Topic: Henry Townsend lyrics

[Johnm]

Hi Chris,
"Be on your creepin' way" is dead on the money, I think.  I'm not sure about "fortune" as an adjective.  It sounds pretty close to right in the first verse tagline, but in the second verse, what Henry sings sounds more like 'bartend" or possibly "bartendin'".  I'm going to keep trying there.  Thanks for the help and I'll make that change in the second line of verse one.
All best,
Johnm

[banjochris]

Pretty sure I've got that tagline -- and it fits in with other recordings with the Drop Down Mama/Mama Don't Allow chorus:
"She knows I'm a boy child, women gonna do me wrong."

[Johnm]

Wow, that is it, Chris!  That is great listening.  It is so difficult for me to shift gears once I get some kind of phonetic approximation in my head, even if it doesn't make much sense.  You nailed it--well done!
All best,
Johnm

[uncle bud]

Yes, good ears, Chris. Sounds exactly right to me.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Henry Townsend recorded "No Home Blues" in Louisville, Kentucky on June 9, 1931, working under the pseudonym Jesse Townsend.  "No Home Blues" was played out of Clifford Gibson's favored E-sounding tuning, EAEGBE, pitched at F, and the Document "St. Louis Country Blues" CD identifies Clifford Gibson as the probably guitarist on the track.  I believe it is Henry Townsend accompanying himself, though certainly working Clifford Gibson's musical territory.  A few of the reasons I believe the guitarist is Townsend rather than Gibson:
   * Clifford Gibson's tone on the guitar was utterly distinctive, always with a hint of vibrato in the treble strings, and this guitarist does not have Gibson's tone;
   * The touch of the guitarist here is more robust than what we're accustomed to hearing from Clifford Gibson;
   * There are enough licks here that never appeared on any of Gibson's other songs played in this tuning to make it seem plausible that it was simply a different guitarist.  The guitarist here has an odd way of ending the form in the eleventh and twelfth bars with the open fifth string in the bass, which is something Clifford Gibson never did on any of his recordings in this tuning;
   * The way the accompaniment tracks the vocal so closely, especially at the beginning of the second line of the next-to-last verse, where the vocal has a timing surprise, makes it seem unlikely that the song is not self-accompanied by the singer.
In any event, the singer is most definitely Henry Townsend, and he sings a great set of lyrics which are as timely today as they were when he recorded them in 1931.  It would be interesting to find out why St. Louis singers tended to show so much originality in their lyrics, but there's no musician of that generation to ask about it since Henry Townsend's passing.  He pronounces "desperado" despuhRAYdo in the final verse.  Here is "No Home Blues":



   I have had no place that I could call my home
   I've had no place that I could call my home
   But I'll jus' keep on traveling, I may get lucky before long

   When a man is homeless, he never doubts himself
   When a man is homeless, he never doubts himself
   Luck is nothin' but a fortune, he may be lucky as anyone else

   Luck is nothin' but a fortune, may fall my way someday
   Luck is nothin' but a fortune, may fall my way someday
   Then I won't be homeless, I'll have someplace to stay

   I've begged and asked for favors, people have treated me mean
   I have begged and asked for favors, people have treated me mean
   Lord, I've had many a hard trials as any young man you ever seen

   So I feel lucky, I believe I'll try my hand
   Yes, I feel lucky, I believe I'll try my hand
   I'm going to be a desperado, way down in no-man's-land

Edited 12/2 to pick up corrections from LD50 and Johnm

All best,
Johnm

[LD50]

Hi all,
Henry Townsend recorded "No Home Blues" in Louisville, Kentucky on June 9, 1931, working under the pseudonym Jesse Townsend.  "No Home Blues" was played out of Clifford Gibson's favored E-sounding tuning, EAEGBE, pitched at F, and the Document "St. Louis Country Blues" CD identifies Clifford Gibson as the probably guitarist on the track.  I believe it is Henry Townsend accompanying himself, though certainly working Clifford Gibson's musical territory.  A few of the reasons I believe the guitarist is Townsend rather than Gibson:
   * Clifford Gibson's tone on the guitar was utterly distinctive, always with a hint of vibrato in the treble strings, and this guitarist does not have Gibson's tone;
   * The touch of the guitarist here is more robust than what we're accustomed to hearing from Clifford Gibson;
   * There are enough licks here that never appeared on any of Gibson's other songs played in this tuning to make it seem plausible that it was simply a different guitarist.  The guitarist here has an odd way of ending the form in the eleventh and twelfth bars with the open fifth string in the bass, which is something Clifford Gibson never did on any of his recordings in this tuning;
   * The way the accompaniment tracks the vocal so closely, especially at the beginning of the second line of the next-to-last verse, where the vocal has a timing surprise, makes it seem unlikely that the song is not self-accompanied by the singer.
In any event, the singer is most definitely Henry Townsend, and he sings a great set of lyrics which are as timely today as they were when he recorded them in 1931.  It would be interesting to find out why St. Louis singers tended to show so much originality in their lyrics, but there's no musician of that generation to ask about it since Henry Townsend's passing.  He pronounces "desperado" despuhRAYdo in the final verse.

