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Country Blues => Country Blues Lyrics => Topic started by: Johnm on January 05, 2012, 10:37:47 AM
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Hi all,
Eli Framer recorded only two titles, I believe, in Atlanta in 1929. I don't think anything is known about him in the biographical sense, but he is supposed to have been from Alabama. He accompanied himself out of E position in standard tuning for "Framer's Blues", and does a nifty job of it, with strong thumb-popped bass notes. From his singing, he sounds like he may have been an older man when he recorded. This is a terrific cut, and the extent to which he barely varies his accompaniment ends up giving the whole rendition a sort of "lost in time" quality and cumulative impact. That sense of sameness or repetition is strikingly broken when he goes long at the end of the opening line of his fifth verse. I like the idea of him having his own blues named for him, and think we should all have such songs. Here is "Framer's Blues":
https://youtu.be/TDryK-wwbrA
Mama, I'm gwine to the river, set down there by myself
Say, I'm goin' to the river, babe, gonna set down there by myself
Told the woman I love, she don't want nobody else
Say, if it wasn't for my Mother, then this girl I love
Say, is it wasn't for my Mother, baby, then the girl I love
Give my body to the fishes, Lord, my soul to the Lord above
Say, my Mama fussed with me, when I was young and wild
Say, my Mama fussed with me, when I was young and wild
"Mama, you oughta consider, Mama, Lord, you done been a child."
Well, I ain't gwonna marry, babe, I swear I ain't gwonna settle down
Well, I ain't gwonna marry, babe, I swear I ain't gwonna settle down
Say, I'm gon' stay 'round here, babe, gonna wear these good browns down
Babe, if blues gonna kill me, baby, better take my measure, measure now, Lord,
Blues gonna kill me, baby, take my measure now
Say, the blues gonna kill me, baby, take my measure now
There's a change in the ocean, mama, change in the deep blue sea
There's a change in the ocean, baby, change in the deep blue sea
Say, you take me back, baby, find a change in me
I followed my rider, baby, to her burying ground
Say, I followed my rider, baby, to her burying ground
Say, "Easy, preacher, let her body down."
Edited 1/6 to pick up corrections from uncle bud
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Eli Framer recorded only two titles, I believe, in Atlanta in 1929. I don't think anything is known about him in the biographical sense, but he is supposed to have been from Alabama.
Bob Groom in his Talkabout column in Blues-Link 4 (1974) speculated at some length but didn't arrive at much.
Click image to zoom.
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What I would take from that piece, Bunker Hill, is that no one knows from whence Eli Framer hailed, yes? It seems like more or less plausible inferences but no hard info.
All best,
Johnm
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What I would take from that piece, Bunker Hill, is that no one knows from whence Eli Framer hailed, yes? It seems like more or less plausible inferences but no hard info.
All best,
Johnm
John, I think that's a fair summation. ;D
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Hi all,
Eli Framer recorded only two titles, I believe, in Atlanta in 1929. I don't think anything is known about him in the biographical sense, but he is supposed to have been from Alabama. He accompanied himself out of E position in standard tuning for "Framer's Blues", and does a nifty job of it, with strong thumb-popped bass notes. From his singing, he sounds like he may have been an older man when he recorded. This is a terrific cut, and the extent to which he barely varies his accompaniment ends up giving the whole rendition a sort of "lost in time" quality and cumulative impact. That sense of sameness or repetition is strikingly broken when he goes long at the end of the opening line of his fifth verse. I like the idea of him having his own blues named for him, and think we should all have such songs.
This is such a great cut, I really love Eli Framer's groove on this one. I hear things a little differently in the first verse:
1.1 MAMA, I'm goin' to the river, SIT DOWN THERE BY MYSELF (sit sung as set)
1.2 SAID I'm goin' to the river, babe, gonna SIT DOWN THERE BY MYSELF
And also a
5.1 BABE IF blues gonna kill me, baby, better take my measure, measure now, Lord,
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Thanks very much for the catches, uncle bud. I thought I had it all but I sure didn't. I agree, a wonderful cut. I've made the changes.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
I thought I'd try to transcribe the lyrics to Eli Framer's other cut, "God Didn't Make Me No Monkey Man". Both cuts can be found on the JSP set, "A Richer Tradition", one of their very best sets. This song qualifies as one of the "mystery titles" in that the title phrase never appears in the lyrics.
Eli Framer accompanied himself out of Spanish tuning with a slide on "God Didn't Make Me No Monkey Man". He had such good lyrics, and sometimes they're really hard to hear, especially at first. His phrasing at the front end of the rendition is very free-form and changeable, but as he gets deeper into the performance, he begins to regularize his phrasing, such that he's a little short with his response lick which answers each vocal phrase, like so:
| 4 beats, vocal | 4 beats, vocal | instrumental response, 4 beats plus 3 beats |
The instrumental response is heard as a single phrase, with the final (seventh) beat accommodating the vocal pick-up to the next line, most often "Say, I". At the very end of the song, Framer stops singing and perseverates, sliding into a I note at the fifth fret of the first string for twenty seconds, which in musical time is an eternity. I don't know of anything else like it, exactly, in the style; when you listen to it, it kind of strains your belief.
As usual, there are some places I'm not sure of, and I'd appreciate help. Here is "God Didn't Make Me No Monkey Man":
https://youtu.be/SEBb7KVE-LA
Lordy, Lord, Lord, Lord
Lord, Lordy, Lord, Lord, Lordy, Lord, Lord, Lord
Aw, Lord, I seen her, Lordy, Lord, Lord, oh
Say I'm goin' to the depot, look up at the, mamlish sun, Lord,
Goin' to the depot, look up at the sun
Said, the train be gone, Lord, be some walkin' done
Say, I got up this mornin', with'n' her walkin' off from my door
Say, I got up this mornin', walkin' off from my door
Say, I had the blues so bad, Lord, know what in the world to do
Here, you, I'll tell you, rider, now, dago told the jew
Say, I'll tell you, baby, what the dago told the jew
Say, "If you don't want me, baby, cinch I don't want you."
