Topic: Willie Lofton Lyrics

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Willie Lofton was recorded doing "Dirty Mistreater" at a session in Chicago, Illinois on January 9, 1935.  Very little is known about Lofton in the biographical sense, but according to Neil Slavin's liner notes to the JSP set, "Big Joe Williams and the Stars of Mississippi Blues", which includes all of Willie Lofton's titles, Lofton hailed from Jackson, Mississippi originally, but was living in Chicago at the time he was recorded, and returned to Mississippi soon after that time to live the remainder of his life there, dying around 1962.
Willie Lofton played "Dirty Mistreater" out of Dropped D tuning, and the song is, instrumentally, at least, in the "Big Road Blues"/"Stop And Listen" family, though a particularly revved up member of that family.  Vocally, Willie Lofton takes an altogether different approach to his phrasing for the song, though, transforming it into a chorus blues, unlike any other song I've heard in that family.  Lofton's vocal is exceptionally exciting and rhythmic--he's just spitting out the words as fast as he can get them out, and bear in mind that the portion of each verse that precedes the refrain is sung over the first four bars.  That's a hell of a lot of words to fit in there! He also employs the Texas Alexander trick of repeating the last line of a verse following a guitar solo.
His guitar part is equally exciting.  He utilized essentially the same guitar part for his "Dark Road Blues", recorded later that same year, and it must be one of the wildest pieces in Dropped D ever.  In the opening ascending octave lick, he reverses direction between the treble and bass right at the front end of the lick, and it has wicked sort of speed bump effect.  In addition, he adds an extra beat for a bass run every time he goes to the IV chord.  All of this is done while playing at a tremendous clip.  Just in case it isn't clear from what you've already read, this is an absolutely ripping performance and is well worth seeking out, especially if you've not heard it before.  Correction/corroboration of the bent bracketed passage would be appreciated.  Here is "Dirty Mistreated":



   Cryin', I give you my money, mama, when you was all out and down
   Soon as you got up on your foot, Good God, mama, you wouldn't even allow me 'round
   REFRAIN: Cryin', dirty mistreater, Lord have mercy, mistreat me all the time
   Cryin', dirty mistreater, mistreat the poor boy all the time

   SOLO:
   
   Cryin', dirty mistreater, mistreat me all the time

   Cryin', I was layin' down on my sickbed, layin' at the point of death
   Here come the dirty mistreater, Good God, mama, tryin' to start some mess
   REFRAIN: Cryin', dirty mistreater, Lord have mercy, ah, mistreat me all the time
   Cryin', dirty mistreater, mistreat the poor boy all the time

   SPOKEN, during solo: Play it, boy!  Yay, don't blame me, boys, I'm gonna make G below the hole!

   Cryin', dirty mistreater, mistreat the poor boy all the time

   Cryin', you remember the mornin', I knocked up on your door
   You said, "Go away, you dirty skunk, Good God, Mama don't want you no more."
   REFRAIN: Cryin', dirty mistreater, Lord have mercy, mistreat me all the time
   Cryin', dirty mistreater, mistreat the poor boy all the time

   Cryin', Lord have mercy on my wicked soul
   Says, I wouldn't get in trouble now, Good God, mama, to save no black woman's soul
   REFRAIN: Cryin', dirty mistreater, mistreat me all the time
   Cryin', dirty mistreater, mistreat the poor boy all the time

Edited 3/17 to pick up correction from dj

All best,
Johnm

[dj]

Hi, John

I think the first line of the second verse is:

Cryin', I was layin' down on my sickbed, layin' at the POINT O' DEATH

[Johnm]

Thanks very much for the correction, dj.  I have made the change.
All best,
Johnm

[uncle bud]

Yeah, Dirty Mistreater is a great tune and Lofton may outdo Frank Stokes in number of words per square inch. I haven't listened to Willie Lofton that carefully but noticed he has some interesting stuff that sounds a little bit like Blind Boy Fuller's slow stuff in G, and "It's Killin' Me" sounds something like "Step It Up and Go". And Lofton recorded most of his material before Fuller started recording.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Willie Lofton recorded "Poor Boy Blues" at his first session, in Chicago on August 16, 1934.  It is one of Lofton's songs played out of G in standard tuning that uncle bud alluded to in the post prior to this one.  The song is very freely phrased, and doesn't adhere to any common blues form.  It's also a one-chorder.  Lofton is hitting falsetto leaps at the places in the lyrics where it shows "ooo".  It's interesting to hear someone at his first recording session sounding so utterly unself-conscious, relaxed and loose in the studio.  It's a wonderful gift to have for a performer, because it makes the recording seem so much more like seeing him playing out live, at a gig.  Here is "Poor Boy Blues":



   Oh, baby, ooo, when I was in trouble, trouble, trouble, I didn't even have no friend
   Oh, baby, ooo, when I was in trouble, trouble, poor boy didn't even have no friend
   Now that my friends all forsaken poor me, wouldn't even ask the poor boy in

   But that's all right, baby, ooo, 'most any way that you do
   Ah, maybe someday, baby, I will be up'ty then, like you

   Spoken, during solo: Yeah, man!  Play it for me now!

