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The rule by which American musicians are judged is by how black they can sing, not how white they can sing - Taj Mahal, Frets interview

Author Topic: Jim Jackson Lyrics  (Read 15811 times)

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Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #45 on: August 20, 2012, 08:23:34 PM »
I agree with you that re-arranging would be the way to go with most of Jim Jackson's less bluesy material, uncle bud.  Trying to cop his affect on that material would be too weird, and however accurately done, would cloy pretty quickly (instantaneously?).
All best,
Johnm

Offline uncle bud

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #46 on: August 21, 2012, 08:04:44 AM »
A couple minor points:

In the refrain, he sings "that OLD Grizzly Bear" each time, I believe.

The take transcribed above is the unissued take. Unissued probably because of the somewhat odd way he sings line 4 of the refrain, "But I would not tell you the reason why". In the other take available on Document Vol 1, which is virtually the same, he sings the more logical line "But SHE would not even tell ME the reason why" throughout the song.
« Last Edit: August 21, 2012, 08:17:01 AM by uncle bud »

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #47 on: August 21, 2012, 10:06:00 AM »
Thanks for the catch, uncle bud.  I transcribed "old" but didn't enter it--doh.  I agree as to why the take wasn't issued in the first place.  The first time he sings the line, especially, he barely sobs out the enunciation of it.
All best,
Johnm

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #48 on: August 22, 2012, 02:18:16 PM »
Hi all,
Jim Jackson accompanied himself, as was his wont for his more minstrel/medicine show-influenced material, out of G position in standard tuning for "Bye, Bye, Policeman".  This is one of his strongest performances in this style.  I'm missing some words from the first sung portion of the song, and would appreciate help with any of the bent bracketed words or passages.



SPOKEN: I'm going down to my girl's house to a big dance.  After the dance, we gonna have a big crap game.  Now listen, I'll tell you all about it.

Now, first thing, honey is the bomboushay
Oh, turn a-right around and go the other way
Ah, do the World's Fair, the Turkey Trot
Oh, don't that girl think she's very hot?
She puts her hand on her head and let her mind rove on
Bends way back and look at the star
She dances nicely and politely
This am the pas a ma la

SPOKEN: Now people, we's down at the crap game.

Me and some old boys started a big crap game
Right out in front of my door
Along come a policeman to stop that game, there,
"Boys, I'm gonna get you, sure."
So we started a game the very next day
Right in the same place
Along come a policeman and run us away
Lord, I was pickin' 'em up, layin' 'em down,
Curvin' in and curvin' 'round,
Bye-bye, Mr. Officer
Yes, I was pickin' 'em up, layin' 'em down,
Curvin' in and curvin' around
Bye-bye, policeman

He said, "Stop there, boy!  I'm the law, I command you!"
I said, "I ain't thinkin' 'bout that law you're tryin' to hand me."
Lord, I was pickin' 'em up, layin' 'em down
Curvin' in and curvin' 'round
Policeman, bye-bye
Yes, I was pickin' 'em up, layin' 'em down
Curvin' in and curvin' 'round
Bye-bye, Mr. Officer
Yes, I was pickin' 'em up, layin' 'em down
Curvin' in and curvin' 'round
Bye-bye, policeman

He said, "Stop there, boy!  I'm the law, I'll shoot you, Bill!"
I turned around and looked at him, said, "Reckon you will?"
Lord, I was pickin' 'em up, layin' 'em down
Curvin' in and curvin' 'round
Bye-bye, Mr. Officer
Yes, I was pickin' 'em up, layin' 'em down
Curvin' in and curvin' 'round
Policeman, bye-bye

Edited 8/22 to pick up corrections from banjochris

All best,
Johnm
,
« Last Edit: July 10, 2020, 12:12:15 PM by Johnm »

Offline banjochris

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #49 on: August 22, 2012, 03:06:31 PM »
Suggestions:

