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Country Blues => Country Blues Lyrics => Topic started by: Johnm on June 06, 2005, 06:21:30 PM
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Hi all,
I have been particularly getting into the music of Ishmon Bracey recently, and one of his great numbers is mistitled "The Four Day Blues"; it should be "The 'Fore Day Blues". In any event, Bracey recorded two takes of it on August 31, 1928. The lyrics differ somewhat on the two takes, and I have transcribed the lyrics to Take 1 here.
Ishmon Bracey played this tune out of A position, standard tuning, though it's a misnomer to describe anything about his tuning as standard. His A string is noticeably sharp, and yet the over-all effect, for reasons I don't understand, is really strong. His accompaniment is very originally conceived. I don't know anyone else who sounded like this in A. His time is very straight-up-and-down, with an almost jerky quality somewhat like Robert Wilkins's time on "I'll Go With Her" and "Falling Down Blues". Best of all, to my taste at least, is Bracey's singing, a really fierce and intense headtone placed right behind the bridge of his nose and adenoids. He's just buzzing! This is a great track.
https://youtu.be/y-daqwj1jlo
Woke up this morning, mama, 'tween midnight and day
Woke up this morning, mama, 'tween midnight and day
I reached for my sugar and the fool had stoled away
Worried now, mama, and I can't be worried long
Worried now, mama, and I shan't be worried long
Mama, 'fore I'd be treated, be on the county farm
Wouldn't treat a dog, babe, like you treat me
Wouldn't treat a dog, babe, like you treat me
Wouldn't treat a dog, babe, like you treat me
Woke up soon this morning with my face all full of frowns
Woke up this morning, mama, with my face all full of frowns
I didn't have no sugar now to squeeze up in my arms
Mama, that's all right, sugar, that's all right for you
That's all right, mama, that's all right for you
Well you know you got me just the way you do
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Another great Ishmon Bracey number is "Trouble Hearted Blues". It was recorded on the same date as "The Four Day Blues", and is likewise played out of the A position in standard tuning (pitched as though with a capo on the second fret). Like "Four Day", it has two takes, the first of which was never issued prior to its appearance on the great old Yazoo anthology, "Jackson Blues".
It is an amazing cut, both instrumentally and vocally. Like "Four Day" it combines conceptual originality with a relatively simple accompaniment technically that ends up providing a great backdrop for Bracey's singing. The tuning on "Trouble Hearted Blues" is even weirder than on "Four Day"--on Take One, the first four strings are pretty well in tune, the A string is sharp, and the 6th string E is flat. On Take 2, The A and E strings are a little better in tune, but the first and second strings are less well in tune with each other. Ishmon accelerates markedly during the course of both renditions.
I would put Bracey's vocal on this tune very near the top of the heap as far as Country Blues singing goes. He sounds as though he was closing his mouth on the consonant sounds that end words like "long", "in", etc., but continuing to move a lot of air and sort of hum/buzz.? The effect is remarkable, and descriptions can't begin to get you close to the sound.
The song's form is one of a kind. It is sort of an 8-bar blues, but Bracey stretches phrase lengths throughout to accommodate however long he wishes to hold the note ending the phrase. I can think of no better example of a vocal driving the phrasing, and providing justification for varying phrasing throughout a tune.
I prefer Take 1, though the tuning is a little farther off the norm. It's a bit more deliberate sounding, and I particularly like Bracey's slowness towards the front end of the song. Bracey's swallowed mode of enunciation makes transcribing the lyrics a challenge.? You may hear some of these differently, and if you do, I would be very interested to know what you hear.
https://youtu.be/4p2yehSHzqU
Down so long, down don't worry me
I been down so long, Lord, down don't worry me
Don't b'lieve I'm sinking, see what a hole I'm in
You don't b'lieve I love you, Lord, think what a fool I've been
Went to the graveyard, fell down on my knees
Hollered, "Lord have mercy from this lonesome place."
Went to the graveyard, peeped in my rider's face
Says, "I love you rider, Lord, just can't take your place."
Thousand people (sp. Lord have mercy!) 'round the burying ground
Just to see them won't you, Lord, let my rider down
Felt so sorry (sp. Rock, Church, Rock!) 'til they let her down
Lord, my heart struck sorrow, tears come rolling down
Tell me, mama, (sp. unnh, unnh, unnh) what's the matter now?
Tryin' to quit your daddy, Lord, and you don't know how
Tell me mama, on your worried mind
Times don't get no better, mama, babe I'm gwine, I'm gwine
Give this one a listen. It is most definitely NOT like everything else out there. Does anybody know if Bracey was recorded in his post-rediscovery period? By all accounts, he was doing religious material only, like Robert Wilkins. I would love to hear anything by him from that period.
All best,
Johnm
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These look good to me John. I think I might hear "girl" instead of "lord" in the first two verses.... not that it makes any difference.
Interesting to compare the two takes. #2 includes a couple of different verses toward the end -- but I thought it was interesting and a bit odd that within the first set of verses shared with #1 he uses the same spoken parts, but on different verses -- that "unnh, unnh, unnh" sure is a weird utterance, eh?
Cheers,
slack
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Hi John D.,
I know what you mean about the spoken asides. You sort of expect them to be the most spontaneous aspect of the performance and to have them repeated intact, but matched up with different verses in the different takes is kind of surprising. I had a hard time with the "Lord" in the early verses. At first I thought he was saying "don't" and doing a kind of stammering thing, but then distinctly heard him say "Lord" in the later verses and so thought he might be doing it throughout the song. It is sure hard to hear.
Could you get the tail end of the verse beginning "If anybody ask you, who wrote this song . . ." in Take 2? I haven't figured that one out yet. Boy, what a sound Ishmon Bracey made.
All best,
Johnm
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You sort of expect them to be the most spontaneous aspect of the performance
Yes, everything is mix and match -- including the spoken asides!
"If anybody ask you, who wrote this song . . ." in Take 2?
I'll give a closer listen this evening...
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Howdy all, Listening to take 1 of Trouble Hearted Blues; to me it sounds like he sings, "Trying to please your daddy" (not quit). "But you don't know how". Which would suggest that this song is about a love triangle where his mistress is the one that died and if his regular can't get it together, "I'm Gwine, I'm Gwine.
About the spoken asides. They may haved been added by Charlie McCoy as suggested in "Blues And Gospel Records..." by Dixon & Godrich. If you listen close; it does sound like a different voice.
I didn't see any record of him recording after the Paramount sessions in 1930. Also, I've always seen his name spelled as Ishman rather than Ishmon.
I've always preferred his solo sides, rather than the sides recorded with Charlie McCoy, as I also preferred Tommy Johnson's solo sides. No disrespect to Charlie McCoy, but the solo sides always seem so much more personal and its amazing to hear how each of these guys structure their guitar accompaniment to go along with their vocal phrasing. I especially like Bracey's guitar work on Four Day Blues and Johnson's guitar work on Canned Heat Blues and Big Fat Mamma Blues. In each of these its like the guitar phrases and the vocal phrases are two different songs layered one over the other to create one incredible piece.
Finally Johmm, I really appreciated you posts about Peg Leg Howell. Personally, I think he is underated. Great guitar and very versatile. One of my favorites of his for great guitar work and vocal phrasing is Turtle Dove Blues.
One other thing, I think that one of the reasons that these guys often speed up the tempo is that the recording engineer may have signaled them to pick it up or they would run out of time. In any case, it often seems to add the quality of the performance.
Later, Phil
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Hi Phil,
Thanks very much for your thoughts. You and I may the only people who feel this way, but I agree with you about preferring both Bracey's and Tommy Johnson's solo guitar accompaniments to those on which they are joined by Charlie McCoy (though I like Charlie's mandolin playing with Bracey). Charlie's guitar playing on "Big Road Blues" and "Saturday Blues", and especially his predilection for noodly tremolo take up a lot of sound space from solo guitar parts that would be better by themselves, in my opinion. I've been working on Bracey's part for "Saturday Blues", and it is unbelievably cool (and partially drowned out).
I got the spelling Ishmon from David Evans's notes to the Yazoo "Jackson Blues" album, in which he indicates that it was Bracey's own preferred spelling of his name.
I can hear the word "quit" very clearly in the verse in "Trouble Hearted", and I can hear neither the p nor the s sound from "please". That, combined with the fact that the line, "tryin' to quit your daddy and you don't know how" is a Blues lyric cliche, make me think that's what Bracey was saying.
I think you may be right about the engineers or A & R guys hurrying musicians to fit a song in, so that renditions accelerate. I know on Furry Lewis's "Mistreating Mama Blues", he stops so abruptly he sounds like he got the hook. Some players just speed up, too. Mance Lipscomb always sped up, and he was from the LP era where song length was not an issue.
I'm glad you like Peg Leg Howell, too. I think he was great. Can you post an mp3 of "Turtle Dove"? I can't get the Juke.
Thanks for joining in the discussion, Phil. I've got some more on the way.
All best,
Johnm
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About the spoken asides. They may haved been added by Charlie McCoy as suggested in "Blues And Gospel Records..." by Dixon & Godrich. If you listen close; it does sound like a different voice.
Hi Phil, thanks -- yes, it does sound like a different voice and would explain the oddity! ... I can quit scratching my head now...
cheers,
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Hello John, I don't know how to do an mp3 or whatever it is, but if you want to email your address I can burn a CD of Turtle Dove Blues and mail it to you. The other side of Turtle Dove is also great "Waking Blues" (sic). I presume they meant "Walking Blues". I also have some other nice Peg Leg material. I use an old CD burner and i don't know how to burn a CD with a computer.