   Oh, baby, ooo, when I was broke and hungry, broke and hungry, I didn't even have a dime
   Lord, I woke up a-many morning, layin' down in my bed, a-cryin'

   Spoken: Lord have mercy!

   Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

   Spoken: Lord have mercy!  I'm gonna talk about you womens now!

   Oh, baby, ooo-ooo, low-down woman, low-down dirty hound
   That she always tryin' to keep me in trouble, tryin' to keep a good man down

   That's all right, baby, ooo, 'most any way that you do
   Says, there ain't no way, mama, keep a poor man like me so blue

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Willie Lofton recorded "My Mean Baby Blues" at his second session, in Chicago on August 24, 1934.  The song is a one-chord number played out of E in standard tuning, and as banjochris noted earlier in the Willie Lofton thread in the Main Forum, it bears a strong resemblance to Ed Bell's "Mean Conductor Blues", particularly in the way it rocks from the second to the fourth fret of the fifth string behind his singing.  Despite the feeling of looseness and spontaneity that Willie Lofton's delivery communicated, he, in fact, played pretty much exactly the same solo three times, each time preceded by a spoken, "Play it, boy!", and followed by a hummed line.  Here is "Mean Baby Blues":



   When my baby left me she didn't even say good-bye
   When my baby left me she didn't even say good-bye
   When I turned my back, she packed her clothes on the sly

   You can read my letter, but you sure can't read my mind
   You can read my letter, but you sure can't read my mind
   You see me laughin', honey, just to keep from cryin'

   Spoken, before solo: Play it, boy!

   Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

   Some of the meanest people the poor boy 'most ever seen
   Some of the meanest people the poor boy 'most ever seen (spoken: How come?)
   You asked for water and they gave you gasoline

   Spoken, before solo: Play it, boy!

   Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

   I used to try to love you, baby, I was lovin' you and cryin'
   I used to try to love you, baby, I was lovin' you and cryin'
   Someday you're gonna wanta love the poor boy, and I'll be, "Done changed my mind."

   Spoken, before solo: Play it, boy!

   Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

All best,
Johnm   

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Willie Lofton recorded "Rainy Day Blues" at a session on January 9, 1935 in Chicago.  The song shares the same accompaniment in G, standard tuning as his earlier "Poor Boy Blues", and if anything, is even more freely phrased.  This song has a very inward, ruminative feel, as though Willie Lofton is just singing to himself, and that quality is intensified by his use of humming. Though his vocal tone is nothing like Texas Alexander's, his phrasing and use of humming bring Texas Alexander's singing to mind. The words here sound as though they could have been improvised.  It's wonderful that such a thoughtful, "out-of-the-Mainstream" sort of song was recorded, especially in the '30s, when very little music of this sort was being recorded.  Here is "Rainy Day Blues":

 

   I say it just keeps on rainin', mmmm, I b'lieve it's gon' sleet and snow
   I say it just keeps on rainin', Good God, mama, I b'lieve it's gon' sleet and snow
   I say I've made an arrangement for the winter, mmm, poor boy ain't got no place to go

   Mmmmmmmmmm, poor boy ain't got no place to go

   Mmmmmmmm, I'm a stranger here, and I don't know no place to go
   I say I'm a stranger here, mmm, and I don't know no place to go
   I say I got to take my clothes, mmm, get out in the sleet and snow

   Mmmmmmmmmmm, you never do know who gonna be your friend 'til you get out sick on the bed
   Mmmmmmmmmmm, you never do know who gonna be your friend 'til you get out sick on the bed
   I say, some of your friends will come to see you, mmm, some of 'em wish that you were dead

   Mmmmmmmmmmm, if you ever been down, you know just how the poor boy feel
   I say, I feel just like, baby, mmm, poor boy even ain't got a friend in this world

Edited, 3/18, to pick up corrections from dj

All best,
Johnm 

[dj]

Hi, John,

I think the last line of the first verse is:

I say I've made an arrangement for the WINTER, mmm, poor boy ain't got no place to go

And it's just a nit, but I'm fairly sure the first two lines of the third verse are:

Mmmmmmmmmmm, you never do know who gonna be your friend 'til you get out sick ON the bed

[Johnm]