1.1 bomboushay (dance, also referred to by Jelly Roll Morton in "Anamule Dance")
1.3 AH, DO the World's Fair (I think this is probably referring to a dance, perhaps belly dancing?)
1.6 look at THE STAR (based on the original lyrics of the song referred to in 1.8)
1.8 THIS AM THE PAS A MA LA (dance step, song "Pas Ma La" written by Ernest Hogan)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hogan has some interesting info.
Chris

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #50 on: August 22, 2012, 03:23:47 PM »
Thanks very much for the help, Chris.  Hearing those fixes and re-listening to the song made me sure both that they're all right, and that I never would have gotten them on my own.  Always good to hear from you.
all best,
Johnm

Offline banjochris

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #51 on: August 22, 2012, 05:15:34 PM »
That song's one of my very favorites of his, right up with "Old Dog Blue."

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #52 on: August 23, 2012, 10:44:20 AM »
Hi all,
Jim Jackson backed himself out of G position in standard tuning for "Going Around the Mountain", a song more commonly called "Charming Betsy", which is how Henry Thomas and Land Norris titled it.  This is one of those songs that was sung by everybody.  As jovially as Jim Jackson delivered his lyrics, they have a some bite to them--social commentary, if you will.



REFRAIN: Goin' 'round the mountain, charming Betsy
Sayin' I'm goin' 'round the mountain, Perlee
Now, if I never see you again
Do, Lord, remember me

Well, it's somethin' 'bout these Memphis women
I can't understand
For these old ladies wear these short dresses around
Tryin' to fool a working man

REFRAIN: Sayin', I'm goin' 'round the mountain, charming Betsy
Sayin', I'm goin' 'round the mountain, Perlee
Now, if I never see you again
Do, Lord remember me

Well, yella girl got this long straight hair
A brownskin girl got the same
But a black gal buys her'n at the ten cent store
But it's good hair, just the same

REFRAIN: Sayin', I'm goin' 'round the mountain, charming Betsy
Sayin', I'm goin' 'round the mountain, Perlee
Now, if I never see you again
Do, Lord remember me

Well, a yella gal smells like sweet toilet soap
Brownskin does the same
But a black girl smell like a billy goat
But she's smellin' just the same

REFRAIN: Sayin', I'm goin' 'round the mountain, charming Betsy
Sayin', I'm goin' 'round the mountain, Perlee
Now, if I never see you again
Do, Lord remember me

Well, a white man give his wife a ten dollar bill
He thinks that's nothing strange
But a colored man give his wife a one dollar bill
And beat her to death 'bout the ninety cents change

REFRAIN: Sayin', I'm goin' 'round the mountain, charming Betsy
Sayin', I'm goin' 'round the mountain, Perlee
Now, if I never see you again
Do, Lord remember me

Well, a white man lives in a fine brick house
He thinks that's nothing strange
But a poor colored man lives in the county jail
But it's a brick house, just the same

REFRAIN: Sayin', I'm goin' 'round the mountain, charming Betsy
Sayin', I'm goin' 'round the mountain, Perlee
Now, if I never see you again
Do, Lord remember me

All best,
Johnm

« Last Edit: July 10, 2020, 12:12:55 PM by Johnm »

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #53 on: August 30, 2012, 02:54:48 PM »
Hi all,
Jim Jackson accompanied himself out of G position in standard tuning for his version of "St. Louis Blues", playing a very straight boom-chang accompaniment.  His version does not go to the minor for the third verse as Trad Jazz versions of the song always do.  It makes one wonder whether the song had some currency before W. C. Handy wrote it, or if Jackson's treatment just amounts to a simplification of the song on his part.  There's probably no way of knowing for sure at this point.



Well, I hate to see that evening sun go down
Well, I hate to see that evening sun go down
'Cause it make me think, "Am I on my last go-round?"