I think your right about these guys speeding up the tempo. Sometimes it probably was a signal from the engineer to speed it up but a lot of the time it was just part of the performance. Peg Leg speeds up "Turtle Dove Blues" and it works beauitifully. However, I think most of these Blues guys were lucky to get a chance at a 2nd take, as the recording companies did not want to spend a lot money on masters for Country Blues performers. It seems to me that I read somewhere that was one of the reasons there are so few Tommy Johnson recordings; because of his alcoholism, he had a tendancy to screw up masters which the record companies did not think it was worth the expense of new masters. But don't quote me on that.
I listened to "Trouble Hearted Blues" and your probably right about "quit" rather than "please" but on my record, which is a like new copy, it sounds like there is a "P" in there but your right about no "ese". You'll have to admit, my version would be a lot more intriguing.
So you're saying that Bracey said "call me Ishmon". That's good enough for me.
Later, Phil
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Hi all,
Perhaps Ishmon Bracey's greatest numbers was "Woman, Woman Blues", which must be counted as one of the strongest 8-bar blues ever recorded. ?Bracey played it in E, standard tuning, and each verse is followed by an instrumental interlude which is like an advertisement for the benefits of putting an unwound G string on your guitar. It is great playing, abounding with extreme bends, and free strumming and brush strokes from both thumb and fingers; a real showpiece.
Bracey's vocal on this one is hair-raising. He sings the first half of the second line of each verse in a rasty falsetto, resolving to full voice for the conclusion of the line. His vocal placement makes transcription of the lyrics really tough. I will put lyrics I question in bent brackets, but you may hear other changes you would like to make.
https://youtu.be/q93xoUj5iGY
Woman, woman, woman, woman
Lord, what'n the world you trying to do?
Baby, the way you treat me
Break my heart in two
I got a woman, good little woman
She's got coal black, curly hair
Now and every time she smile, Lord,
Lightning's everywhere
Now I got a woman, good little woman
She ain't a thing but a stavin' chain
See, she's a married woman and I'm
Scared to call her name
Treat me like, treat your baby
Won't you take me, 'round and 'round?
Says when you let me down, Lord,
Take me down and 'round
Now these blues, blues ain't nothin'
Lord, but a doggone hungry spell
Got no money in your pocket and you
Barely keep it here
And I went, went to the depot
Lord, I read up on the board
Says your baby ain't here she's a
Long ways up the road
I got to settin', settin' down studyin'
'Bout my old time used-to-be
Lord, I studied so hard 'til the
Blues crept up on me
In the first verse, "cause the way" would make perfect sense, but it really sounds like he's saying "crazy baby". I really like the last verse. I started re-reading the section on Bracey in Gayle Dean Wardlow's "Chasing The Devil's Music". It's fascinating and quotes Bracey at length. Thanks for any help with the lyrics.
All best,
Johnm
Edited to add: I got the title of Wardlow's book wrong. It should be "Chasin' That Devil Music".
Re-edited to make lyric changes as per Frank Basile's suggestions.
Re-edited 6/2/05 to make change in fourth verse.
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Just a reminder about Chasin' That Devil Music. It does have postwar recordings of Bracey, of a sort: a couple brief interview segments. I sure would love to hear the rest of those interview recordings.
Woman, Woman is my favorite Bracey tune I think, although Saturday Blues is right up there. Bracey seems to have been one weird dude, but when he nailed things he was as mesmerizing as Skip James.
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I think most of these Blues guys were lucky to get a chance at a 2nd take
In the 1920s, before the Depression hit, when everyone had lots of money and a hit Blues record could sell tens of thousands of copies, second takes were common practice. But once the depression hit and a thousand copies of a record was a good sale, record companies quickly eliminated second takes. See Dixon and Goodrich's Recording The Blues. Second takes by no means completely disappeared. It's interesting that second takes survive of so many of Robert Johnson's songs, even though the first takes are always at least acceptable, and Johnson was a comparative nobody at the time he recorded.
Even Paramount probably did two takes of a song through 1929, though most unissued takes were been lost when the pieces of the company were sold off.
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Hi all,
One of Bracey's early recorded numbers was "Leavin' Town Blues", for which he was joined by Charlie McCoy on mandolin. As with "Trouble Hearted Blues" and "Four Day Blues", two takes survive, and also as in the case with those two songs, the takes are not identical with regard to tempo or lyrics.
Bracey plays Take 1 of "Leavin Town Blues" out of G position in standard tuning, pitched around A, which would make it a very good mandolin key. (Take 2 is pitched higher, closer to B flat, and since the two takes were recorded the same day, it seems likely that the tempo of one of the takes was altered. I would guess Take 2.) Bracey's playing is strong here, and sounds like it may have provided the model for Tommy McClennan's style of playing in G. The integration of the guitar and mandolin parts is really good. This would be a great mandolin/guitar duet to work up, and it is not exactly suffering from over-exposure.
Bracey's vocal sounds great but is not quite as extreme in it's tone as on "Trouble Hearted Blues" and "Four Day Blues", recorded later in the same day.
https://youtu.be/nJE8gHG-We4
Now, tell you, mama, now, I'm sure gonna leave this town (2)
'Cause I been in trouble ever since I sot my suitcase down
Now you don't believe I'm leavin', just watch the train I'm on (2)
Now you don't believe I'm [looking?], just count the days I'm gone
Now, I ain't gonna be your, your teasin' brown no more
Mama, and I ain't gonna be your, your teasin' brown no more
Sugar, the way you do me, you make my blood run cold
Now, 'fore I stay here, mama, and be treated this-a-way
Mama, 'fore I stay here, now, and be treated this-a-way
Now I let some freight train [stole?] me every day
Mmmm, Lord, oh Lord, oh, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord (2)
Now the woman I'm lovin;, she treat me like some mangy dog
Now, looky yonder, sugar, where the risin' sun done gone
Mmmm, looky yonder, sugar, where the risin' sun done gone
I'd be way over here mama, a long ways from my home
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Another duet pairing Ishmon Bracey on guitar and Charlie McCoy on mandolin was "Brown Mama Blues". Like "Leavin' Town Blues", it was played by Ishmon in G position, standard tuning. Once again it is strong playing, although it is more oriented towards single string runs than "Leavin' Town Blues"
https://youtu.be/RpGqpgMqe58
Won't you tell me, mama, mama, what have I said or done? (2)
Woman, you treat me like my trouble just begun
Mmm, mama, mama, mama, there's something worryin' me (2)
I ain't caring none of my best woman, it's my old time used-to-be
Now, you be my rider and I'll tell you what I'll do
Girl, would you be my rider, woman, I'll tell you what I'll do
I will rob and steal and I'll bring it home to you
See the sun went down, now, and left me lonesome here
See the sun went down, mama, and left me so lonesome here
Ah, the sun went down, left me so lonesome here
Take this lonesome place don't seem like home to me
Mama, this lonesome place don't seem like home to me
And this lonesome place don't seem like home to me.
Lord, it's soon in the mornin' gonna be my leavin' here
Mama, it's soon in the mornin' gonna be my leavin' here
Lord, it's soon in the mornin' be my leavin' here
All best,
Johnm
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I've been listening to "Woman, Woman" since last night - I don't hear anything terribly different from your take on it. I think "Crazy baby" sounds like what he's saying in the first verse and although a couple of sensible alternatives suggest themselves ("'cause the way", "Baby, the way"), it doesn't sound like anything "sensible!" At the top of the third verse, I hear "Now" rather than "Yonder" and "ain't a thing" rather than "ain't anything." Jeez - the next verse... he could be singing "down, Lord" rather than "down there," but I can't say for sure. The next line could be "down and out"... if he is singing "around" there, he's leaving off the 'a' - singing just "'round." The rest seems right to me, near as I can make out - it's almost like he sings without opening his mouth. His voice just resonates directly out of his head! Great song - when he lights into that interlude between the verses - man... that's just incredible. And the last verse is a killer!
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Woman Woman is a great song - the falsetto is very effective, and the free/minimalist guitar-behind-singing works great. My favorite lines are "got a good woman, and every time she smile, lightning's everywhere". Great imagery - can't help but look, aware (afraid?) of the raw power ...
tom
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Hi all,
Yes, I agree with you Tom and Frank, for me, "Woman, Woman" is about as good as it gets in Country Blues. I would really be fascinated to know how Bracey got his vocal sound--the placement of that buzzy head tone is just amazing--like he kept singing with his mouth shut, but still able to enunciate--how? The guitar interlude is kind of terrifying, too. Thanks for the lyric help, too, Frank. I think "Now got a woman" is definitely correct as is "ain't a thing". I made the changes in my post.
This is one of the performances you encounter from time to time that makes me reflect on how unbelievably fortunate we are that this music was recorded and that copies of the recordings have survived into our time. What were the odds? Of course, there were many outstanding musicians who were never recorded (and that is still the case), but the legacy of those who did make it onto records is incredibly rich. When I hear a song like this, or Lemon singing "Right Of Way", or Garfield Akers doing "Cottonfields", I just feel lucky.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
"Left Alone Blues" is a duet Ishmon Bracey did with Charlie McCoy playing guitar. It was recorded the same day they recorded the great and much-covered "Saturday Blues". On "Left Alone Blues", both Bracey and McCoy are playing out of G position in standard tuning. Bracey keeps his accompaniment pretty close to the same basic pass throughout the rendition, and McCoy takes a much more free-form approach in his accompaniment, moving from bass runs to tremolo in the treble strings, using a flat-pick to achieve many mandolinistic effects. Bracey's vocal is terrific; on the last verse he gets a kind of bleating effect that has to be heard to be believed. What a great, expressive singer!
https://youtu.be/3iBonWB8cBo
(Instrumental opening line)
I say the woman I'm lovin' caught that train and gone
Got the lowdown blues, and I sure won't be here long
Now I went to the station, fold my arms and moan
I say I went to the station, fold my arms and moan
Ask the operator, Lord, "Long my rider been gone?"