Thanks for the corrections, dj, I agree with both of them.  I actually had "on the bed" in my transcription, but typed "in the bed". When I did that, I made a failure.  That's really a nice song, isn't it?
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Willie Lofton recorded "Jake Leg Blues" on August 24, 1934, in Chicago.  For the song, he accompanied himself out of C position in standard tuning.  The song memorializes the very brief jake leg epidemic and scare, which arose out of gangsters adulterating Jamaican Ginger, a high alcohol content "medicine" that was popular among some classes of drinkers in the Prohibition era.  The problem came about because the gangsters first adulterated the "Jake" with a harmless thinner which was unfortunately visible.  When they added an additional liquid that had the effect of making the thinner invisible, they ended up with a very dangerous compound, which, when ingested, could result in brain damage and damage to the central nervous system, causing symptoms including a characteristic sort of hopping/limping gait (Jake Leg) and impotence.
Willie Lofton's "Jake Leg Blues" is very freely phrased, to the extent that it would be very difficult to copy or cover.  Lofton's signature lick for the song bears a resemblance to the signature lick that Virgil Childers played in his "Dago Blues".  Willie Lofton liked to close his mouth on held notes, and used the technique to get a buzzy head tone.  Once again, he does a fair amount of humming in the course of the song.



   I said, jake leg, jake leg, jake leg, jake leg, tell me what in the world you gonna do
   I said, jake leg, jake leg, jake leg, tell me what in the world you gonna do
   I say, you done drunk so much o' that, oh Lord, 'til it done give him the limber leg
   (spoken, Yeah!)

   I say, I know the jake leg, oh Lord, just as fur as I can hear the poor boy walk

   Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

   I said, the people drink thei' jake on the roadside, oh Lord, they even throw thei' bottle away
   I said the people drink thei' jake on the roadside, oh Lord, they even throw thei' bottle away
   Whoa, the jake left 'em with a present, oh Lord, that's keep 'em company ever' day

   Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, Lord,
   Chillun keep on cryin', wonderin', "What in the world poor Daddy gonna do?"
   I say, he done drunk so much o' that, oh Lord, 'til it done give him the limber leg

   Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama cried out and said, "Oh Lord, there's nothin in the world poor daddy can do.
   'Cause he done drink so much o' that, oh Lord, 'til he got the limber leg, too."

All best,
Johnm
   

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Willie Lofton recorded "Dark Road Blues" at his last session, on November 1, 1935, in Chicago.  Willie Lofton used the same dropped-D accompaniment that he had employed for "Dirty Mistreater" earlier that same year.  "Dark Road Blues" is probably Willie Lofton's best-known track (not that that's saying much) by virtue of having been included on the old "Jackson Blues" anthology on Yazoo.  It is a sensationally exciting cut, with an scintillating guitar part and a spectacularly rhythmic vocal, complete with two falsetto leaps in the third line of each verse and a complex phrasing scheme.  As was often the case with Willie Lofton, he squeezed in more lyrics than seems possible.  Here is "Dark Road Blues":



   Cryin', I ain't goin' down that dark road by myself
   Now don't you hear me talkin' to you pretty mama, oh ho,
   Ain't goin' down that dark road by myself
   Cryin', if I don't carry you, carry me somebody else

   Cryin', who's that yonder, comin' up the road
   Now don't you hear me talkin' to you pretty mama, oh ho,
   Who's that yonder, comin' up the road?
   Cryin', that look like my faro, but she walk too slow

   Cryin', I won't let you do me, do me like you did poor shine
   Now don't you hear me talkin' to you pretty mama, oh ho,
   I won't let you do me like you did poor shine
   Cryin', you taken the poor boy's money, gonna have to kill me, 'fore you take mine

   Spoken, before solo:  Hey!

   Cryin', you gonna have to kill me 'fore you take mine

   Cryin', smoke like lightnin', shine like pearls of gold
   Now don't you hear me talkin' to you pretty mama, oh ho,
   Smoke like lightnin', shine like pearls of gold
   Cryin', I wouldn't get in trouble, save nobody's soul

   Cryin', a spider, spider climbin' up the wall
   Now don't you hear me talkin' to you pretty mama, oh ho,
   Spider, spider, climbin' up the wall
   Cryin', I asked the spider did he want his ashes hauled

   Cryin', I ain't gonna marry, ain't gonna settle down
   Now don't you hear me talkin' to you pretty mama, oh ho,
   Ain't gonna marry, ain't gonna settle down
   Cryin', I'm a-stay right here 'til my mustache drags the ground

   Cryin', where was you when the Frisco left the yard
   Now don't you hear me talkin' to you pretty mama
   Where was you, Frisco left the yard?
   Cryin', I was standin' right there, police had me barred

All best,
Johnm

   
   