   I have had no place that I could call my home
   I've had no place that I could call my home
   But I's keep on traveling, I get-a lucky before long

   When a man is homeless, he never doubts himself
   When a man is homeless, he never doubts himself
   Luck is nothin' but a fortune, he may be lucky as anyone else

   Luck is nothin' but a fortune, may fall my way someday
   Luck is nothin' but a fortune, may fall my way someday
   Then I won't be homeless, I have someplace to stay

   I've begged and asked for favors, people have treated me mean
   I have begged and asked for favors, people have treated me mean
   Lord, I've had many a hard trials as any young man you ever seen

   So I feel lucky, I believe I'll try my hand
   Yes, I feel lucky, I believe I'll try my hand
   I'm going to be a desperado, way down in no-man's-land

All best,
Johnm

Looks good -- tho 'I have someplace to stay' is really 'I'll have someplace to stay'. Minor point.

The 2nd half of the 3rd line is odd, it's not 'I get-a lucky before long', it sounds like 'I think get lucky before long', tho that doesn't make sense syntactically. But there's no other syllable between 'get' and 'lucky'.

It was interesting reading your analysis of this song -- it is musically the most abnormal of HT's prewar solo numbers. The main thing that really struck me when I first heard it last year was that little Scrapper Blackwell riff he plays the first time he sings the line 'When a man is homeless, he never doubts himself'.

I really wish Nevins or Tefteller would remaster this track -- it's not in very good sound on the Document, and E copies do exist.

[Johnm]

Thanks for your suggestions, LD50.  I agree it is "I'll have someplace to stay" and I made that change.  The tagline of the first verse has a swallowed "jus" in it, and what I have now is right, I think:
   But I'll jus' keep on traveling, I may get lucky before long.
All best,
Johnm

[LD50]

Ah, yes. The 'may' has to be right. So the line seems to be "But I'll (just) keep on traveling, I may get lucky before long."

I agree that there is some kind of barely-pronounced something between 'I'll' and 'keep'. I think I can hear the hint of an 's', but that's about it.

I bet Townsend would have thought it was very funny, quibbling about the exact wording of these songs 70 years later. 

Thanks for your suggestions, LD50.  I agree it is "I'll have someplace to stay" and I made that change.  The tagline of the first verse has a swallowed "jus" in it, and what I have now is right, I think:
   But I'll jus' keep on traveling, I may get lucky before long.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I was able to find links for performances of all of the songs in this thread.
All best,
Johnm

[eric]

Another excellent St. Louis thread revived, what a great singer and player. Thanks, John.

Didn't Henry Townsend show up at PT at some point?  Maybe I'm thinking of someone else.  Would have been really cool to meet him.

[Johnm]

Yup, I agree, Eric, he really was terrific.  He was at the first Port Townsend Country Blues Festival (along with R L Burnside, John Jackson and John Cephas!), accompanied by his wife, Vernell, and son Alonzo.  He was very gracious, had a bit of a health crisis early in the week, and Vernell had one towards the end of the week.  At that time, the Festival was held in late June, and I think the weather in Port Townsend those first couple of years probably seemed kind of arctic to life-long residents of the South and Midwest, especially for that time of year.  He played a lot of piano as well as guitar.  If you can get hold of his autobiography, it is a great read.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Henry Townsend's "Pleasin' Myself" is a recent addition to the new Weenie Campbell YouTube channel. It was taken from the Arcola CD, "Henry Townsend--The Real St. Louis Blues", and was recorded by Bob West in 1979. Henry Townsend played the song out of E position in standard tuning, and his playing is nothing short of spectacular, very splashy and exciting, and his sound in E was completely his own. Like many of the players in St. Louis, he excelled at creating original lyrics and could evidently do them extemporaneously, an enviable skill for those of us who have to labor over lyrics. Here is "Pleasin' Myself":



INTRO SOLO

Hey, don't be worried over the things I do
Well, don't be worried over the things I do
Well, I'm not gon' do nothin' but try, baby, and love poor you

Well, I do all I can, ain't nothin' else now, that's left
Well I do all I can and now there ain't nothin' else left
I got to please somebody, it may as well be myself

SOLO INTERLUDE

Well, whistle blowin', I better be on my way
Well the whistle's blowin' and I may as well be out and on my way
If I want to do this job, people, and if I'm gonna make this day

