
If it wasn't for the women, I would never be blue
Now if it wasn't for dollars, well, I don't know what I'd do
Now if it wasn't for the women, Great God, I'd never be blue

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Gabriel Brown recorded "I've Done Stopped Gamblin'" at a session in New York City on October 26, 1944.  He accompanied himself in dropped-D tuning in D, his favorite playing position, for the song.  He really was quite expert in that position, and I wonder if his knowledge of the tuning was something he arrived at on his own, because there's next to no recorded precedent for much of what he played in dropped-D.  I find myself wondering, too, if Gabriel Brown's recordings in dropped-D provided the model for Lightnin' Hopkins' playing in that tuning and position, because I'm not aware of any Texas player prior to Lightnin' who specialized in dropped-D to the extent that Gabriel Brown did.



As was most often the case with Gabriel Brown's songs, his lyrics are strong and, I think, original.  He opens with his refrain, a favorite ploy of his.  He also goes long, instrumentally, at the back end of the form, as was his practice.  Something about Gabriel Brown's singing about gambling makes me think it was part of his life and not just a blues cliche for him, sort of like Leroy Carr singing about drinking.  And whether Brown had an involvement with gambling or not, the fact that I think he did means he sold his song pretty well through his singing.

REFRAIN: I done stopped gamblin', yes, I've got that off my mind
'Cause the Law of Average say that you must win sometime

Boys, I've done made up my mind and I know just what to do
That old playin' cards and shootin' crap, well I'm turnin' it all over to you
REFRAIN: I done stopped gamblin', yes, I've got that off my mind
'Cause the Law of Average say that you must win sometime

Now, I'm keepin' everything I earn, 'cause I ain't got a thing to lose
Now, before I'll gamble my money 'way, I will fire it all up in booze
REFRAIN: Done stopped gamblin', yes, I've got that off my mind
The Law of Average say that you must win sometime

SOLO

I had a box full of rabbits' feet, white elephants the other day
I got into a big-time game, they made me throw that stuff away
REFRAIN: Done stopped gamblin', yes, I've got that off my mind
The Law of Average say that you must win sometime

Now, they say you can't beat luck, keep on bettin' you're bound to win
But if the game ain't on the level, that doesn't mean a doggone thing
REFRAIN: Done stopped gamblin', yes, I've got that off my mind
The Law of Average say that you must win sometime

All best,
Johnm


     

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Gabriel Brown recorded "You Have To Be Different" at a session in New York City on May 2, 1945, accompanying himself out of A position in standard tuning.  This song qualifies as a "mystery title" for its title phrase appears nowhere in the course of the lyrics.  It should be acknowledged that this is one of Gabriel Brown's songs on which his tuning is in real toothache-creating territory, it's just brutal.  There no solos here, but lots of nice playing and ideas, nonetheless.  In places Gabriel's feel and time are reminiscent of Robert Johnson's playing in Spanish on tunes like "Stones In My Passway" or "Terraplane Blues".



REFRAIN: You just get yourself together, you can't always have your way
Times brings about changes, you will get your turn someday

I been gettin' along in this world with everyone but you
You've got to meet me halfway with everything we do
REFRAIN: Just get together, you can't always have your way
Times brings about changes, you will get your turn someday

There will be no more of this carryin' on, about you lookin' out for yourself
And you takin' the best of everything, then I have to take what's left
REFRAIN: You just get yourself together, you can't always have your way
Times brings about changes, you will get your turn someday

Now, when you needs a favor, that's all you have to say
But when I go to you, you always turn the other way
REFRAIN: Just get yourself together, you can't always have your way
Times brings about changes, you will get your turn someday

I'm gonna change my way of livin', be the meanest man in town
If you can't help me up, baby, you sure won't drag me down
REFRAIN: Get yourself together, you can't always have your way
Times brings about changes, you will get your turn someday

All best,
Johnm



 

[uncle bud]

John, I agree, toothache territory on the tuning.  A position standard tuning for me always seems to be the one that is most noticeably out of tune.

[Johnm]

I hadn't thought about it, uncle bud, but I think you're right.  He's never as foul in dropped-D as he often is in A.  He can be pretty rugged in C, too.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Gabriel Brown recorded "Bad Love" at a session in New York City on August 26, 1943, accompanying himself out of dropped-D tuning.  Instrumentally, he is working a lot of the same territory that he explored on "Going My Way", a song he recorded around the same time (though "Going My Way" is an 8-bar blues and "Bad Love" is a 12-bar blues).  Taken on a continuum with being in tune at one end and being way out of tune at the other end, "Bad Love" probably falls somewhere around the middle, out of tune for most other people, but not too bad for Gabriel Brown.  As an aside, it would be interesting to find out how Gabriel Brown became so conversant with dropped-D tuning, and whether he came up with his sound there on his own, or was influenced by another player to take it up.
As with most of his songs, "Bad Love" uses lyrics that appear to be Brown's own, rather than drawn from the common pool of blues lyrics.  This ends up being one of the real strengths of his music, though it's not necessarily something that might grab you right off the bat.



I've been thinkin' and thinkin', Lord, what am I gonna do?
Been thinkin' and thinkin', Lord, what am I gonna do?
I'm always dreamin', and won't none of my dreams come true

Did you ever love someone, and that someone didn't love you?
Ever love someone, and that someone didn't love you?
Now you just tell me what you've done, and I can do that, too

I ain't gonna cry, babe, and I ain't gonna lose a tear
I ain't gonna cry, babe, and I ain't gonna lose a tear
I haven't done any cryin' for these lonely years

SOLO

Goodbye, goodbye, baby, fare you well, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, baby, fare you well, goodbye
I can't l-love you, and there ain't no need to try

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
For "Cold Mama", recorded at a session in New York City on October 30, 1952, Gabriel Brown works out of the unusual, for him, playing position of E in standard tuning.  Perhaps his relative lack of familiarity with the position is reflected in his choice not to play any solos in the course of the rendition.  His tuning is pretty rugged, as per usual.  The song is a chorus blues, as most of his were, and the tagline of the chorus has a pretty irresistible crabbiness to it.



You say you're tired of me, baby, what in the world you gonna do?
Yes, you're tired of me, baby, what in the world you gonna do?
You claim you sick of me, mama, well, I'm sick of your cold self, too

Now when you got to bed, baby, your feet and hands is cold as ice
Asked you about a little lovin' , and you tell me it ain't no dice
REFRAIN: Now, you're tired of me, baby, what in the world you gonna do?
You claim you sick of me, mama, well, I'm sick of your cold self, too

You got a hot water bottle at your feet, a heatin' pad at your head
A great big electric blanket, spread it all over the bed
REFRAIN: And say, you're tired of me, baby, what in the world you gonna do?
You claim you sick of me, mama, well, I'm sick of your cold self, too

The you keep your wood gin old bottle on the dresser by your head
So you can get a warm milk toddy before you go to bed
REFRAIN:  And you're tired of me, baby, what in the world you gonna do?
You claim you sick of me, mama, well, I'm sick of your cold self, too

SOLO
You claim you was sick of me, baby, well, I'm sick of your cold self, too

Now if anybody should ask me about you, there ain't much I could tell
I don't believe we'd keep on, baby, if you was buildin' fires in hell
REFRAIN: Now, you're tired of me, baby, what in the world you gonna do?
You claim you was sick me, mama, well, I'm sick of your cold self, too

All best,
Johnm