Say, I got up this mornin' with the blues all 'round my bed
Hear, I got up this mornin' with the blues all 'round my bed
Say, I b'lieve to my soul, Lord, blues gonna kill me dead
Say, change in the ocean, baby, change in the deep blue sea
Hear, there's change in the ocean, change in the deep blue sea
Say you take me back, rider, I will find a change in me
Say, I ain't gonna stay here to be no stumblin' block
B'lieve I ain't gonna be here, be no stumblin' block
Say, I'll play your dough, babe, I swear I won't never stop
Say I'm gonna buy me a bulldog, Lord, Lord, now,
Buy a bulldog, high as I am tall
Say, if I go the depot, Lord, I swear my shadow fall
Edited 1/17 to pick up corrections from uncle bud, bayrum 78, and banjochris
All best,
Johnm
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I've given this a listen and it's pretty tricky given Framer's delivery. That is a pretty crazy ending. It's like a slide blues equivalent of a Beethoven coda that keeps coming back. Some minor differences listed below (not 100% certain of them either). Everything else I agree with.
Lordy, Lord, Lord, Lord
Lord, Lordy, Lord, Lord, Lordy, Lord, Lord, Lord
Aw, [knowed] I seen her, Lordy, Lord, Lord, oh
In 1.3, I am hearing:
Aw, Lord I see'd her...
Say I'm goin' to the depot, look up at the, mamlish sun, Lord,
Goin' to the depot, look up at the sun
Said, the train be gone, Lord, be some walkin' done
Say, I got up this mornin', with'n' her walkin' off from my door
Say, I got up this mornin', her walkin' off from my door
Say, I had the blues so bad, Lord, know what in the world to do
I don't hear "her" in line 3.2.
Here, you, I'll tell you, rider, now, dago told the jew
Say, I'll tell you, baby, dago told the jew
Say, "If you don't want me, baby, cinch I don't want you."
4.1 could be "TELL YA, I'll tell you..." with the T swallowed.
4.2 Say, I'll tell you, baby, WHAT the dago told the jew
Say, I got up this mornin' with the blues all 'round my bed
Say, I got up this mornin' with the blues all 'round my bed
Say, I b'lieve to my soul, blues gonna kill me dead
5.3 Say, I b'lieve to my soul, LORD, blues gonna kill me dead
Say, change in the ocean, baby, change in the deep blue sea
Hear, there's change in the ocean, change in the deep blue sea
Say you take me back, rider, I'll find a change in me
For 6.2 I hear "YEAH, THE change in the ocean..."
Say, I ain't gonna stay here to be no stumblin' block
B'lieve I ain't gonna be here, be no stumblin' block
Say, I'll play your dough, babe, I swear I won't never stop
Say I'm gonna buy me a bulldog, Lord, Lord, now,
Buy me a bulldog, high as I am tall
Say, if I go the depot, Lord, I'll swear my [Santa] fall
In 8.2 I hear "Buy a bulldog..." without the ME this time round. For the last line, I hear what you've transcribed, though am not exactly sure what it means.
It's a damn shame nothing more was captured from Framer, because these are two cool tunes.
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Thanks very much for the help on "God Didn't Make Me No Monkey Man", uncle bud. I made the mistake of leaving a bunch of tunes I was still working on in Seattle, but as soon as I get back there I'll re-listen one more time and make the necessary changes. Thanks!
I couldn't agree more about Eli Framer. He's definitely one of those "two-side wonders" you run up on every so often in the Country Blues, like George Torey, Bobby Grant, Lane Hardin (before "Cartey Blues" showed up) and a bunch more. One feels particularly tantalized when the two sides released are as musically different from each other as "Framer's Blues" and "God Didn't Make Me No Monkey Man" are--you come away with a 'tip of the iceberg" feeling about the person's music.
All best,
Johnm
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"Buy me a bulldog, high as I am tall
Say, if I go the depot, Lord, I'll swear my [Santa] fall"
Great transcription- I never would have heard some of those lyrics! Now that it has largely been decrypted, we can start singing it without slurring and mumbling every other word. I noted the same things uncle bud did so I don't have any definite changes to make, but want to suggest that in 8.3 instead of [Santa] maybe he is saying scent. Possibly he is saying my scent will fall or scent he'll foll' as in follow. Given the reference to the bulldog, a bulldog tracking his scent isn't implausible.
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"Say, I got up this mornin', with'n' her walkin' off from my door
Say, I got up this mornin', her walkin' off from my door
Say, I had the blues so bad, Lord, know what in the world to do"
Listening again - in 3.1 I hear BABY not with'n' her. In 3.3, I hear I had blues so bad (no the)
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Thanks for the tip, Nate. I was dubious about "Santa" in the tagline of that last verse of "God Didn't Make Me No Monkey Man". I have never heard a country blues lyric refer to "Santa", it's always "Santa Claus", which is something else altogether. I will give this a good listen when I get back to my recording of it this Wednesday, and see if I can incorporate uncle bud's and your suggestions.
All best,
John
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Santa could be shorthand for Santa Fe which would make sense.
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I'm hearing "shadow fall" at the end of "Monkey Man" -- this is listening to the version on Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol. 6, which is much clearer and is mastered at a slower (and to my ears more reasonable) speed than the version on "Songster Tradition."
Chris
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Hi all,
I was able to re-listen to "God Didn't Make Me No Monkey Man" and incorporated the suggested changes that I heard.
All best,
Johnm