Let me tell you what that Southern train will do (2)
Take your last dollar, Lord, blow black smoke on you
Ain't got no special, got no triflin' kid
I ain't got no special, ain't no triflin' kid
Ain't got nobody, mama, be a-bothered with
Lord, take me, rider, train me to your hand
Please take me rider, train me to your hand
Slip me in your darkest corner, woman, hide me from your man
You don't want me, rider, please don't dog me 'round (2)
Just like you found me you sure can put me down
Ask you to forgive me, rider, now if you please (2)
Mama, if that don't do I fall down on my knees
All best,
Johnm
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Hi everyone. This has been a great thread and I've learned a great deal about two of my favourite artists. Johnm, you should do a DVD about these guys! I've always thought that neither Bracey nor Tommy Johnson are as 'popular' [ within the modern country blues community ] as they deserve to be from the quality of their playing and singing; although songs such as Big Road Blues, Canned Heat and Saturday Blues are in most enthusisasts' repertoire, their more obscure songs do deserve to be better known: I'll be going back to them after this weeked (which will largely be taken up with a celebration of my son's graduation from university) with added vigour...
I know what you mean by getting exasperated with Charlie McCoy [ he became a much better musician when he took up harmonica ;D ].For years I've been trying to work out the guitar part to one of my all-time favourite blues, TJ's Cool Drink of Water but McCoy's work keeps getting in the way. Incidentally, I keep searching the net to see if there's TAB available for this song and there doesn't seem to be any - surprising when you consider what an influence it's been, at least lyrically. Anybody got any? Pretty please!
Best to all,
Gerry C
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Hi Gerry,
Thanks for the good words. The thread has been fun for me, too. For many years, I didn't place lyrics very high on the scale of interesting aspects of Country Blues, but paying more attention to them has been really rewarding. It's interesting to me how Ishmon Bracey moved so fluidly between common lyric conventions and truly individual expressions within the style. As for an instructional video, I'm afraid Bracey might be a kind of tough sell. He was a wonderful musician but perhaps of a kind that resists popularization (though I will do my best). Tommy Johnson is a good candidate for an instructional video, I think. It has been a long time since I listened to "Cool Drink Of Water" with an ear toward playing it, but I will give it a listen and see what comes of that.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
The last solo number that Ishmon Bracey recorded was "Suitcase Full Of Blues", recorded on the same day as "Woman, Woman Blues". "Suitcase Full Of Blues" was played in Spanish, and as noted on the "Adventures in Spanish" thread, it combines a similarity to Teddy Darby's "Built Right On the Ground" in its first four bars with a similarity to "I Will Turn Your Money Green" in the latter part of the form. It's phrasing employs a "stammering" archetype. It's hard to believe that Bracey only recorded four solo tunes: "Trouble Hearted Blues, "Four Day Blues", "Woman, Woman Blues" and "Suitcase Full Of Blues", though there are two takes of "Trouble Hearted" and "Four Day". Every re-issued version of "Suitcase Full of Blues" that I have heard is whupped, and it still sounds great. I would be interested to know how many copies of it are in the hands of collectors; maybe it is one of those records of which only one copy has been recovered. Any help with the last verse would be greatly appreciated. It is really tough to hear, and I am pretty much stymied.
https://youtu.be/H8y-jFGr9RQ
Hand me down my suitcase and reach my walkin' cane, walkin' cane, Lord,
Down my suitcase, reach my walkin' cane
Lord, my [ ? ] girl quit me, catch that mornin' train
Now I thought I'd write, but I b'lieve I'll telephone, telephone, Lord,
Thought I'd write, b'lieve I'll telephone
Lord, I thought I'd write but I b'lieve I'll telephone
Now if you catch me stealin', please don't tell on me, tell on me, Lord,
Catch me stealin', please don't tell on me
'Cause I'm stealin' to my regular used-to-be
I woke up this mornin' had the blues all 'round my bed, 'round my bed, Lord,
Up this morning, blues all 'round my bed
I couldn't help but to think 'bout what my good girl said
I got a house full of trouble and got a suitcase full of blues, full of blues, Lord,
House full of trouble, suitcase full of blues
I never seen no trouble, see, 'til I start with you
Gonna leave here walkin', Lord, and talkin' to myself, to myself, Lord
Leave here walkin', talkin' to myself
I'm gonna take my baby or I'll carry somebody else
It's hard, hard, hard, I say, it's hard, hard, it's hard, Lord
Hard it's hard,babe, say it's hard, it's hard
Says a no good woman, another man got your gal
Edited 11/17/05, to pick up lines from dj
Edited 11/19/05 to pick up lines from MTJ3
Edited 11/23/05 to pick up lyrics from Uncle Bud
All best,
Johnm
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Hello Johnm,
According to No., 78 Quarterly, 1989, there were 4 known copies of "Woman Woman Blues/Suitcase Full Of Blues" on Paramount 12970, the best being a E- copy owned by Steve LaVere. I don't know if the E- copy ever got reissued, but as you know, even E+ Paramounts can sound pretty rough. Maybe others have turned up since that have not been reissued, but certainly not too many.
Phil
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Hi Phil,
Thanks for the information. I've been thinking recently that it might be really interesting to do a census on the rarest old country blues 78s, how many of them there are, who has them, etc., but I suppose there are probably some collectors who are kind of flying under the radar. That would make such a project difficult or ineffective.
All best,
Johnm
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Here is the Concordance (http://www.dylan61.se/MTBluesA_C/Michael%20Taft,%20Blues%20Anthology%20with%20Index%20by%20Artist%20A-C.htm#_Toc71652050)
take on 'Suitcase Full of Blues" -- he struggles like the rest of us mortals.
Suitcase Full of Blues
Grafton, Wis., c. Mar. 1930
(L‑240‑1) Pm‑12970 Her H‑201
Hand me down my suitcase : *reach* my walking cane
*Know* my mother *treat me* : catch that morning train
Well I thought I'd write : but I believe I'll telephone
Now if you catch me stealing : please don't tell on me
Because I'm stealing : to my doggone used‑to‑be
I woke up this morning : had the blues all around my bed
I couldn't help but to think : about what my good gal said
Now I got a heart full of trouble : and a suitcase full of blues
I never seen no trouble : babe till I *stopped* with you
I'm going to leave here walking Lord : and talking to myself
I'm going to take my baby : or carry somebody else
It's hard it's hard : it's hard *to get out of this* town
*Get* another ??? :
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Hi Phil,
Thanks for the information.? I've been thinking recently that it might be really interesting to do a census on the rarest old country blues 78s, how many of them there are, who has them, etc., but I suppose there are probably some collectors who are kind of flying under the radar.? That would make such a project difficult or ineffective.
All best,
Johnm
Hello again Johm, Actually 78 Quarterly? magazine has been doing a census of the rarest 78's? from A to Z over about the last 20 years or so from many of the best known collectors in a few areas such as Country Blues, Jazz, Piano, Skiffle, etc. It's been a highly imperfect and controversial census but nonetheless a lot of fun to follow. Since they started many years ago with A thru C and just recently finishing with W thru Z, many of the records have changed hands and many other copies of certain rare records have turned up and some that were thought to be rare are probably not so rare. Still the standard for a rare record is pretty high (maybe 10? or less known copies) and even scarce records (say, maybe 50 known copies or less) certainly don't turn up very often. I look for 78's all the time at garage sales, flea markets, and auctions and almost never find anything that comes close to being a rare record.
There are a relatively small group of pioneer collectors of 78's (myself not included, as I'm a relative Johnny come lately) that I think, whose contribution has been highly underrated, regarding the preservation and discovery of the great 20's and 30's music that we hear on Weenie Campbell? and that you guys like to play. Most of this music is drawn from reissues that are made from dubs from these collectors records. And back when these guys started collecting, they had to learn from long hard experience and dedication, as there wasn't the mountain of reference material that the modern collector has at his disposal today. And another thing about 78 collecting; you can't dismiss anybody. There are Sons Of The Pioneers instrumentals that will knock your socks off. So, you really have to listen to about everything.
My personal mentor is a guy named Bill Thompson, who I think started collecting before 1950 . He never ceases to amaze me with the records he has or knows about. Anyway, when people listen to these records on Weenie Campbell, they should not only appreciate the great musicians they hear, but give a little nod to those pioneer collectors that have helped keep this music alive.
Phil? ? ? ? ?
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Hi all,
I've been away a little while, and am continuing to tweak earlier lyric transcriptions with minor changes to "Woman, Woman Blues" and "Suitcase Full Of Blues". Thanks for the lyrics heads up on "Suitcase", John D., I got one good word out of it. I agree with you, Phil, on the thanks we owe the early collectors. It must have really been exciting tracking these records down before anybody knew what all had been recorded. As far as that goes, I'm sure it is still really exciting to turn up a recording by a favorite musician.
Probably Ishmon Bracey's best-known number was "Saturday Blues", a duet with Charlie McCoy on guitar that was recorded at his first session. Both guitars are played in E, standard tuning, and Bracey's guitar part was especially outstanding, with a very unusually syncopated use of the thumb in the right hand. Mississippian bluesman transplanted to Indianapolis, Shirley Griffith, also did a great cover of this song in which he re-worked the registration of Bracey's guitar part by transferring his bass runs to the treble.
