Topic: Bertha Henderson Lyrics

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Bertha Henderson recorded "Terrible Murder Blues" at a session in Chicago in May of 1928, accompanied by Blind Blake, playing out of A position in standard tuning. Blake was recorded playing in A position in standard tuning just about as rarely as he was recorded playing in E position in standard tuning or Vestapol, but he seemed to excel in these keys or playing positions he seldom used (except perhaps E position). Here is "Terrible Murder Blues":



INTRO

REFRAIN: Aaaah, I can't stay here no more
Mmmm, I can't stay here no more
Done did murder, now I'm bound to go

I was walking down the street with a man named Stack, his woman took a dagger and stuck me in my back
Took my .45, you ought to heard it roar
Done killed that woman and can't stay here no more

REFRAIN: Mmmm, I can't stay here no more
Mmm-mmm, I can't stay here no more
Done did murder, now I'm bound to go

They done put bloodhounds on my track, and if they catch me, they'll take me back
Uh-uh, to the electric chair I'll go
Done killed that woman and can't stay here no more

REFRAIN: Mmmm, I can't stay here no more
Mmm-mmm, I can't stay here no more
Done did murder, now I'm bound to go

CODA

Edited 6/2 to pick up corrections from Blues Vintage
Edited 6/4 to pick up correction from Stuart

All best,
Johnm

[Blues Vintage]

I was walking down the street with a man named Sack, his woman took a dagger and stuck me in my back
Took my court at five, you ought to heard it wrote

I hear someting like "Stag" like Stagger Lee or "Stack"

It does sound like "court at five" but maybe she misspeaks a bit, it seems a stretch but I want to make this suggestion;

Took my forty-five, you ought to heard it roar

[banjochris]

It does sound like "court at five" but maybe she misspeaks a bit, it seems a stretch but I want to make this suggestion;

Took my forty-five, you ought to heard it roar

Not a stretch, I think you've got that for sure.

[Johnm]

Thanks for the help, Blues Vintage and Chris. I will go with "Stack", a good catch! .45 definitely begins with a hard "c" sound, "roar" at the back end is fine. I think I'll show the line as:
   Took my corty-five [sic] (.45), you ought to heard it roar
Thanks for the help, what I had matched the sound reasonably well but made no sense, and moreover had her not committing a terrible murder!

[Stuart]

... .45 definitely begins with a hard "c" sound, "roar" at the back end is fine. I think I'll show the line as:
   Took my corty-five [sic] (.45), you ought to heard it roar...

I agree, John--But only for the recording on the YouTube link you posted. I thought she might have started to sing "Colt .45," but caught herself after the initial "C." Then I listened to the recording that was on the CD that came as Volume 18 with the Blues Images 2021 calendar. It's significantly clearer and I hear "forty-five." If you have access, I'll let you listen and be the judge.

[Blues Vintage]

Can't you just post it here or does John Tefteller immediately shuts down Weenie Campbell.

[Stuart]

The file size exceeds the limit for attachments. I didn't see it available on YouTube. Let me check to see if I have your e-mail address.

Update: I couldn't find your e-mail address. Send it to me in a PM.

[MarkC]

I hear “took my 45”. I don’t hear a “c” at all.

[MarkC]

Today I hear the “c”. I’ll put Q-Tips on my shopping list.

[waxwing]

Listening to my copy of the Vol 18 1920's Classics, which is much cleaner than the posted YT vid, I would say this is a good example of a scratch click interfering with the sound. It is clearly "forty-five" on Tefteler's version.

So, that leads to the debate as to whether we are transcribing the posted version or the original clean version. Just kidding.

Wax

[Stuart]

So, that leads to the debate as to whether we are transcribing the posted version or the original clean version. Just kidding.

Wax

Many a truth is said in jest. Surface noise has a voice all its own. With different copies of the 78s  remastered by different people using different equipment / technologies at different times and reissued on different albums and labels, it might be worth noting the specifics (if they are known) when what we hear differs. Yesterday when I was listening to "Moon Going Down," the 1989 Yazoo 1020 CD version was the scratchiest, but also the clearest re: "North Star bound..." (vs. 'bout) of the tracks in my iTunes library.