SOLO

I get up early in the morning, out and on the way to my job
I get up early in the morning, out and on my way to my job
Well, the thoughts of what I've got to do, people, that's what makes the old job hard

I'm handlin' steel and it's heavy, and it's hot and it burns my hands
Handlin' steel and it's hot and it's heavy, yes, and it burn my hands
Well, I do all that to prove I love you, Lord knows I am your man

CODA

All best,
Johnm



 
 

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Yet another song from "Henry Townsend-The Real St. Louis Blues" recently posted on the Weenie Campbell YouTube channel is "I've Got To Go", which Henry Townsend accompanied in E position in standard tuning, as he did "Pleasin' Myself". Once again his playing is expert and completely distinctive, and the way he varies his accompaniment as he goes along is really exciting and dynamic. Here is "I've Got To Go":



INTRO SOLO

Mmm. don't want to leave you, and I know you don't want me to go, well I
Don't want to leave you and I know you don't want me to go
But I just don't feel welcome stayin' around here no more

Well I've got to start now 'cause I want to be on time
Got to start now 'cause I want to be on time
Well, ain't but a one thing I can do now, just beat it on back down the line

Well, told you once, ain't no use of me, keep on tellin' you
Well, I done told you one time, and there ain't no use of me keep on tellin' you
Well, I jus' go right ahead and do just what I want to do

Well, I will start out walkin', and I don't know when I'll arrive
Well, I'm gon' start out walkin' and I don't know, just when I will arrive
But when I get back home I hope, I'll be satisfied

Well, I'm got to go, and I know you don't want me to leave
Well, I've got to go now, and I know you don't want me to leave
Well, the only way you can get me to stay is say, "Please, Daddy, please."

Oh, farewell, farewell, I've got to go
Farewell, farewell, farewell, farewell, I have got to go
Well it don't look like I'm welcome, staying' 'round here no more

SOLO

Well, I told you once, and I, not gonna tell you twice, yes I,
Told you one time, not gonna tell you twice
Well, the next time I tell you, you're not gon' be my wife

CODA

All best,
Johnm






 

 

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Henry Townsend's "What's On Your Mind" comes from his Arcola CD, and like the two songs immediately prior to this one in this thread, he chose to accompany himself out of E position in standard tuning. Listening to the three songs, it becomes apparent that he was in no danger of running out of ideas when playing in E position in standard tuning, far from it. And once again, his inventiveness as a lyricist is on full display. Here is "What's On Your Mind":



INTRO SOLO

Mmmm, there's no matter, what I say or do
Hey-ey, there's no matter what I say or do
Well, I tried very hard but I just can't get along with you

Please tell me, tell me what's on your mind
Please tell me, tell me what is on your mind
Well you don't sleep well at midnight, and in the mornin' you wake up hollerin' and cryin'

My trouble, is when you are feelin' bad
Yes, it's my trouble, it's my trouble, baby, when you are feelin' bad
Well, that's a sad feelin', and it's the worst feelin' that I ever had

What I'm tryinn' to tell you now, baby, no matter what you say or do
What I'm tryin' to tell you right now, babe, no matter what you say or do
When things go so wrong with you, don't you know that they hurt me, too?

I'd rather you be happy, than anything in the world I know
Rather you be happy than anything in the world I know
Well I'd give up a whole lot of my habits, I would even let my drinkin' go

SOLO

Every evenin', every evenin', after the sun go down
Every evenin', every evenin', after the sun go down
Well, it keeps me thinkin' about, that you just wanted me for your clown

SOLO

Oh yes, oh yes, I can't help but to cry
Oh yes, oh yes, I can't help but to cry
And for the only son in the world we had to have to wave to me, bye-bye-bye

I know I've got to leave you now, I know I've got to go on and do the time
I know I've got to leave you now, I know I've got to go on and do that time
Well, that sentence was all because I stole a dollar to feed that child of mine

CODA

SPOKEN: Bob West: Was that a true story? Henry Townsend: Not necessary, no. I ain't never done no time, my life. Somebody else had done that though, I'm sure. Some guy must have made that mistake and, not a mistake if he's feedin' his kid, he done what was right! Heh-heh-heh, you know, too.

Edited 9/24 to pick up corrections from Blues Vintage
Edited 9/25 to pick up correction from waxwing

All best,
Johnm


 

[Blues Vintage]

This whole record is a masterpiece.


3.3 Well, that's a sad feelin', and it's the worst feelin' -that- I ever had

Maybe a full "I would" instead of "I'd" for 5.3

5.3 Well I've give up a whole lot of my habits, I'd -I would- even let my drinkin' go