The lyrics to "Saturday Blues" have a complicated system of scansion. The tune with lyrics that seem to work most closely to those of "Saturday Blues" is Charlie Jordan's "Hunkie Tunkie Blues", though I'm sure there are others that I haven't thought of or heard. I don't know of any other song that makes reference to the cosmetics of the era like verse five does, either.
https://youtu.be/zS_7oxl5j-w
Now you tell me, mama, do you think that's right, you're with your kid all day and run to me at night
With your kid all day and run to me at night
With your kid all day and run to me at night
Now, my regular woman totes my pocket change and my sometime woman wants to do the same, and you
Better not let my regular catch you here
Don't never let my regular catch you here
"Cause there t'ain't no tellin, what she might do now, she might cut you and she might shoot you too, now,
She might cut you, she might shoot you, too
Lord, she might cut you, she might shoot you, too
Now, she's the meanest woman that I ever seen, and when I asked for water gaveme gasoline, now
Asked her for water, gave me gasoline
Lord, asked for water, gave me gasoline
Now, if you want your woman to look like the rest you buy her high brown powderand Palmer's Skin Success, you buy her
High brown powder, Palmer's Skin Success
Buy her high brown powder, Palmer's Skin Success
Now, I've got 4 or 5 puppies and got one shaggy hound, it takes all them dogs to run my women down, it takes
All them dogs to run my women down, takes
All them dogs to run my women down
Repeat last verse.
All best,
Johnm
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I am working up Woman Woman and have listened to it many times recently. Comments on the lyrics:
Weird as it is, I also hear "crazy baby" very clearly. "'Cause the way" makes much more sense, but there is no way this is what he's saying (too many syllables).
First word in the 3rd verse does not sound like "now" to me at all. Compare it to how he sings the word "now" within the 2nd verse - not at all similar. What I hear in the 3rd verse is "Don't got a woman". I realize everywhere else he does got a woman, so why now don't he a got a woman? But he follows it up by saying "she ain't a thing but a stavin' chain" - so it actually makes sense to say "don't got a woman", meaning "I don't have a woman, what I have is a stavin' chain".
The 4th verse, the word you have as "let" is really tricky. Doesn't really sound like "let" to me, even though that works. My best hearing is actually "learn", but I could also put "love" there. I realize neither of those make sense... The last word could either be " 'round" or "out" - not way to decide. Basically, I would probably just leave this verse as you have - good as anyone could do, I suspsect.
The last verse I hear " 'til these blues", not "the blues". Minor point. I also hear "kept up on me". As in many places in the song "crept" obviously makes more sense, but I don't hear an "r" sound. Probably he is saying "crept" - I point it out just in case someone else out there knows that the phrase "kept up on me" was common idiom or something!
tom
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Hi Tom,
Thanks for the input. I have listened so much to this tune, it is getting pretty deep in there. I agree--the first word in the third verse does not sound like "now" to me. It sounds more like "Yond'", as in short for "yonder", which is what I thought it was in the first place. He definitely does not say "yonder", though, and it sounds more like "don't" than "now". In the fourth verse, I previously had "love", but "let" fits the back-end consonant sound better, though the vowel sound is weird. In the last verse, I hear no concluding "s" sound between "the" and "blues", and can hear "crept" pretty clearly, though he swallows the "r" a bit. I think when you get as close as these lyrics are now (or even less close) you can choose to opt either for sense over what seems phonetically most accurate, or vice versa. Even in the realm of what makes most sense there would seem to be a lot of room for different interpretations.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
On "Bust Up Blues", Ishmon Bracey is joined by clarinetist Kid Ernest Michall and pianist Charlie ".44" Taylor. Together they made up the New Orleans Nehi Boys.? Bracey indicated a deep respect for the musicianship of both Michall and Taylor in his interviews with Gayle Dean Wardlow in "Chasin' That Devil Music". Both players are very strongly featured (much more than Bracey) on "Bust Up Blues", with each playing several choruses. Kid Ernest's big speciality, according to Bracey, was imitating laughter, which the crowds they played for really loved, but he also shows off some slick slap-tonguing. Charlie Taylor sounds like a technically accomplished player (Bracey rated him higher than Little Brother Montgomery), particularly fond of repeated octave runs. His time has a sort of "nervous" feel, somewhat akin to Skip James's on piano, though less pronounced. Bracey is himself very hard to hear on the cut, but he sounds to be playing out of a C position in standard tuning (the song is in Eflat), and gets off some nifty bass runs. Bracey also refers to a "yo-yo dress" in the novelty number, "Too Damp To Be Wet", that he did with Charlie Taylor. I am not at all certain I have the tail end of the first line of the last verse right--it's awfully hard to hear. Any help would be appreciated.
https://youtu.be/S_P6ABoQM_8
Woke up this morning, couldn't even walk in my shoes (2)
My best girl quit me, she left me with those Bust Up Blues
When you see two women runnin' hand in hand so long (2)
Bet your BVDs, something is goin' on wrong
Bought you a yo-yo dress, brought pantses, hose and shoes
Bought you a yo-yo dress, baby, brought pantses, hose and shoes
That's the thanks you give me, you left me with those Bust Up Blues
Bracey's vocal on this is a far cry from his singing on "Trouble Hearted Blues" or "Woman Woman Blues". On "Bust Up Blues", he may almost be said to be crooning. Of course, with Kid Ernest and Charlie Taylor, the sound is more uptown altogether.
Edited 9/6 to pick up lyric changes from dj and John C.
All best,
Johnm
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John M,
We're really running in parallel this weekend - I was listening to this in the car last night while going to pick up a pizza, trying to really hear the lyrics on this and the rest of Bracey's Paramount sides. It's pretty rough going.
I think you've got the words mostly right. I wouldn't have believed the "yoyo dress" if it hadn't been repeated in Too Damp To Be Wet. The one part I hear differently from you is the first two lines of the last verse. I hear "Bought you a yoyo dress, [?] patches on your shoes"
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Hi dj,
Thanks for the input. After re-listening many times, the line in question sounds like "patches, hose and shoes", which I am pretty dubious about in terms of making sense. What I suspect is that the first part of that line we're having a hard time hearing may be making a reference to some other fashion craze of the time, like a "yo-yo dress". I'm going to keep trying. I'll post if I have any blinding flashes of light. I love these songs, but boy, are they whupped.
All best,
Johnm
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John M.,
It's funny how suggestable one's ears are. After you suggested "patches, hose, and shoes" I listened again and now I hear what could be "pantses, hose, and shoes", which actually makes some kind of sense. There's a syllable before "patches/pantses" which I heard as "put" when I thought it preceded "patches on your shoes", but which now I can't quite make sense of. "Good", maybe, as in "good pantses, hose, and shoes". But that's just a guess based on the vowel sound.
"Whupped" is exactly the right word for those Paramount records. Poorly recorded, poorly pressed, and poorly preserved. Still, you've got to give Paramount credit, they got the music right!
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I'm not listening to the recording, just trying to make sense of what you guys are hearing. Could the word dj is hearing as "put" be a quick"bought". Then what dj hears as possibly "pantses" could be "pantsies" (for "panties"). This would make the line:
"Bought you a yoyo dress, bought pantsies, hose and shoes"
I'll try to listen to it later.
Man, you're killin' me cranking out all these lyrics, John M, it's really great. I imagine you scheduling one song a day as a sort of aural/mental excersize. Not a bad idea.
All for now.
John C.
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Hi all,
Well, dj and John C, I just listened to it again, and I think it is
"Bought you a yo-yo dress, brought pantses, hose and shoes"
In other words, she was pretty fully equipped. I'm going to make the change. I think "pantses" is brilliant, got us over the hump.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Ishmon Bracey recorded the inexplicably-titled "Family Stirving" in 1929, with backing from Kid Ernest Michall on clarinet and Charley Taylor on piano. What was the title meant to be--"Family Starving", "Family Striving", what? In any event, the song, like all of those featuring Kid Ernest and Charley, features their instrumental work much more prominently than Bracey's. To Ishmon's credit, he is playing in B flat in standard tuning without a capo, in a style somewhat like that employed by Walter Vinson on many of the Mississippi Sheiks tunes that were played in flat keys. Ishmon sounds pretty adroit here, with lots of nifty connecting bass runs, and makes you feel that his claims that Louis Armstrong wanted him to play in his band might not simply be wishful remembrance.
The condition of the recording is brutally bad, so bad that I cannot get the "A" line in the first verse, which in a song that only has three verses is a pretty serious shortcoming. At different times, the opening line has sounded to me like
The longer I live
The girl I love
Livin' on the levee
It does sound like the last word in the line is "moan" or morn", both of which could work okay with the end of the tag line. I'll post the rest of what I have of the lyrics in the hope that some other Ishmon Bracey fan out there with fresher ears than I have will be able to decipher that verse line. That would be great!
https://youtu.be/nUsYBAqF9WE
The room I live in has 'sturbance every morn (2)
See, some low-down man has stole my gal and gone
Talkin' 'bout mercy, he don't know what mercy means (2)
He know anything about mercy, baby, he'd have mercy on me
I've got a long tall mama, little old mama, too (2)
I ain't gonna tell my long tall mama what my little old mama do
Edited, 11/15, to pick up line from dj
All best,
Johnm
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Hi, John. After listening to the first two lines a couple of dozen times, I think the title of this song was supposed to be "Family 'Sturbance", with 'sturbance being a colloquial pronunciation of "disturbance". As close as I can get to the first two lines is:
The [ ] I live in has 'sturbance every morn
The word in brackets is really a mystery to me. Sometimes I think it starts with an L, and other times I think it could be "room".
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Well, good on you, David! I had heard the two syllable sound in the second half that sounded a little like "stirving", but it really does sound like "sturbance", which also makes sense in the context, as you say. In the repetition of the line, he does sound like he's saying "room", though in the first half it does sound like a word beginning with an L. What you've come up with is so much better both in terms of sense and matching the sound than anything I had in the same spot. Way to hear and interpret, thanks! I will make the change.
