Topic: Arthur Pettis Lyrics

[chipmonk doug]

I got a few of the blanks you left.? I have a little advantage in that I grew up talking to people who talked like that.? Maybe I can get a few more


Two Time Blues
Arthur Pettis
1930

(1) (instrumental line)
A two timin' woman, on no one's mind.
? takes some poor girl's man

(2) When the blues is tellin' you, you don't know what would do
Ahhh, You don't know what would do.
Go back to the one you love now, the blues will soon leave you.

(3) You tryin' t' act right? ? (blues?) will not let you
Ahhh, blues will not let you.
Heart full of sorrow now,? those blues ridden you.

(4) Two timin' woman, keep you on that killin' floor.
Ahhhh, keep you on that killin' floor.
How can you love? always? ?

(5) When your love won't talk to you, don't be feelin' sad.
Ahhh, don't be feelin' sad.
Gotta get you a new girl or one you once have had.

(6) instrumental break

(7) Well, well, well, well. I ain't gonna stay here long
Ahhh, I can't stay here long.
(instrumental line)

Coda

[GhostRider]

Hi:

I've had some fun figuring this one out. As I hear it it is in the Key of A, capoed up two frets (B). The chords are:

A - A - A/A7 - A/A7

D - F - A - A

E - D - A - A

The last two bars of the first line are often played double time.

Pettis uses a monotonic bass throughout except for bass runs and some double (stumble) bass pickups (open E and open A strings). The monotonic bass in the double time sections takes some concentration, at least for me.

In the second line the D to F progression?(IV to ^bVI) chord progression is almost unique(?) to blues in A. (others I can think of which use this are Come Back Baby and Funny Papa Smith's Howlin' Wolf Blues). I originally thought that this was a diminished chord but I changed my mind. How does this progression work?

The ending coda, a bouncey bass run in A on the 5th and 4th strings is pretty neat.

Comments? Corrections (please)? Additions?

Alex

[Johnm]

Hi Alex,
I think your analysis of the IV chord, D resolving to the flat VI chord, F, is right on the money.? The way it works is this, I think?If you telescope the IV chord into a IV7 chord, D7, you end up with the following notes: D-F#-A-C.? If you were then to change the IV7 chord to a IVminor7 chord, Dminor7, you would end up with the following notes:? D-F-A-C.? If you look at the top three notes of the IVminor7 chord, they end up spelling the flatVI chord, F, F-A-C.? So it is, that when you go from a D chord to an F chord in the key of A, the effect is very much like going IVmajor to IVminor.? You can really hear this sound if you voice a D7 with the second fret of the sixth string, F#, in the bass, and then resolve it down to the first fret of the sixth string, F, while continuing to hold the second fret of the third string and the first fret of the second string.?What do you wind up with?? An F chord.? You could accentuate this effect if you doubled the second fret of the sixth string at the fourth fret of the fourth string, and then resolved it down to the third fret of the fourth string when you take the second fret of the sixth string down to the first fret of the sixth string.? The positions would look like this (no first string played)
? D7:? 2-x-4-2-1-x to F:? 1-x-3-2-1-x.?
It's a pretty groovy, piano-ish sort of resolution.
All best,
Johnm
Edited to add:? I thought of another way of hearing the change.? D is the IV chord of? A, and F is the IV chord of C.? A minor is the relative minor of C major, and shares the same key signature.? So when you go to the D chord you are going to the normal IV chord in A major, but when you go to F, it is as though you are going to the key of A minor, because F is the IV of C, which A is the relative minor of.? To get a sense of how this would sound, try this scale over the D chord: A-B-C-D-E-F#-G-A, and this scale over the F chord:? A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A.? Note that the scale you're using over the D chord is not an A major scale--it has the "blue" (flatted) III and VII notes, C and G, where the major scale would have C# and G#.? This stuff is kind of abstruse, I guess, but it is fun, too.
Johnm

[blueshome]

The bVI is not that uncommon in this context - viz Oscar Woods, every where!, and I've heard in the playing of Buddy Moss, Sylvester Weaver and a few others that I've been listening to lately. Perhaps we can dig a few more out. It seems to sound quite archaic to me.

[GhostRider]

Hey, BH:

Now that you mention it, I can think of two Key of G tunes that use the ^bVI chord (E^b). One is Rolled From Side to Side Blues by LH Jones and the other is Don't Sell It, Don't Give It Away by O. Woods (mentioned by you).

Alex

[Montgomery]

Petties is a very underrated player.   I love this tune, and of course Good Boy is a masterpiece in C.

[Johnm]

You made a good point, Phil, (a couple of posts back) about the change from IV to flat VI not being all that uncommon.? I remembered that Mance Lipscomb used it in a tune of his in C, "So Different Blues", in which he goes from F to Aflat.? I reckon that it may be one of those things that, once noticed, starts turning up all over the place.
All best,
Johnm

[GhostRider]

Hi:

Anyone else want to take a shot at these lyrics. C. Doug filled in a few of the problems, but ther are still some more trouble spots unresolved.

Alex

[lebordo]

When I have trouble with lyrics, I take snipets from the music and slow them down while retaining the original pitch.? I've attached small files for the three primary problem areas (1st, 3rd and 4th stanzas, respectively).? After listening many times, here's what my ears hear [if I have several choices for a word, they're in parens separated by /s -- for example (one/two/three)]:

1) (instrumental line)
A two-timin' woman,? Ahhh no ones (man/mind)
Sure will love now now takes some poor girl's man

(2) When the blues is (tellin'/killin') you, you don't know what would do
Ahhh, You don't know what would do.
Go back to the one you love now, the blues will soon leave you.