If I'm feeling tomorrow a-like I feel today
If I feel tomorrow like I feel today
I'm gonna pack my suitcase and make my long get-away

'Cause the St. Louis woman, she wears her diamond ring
She leads her man around by her apron string
If it wasn't for powder and this store-bought hair
Oh, the girl I love wouldn't go nowhere, hair, hair

I got the St. Louis blues and just as blue as I can be
My girl got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
That's the reason why she goes so far from me

I love my girl like a schoolboy loves his pie
A-like a Kentucky white man loves his rock-and-rye
I love my girl 'til the day I die

A red-headed woman make a freight train jump the track
A red-headed woman will make a freight train jump the track
And a black-headed gal will make a preacher ball the jack

I got the St. Louis blues and just as blue as I can be
My girl got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
That's the reason why she goes so far from me

All best,
Johnm



« Last Edit: July 10, 2020, 12:13:33 PM by Johnm »

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #54 on: August 31, 2012, 09:25:12 AM »
Hi all,
Jim Jackson was joined for a pianist for his version of "I Ain't Gonna Turn Her Down".  Jackson backed himself out of G position, as was most often the case when he wasn't playing a blues.  Listening to the lyrics, I found myself wondering, since so many of Jim Jackson's make reference to gradations of skin  color, at what point did such references fall out of fashion in blues lyrics?  I do know that they're pretty much out of the picture in post-War blues, as far as I can remember, and I wonder if they stopped appearing in blues that weren't stylistic throwbacks even earlier than that.  I wonder, in addition, what changes came about in Black popular culture that made such references a thing of the past in the music.
I'm unable to hear the bent bracketed passage and would appreciate help with it.



Die, die-die, die, die, die-die, die, die, die-die, die, die, die

You say you're goin' away, why didn't you say
Just when you be back again
While you gone, I hope you will stay
'Cause I got me another girlfriend

I'm really wild about her, I'm simply crazy about her
And I ain't gonna turn her down
She ain't no black gal, she ain't no high yella
She's just a sweet little teasin' brown
I met her one night, she let me take her home
She did something, mama, that you never done
She made me crazy 'bout her, just plumb fool about her
And I ain't goin' to turn her down (Spoken: All right)

Say, I'm just as wild about her, I's simply crazy about her
And I ain't gonna turn her down
She ain't no black gal and she ain't no high yella
She's just a little sweet teasin' brown
I met her one night, she let me take her home
Then she did something, mama, that you never done
I'm crazy about her, just a plumb fool about her
And I ain't goin' to turn her down

She looked so sweet, and she's just so neat
I spoke to her, I asked her name
She smiled and said, "Ida", and then she said,
"I heard of your thing."

And I'm simply wild about her, simply crazy about her
I ain't goin' to turn her down
She ain't no black gal and she ain't no high yella
She's a sweet little teasin' brown
I met her one night, she let me take her home
Then she done something, mama, that you never done
She made me crazy about her, just a plumb fool about her
I ain't goin' to turn her down

Edited 8/31 to pick up corrections from banjochris

All best,
Johnm




« Last Edit: July 10, 2020, 12:14:11 PM by Johnm »

Offline banjochris

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #55 on: August 31, 2012, 11:20:24 AM »
John, it almost sounds like he forgets the lyrics there, but it sounds to me like "I heard of your thing."

I'd also suggest:
1.1 why didn't you SAY
1.3 I hope you will STAY

Chris

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #56 on: August 31, 2012, 11:35:46 AM »
Thanks for the help, Chris.  The ones in the first verse are certainly right, and I think after re-listening, that "I heard of your thing." is right, too.  That Ida was one smooth talker.  I'll make the changes.
All best,
Johnm

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #57 on: September 02, 2012, 05:33:53 PM »
Hi all,
Of course, Jim Jackson had a huge hit with "Kansas City Blues".  He accompanied himself out of E position in standard tuning for the song, and his playing is marvelously strong.  His time is so heavy and he has the perfect amount of depth and follow-through on his backbeats.  It is not flashy playing, but it is done to perfection, and if it were easy to do, you'd hear everybody doing it just that way.  In fact, I've never heard the song covered with Jim Jackson's rhythmic feel captured.
I don't know if "Kansas City Blues" was the first chorus blues, but I think it was one of the earliest, and it was enormously influential.  To give Jim Jackson his due, he really hit a home run with this one.

