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I'm beginning to notice some improvement - Cellist Pablo Casals, when asked why, at the age of 93, he is still devoting 3 hrs a day for practicing

Author Topic: Jim Jackson Lyrics  (Read 15814 times)

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Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #30 on: July 13, 2012, 10:11:44 AM »
Yes, thanks for posting those dates, dj.  I had the date for the Stokes but not the Jim Jackson.
All best,
Johnm

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #31 on: July 13, 2012, 10:43:31 AM »
Hi all,
Jim Jackson recorded "Santa Fe Blues" in 1930, and was joined by a pianist for the recording.  Jackson backed himself out of E position, confining the guitar to a very well-played accompaniment role.  I could use some help with the bent bracketed space in the tagline to the last verse, and would appreciate it.  I'll attach the performance.



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

Way out in Texas, on the Santa Fe
Way out in Texas, on the Santa Fe
My good woman is waitin' there for me

I walked the railroad and my feet got thin as a dime
I walked the railroad, my feet got thin as a dime
Tryin' to find that good girl of mine

My girl's got something, you can't say the same
My girl's got something and you can't say the same
She's got somethin' will make a bulldog break his chain

She's long and tall, handsome and fine
She's long and tall, handsome and fine
She used to love me, but now she don't pay me no mind

I came in Texas on that Santa Fe
I came in Texas on that Santa Fe
I was worried about that woman I thought cared for me

You can always tell when your woman don't want you 'round
You can always tell when your woman don't want you 'round
She's got her hair tied up and the [                ] upside down

All best,
Johnm
 
« Last Edit: July 23, 2012, 08:42:09 AM by Johnm »

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #32 on: July 23, 2012, 11:18:01 PM »
Hi all,
Jim Jackson backed himself out of G position in standard tuning for his rendition of "Long Gone".  G seems to have been his position of preference for his minstrel/medicine show material.  I'm beginning to realize that he probably recorded more of this type of material than any other early blues musician, Frank Stokes not excepted.  As with some of his other songs of this type, "Long Gone" ends up being a kind of pastiche, for after his second chorus, he goes to a different melody, phrasing model and chorus--what appears to be a different song altogether.  Jim Jackson apparently liked to double up his choruses, for he does it here as he did it on "What A Time".  He pronounces "Bowling Green" "Bowldin' Green" here.  I'd appreciate some help with the bent bracketed passage in the first verse after the new refrain is introduced.  I'll attach a video of the performance for those of you who haven't heard the song before.



You all have heard the story 'bout Long John Green
Bold bank robber from Bowldin' Green
They put him in jail and he stayed three days
Late last night he made his get-away

CHORUS: He's long gone, from old Kentucky
He's long gone, wasn't he lucky?
He's long gone, what I mean
He's long gone, from Bowldin' Green
He's long gone, from old Kentucky
He's long gone, wasn't he lucky?
He's long gone, what I mean
He's long gone, from Bowldin' Green

They sent for the high sheriff to bring him back
Went 'n' put the p'lice hounds on his track
The doggone greyhound lost his scent
And nobody knows where Long John went

CHORUS: He's long gone, from old Kentucky
He's long gone, wasn't he lucky?
He's long gone, what I mean
He's long gone, from Bowldin' Green

REFRAIN: I ain't gon' tell you how I've got here, but I've got chere just the same
If you seen him runnin' them first five miles, you'd swore that he wasn't lame
Say, he stopped in the woods, catch his wind, a-heard the stick crack and a-lit out again
I ain't gonna tell you how I got here, but I got chere just the name

One day a circus came to town with freaks that 'as wild as a beast
A one-legged man by the name of Jones, we went to see the street parade
But just as we reached the circus ground, I heard somebody say,
"You better be mighty particular, 'cause the lion done got away
But then I grabbed my hat, for home I fairly flew
But when I got there, my one-legged friend said, "Jim, I'm right here, too."  He say,

REFRAIN: I ain't gonna tell you how I got here, but I got chere just the same
Said, if you seen him runnin' them first five miles, you'd swore that he wasn't lame
Say, he stopped in the woods, catch his wind, a-heard the stick crack and a-lit out again
I ain't gonna tell you how I got here, but I got chere just the same

REFRAIN: Yeah, I ain't gonna tell you how I got here, but I got chere just the same
If you seen him runnin' them first five miles, you'd swore that he wasn't lame
Say, he stopped in the woods, catch his wind, a-heard the stick crack and a-lit out again
I ain't gonna tell you how I got here, but I got chere just the same, yeah

Edited 7/24 to pick up corrections from dj and Johnm

All best,
Johnm

« Last Edit: July 10, 2020, 12:09:00 PM by Johnm »

Offline dj

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #33 on: July 24, 2012, 04:06:41 AM »
Hi, John.  I think the line in question is:

One day a circus came to town with FREAKS THAT WAS WILD AS A BEAST
 

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #34 on: July 24, 2012, 09:54:51 AM »
Thanks very much for the help, dj.  I can now hear what you heard and have made the change.  Have you been able to make any sense of the ending of the tagline of the last verse of "Santa Fe Blues"?  It still has me stumped.
All best,
John

Offline Gumbo

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #35 on: July 24, 2012, 10:06:52 AM »
stumped here too.
THAT ESTOREEN
is what i hear. howsabout you?