(3) You tryin' t' act right your (mind/love) will not let you
Ahhh, love will not let you.
Heart full of sorrow now, blues are ridin' you.

(4) A two timin' woman, keep you on that killin' floor.
Ahhhh, keep you on that killin' floor.
How can you love?when she's always in that (road/room/row)

(5) When your love won't talk to you, don't be feelin' sad.
Ahhh, don't be feelin' sad.
Gonna get you a new girl or one you once have had.

(6) instrumental break

(7) Well, well, well, well. I ain't gonna can't stay hear long
Ahhh, I can't stay here long.
(instrumental line)

[attachment deleted by admin]

[GhostRider]

Howdy:

Thanks for the good work Doug and Paul! I've incorporated the changes and broke the ties in the ammended version below (changes underlined.

Any more ideas? What do ya think?

Two Time Blues
Arthur Pettis
1930

Key of A
Capo II

(1) (instrumental line)
A two-timin' woman, ahh, on no one's mind.
 Sure will love now, now takes some poor girl's man

(2) When the blues is? tellin' you, you don't know what would do
Ahhh, You don't know what would do.
Go back to the one you love now, the blues will soon leave you.

(3) You tryin' t' act right girl will not let you
Ahhh, love will not let you.
Heart full of sorrow now, blues are? ridin' you.

(4) A two timin' woman, keep you on that killin' floor.
Ahhhh, keep you on that killin' floor.
How can you love when she's? always in the road.

(5) When your love won't talk to you, don't be feelin' sad.
Ahhh, don't be feelin' sad.
 Atta get you a new girl or one you once have had.

(6) instrumental break

(7) Well, well, well, well. I can't stay hear long
Ahhh, I can't stay here long.
(instrumental line)

Coda

The Atta in the fifth verse is (I think) his pronunciation of "oughta", short for "ought to"

There's a word after the first? "now" in the third line of the first verse I still can't get. I'm not sure the second "now" is right

[lebordo]

(3) You tryin' t' act right girl will not let you
Ahhh, love will not let you.
Heart full of sorrow now, blues are?ridin' you.

I still not sure about "girl" in the first line.? I definitely hear two syllables between "right" and "will".? Replayed it a few more times, and have another interpretation that fits the pattern of the second line repeating the end of the first line.? Try this on for size:

(3) You tryin' t' act right woman will not let you
Ahhh, woman will not let you.
Heart full of sorrow now, blues are?ridin' you.

The Atta in the fifth verse is (I think) his pronunciation of "oughta", short for "ought to"

I can accept "Oughta", but personally I'd spell it that way, rather than "Atta" (which, to me, would sound like "at" rather than "bought", and I hear the latter sound.

There's a word after the first?"now" in the third line of the first verse I still can't get. I'm not sure the second "now" is right

I agree I'm not comfortable with both "now"s, but its the best interpretation I've been able to come up with so far.?Who knows, maybe next time I listen to it, I'll hear something else.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I realize it's a long time since this thread has been posted to, but I was listening to this one in the car today and I believe I've figured out the first verse.  Pettis plays the first four bars instrumentally and enters on the IV chord, singing:

   A two-timin' woman, don't want no one man
   She's always goin' down to take some poor girl's man

I reckon the first line means that it takes more than one man to satisfy her.  He pronounces "to"  in the tag line "tuh".
All best,
Johnm

[dingwall]

Wasn't around at the earlier part of this discussion!   Here's how I hear it.

 TWO TIME BLUES   
                 
Oh, a two timin' woman don't want no one man.
She always runnin' around to take some poor girl's man.

When the blues is troublin' you, you don't know what would do.
Ehh, you don't know what would do.
Go back to the one you love now, and them blues will soon leave you.

You're tryin' to act right, blues will not let you.
Ehh, blues will not let you.
Heart full o' sorrow and the blues are all ridin' you.

Oh, a two timin' woman, keep you on that killin' floor.
Ehh, keep you on that killin' floor.
How can you love when she's always in the wrong?

When your lover won't talk to you, don't be feelin' sad.
Ehh, don't be feelin' sad.
Better get you a new girl or one you once have had.

Well, well, well, well, I can't stay here long.
Ehh, I can't stay here long.

[GhostRider]

Howdy:

I just received Vol. 2 of the Complete Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe from Document (with liner notes by some Alan Balfour guy).

What does this have to do with "Good Boy Blues"? Read on.

The second tune on the CD is "Good Girl Blues" Not only is the title evocative of "Good Boy Blues" but MM's accompaniment is very much the same as the Arthur Pettis version. Far too close to be coincidence.

"Good Girl Blues" was recorded June 5, 1930. I know Good Boy was recorded in 1930, but when? Is there any other info linking these two?

I'll post an .mp3 of "Good Girl Blues" later today.

Alex

[waxwing]

c. 25 July 1930. (yup, just got my B&GR-4 a few days ago)

Interesting that both AP's session and MM's session were each their first in Chicago, both having previously recorded in Memphis. Likely they were familiar with each other's work well before these sessions so it would be pretty tough to speculate who got it from whom. It might seem that someone with as prolific an output as Minnie would have been more likely to have picked up a few along the way.-G-

Looking forward to hearing it, Alex.

All for now.
John C.