All best,
Johnm
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Excellent detective work David!
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Hi all,
Like "Family Stirving", "Pay Me No Mind" was recorded in 1929 by Ishmon Bracey with the backing of Kid Ernest Michall on clarinet and Charley Taylor on piano. "Pay Me No Mind" is pitched in A flat, and Ishmon is playing in G position, standard tuning, so he was either tuned a half-step high or capoed at the first fret (or the speed of the recording was compromised). The more I hear of Ishmon's early playing in G, standard tuning, the more I feel like he provided the model for Tommy McClennan's playing in the same position. The song is a 12-bar blues with lyrics in the common AAB format. When Charley Taylor switches to the IV chord in the fifth bar, Ishmon stays at home with the I chord. The effect is not jarring, and kind of makes you wonder, as do several Sleepy John Estes tunes where the ensemble is not playing chord changes together, just how important the harmonic component of country blues is.
As with "Family Stirving", I am stuck on the first line of the first verse, and would appreciate help with it. I like the third verse, and have not heard another like it.
https://youtu.be/7171tN3R1ok
Have you woke up in the morning, full of worry an' moans?
Have you woke up in the morning, deep in worry 'n' moans?
Your best girl quit you, left you alone
Got a brownskin woman, just about as I need (2)
Now, the reason I say it, Lord, she's just sweet to me
When she stroke my face, she make my fever rise
When she rub my head, she make my fever rise
When she stroke my stomach,she soothe my appetite
Now, I had me a woman, didn't mean me no good
I once had me a woman, didn't mean me no good
Now I got me another woman, best in the neighborhood
Edited 11/17, to pick up line from dj
All best,
Johnm
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I agree 100% with your observation about the affinity between Bracey's and McClennan's playing. It seems too strong to be mere coincidence, but I don't know that anyone has ever connected the two directly or indirectly.
The first verse is confounding. The problem for me is that I hear an "s" in the first line not in the second line and a "b" second line not in the first, and I can't connect the dots. The missing words in the first line sound to me like "always in," and those of the second line like "be weary and." I guess the first line could be "all weary," but then how to explain the "s"? If "weary" were the word, "moan" would have to be elided "moaning." "Weeping and moaning" would be logical and fit neatly into the standard stock phrase, but I just don't hear "weep."
How the title fits the song is another good question.
Great work. Good luck.
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The first verse is confounding.? The problem for me is that I hear an "s" in the first line not in the second line and a "b" second line not in the first, and I can't connect the dots. The missing words in the first line sound to me like "always in," and those of the second line like "be weary and."? ?I guess the first line could be "all weary," but then how to explain the "s"?? If "weary" were the word, "moan" would have to be elided "moaning." "Weeping and moaning" would be logical and fit neatly into the standard stock phrase, but I just don't hear "weep."?
When Family Stirving appeared on a 1983 Wolf LP somebody reviewing it made the suggestion that the first line (and its repeat) was something along the lines of being worried so long, singing a worried moan and the third about having stole his girl and gone. Trouble is this is from memory and I can't for the life of me recall exactly what the transcription was or where it was proposed. It may yet come to mind but not earth shatteringly important if it fails to.
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Thanks for your observations on the "A" line of the first verse of "Pay Me No Mind", MTJ3. I agree, it is really tough to hear. Part of the problem I think, is that in the repetition of the line, Bracey does a kind of combined glottal stop and strangled yodel that makes the line sound great, but ends up making it almost a total dead loss in terms of intelligibility. I think the way to go is probably just to work off of the first singing of the line. It's not at all unlikely that Ishmon sang the repetition of the line with slightly different lyrics, too. Like Sleepy John, he often changed his lines slightly in the course of repeating them; in this song he does that in the third and fourth verses, so your thoughts about an "s" sound in the first line and a "b" sound in the second may be right on the money.
All best,
Johnm
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For the first two lines of "Pay Me No Mind", I'd vote for "full of weary moans" in the first line and "Deep in weary moans" in the second. There's a bit of an extra sound in the second syllable of the word I hear as "weary" in the first line - it may be that Bracey was actually singing "wearyin'". In fact, on further review, I guess I'd go with "full of wearyin' moans" in the first line. I agree that there's a bit of an "s" sound on the f in "full", but I think it's just Mr. Bracey blowing a little air on the start of the word.
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Hi, John. Thanks for revisiting this thread. You've got a knack for picking out old blues players thst have been unjustly ignored by history. I sure wish Ismon Bracey had recorded some more in the late 1930s. It would be interesting to see where he went with his music. He certainly had a talenmt for putting together interesting, coherent, and surprisingly original lyrics.
Looking back through this thread, I see you never finished the last verse of "Suitcase Full Of Blues". May I suggest that that the last 2 lines are:
Hard it's hard, babe, say it's hard it's hard
There's another woman, another man's got your [yard?, job? ?]
Not sure about that last word, maybe someone can make better sense of it. I think the penultimate line is correct. For the last line I'm not absolutely certain about "There's", but I think it fits the sound better than the "Got" that you currently have there. Though "Got" makes more sense! I feel really confident in "another man's got your" (with Bracey taking a breath or otherwise pausing between "a" and "nother"), but I just can't hear (or imagine) what that other man's got.
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Hi David,
Great work again! I think, after your post and re-listening several times, that what Bracey is saying in that first line of Pay Me No Mind" is "full of worry an' moans", both because the vowel sound is more like "worry" than "weary", but also because I think the sense of it is less strained. I am good for "deep in worry an' moans" for the repetition of the line, too. Amazing!
Your solution for the end of "Suitcase Full of Blues" is dead on the money, I would say. It's so easy to hear once someone points it out for you. I do think the last word in the line is "job". It makes sense.
I really like getting these transcriptions cleared up. There was a great Soul hit in the '70s by Betty Wright called "The Clean-Up Woman" (one of the best rhythm guitar parts ever). If you keep figuring out the fugitive lines in these lyrics, we're going to have to start calling you the "Clean-Up Man"!
All best,
Johnm
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A few suggestions on "Suitcase Full of Blues"
1. In the third line of the first verse, replace "mother" with "good girl" such that the line is:
"Lord, my good girl quit me, catch that mornin' train."
2. In the first line of the sixth verse, insert "Lord" after "walkin'" such that the line is:
"Gonna leave here walkin', Lord, and talkin' to myself, to myself, Lord."
3. In the third line of the sixth verse, replace the "and I'll" with "or" such that the line is:
"I'm gonna take my baby or carry somebody else."
4. I hear the third line in the last verse (with a velar initial in the last word, such that it can't reconcile "job") as:
"There's another woman, another man got your gal."
I would like "there's" to be "get," but I can't completely justify it phonetically.
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Hi MTJ3,
Thanks for the finds on "Suitcase Full Of Blues", you have some good ones there.? There definitely was a "Lord" missing from the first line of the next-to last verse.? Likewise, I think the "and" in the last line of the next-to-last verse is an "or", as you say (and it makes better sense), though I still hear it followed by a semi-swallowed "I'll".? "Gal" as the last word in the last verse sounds dead on the money, and also makes better sense.?
As weird as it is in the context, I definitely think "mother" is the right word in the last line of the first verse.? Bracey uses the phrase "good girl" clearly in the last line of the fourth verse and it sounds nothing like the two syllables in question in the first verse.? I originally had "mama" in this place in the first verse, and was told that the Blues Concordance had the lyric in question as "mother", which I thought was nuts.? I went back and listened, and felt, "You know, he is saying "mother", though it is strange here."
Those are excellent corrections, it's really difficult working with such a whupped record. I sure wish Bracey had recorded more in Spanish, because this is a terrific song.
All best,
Johnm
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Johnm,
Re: Suitcase Full of Blues
I'm as whupped trying to figure this out as the record sounds. Here was my thinking on "good girl" in the first verse. True that he sings "good girl" later on in the song; I didn't hear the pronunciation as different, but the articulation of the words certainly is (the first being, to be charitable, more "indistinct" than the second). I do not hear a bilabial or a dental fricative as the consonants in the "mother" word. The consonants are so mangled that it's hard to tell what they are, but I wouldn't rule out a velar. The final does not sound to me like a "pure" "r," but more like a retroflexed "r" that you would hear in an "rl" combination.
OK, until someone re-issues an E of this one, I'm finished with it (or it's finished me), except to say that (1) this is a really powerful song, in terms of both the music (vocal and instrumental performance, tuning oddities aside) and the lyrics, and (2) it's such a good idea--especially for an instrumentalist--to transcribe lyrics to appreciate the "whole package" of the artist and the song.
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Hi MTJ3,
I couldn't agree more with your concluding points. There were a lot of uninspired blues lyrics out there, but when they are good, they can be so good. And of course, they are the reason why a song does what it does in terms of phrasing. I'm having a lot of fun trying to hear them, that's for sure, and can use all the help I can get.
All best,
Johnm
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I'm with MTJ3 on the "good girl" in the first verse of "Suitcase Full Of Blues". There's too much of a break between the syllables for the word to be "mother" or "mama". On my Document CD, there's a particularly nasty bit of noise over the first syllable, but I think the second syllable starts with a hard sound that's much more like a "g" than a "th" or an "m". I like the "gal" at the end of the last line, though it sounds more like "gol" to me! I agree that the first word in the last line SHOULD be "Get", though I really think I hear an "r" in it.
I guess if Paramount couldn't be bothered to keep the sawdust from their furniture making out of their record shellac, we really can't expect them to have done a second take of a song because the performer didn't enunciate some of the words clearly. Hey, I'm mighty impressed that we now have a transcription of the lyrics that's at least 98% correct. Given the strong regional dialect of the performer, the primitive recording conditions, the lack of care Paramount showed in their recording and manufacturing, and all these records have gone through in the last 75 years, it's amazing we can get that far.