While the posted YouTube recordings give us a common recording to work from, in attempting to accurately transcribe song lyrics we've found it useful at times to go beyond a single recording. I think it would be helpful to note this (when appropriate) in the final, stand alone transcription of the lyrics.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I've been out of town all weekend and thus missed all the discussion around the Tefteller version of the song. Stuart kindly sent me an .mp4a of it and I quite agree that ".45" is enunciated very clearly on it. I will make the correction on the transcription in this thread and the one posted in Weeniepedia as well. I'm glad that cleaner version surfaced and that the transcription will more fairly represent the way Bertha Henderson sang the lyrics.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Bertha Henderson recorded "That Lonesome Rave" at the same session as she recorded "Terrible Murder Blues", and was once again accompanied by Blind Blake, this time playing in C position in standard tuning. Bertha Henderson delivers a strong vocal and really gets into the lyrics. As seems to be a trend in the songs where Blake worked as an accompanist, his playing here shows a seemingly endless stream of invention. A couple of times, he plays a fill which is like an homage to Lonnie Johnson, converting Lonnie's signature lick to C position. Here is "That Lonesome Rave":

]

INTRO

Oh, the grass is growing, over the man I love
Oh, the grass is growing, over the man I love
Nobody knows my troubles but me and the Lord above

It's just about midnight when I begin to rave
It's just about midnight when I begin to rave
Yes, just thinkin' 'bout my daddy, down in that lonesome grave

HUMMED VERSE

Lord, I dream and cry about him all the time
Lord, I dream and cry about him all the time
Just can't forget him and know I'll lose my mind

Going to the cemetery, plant flowers on his grave
Going to the cemetery, plant flowers on his grave
I got the blues about him, Lord, that's why I rave

CODA

All best,
Johnm   

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Yet another song from the same session pairing Bertha Henderson with Blind Blake on guitar is "Lead Hearted Blues", which Blake chose to accompany out of G position in standard tuning. Both "Lead Hearted Blues" and "That Lonesome Rave" were taken at plodding tempos, really very slow, that could have been deadly without such an expert accompanist who was able to keep the time moving forward and emphasize the deep backbeat. Here is "Lead Hearted Blues":



INTRO

Baby, baby, I'm so lonesome for you
Baby, baby, I'm so lonesome for you
Can't wear you off my mind, don't care what I do

When I wake up in the morning, my heart, it feels like lead
When I wake up in the morning, my heart, it feels like lead
When I go to bed at midnight, sometime I wish I's dead

You told me, baby, before you left my door
You told me, baby, before you left my door
Some day I'd be sorry that I told you to go

Lord, Lord, can't rest no place I go
Lord, Lord, can't rest no place I go
Blues is driving me crazy, must be reapin' what I sow

CODA

All best,
John


 

[Johnm]

Hi all,
The fourth track that Bertha Henderson and Blind Blake collaborated on was "Leavin' Gal Blues", which, like "That Lonesome Rave", Blake chose to accompany in C position in standard tuning. He does a number of things I can't recall hearing him play on any other track, like the crazy run at the end of the first verse or the hammers in the bass in the second verse in the I and IV chords. That ability to stay fresh and inventive and not simply to recycle one's own pet riffs is the hallmark of a creative musician who is not just phoning it in. Here is "Leavin' Gal Blues":



INTRO

I been dogged and mistreated 'til I done made up my mind
I been dogged and mistreated 'til I done made up my mind
Gonna leave this old country and all my troubles behind

Get my ticket at the junction, and flag the 'fore-day train
Get my ticket at the junction and flag the 'fore-day train
I'm going to leave this country, before I go insane

When I leave this morning, papa, pin crepe on your sleeve
When I leave this morning, papa, pin crepe on your sleeve
Ain't comin' here no more, you can love just who you please

When they all mistreat you, no need to think about me
When they all mistreat you, no need to think about me
'Cause I"m leavin' this country, blue as I can be

If the blues kill me, tell everybody the news
If the blues kill me, tell everybody the news
"There lays a woman, died with the leavin' here blues

CODA

Edited 5/7 to pick up correction from Blues Vintage

All best,
Johnm

[Blues Vintage]

Last verse,  I'm really moving back and forth between "gal" and "here"

died with the leavin' gal blues

died with the leavin' here blues

[Johnm]

I'm pretty sure it's gal, Blues Vintage. There's no "h" sound at the front end, and it's the title phrase of the song (not that they didn't get titles wrong sometimes). I'm going to leave it as is.

[Stuart]

Listening to the song via the YouTube link though the speakers connected to the computer, it's a toss-up between "gal" and "here." When I listen to the M4A file that was imported from the JSP CD set into iTunes using my headphones and playing it with VLC Media Player at various speeds, I definitely hear "here."

Like you point out, the title strongly suggests, "gal," but it's possible the title was already settled on and she simply sang "here." ("Here" does fit the narrative.) Or if it was a mistake, since it was a solid take, they simply went with it rather than re-record the song. Or maybe because the song is about leaving and the singer is a gal, that was the reason for the title, regardless of the last line. --Just speculation, without any real evidence. I agree about Blind Blake's accompaniment. He created it to fit the song and the singer and did not simply throw some stock riffs together to sleepwalk through it.

As always, it's your call, John. Just because I hear something different, doesn't mean I think what you hear is wrong.

[Johnm]

I re-listened and changed it to "leavin' here blues".