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Willie Lofton recorded "Beer Garden Blues" at the same session at which he recorded "Dark Road Blues". The pieces could hardly be more different from each other.  "Beer Garden Blues" sounds like a '30s small ensemble blues number, very upbeat with a nice dance rhythm in cut time.  For the song, Willie Lofton was backed by the very expert Black Bob on piano, an unknown bass player, and one would assume Lofton's own guitar and kazoo.  Without consulting a history book, the tail end of the first verse makes me think it must have been recorded soon after the repeal of Prohibition.  The song is a chorus blues in which the singer has to sing right across the first four bars to make the timing work out.  It takes Willie Lofton a couple of verses to work out the phrasing--he keeps wanting to pause where there's no time to pause, but it ends up well in focus by the end.  I'm not at all sure I have the last word of the refrain right, so any help would be appreciated, as would help with the bent bracketed passage.  This song would make a good jam tune/sing-along, and I can definitely envision the British weenie contingent having fun with it at the upcoming British weenie get-together.  Here is "Beer Garden Blues":



   Say, uh, ain't you glad, don't have to slip and slide
   We've got beer and whiskey and don't have to hide
   REFRAIN: I've got the beer garden blues, I've got the beer garden blues
   Got the beer garden blues, baby, and I'm full of my booze

   Says, the boss says, "Walk right in, have a seat.
   I got beer and whiskey and a-plenty to eat."
   REFRAIN: I've got the beer garden blues, I've got the beer garden blues
   Got the beer garden blues, baby, and I'm full of my booze

   Says, a-walk right in, have your fun
   Ain't too late, the party's just begun
   REFRAIN: I've got the beer garden blues, I've got the beer garden blues
   Got the beer garden blues, baby, and I'm full of my booze

   Kazoo solo

   Yes, I likes your whiskey, I likes your gin
   Don't be uneasy 'cause I'll be back again
   REFRAIN: I've got the beer garden blues, I've got the beer garden blues
   Got the beer garden blues, baby, and I'm full of my booze

   Says, a-walk right in, have your fun
   Ain't too late, the party's just begun
   REFRAIN: I've got the beer garden blues, I've got the beer garden blues
   Got the beer garden blues, baby, and I'm full of my booze

   I got a order for eight, one makes nine
   Standin' here, waitin' to get yourself another stein
   REFRAIN: I've got the beer garden blues, I've got the beer garden blues
   Got the beer garden blues, baby, and I'm full of my booze

   I said, a-waiter, waiter, waiter, bring me my beer
   Mix it with whiskey,  the reason I like it 'cause it makes me frisky
   REFRAIN: I've got the beer garden blues, I've got the beer garden blues
   Got the beer garden blues, baby, and I'm full of my booze

   Spoken, during piano solo:  Play it, Bob!  You got it now 'cause I'm pullin' my booze.  Yeah, man!   Come on, gal, let's cut these rugs!  Hey!

   Just walk right in, set down at the table
   Buy your beer and whiskey just as long as you're able
   REFRAIN: I've got the beer garden blues, I've got the beer garden blues
   Got the beer garden blues, baby, and I'm full of my booze

Edited 3/12 to pick up corrections from dj and uncle bud

All best,
Johnm
   
     

   
   
   
     

[dj]

Hi, John

It sure is hard to hear what Lofton is singing at the end of the chorus!  But Washboard Sam did a version of this song two years later, in 1937.  Sam's version is much more relaxed.  He's got Black Bob on piano, Arnett Nelson on clarinet, Big Bill Broonzy on guitar and an unknown bass player.  The tempo is slower and Sam's enunciation is clearer than Willie's, and you can clearly hear that the line of the chorus is:

Got the beer garden blues, baby, and I'm FULL OF my booze

After hearing Washboard Sam sing that, it's pretty clear that Willie Lofton sings the same thing.

Unfortunately, though most of Sam's verses match Lofton's earlier version exactly, he very much changes the "I got a order for eight, one makes nine" verse, so he's no help there.  The second line of that verse, as Lofton sings it, might be either

TEN O' your ways to get YOURSELF another stein

or

'TEND TA your ways to get YOURSELF another stein

Either way would make sense and would phonetically match what Lofton sings.

[Johnm]

Thanks very much for the help with that lyric, dj, I've been having a devil of a time with it.  At times, especially early in the song, Willie Lofton sounds like he is singing, "baby, I'm pulling my broom", which in terms of sense is a dead loss.  I'm sure your suggestion, "baby, I'm full of my booze" is correct, and I'll make the change.  I think of the other suggestions you made, "ten o' your ways to get yourself another stein" matches the sound and sense of what Willie Lofton sings perfectly.  Thanks again for the help, and I will make the changes.
All best,
Johnm

[uncle bud]

For the "order for eight" verse, I hear that second line as

STANDIN' HERE WAITIN' to get yourself another stein

Although the "your" in "yourself" is tough to hear and could be "myself" with no distinct M sound.

I definitely hear the F in "full o' my booze" numerous times. He sings "booze" more as "boo'", which others have done (Patton?) as I recall.