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Leavin' Town Blues Take 2
Comparing the lyrics of takes 1 and 2 is instructive. According to B&GR, take 2 was the issued take. He starts both takes with an instrumental break. The break toward the end of take 1 is not played in take 2. The first, second and fifth verses of take 2 are substantially identical to those of take 1. In verse 3 of take 2, Ishmon stumbles a bit and forgets the line. Verse 6 of take 2 is substantially the same as verse 4 of take 1. In verse seven of take 2, Ishmon substitutes "evening" for "rising" (in verse 6 of take 1); the imagery of the setting sun is, to my mind, more appealing for that verse.
Ishmon's use of diminished chords in this piece (although mitigated by McCoy's playing, which I generally admire greatly) makes it, IMO, as "weird" as anything Skip James ever recorded. If the recording values had been better on these sides, it would be less work to get to the meat of Ishmon's music, and he would probably be much more highly regarded.
https://youtu.be/Rk2QcUTpdho
Leavin' Town Blues-2
[Instrumental break]
Now, tell you, mama, now, I'm sure gonna leave this town.
Mmm, tell you, mama, now, I'm sure gonna leave this town.
'Cause I been in trouble ever since I set my suitcase down.
Now, you don't believe I'm leavin', just watch the train I'm on. (2x)
Now, you don't believe I'm ducking, just count the days I'm gone.
Now, I got me ????.she's already trained.
Now, I got two ponies, and they's already trained.
All you have to do is just tighten up on the reins.
Now, I love my sugar, now, I tell the world I do. (2x)
Now, I believe sometime that fool's gotta [gonna?] love me too.
Now, Lord, oh, Lord, oh, oh Lord, oh, Lord, oh, Lord.
Mmm, Lord, oh, Lord, oh, oh Lord, oh, Lord, oh, Lord.
Now, the woman I'm lovin' treat me like a mangy dog.
Now, 'fore I stay here, mama, 'n' be treated this a way.
Mmm, 'fore I stay here, mama, be treated this a way.
Now, I let some freight train stow me every day.
Mmm, look a yonder, honey, that evenin' sun done gone.
Mmm, look a yonder, honey, mama, honey that evenin' sun done gone.
I came way over here, mama, a long ways from my home.
Modified November 26, 2005
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Just listening to Suitcase Full of Blues again. I'm hearing "something girl" in the first verse, but not "good girl". It does sound like it begins with an "m" and if I was to simply transcribe what I'm hearing with no regard for sense, I'd hazard a guess at "must girl". That made me think it's possibly "best girl" but I don't hear the "b" sound. Perhaps he started saying "mama" but switched to "best girl" at the last moment. (!!? :P)
I'm also hearing in the last line of the last verse:
"There's a no good woman, another man got your gal" or possibly "Says a no good woman..."
Apologies, MTJ3, if I've sent you back to the tune by commenting late on this one.? ;D? I agree - it's a real powerful song. It also sounds relatively easy to learn. I'm going to give it a shot.
Re: Leavin' Town take 2:
In the stumble in verse 3 it sounds like he says "Now I got me a woman..."?
In the last verse I hear:
Mmm, looky yonder mama where that, that evenin' sun gone down.
Mmm, looky yonder mama where that, that evenin' sun gone down.
I [came?] way over here mama, a long ways to my home
Also an amazing tune. I think I need to figure this one out as well, as it is just too cool, but it's trickier...
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Hi all,
Great work, MTJ3 and Uncle Bud!? The transcription of "Leavin' Town Blues, Take 2" looks pretty much spot on, MTJ3, the only difference I hear is another "mama, honey" in the first line of the last verse.? Re Bracey's use of the partial diminished seventh, you're right, it certainly sounds gnarly in the context.? It reminds me of how Lonnie Johnson and Blake use the chord sometimes:? as a vehicle for slightly colored chord melody passages, with the melody on the first string, rather than filling any kind of harmonic function normally associated with diminished seventh chords.
I think you've got the front end of the last line in "Suitcase Full Of Blues" right, Andrew.? "Says a no good woman" sounds right to me and makes better sense than "There's another woman".? Amazing!? I finally heard "girl" in the first line, though I still hear it preceded by a word beginning with "m".? I've made the changes.? "Mother" never made any sense there, anyway.
I realized yesterday that part of the magic of this tune is in the way Bracey phrases the first line and transitions to the second.? Without showing all the lyrics, he does it as follows.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?, Lord,
|? ? ? I? ? ? ? ? ? ? |? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? I? ? ? ? ?|? ? ? ? I + 2 beats? ?|
Bracey precedes the interjectory "Lord" at the end of the first phrase with a litle pause, and then sings it right across the bar line transitioning into the second phrase.? He is perfectly consistent in his phrasing of this throughout the song, and his placement of that "Lord" creates a tremendous rhythmic impetus and tug into the second line.? Genius!? This is in a class with Lemon's phrasing in "Bad Luck Blues", I think.? What a treat.
All best,
Johnm
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Johnm and Uncle Bud, Thanks for the corrections to Take 2 of Leavin' Town Blues.
UB, I have several guesses as to what I think Ishmon was saying or intended to say in his "mystery caesura," but I just can't hear anything sufficiently definite there. I'll keep listening.
Regards
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"Brown Mama Blues"--Take 2
https://youtu.be/yrMX73-uIuk
Won't you tell me, mama, mama, what have I said or done? (2x)
Woman, you treat me like my trouble just begun.
Now, mama, mama, there's something really worryin' me.
Mmm, mama, mama, mama, something worryin' me.
I ain't care none of my best woman, it's my old time used to be.
Now you sun went down, mama, left me lonesome here.
See the sun went down, now left me so lonesome here.
Ah, the sun went down, left me so lonesome here.
Now, I ain't gonna be teasin' brown no more.
Mama, and I ain't gonna be your teasin' brown no more.
Mama, and the way you do me, sure gonna make me go.
Now, it's hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
And it's hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
I didn't know my rider would treat me this a way.
[Instrumental break]
Take 2 was, according to B&GR, the issued take. The first two verses of Take 2 are substantially the same as those of Take 1. The third verse pf Take 2 is similar to the fourth verse in Take 1. The fourth verse in Take 2 is similar to the third verse of Take 1 of "Leavin' Town Blues." Both takes of this song end in an instrumental break.
More anon.
Regards.
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Hi all,
"Jake Liquor Blues" was recorded by Ishmon Bracey with Charley Taylor and Kid Ernest Michall, the "New Orleans Nehi Boys", on piano and clarinet, respectively. Unlike the other songs recorded with this line-up, Bracey's vocal and the song's lyrics assume a more featured role here. Bracey is playing out of C, in standard tuning, and gets some terrific bends into the C note that is normally played at the first fret of the second string, much like those of Blind Blake on "Seaboard Stomp". Since you can't really bend a note that is already at pitch and have it stay at pitch, it seems most likely that Bracey (and Blake) were using unwound third strings and bending the fourth fret of the third string up to the C pitch. It is a great sound, and is one of the very few ways to get a really low-down sound in C, standard tuning.
The song's lyrics refer to the potential after-effects of having drunk adulterated Jake liquor. Apart from the characteristic skittering sort of hopping limp ("Jake leg"), Jake could also cause impotence. There is a thread deep in the Jam Session on this that references an article that appeared in "The New Yorker" a couple of years ago, and that dealt with the Jake scare in detail. The article was fascinating, and actually identified the Boston-area gangsters who were responsible for the bad Jake.
Like all of the songs with this personnel, lyrics are really hard to hear, and I would sure appreciate some help to clear up a few of the places. As usual, lyrics or patches I have a question about are enclosed in bent brackets. In verse three, I believe Ishmon pronounces "numbness", "numbness".
https://youtu.be/fqbC9ygwne8
Jake liquor, Jake liquor, what in the world you tryin' to do? (2)
Everybody in the city messed up on account of drinkin' you
I drank so much Jake, it settled all in my head
I've drank so much Jake, until it settled all in my head
I rushed for my lovin', my baby turned her back to me
That's the doggoned diseases, ever heard since I been born (2)
You have numbiness [sic] in front of your body, you can't carry any lovin' on
Aunt Jane she come a-runnin', tellin' everybody in the neighborhood
Aunt Jane, she come runnin' and screamin', tellin' everybody in the neighborhood
That man of mine got the limber trouble, and his lovin' can't do me any good
The doctor told me to tell you somethin', for your own cravin' on this Jake (2)
If you don't quit drinkin' that poison Jake you're drinkin', it's gon' leave you with the limber leg
Edited to pick up corrections from dj, 12/6
All best,
Johnm
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The song's lyrics refer to the potential after-effects of having drunk adulterated Jake liquor.? Apart from the characteristic skittering sort of hopping limp ("Jake leg"), Jake could also cause impotence.? There is a thread deep in the Jam Session on this that references an article that appeared in "The New Yorker" a couple of years ago, and that dealt with the Jake scare in detail.? The article was fascinating, and actually identified the Boston-area gangsters who were responsible for the bad Jake.
Was indeed fascinating here's the bibliographic reference:
Baum, Dan. ?Jake Leg: How The Blues Diagnosed A Medical Mystery? The New Yorker (15 Sep 2003), 50-
and fwiw a few earlier writings on the subject:
Harder, Kelsie B. ?The Jake Leg? Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin v27 n3 (Sep 1961), 45-47
Morgan, John P.; Tulloss, Thomas C. ?The Jake Walk Blues: A Toxicologic Tragedy
Mirrored In American Popular Music? Annals Of Internal Medicine v85 n6 (Dec
1976), 804-808. Reprinted in JEMF Quarterly v13 n47 (Autumn 1977), 122-126.