Offline dj

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #36 on: July 24, 2012, 10:43:53 AM »
Quote
Have you been able to make any sense of the ending of the tagline of the last verse of "Santa Fe Blues"?

That's a tough one.  To take a guess, I'd say it might be:

She's got her HEAD tied up and HER HAIR STORIED upside-down

Where "storied" = "stored", pronounced with two syllables to fit the meter.  In other words, she's got a bandana around her head and her wig upside-down in the closet.  But that's just a guess based on the vowel sounds.   What I have as "storied" could be "storing", but I think I hear a d at the end of the word.

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #37 on: July 25, 2012, 02:21:22 PM »
Hi all,
Jim Jackson accompanied himself out of C position in standard tuning on his rendition of "This Ain't No Place For Me".  This is one of his novelty numbers, and like most of them, it has many, many words.  Jim Jackson adopts a rueful, fussy sort of stance for this one.



I went out to the country to take a little rest
I set down beneath the tree, pulled off my coat and vest
Some college girls were playing nearby, kickin' what they thought was an old football
But what it turned out to be was a hornet's nest, that's all

REFRAIN: I took one look, then I said, "This ain't no place for me."
The little bees was in the air, as busy as they could be
The infernal bugs that filled the air, one girl got stung but she wouldn't say where
I took one look, then I said, "This ain't no place for me."

My Father took sick one day, said, was feeling awful bad
I thought I would play a trick on my dear old Dad
I went and bought some limburger cheese and placed it in Pa's bed
And then I sent for the doctor, and this is what he said

REFRAIN: He took one look, then he said, "This ain't no place for me.
The undertaker's what you want, you've got no use for me."
The doctor grabbed his nose and said, "Gee, how long has he been dead?"
He took one look and then he said, "This ain't no place for me."

I went out to the seashore once, take a little swim
A girl was standing in front of me, her bathing suit was thin
She stooped down to pick up a shell and as she straightened back
I saw that her bathing suit was ripping up the back

REFRAIN: I took one look and then I said, "This ain't no place for me."
The water she was standing in just came up to her knee
A blind man standing beside of me said, "Gee, I wish that I could see!"
I took one look, then I said, "This ain't no place for me."

I went out to the circus just to pass the time away
I bought my ticket and walked right in like any other old jay
A bear got loose in there, right after me he went
The only place I had to hide was in the ladies' dressing tent

REFRAIN: I took one look and then I said, "This ain't no place for me."
I-I was runnin' everywhere, but what I saw, in there
I would rather face ten grizzly bears
I took one look and then I said, "This ain't no place for me."

All best,
Johnm
« Last Edit: July 10, 2020, 12:09:48 PM by Johnm »

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #38 on: July 28, 2012, 12:00:15 AM »
Hi all,
Jim Jackson backed himself out of G position in standard tuning for his rendition of "I Heard the Voice of a Porkchop".  He devotes a lot of the rendition to his guitar playing and it's really nice, and different from his playing on any of his other tunes I've heard thus far.  He doesn't sing nearly as many verses in his version of the song as Bogus Ben Covington did in his version.  Jim Jackson pulls his pet move of repeating his first refrain.  I remember as a kid first hearing this song on an early re-issue on Chris Strachwitz's Blues Classics label and being utterly baffled by it.



Spoken, over instrumental intro: Ah, don't that sound good?  It sounds good to me.  It's just like somethin' good to drink.  It's all right with me.  I know that's playin' good.

I walked and I walked and I walked and I walked, I stopped for to rest my feet
I set down under an old oak tree, there went fast asleep
I dreamt I was sittin' in a swell cafe, hungry as a bear
My stomach sent a telegram to my th'oat, "There's a wreck on the road somewhere."

REFRAIN: I heard the voice of a porkchop say, "Come unto me and rest."
Well, you talk about your stewin' beef, I know what's the best
Well, you talk about your chicken, ham and eggs, turkey stuffed and dressed
But I heard the voice of a porkchop say, "Come unto me and rest."

REFRAIN: Yeah, I heard the voice of a porkchop say, "Come unto me and rest."
Well, you talk about your stewin' beef, I know what's the best
Well, you talk about your chicken, ham and eggs, turkey stuffed and dressed
But I heard the voice of a porkchop say, "Come unto me and rest."

(Spoken, over solo): Ah, stir it up now.  Damn, don't that sound good?  Ah, stir it up

I walked and I walked and I walked and I walked, I stopped for to rest my feet
I set down under an old oak tree, there went fast asleep
I dreamt I was sittin' in a swell cafe, as hungry as a bear
My stomach sent a telegram to my th'oat, "There's a wreck on the road somewhere."