SOLO

I was first on Main Street, started down Beale
I lookin' for that woman they call Lucille
REFRAIN: She done moved to Kansas City, she done moved to Kansas City
She done moved, baby, honey, where they don't 'low you

The Mississippi River so long, deep and wide
I can see my good girl standin' on the other side
REFRAIN: She done moved to Kansas City, she done moved to Kansas City
She done moved, baby, honey, where they don't 'low you

I left off of Beale Street, started down Vance
I was lookin' for the woman they call Lizzie Mance
REFRAIN: She done moved to Kansas City, she done moved to Kansas City
She done moved, baby, honey, where they don't 'low you

If you don't like my peaches, don't shake my tree
I ain't after your woman, man, she's after me
REFRAIN: We gon' move to Kansas City, we gon' move to Kansas City
We gon' move, baby, honey, where they don't 'low you

I got one girl in Texas and two in Tennessee
But the womens here in this town, Lord, takes on over me
REFRAIN: We gon' move to Kansas City, I'm gon' move to Kansas City
We gon' move, baby, honey, where they don't 'low you

I'm gonna tell all you men what we musn't do
Don't ever love one woman like she says she loves you
She'll call you honey, she'll call you pie
And she'll let things get a-loose, Lord, on the sly
REFRAIN: Then she'll move to Kansas City, then she'll move to Kansas City
Then she'll move, baby, honey, where they don't 'low you

All best,
Johnm


Offline Gumbo

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #58 on: September 03, 2012, 09:22:31 AM »
Jackson did this a lot of course. I believe there are 142 takes of Kansas City Blues.

Wow! how many have been issued?

this one seems like it's Pt 2 going by this vid



I'm still waiting for Document to reprint the jackson volume 1
« Last Edit: July 10, 2020, 12:15:14 PM by Johnm »

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #59 on: September 12, 2012, 09:44:42 AM »
Hi all,
Jim Jackson accompanied himself out of G position in standard tuning for his version of "He's In the Jailhouse Now".  He employs a "frailing" style of playing time that was unusual for him; rather than resorting to the "boom-chang" approach that was normal for him on his novelty material, he just whangs on full chords, four-to-the-bar, much as Willie Thomas did in his accompanying of the fiddler Butch Cage.
Because of the relatively sedate tempo Jim Jackson chose, he was only able to work in two of the song's verses, as opposed to the three that are more characteristically sung.  His reference to the card game euchre is the only one I can think of sung by a blues player.



I had a friend named Campbell, he used to steal and gamble
He made his living cheating all the while
He played a game called euchre, pinochle and poker
He thought he was the smartest dude in town
But I just found up Monday, he got locked up Sunday
They've got him in that jailhouse down in town
They got Campbell in the jail, no one to go his bail
The judge won't even accept him a fine

REFRAIN: He's in the jailhouse now, he's in the jailhouse now
I told Campbell once or twice,
"Stop playing cards and shooting dice." (spoken: Yeah, they got 'im!)
He's in the jailhouse now

I remember 'way last Friday, I met a girl named Lani
I thought she was the purtiest girl in town
She called me "Sonny", and I begin to spend my money
We went into a swell cafe and sit down
I thought that I was in it, I was spendin' every minute
Buyin' wine and whiskey by the quart
But when I went to pay that man, I found that lady's hand
In my pocket where my money was

REFRAIN: She's in the graveyard now, she's in the graveyard now
I told the judge right to his face,
"That lady's hand was out of its place."  (spoken: Yeah, they got her!)
She's in the graveyard now

All best,
Johnm
« Last Edit: July 10, 2020, 12:15:53 PM by Johnm »

 


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