Reprinted in Old Time Music v28 (1978), 17-24
Morgan, John P. Jake Walk Blues. USA: Stash ST-110, 1977
Cohen, Norman. ?Jake Walk Blues? JEMF Quarterly v15 n55 (Fall 1979), 191
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Hi, John. What a great set of lyrics! Here's what I hear:
Verse 3:
You have numbness in front of your body, and you can't carry any lovin' on
Verse 4:
That man of mine got the limber trouble,...
The other bracketed parts I think you've got right.
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Hi David,
Thanks for the help! It is a great set of lyrics, and Ishmon really delivered them with some power. I sure wish he had recorded more, either in the '20s or '30s or the '60s. Perhaps those '60s recordings he did for Gayle Dean Wardlow may come out some day. I believe that like Rev. Wilkins, he recorded only religious material in the '60s.
All best,
Johnm
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I sure wish he had recorded more, either in the '20s or '30s or the '60s.
It seems that Bracey probably did record more, at least in the '20s and '30s. I was just paging through Gayle Dean Wardlow's Chasin' That Devil Music, and noticed that Wardlow quotes Bracey as saying that he recorded a total of 18 songs during his Paramount sessions. Six were vocal backed only by Bracey's guitar. Two of these were issued, so four titles, including "Doodleville Blues", may yet be found someday as white label test pressings in someone's attic, or even as issued records, since I believe there are still a few Paramount record numbers from late 1929 through the company's demise that have never been found and whose artist/titles remain unknown. That means there were 12 songs recorded with the New Orleans Nehi Boys of which four were issued, leaving eight "to be discovered".
Bracey also claimed to have recorded three sides around 1932. The titles included "Oh Lordy Mama" and "Come On In, Ain't Nobody Home But Me". The company that did the recording remains unknown, though Vocalion did do a field trip to Jackson Mississippi in 1935.
We can only dream...
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Perhaps those '60s recordings he did for Gayle Dean Wardlow may come out some day.?I believe that like Rev. Wilkins, he recorded only religious material in the '60s.
They don't appear in the Bob Laughton & Cedric Hayes mammoth 2 volume Post War Gospel Records, so can only surmise Wardlow didn't furnish them with the details for inclusion.
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Hi all,
I believe Wardlow may have shopped his '60s recordings of Ishmon Bracey around (I don't know how much), and not gotten any takers. I have no idea of how much material it is, whether an album's worth of songs, or just one or two. Whatever the case, I would love to hear the music.
Re your comment on how many unreleased/undiscovered titles Bracey had among his early recordings, David, I recall reading somewhere that Sam Collins had a shocking number of tunes that had been recorded and unreleased, something like 14 songs. Does anyone know if that is true?
All best,
Johnm
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I recall reading somewhere that Sam Collins had a shocking number of tunes that had been recorded and unreleased, something like 14 songs.? Does anyone know if that is true?
You ain't kidding, 26 to be precise - 12 Gennett titles and 14 ARC. One of the ARCs turned up on a Yazoo's Lonesome Road compilation in 70s and given the title of My Road Is Rough & Rocky but in a review of the LP it was suggested it was infact Toenail Flang Dang. Without looking out the review I can't for the life of me recall by whom or on what evidence this was based
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Thank you Thank you very much ....
I have been looking for his lyrics now for a long time - and his recordings - and now I have found this true country blues website...
How do I get the time to read/study all this?
Never mind - I start now.
Are all his lyrics on "paper" now?
Have they found any unknown recordings anywhere since 2005?
Hi Ejler Svendsen, Copenhagen
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Welcome Ejler - glad you found us!
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Hi, John. After listening to the first two lines a couple of dozen times, I think the title of this song was supposed to be "Family 'Sturbance", with 'sturbance being a colloquial pronunciation of "disturbance". As close as I can get to the first two lines is:
The [ ] I live in has 'sturbance every morn
The word in brackets is really a mystery to me. Sometimes I think it starts with an L, and other times I think it could be "room".
Reviving this thread just to mention, since it wasn't mentioned here as far as I can tell, that the Mississippi Blacksnakes (aka Bo Carter, Charlie McCoy, Sam Chatmon or "Sam Hill" aka Walter Vinson) recorded a song with completely different lyrics called "Family Disturbance (Family Troubles)" 19 January 1931. So it seems to be a title, at least, that was floating around.
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Thanks for that information, Andrew. It makes dj's original sussing out of "'sturbance" from "stirving" all the more impressive to me. Good work, guys!
All best,
Johnm
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That's funny, I always thought the right title should be "Family Acknowledge." >:D
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At the risk of driving everyone nuts...
Ive been working on a Bracey tune- and whilst I had the cd in the computer, I thought I'd have another listen to the puzzling lyric in the first verse of woman woman in Transcribe. I slowed it down, eq'd out the guitar etc.
I absolutely agree that it is "Crazy baby", but the next bit (which we currently have as "you treat me" has another syllable to my ear. I think I hear "Used to treat me"- could this be it?
Changes the meaning a bit- perhaps hes saying that once she treated him (as in being good to him, rather than mistreatment) but now she breaks his heart in two?
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Hi Slim - Gave this a listen and actually I am not hearing "crazy baby" at the moment. What I hear is
Baby the way you treat me, break my heart in two
The "you" is sung as a two-syllable word, "you-hoo" or "you-oo", to my ear.
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One quibble with the generally fine transcription of "Woman Woman Blues" posted on this thread (see excerpt of relevant verse below): I don't think he can be calling his gal a stavin' chain. That term is used in blues in such phrases as "I can pick it up and shake it like stavin' chain" or as a name that a bluesman calls himself. Maybe Bracey is calling her a "screaming thing" or "screaming Jane"? I invite others to try to understand what he's saying, I can't quite get it, but it doesn't sound quite like "stavin' chain" even if that did make sense. Thanks!
Now got a woman, good little woman
She ain't a thing but a stavin' chain
See, she's a married woman and I'm
Scared to call her name
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Re: "Woman Woman" -- Still can't figure out that "screamin' thing" or whatever, please help with that.
And also I hear "Baby baby" instead of "Crazy baby."
And the first line of the fourth verse I believe is "Treat me like treat you, baby" instead of "Treat me like, treat your baby." That letter and comma make a significant difference in meaning. He is asking her to "Treat me like I treat you," not treat me like you treat your baby. Thanks! Chezz
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I've listened numerous times over the past day or so and I hear "stavin' chain" myself pretty clearly. For what it's worth, in Barrelhouse Words, Stephen Calt actually uses this song as one of the examples of the usage of Stavin' Chain. He writes, "A figure in Southern black mythology associated with sexual prowess, eccentrically invoked above (i.e. in the Bracey lyric) in reference to a female, either to suggest like prowess or to indicate that her only utility is sexual." He also notes "In American slang, staving stood for very strong or excessive since c. 1850." It's an explanation I can accept, given that I actually hear Bracey sing "stavin' chain" myself.
I agree that the first line of the fourth verse is "Treat me like, treat you, baby" i.e. treat me like I treat you. (I'd leave the comma in myself to indicate the missing word, or perhaps preferably, transcribe it as "Treat me like... treat you, baby".)
And I still hear:
Baby the way you treat me, break my heart in two
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He also notes "In American slang, staving stood for very strong or excessive since c. 1850."
I found this interesting enough to investigate further. FWIW on page 2230. volume four of A Dictionary Of American English compiled at the University of Chicago 1944, 1959 second impression (OUP) there's an entry denoting a handful of early usages thus:
Staving, a. and adv. [1621] Big, immense; excessively. - 1862 N.Y. Tribune 7 Feb. 5/6 A staving dram put him in a better humor. 1884 MARK TWAIN' H. Finn xv, This one was a staving dream. 1898 F. H. SMITH C. West 594 They was stavin' good to her. 1902 HARBEN A. Daniel 91 He got blind, stavin' drunk
Not that it get us anywhere.......so let normal service resume.
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Thanks Bunker, that's a stavin' handy new adjective to use in polite company. I tagged it.
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Staving, a. and adv. [1621] Big, immense; excessively.
Very interesting, BH. It makes me wonder if Bracey might be singing "Stavin' jane", though I admit I can't quite grasp what he would mean by that. ::)
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Hi all,
Re-listening to this yesterday, I thought it was possible that Bracey was saying, "She ain't nothin' but a stavin' shame", which would have the advantage of rhyming with the line that follows but one, "I'm scared to call her name". It is true that Stavin' Chain is a semi-mythical character who exists sort of independent of the slang dictionary definition of "stavin'".
All best,
Johnm
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OK, I have a new take on this verse:
Now these blues, blues ain't nothin'
Lord, but a doggone hungry spell
Got no money in your pocket and you
Barely keep it held
So "held" replaces "here." Better rhyme, more sense, and I think that is what he is saying.
Still working on that "scheming jane" or whatever he says in verse 3. Cheers, Chezz
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I like stavin' shame- it certainly does make some sense. His relationship with the eponymous good little woman, is a shameful because she's married. Maybe.
On this verse:
"Now these blues, blues ain't nothin'
Lord, but a doggone hungry spell
Got no money in your pocket and you
Barely keep it held"
My preference has always been for "keep it hid"- as in you've got no job or money, and its all you can do to pretend things are okay.