REFRAIN: I heard the voice of a porkchop say, "Come unto me and rest."
Well, you talk about your stewin' beef, I know what's the best
Well, you talk about your chicken, ham and eggs, turkey stuffed and dressed
But I heard the voice of a porkchop say, "Come unto me and rest."

(Spoken, behind solo): Ah--ah, ain't that soundin' good?  Ah, play it, man!  Don't I do that thing?  Heh, heh.

REFRAIN: I heard the voice of a porkchop say, "Come unto me and rest."
Well, you talk about your stewin' beef, I know what's the best
Well, you talk about your chicken, ham and eggs, turkey stuffed and dressed
But I heard the voice of a porkchop say, "Come unto me and rest."

(Spoken over outro): Ah, ain't that nice? Ah, it just nice to be nice when you can be nice.

Edited 7/27 to pick up corrections from dj

All best,
Johnm





 
« Last Edit: July 10, 2020, 12:10:34 PM by Johnm »

Offline dj

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #39 on: July 28, 2012, 06:10:46 AM »
Hi, John,


I had that Blues Classics LP - Country Blues Classics, Volume 1.  "Baffled" is a good way to describe my reaction to the whole LP, as I didn't yet have any frame of reference nor any knowledge about the history of the blues or about any of the artists when I first got the LP in the early fall of 1968.  But a lot of the songs on that LP have remained favorites of mine for the last 40 plus years, and I Heard The Voice Of A Porkchop is one of them.

One minor suggestion:  In the second line of the refrain, I don't think Jackson is singing "I ain't know what's the best", but rather "I know what's the best", with the I drawn out to two syllables, so it ends up sounding like "I-ee".

Also, a small typo -in the last line of the refrain, you left out the quotation mark before Come unto me and rest.

     

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #40 on: July 28, 2012, 06:41:05 AM »
Thanks for the catches, dj.  I will make the changes.  I agree, "I know what's the best" makes more sense, though the vowel sound on "I" is really moved around a lot.  Jim really hammed this one up, didn't he?  That old "Country Blues Classics" series introduced me to a lot of artists for the first time.  I find myself oddly nostalgic for that era, when one knew so little about the musicians, and each new re-issue had a couple of more mysterious gems.
All best,
Johnm

Offline Stuart

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #41 on: July 28, 2012, 07:06:32 AM »
I find myself oddly nostalgic for that era, when one knew so little about the musicians, and each new re-issue had a couple of more mysterious gems.

That's one of the reasons I live in the past.  ;)

Offline Johnm

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #42 on: August 20, 2012, 12:31:34 PM »
Hi all,
Jim Jackson backed himself out of G position in standard tuning for his rendition of "This Morning She Was Gone".  I remember this song being covered by the Youngbloods on their first album, back in the mid-60s.  Jackson does some impressive faux sobbing and groaning in his version.  I can't think of many present-day musicians who could pull this off, but Jerron Paxton certainly could.



SPOKEN: People, my good girl has quit me and gone, and that's the reason why I'm gonna sing you this song.

REFRAIN: When I woke up this mornin', she's gone
She made me mad
I felt so sad
But I would not tell you the reason why
Oh, how she loved to dance that old Grizzly Bear
I guess she's gone to Frisco, to dance it there
'Cause when I woke up this mornin', she's gone oh! (groans)

REFRAIN: When I woke up this mornin', she's gone
She made me mad
I felt so sad
I would not tell you even the reason why
Oh, how she loved to dance that old Grizzly Bear
I guess she's gone to Frisco, to dance it there
'Cause when I woke up this mornin', she's gone

She's gone, gone, gone
She's gone, gone, gone

Always a sign, everybody know it's true
The more you do for people, the less they think of you
Now, she left town and she th'owed me down
And she's gone, gone, gone  oh! (sobs)

REFRAIN: When I woke up this mornin', she's gone
She made me mad
I felt so sad
She would not even tell me the reason why
Oh, how she loved to dance that old Grizzly Bear
I guess she's gone to Frisco, to dance it there
'Cause when I woke up this mornin', she's gone
'Cause when I woke up this mornin', she's gone

Edited, 8/21 to pick up correction from uncle bud

All best,
Johnm


« Last Edit: July 10, 2020, 12:11:27 PM by Johnm »

Offline uncle bud

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #43 on: August 20, 2012, 02:45:40 PM »
It was not a version with sobbing, but Paul Geremia did an up-tempo, raggy version on 12-string with Jim Bennett on mandolin on his Love, Murder and Mosquitos record that I enjoy. A number of Jim Jackson songs seem like good candidates for re-arranging to me.
« Last Edit: August 20, 2012, 03:20:44 PM by uncle bud »

Offline dj

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Re: Jim Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #44 on: August 20, 2012, 04:40:28 PM »
The Grizzly Bear was a dance craze that originated in San Francisco in the first decade of the 20th century.  This means the song was probably written somewhere around 20 years before Jim Jackson recorded it in 1928.  It must have sounded very smart and current when it was written - it would have fit right in with Archeophone's Phonographic Yearbook for 1908 alongside Glow Worm and Take Me Out To The Ball Game - and a bit old and musty when it was recorded.     

 


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