Topic: Willie Trice Lyrics

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Willie Trice's rendition of "Troublesome Mind" comes from his Trix CD, "Willie Trice-Blue And Rag'd". He accompanied the song in E position in standard tuning with a very original approach, in that from beginning to end he played the song with a very free rubato phrasing, never setting up any kind of regular pulse or groove. This approach, combined with an unusually complex accompaniment, ends up communicating a sort of 'thinking to one's self, musically" effect, that is quite unusual. Based on the songs that Willie Trice played on "Blue And Rag'd", you'd have to conclude that his favorite playing position was E in standard tuning, an unusual one for a Carolina blues player of his generation, and one in which his sound was very much his own. Put another way, his playing is notable in the extent to which it is not indebted to the playing of Blind Boy Fuller. Here is "Troublesome Mind":   



INTRO SOLO

Have you ever been real worried, troubles in mind?
Have you ever been real worried, aw, troubles in mind?
Have you ever had your best friend turn you down?

Don't never, drive a stranger from your door
Don't never drive a, stranger from your door
It may be your best friend, honey, you never know

I was drunk, baby, honey, when I knocked upon your door
I was drunk, baby, honey, when I knocked upon your door
Forgive me this time, honey, I won't get drunk no more

SOLO (Spoken: Now play it for them)

I used to have money, baby, honey, now I ain't got none
I used to have money, baby, now I ain't got none
Don't mistreat me, baby, someday I'll have some

I'm down now, baby, I'm gonna rise some day
I'm down now, baby, I'm gonna rise some day
I'll be so glad, honey, when you change you sinful way

Oh Lordy-Lord, Lordy Lordy-Lord
Oh Lordy-Lord, Lordy Lordy-Lord
I'm around here, baby, treated like a dog

Tell me, baby, honey, what I can I do?
Tell me, baby, honey, what can I do?
Just hang my head, baby, stay so worried and blue

SOLO (Spoken: I'll play it, boy)

All best,
Johnm

[Lignite]

I was lucky enough to see Willie Trice live in concert and it was unforgettable. I was a young student at UNC Chapel Hill at the time and British blues researcher Bruce Bastin was also attending and earning a Doctorate in Folklore. As a result he was bringing to town many of the blues artists who were releasing albums at the time on the Trix label including  Peg Leg Sam, Henry Johnson and Guitar Shorty who I saw perform numerous times. Besides the three day blues festival in 1973, he also held smaller individual concerts with one featuring Willie Trice who lived locally. They wheeled him out in a wheelchair, as he was a double above the knee amputee due to diabetes. They handed him a newer National guitar and he proceeded to mesmerize the audience with the purest Bull City blues I have ever heard. He sounded nothing like Blind Boy Fuller but had developed his own take on the blues which I consider true art. His tunes were extremely sophisticated musically and sometimes lasted as long as 5 or 6 minutes. He got a nice response from the audience at the show's conclusion and as they were wheeling him off stage he grabbed a white handkerchief and was waving it at the audience. I feel fortunate to have been there and it changed my young life. I wish I had not been so shy at the time and had actually met him but those days came later. I did meet his brother Rich Trice in the 1990s and hopefully we can cover some of his material later on.

[Johnm]

Thanks for sharing that remembrance, Lightnin'. I don't know about you, but at that time of my life and earlier, I had no appreciation or perspective on how fortunate we were to be able to see and hear so many great blues musicians perform, and in some instances, meet and spend time with them. It's a respect in which we lucked out by virtue of our age and when we came of age. Compared to the present, there wasn't nearly the access to the history of the recorded music that there is now with YouTube, and with practically all of the rediscovered early recordings being available to hear, but I feel as though that was more than made up for by the access we had to the people who made the music. They're pretty much all gone now, so someone coming to the blues for the first time now will never know the excitement of seeing Willie Trice or John Hurt or so many other musicians in person.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Willie Trice's rendition of "New Diddey Wah Diddey" (as spelled on the CD) is one of the really surprising performances on "Blue And Rag'd". What's surprising about it is that Willie Trice chose to accompany the song in E position in standard tuning, a position very seldom used to accompany raggy material. As a result of his playing position choice, his version of the song has a completely different sound than Blind Blake's original recording of the song or the many other covers of it that have been recorded down through the years. Adding to his distinctively personal take on the song is his different sense of the song's phrasing. Here is "New Diddey Wah Diddey.":