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Hi all,
I realized today that we never transcribed the lyrics to Ishmon Bracey's "Trouble Hearted Blues Take 2" when this thread was really active, a number of years ago. Bracey accompanied himself out of A position in standard tuning (or at least standard by his standards) and does some of the most striking head tone Country Blues singing you are ever likely to hear on this record. Apparently Charlie McCoy contributed the spoken asides. I'd very much appreciate help with the bent bracketed passage in the tagline of the last verse. Here it is:
https://youtu.be/FCwN32TlhmU
INTRO
Down so long, down don't worry me
I been down so long, Lord, down don't worry me
Don't b'lieve I'm sinkin', see what a hole I'm in
You don't b'lieve I love you, Lord, think what a fool I've been
Went to the graveyard (Spoken: Lord have mercy!) fell down on my knees
Hollered, "Lord have mercy, on this lonesome place."
Thousand people (Spoken: Rock church, rock!) 'round the buryin' ground
Just to see them, won't you Lord, let my rider down
Felt so sorry (Spoken: Good, good, good!) 'til they let her down
Lord, my heart struck sorrow, tears come rollin' down
Love you, mama, 'til the sea go dry
Lord, I love you, rider, Lord, 'til the day you die
Anybody aks you, who wrote this worried song
Anybody aks you, who wrote this worried song
Tell 'em you don't know the writer, he plays to have 'is, have his song
CODA
Edited 6/17 to pick up correction from waxwing
All best,
Johnm
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Could it be '...he paid to have his habits on'? Don't know what that would mean though?
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk
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Could it be: "He paid to have, to have his song."?
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Thanks for the suggestions, Prof and islandgal. I'm hearing an "l" in the first word after "he" in the mystery section of the line. The closest I can come phonetically to what I'm hearing is "he placed the hat his habit's on", which does not make a lot of sense. I'll keep listening.
All best,
Johnm
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Similarly to Islandgal, I'm hearing him repeating:
Tell 'em you don't know the writer, he plays to have his, have his song
I'm not hearing the plosive "b", more like the fricative "v" on the second, accented "have". It's possible he got ahead of himself, maybe dropping a word or two (like "let you" as an example: he plays to let you have his song), then repeating to end on time? I admit, tho', he sings it with conviction, like he meant it that way.
Wax
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I think you nailed it, Wax, with "he plays to have, to have his song", which matches up phonetically pretty much spot on, and makes sense, too. Thanks to islandgal for pointing the way, and Prof for getting the ball rolling. I got stuck on "habits" early on, and it ended up being a dead end. Thanks! It makes me happy when we get a tough passage like that, and I never would have gotten it by myself, I know.
All best,
Johnm
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Well done Wax! Taking my hearing aids back to the shop tomorrow!
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk
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I agree Johnm, having someone else's suggestion jog your own ear so you suddenly hear something differently is fun. Teaches you not to take your own ear for granted. Chris sometimes hears things that totally change my thinking. Well, I think we will grow old without running out of tricky lyrics to figure out.
You changed what I wrote slightly, from "he plays to have his, have his song" to "he plays to have, to have his song". I think it is the former, sounding like "to have 'is, have his song" (bold showing vocal accent). See what you think.
Wax
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Data entry problem, and thanks for the catch, Wax. I heard it right, but typed it wrong.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
I have been particularly getting into the music of Ishmon Bracey recently, and one of his great numbers is mistitled "The Four Day Blues"; it should be "The 'Fore Day Blues". In any event, Bracey recorded two takes of it on August 31, 1928. The lyrics differ somewhat on the two takes, and I have transcribed the lyrics to Take 1 here.
Ishmon Bracey played this tune out of A position, standard tuning, though it's a misnomer to describe anything about his tuning as standard. His A string is noticeably sharp, and yet the over-all effect, for reasons I don't understand, is really strong. His accompaniment is very originally conceived. I don't know anyone else who sounded like this in A. His time is very straight-up-and-down, with an almost jerky quality somewhat like Robert Wilkins's time on "I'll Go With Her" and "Falling Down Blues". Best of all, to my taste at least, is Bracey's singing, a really fierce and intense headtone placed right behind the bridge of his nose and adenoids. He's just buzzing! This is a great track.
Woke up this morning, mama, 'tween midnight and day
Woke up this morning, mama, 'tween midnight and day
I reached for my sugar and the fool had stoled away
Worried now, mama, and I can't be worried long
Worried now, mama, and I shan't be worried long
Mama, 'fore I'd be treated, be on the county farm
Wouldn't treat a dog, babe, like you treat me
Wouldn't treat a dog, babe, like you treat me
Wouldn't treat a dog, babe, like you treat me
Woke up soon this morning with my face all full of frowns
Woke up this morning, mama, with my face all full of frowns
I didn't have no sugar now to squeeze up in my arms
Mama, that's all right, sugar, that's all right for you
That's all right, mama, that's all right for you
Well you know you got me just the way you do
All best,
Johnm
I would like to know the lyrics for: Four Day Blues take 2
https://youtu.be/OVh3rjGYHns
This is what I have
up this morning mama with my face all full of frowns
up this morning mama with my face all full of frowns
I didn't have no sugar, to squeeze up in my arms
Wouldn't treat a dog, babe, like you treat me
Wouldn't treat a dog, babe, like you treat me
Wouldn't treat a dog, babe, like you treat me
You ever lied down dreamin fore bout the breakaday
You ever lied down dreamin mama fore bout the breakaday
Mama reach for your daddy, he done stole away?
Said the blues ain?t nothin but a slow killin heart disease
mama the blues ain?t nothin but a slow killin heart disease
work like a?????????..?
worried now sugar now, can?t be worried long
worried now mama and I shan?t be worried long
??????????... on the county farm
mama tell me sugar what, you think you?re tryin to do
tell me sugar what you think you?re tryin to do
I ain?t goin' stay here, I?m sure don?t be with you?
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Coco -- you mostly have it, here's some additions and a couple corrections:
3.1 You ever lied down dreamin' woke 'bout the break of day
3.2 You ever lied down dreamin' mama woke 'bout the break of day
3.3 ?stoled away
4.3 Work like the tuberculosis*, kill you by degrees
5.1 ?shan't be worried long
5.3 'Fore I'd stand your foolish now, I'd rather on the county farm.
5.1 and 5.2 ?you tryin' to do
*Bracey pronounces this like too-bur-cue-low-shus.
Chris
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Hi all,
I was able to find links for all of the performances transcribed in this thread. It's a great thread-so much wonderful collaboration in figuring out Bracey's lyrics, many of which were particularly hard to hear. I had to edit out a large number of out-of-control questions marks, too!
All best,
Johnm
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Trouble Hearted Blues take 2.Last verse.
Anybody aks you, who wrote this worried song
Anybody aks you, who wrote this worried song
Tell 'em you don't know the writer, he `pears(appears)to had his habits on.
Habits are religious garments....Ishmon appears to be making a little joke about a preacher singing the blues.
Makes sense.
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Having your habits on is also slang for being drunk/stoned.
Chris
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Hi all,
In the course of preparation for a book I'm writing, I've been re-visiting our collective transcriptions of the lyrics on a number of songs. We did a lot of hard work on Ishmon Bracey's "Suitcase Full Of Blues", a terrific, but extremely whupped record. We settled on the following line as the tagline for the first verse:
Lord, my [ ? ] girl quit me, catch that mornin' train
Re-listening to the line, I think Ishmon Bracey sang,
Lord my BEST girl quit me, catch that mornin' train
This makes the entire first verse:
Hand me down my suitcase and reach my walkin' cane, walkin' cane, Lord,
Down my suitcase, reach my walkin' cane
Lord, my best girl quit me, catch that mornin' train
For the tagline to the last verse, we settled on:
Says a no good woman, another man got your gal
Re-listening, I believe that tagline to be:
LOVE a no-good woman, another man GOTS HER NOW
This would make the entire last verse:
It's hard, hard, hard, I say, it's hard, hard, it's hard, Lord
Hard it's hard,babe, say it's hard, it's hard
Love a no-good woman, another man gots her now
Here is a video of Ishmon Bracey's performance so you can listen and see what you think.
https://youtu.be/H8y-jFGr9RQ
All best,
Johnm
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Good ears, John!
For the first line of the last verse, I'd stick a "Lord" on the front, and the first "it's" is almost swallowed:
Lord 's hard, hard, hard, I say, it's hard, hard, it's hard, Lord
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Thanks, dj! I should have listened harder to that first two lines of the last verse, which I now believe to be:
It's hard, Lord, 't's hard, I say, it's hard, 't's hard, it's hard, Lord,
Hard, it's hard, baby, say it's hard, it's hard
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
How would you characterise the rhythm on Trouble Hearted Blues? It's not a waltz. Is the fourth beat just left hanging? I never really thought about it before but it is very distinctive. I love how precise his wee outro is as well. It really contrasts with the sparse playing in the rest of the performance.
David
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Hi David,
"Trouble Hearted Blues" is a one-off structurally, I believe. Chordally, it is pretty simple, with each verse beginning on a IV chord which rocks to a I chord. That phrase is answered by a second phrase that starts on a V chord which then resolves to a I chord. The meter is mostly 4/4, but with an unusual accenting pattern, with the thumb hitting on beats one and three and the fingers answering the thumb strokes on "+ 2 +" and "+ 4 +", so that if you diagram that with T indicating thumb strokes and F indicating notes struck by the fingers it looks like this:
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
T F F F T F F F
As performed by Bracey, the song's structure ends up being more complicated than what I've described so far, because Bracey "goes long" at the end of some phrases, sticking on two extra beats in the last measure of a vocal phrase in some instances, in others, just vamping for a little while and holding a chord before moving on to the next phrase, and sometimes connecting chords with bass runs and breaking out of the picking pattern. The phrasing is further complicated by Bracey hanging fire from time to time to allow his spoken word accompanist to comment on the song as it is delivered. Taken in sum, it has a looseness and "in the moment" quality that is almost never encountered in present-day music. Here is the song, for folks who have not heard it before or not heard it in a while:
https://youtu.be/R345jI7X6XM
All best,
Johnm