INTRO SOLO

It's a great big misery, man, it sure do worry me, 'bout
REFRAIN: Diddey wah diddey-uh, 'bout diddey wah diddey-uh, I
Want somebody tell me what diddey wah diddey mean

Bought my baby a brand new coat, she walk around here, she wanta be a sport, 'bout
REFRAIN: Diddey wah diddey-uh, diddey wah diddey-uh, I
Want somebody tell me what diddey wah diddey mean

Tell me, little woman, where'd you stay last night? Your shoes unfastened, you ain't talkin' right, 'bout
REFRAIN: Diddey wah diddey-uh, 'bout diddey wah diddey-uh, I
Want somebody tell me what diddey wah diddey mean

Come here, baby, and give me your hand, I b'lieve you've been off with another man, 'bout
REFRAIN: Diddey wah diddey-uh, 'bout diddey wah diddey-uh, I
Want somebody tell me what diddey wah diddey mean

SOLO

Bullfrog jumped from bank to bank, skinned his little leg from shank to shank, Mr.
REFRAIN: Diddey wah diddey-uh, Mr. diddey wah diddey-uh, I
Want somebody to tell me what diddey wah diddey mean

My baby is just little and low, she used to love me but she don't no more, Mr.
REFRAIN: Diddey wah diddey-uh, diddey wah diddey-uh, I
Want somebody tell me what diddey wah diddey mean

Mr. Diddey Wahter, that was a great big man, done everything that a poor man can, Mr.
REFRAIN: Diddey wah diddey-uh, Mr. diddey wah diddey-uh, I
Want somebody tell me what diddey wah diddey mean

My baby jumped up and had a fit, she says, "Mr. Diddey Wahter ain't gone yet, Mr.
REFRAIN: Diddey wah diddey-uh, Mr. diddey wah diddey-uh, I
Want somebody tell me what diddey wah diddey mean

SCAT VERSE
REFRAIN: Mr. Diddey wah diddey-uh, Mr. diddey wah diddey-uh, I
Want somebody tell me what diddey wah diddey mean

Along come a baby all dressed in green, the biggest mess I ever seen, 'bout
REFRAIN: Diddey wah diddey-uh, about diddey wah diddey-uh, I
Want somebody tell me what diddey wah diddey mean

I bought myself a brand new car, all I want is a big cigar, Mr.
REFRAIN: Diddey wah diddey, Mr. diddey wah diddey-uh, I
Want somebody tell me what diddey wah diddey mean

SOLO

CODA (Spoken: Tell me what it mean. Oh yes)

Edited 10/23 to pick up corrections from Blues Vintage
Edited 10/24 to pick up correction from Lindy
All best,
Johnm
   

[Blues Vintage]

Wonder if Willie deliberately changed it to "misery" or heard that wrong on records.

Some suggestions

1.1  It's a great big misery, and man

2.1  I don't hear the "I" before "bought" either 

5.1  Want somebody -to- tell me

[Johnm]

Thanks for the catches you suggested, Blues Vintage. I have made those changes and one other little one I heard.

[lindy]

As long as we're getting into the minutiae of Diddey-Wah-Diddey, I hear the following:

I think he clearly sings "and give me a hand" in verse 4, even though the context seems to call for "your hand."

In verse 7, line 1, I hear him sing "Mr. Diddey Wahter" in the same way as you've transcribed it in verse 8, line 1.

Great rendition!

Lindy

[Johnm]

Thanks for the suggestions, Lindy. I agree with Mr. Diddeywahter in verse 7 and will make that change. He does sing "your" in verse four, so I'll leave that as it is.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Willie Trice recorded "I've Had Trouble" for his Trix "Blue And Rag'd" CD, accompanying himself in A position in standard tuning. The form of the song, especially with regard to phrase lengths, would seem to be of his own device. A very high percentage of what he played here I can't recall hearing anyone else play, bearing in mind that he came from a part of the world that abounded in blues played in A. Here is "I've Had Trouble.":



INTRO

Trouble, trouble, I had it all my days
Well, trouble, trouble, I had it all my days
Well, seem like trouble gonna follow me all the way

Well it's trouble every mornin', it's trouble every night
Well it's trouble every mornin', it's trouble every night
Sometimes I feel like, my baby ain't treatin' me right

I told my baby, honey, let me hold her hand
Yes, I told my baby, honey, let me hold her hand
Well, maybe someday, honey, baby, you can understand

INTERLUDE

I begged my little woman, "Honey, please don't cry no more."
Yes, I begged my baby, "Honey, please don't cry no more.
'Cause someday, honey, you're gonna reap just what you sow."

SOLO X 2 (Spoken: Yeah, tell her about it. Oh-uh)

Well it's so many cold nights, baby, honey, I slept down on your floor
Well it's so many cold nights, baby, I slept down on your floor
Well you know good and well, honey, I didn't have no place to go

SOLO (Spoken: Tell her about it. Walk with 'er.)

Tell me, baby, honey, what can I do?
Well, tell me, baby, honey, what can I do?
Just stay 'round here, darlin', and stay so worried and blue

SOLO (Spoken: Walk with 'er again)

All best,
Johnm

[Old Man Ned]

Hi John,
Enjoying hearing Willie Trice. In the 2nd verse, is the first line:
"Well it's trouble in the mornin' , it's trouble every night"?

I'm hearing 'every' in the 2nd line but not sure about the first line.

All the Best,
Ned

[Johnm]

Hi Ned,
What you suggest for the first line of the second verse is what I originally had, but when I re-listened I decided it was "every" in the first half of that line, as in the second line. You can particularly hear the "ry" in the second syllable, I think.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Willie Trice played "She's Coming On The C & O" In E position in standard tuning. It's a train blues with a narrative and a couple of sung passages. I don't know who should get the credit for starting the train blues with narrative trend, but there certainly have been a lot of them. Most seem to include passages that are programmatic and imitate the train or aspects of the story. Here is "She's Coming On The C & O":



INTRO SOLO

SPOKEN: Yes, My woman's been gone. I got a telegram from her this morning, she's coming back home. I'm happy now. Says she's coming in on that old C & O---that's that old Chespeake & Ohio. I was so happy I didn't know what to do. I heard that old whistle blow up the road, say there, (guitar imitates whistle). Yes, I was happy as I could be. I was so happy I didn't know what to do. I commenced sayin' it, (sung) "I'll be so glad with it, when my baby come home." SPOKEN: So I got on down, I couldn't help it then. (guitar plays lick). I knowed she's at home. Yes, I was happy as I could be. I was so happy I didn't know what to do, I commenced to jumpin' up and down, say, (guitar jumps up and down). Yes, I was so happy I didn't know what to do. I imagine I could hear my little woman singin' that song, up the road. Here's what she was singin', like this: (guitar sings her song). I know that was her, she done got home now. I didn't know what to say, so what I say: (guitar says it). So I got down again. (guitar gets down) You know I was so happy I didn't know what to do. She got to the door, I was barefoot, you know, walkin' across the floor. I didn't know how to say, say nothin' to her. I was walkin' across the floor, hell,I was walkin' like this, barefoot: (guitar walks barefoot, boom, boom, boom boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom). I said, "Come on, honey, I know you're there." I couldn't cry no more. I don't have to be lonesome no more. My baby's home. She come in the door, I didn't know how, hardly, how I could speak to her, ah, here what I done, I say: (guitar laughs with Willie, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha how're you, baby?)

All best,
Johnm