Rivers -- another possibility -- It sounds to me like he's saying "Believe I'm got to low my line" -- low as in "lower," and that it's a fishing reference, and he's casting his line out for the Kansas City women.
Chris
I think it's Deadville, too. A succinct way of putting it.
I'd the the Fort Worth Blues, and [jelly's hard to gee] ???
Got the the Fort Worth Blues, and [jelly's hard to gee] ???
Can't keep my woman from all 'time worryin' me
Come here pretty mama, tell me where you goin'
Look a-here pretty mama, tell me where you goin'
If you can't tell me, it sure gonna be your wrong
I' taken you woman, to-oo be my freind
Yes I've taken you woman, only to be my frein'
Just look what hole, yes you've got me in
MmmmMmmmMmmm, MmmMmm, MmmMmm, Mmmm
Mmmmmmmmmmmm, MmmMmm, MmmMmm, Mmmm
MmmmMmmmHmmm, MmmMmm, Hmmmmm, Hmmm
''[Instrumental verse]''
Fort Worth Blues, and [jelly's hard to gee] ???
Got the the Fort Worth Blues, and [jelly's hard to gee] ???
And the blues, oh God, it keeps on worryin' me
Good morning blues, blues how do you do?
And good morning blues, blues how do you do?
"I'm doin' fairly well, baby how' ra' you?"
Fort Worth & Dallas Blues, also from Larry Cohn's comp Leadbelly King of the 12-String Guitar. I've basically decided to focus on this album, with the numbers in standard tuning (though tuned down for the 12) first.
This one gets up a head of steam and drives like a _________. Since I believe it's played out of an E chord and uses a lot of licks you already know it's great for migrating your classic E blues licks to 12 string. Having said that you can also play it out of an F chord, though not as easily, which would put him tuned down to C. Comments welcome.
Leadbelly adds to the E licks with a nifty signature short bass run down to the V and a fairly quirky boogie break on the bass strings that's tailor made for 12 string guitar. Dig the tips of the hat to his pal Lemon throughout.
Here's a tough lyric, mystery phrase is marked, ideas and corrections welcome.
I also swear he sings "Dean" not "Deem" but have left it per the ARC title.
I'm really not certain where he's tuned or what chord position he'd playing out of. My best guess is dropped D, guitar tuned down to C so true pitch B flat. There's a classic low drop D bass lick at the end of several verses, is what makes me think so. Having said that I'm having trouble getting the guitar to sound like Huddie, who keeps up an industrial-strength vamp throughout. I'll probably end up picking it my way.
Being an 8 bar blues with a very similar tune to Furry Lewis's Dry Land Blues it also sounds good out of an E position with the first I and V7 played around the E and B7 triads at the fourth fret, but that's just by the by, unless it is actually in E, but I doubt that. He throws in a nice passing V Augmented (sharp 5) chord in the last V to pick out the melody.
Becky Deem, She Was a Gamblin' Girl
23 January 1935 NYC
ARC 6-04-55
Transcribed from Leadbelly King of the 12-String Guitar, Columbia Roots 'N' Blues 467893
[Instrumental verse]
Becky Deem, she was a gamblin' gal
Win all her money, and she win it fair
Becky Deem, she was a gamblin' gal
She win her money, and she win it fair
Becky Deem, had her games on the ground
She win all the money the skinner lay down
Becky Deem, had her games on the ground
She win all the money the skinner lay down
[Instrumental verse]
She start to hit once, would a sank a fee[???]
By the end o' that they hollerin' "Don't you murder me"
She start to hit once, would a sank a fee[???]
By the end o' that they hollerin' "Don't you murder me"
[Instrumental verse x 2]
Walked all the way from East St Louis
She didn't have but the one thin dime
She walked all the way from East St Louis
And she didn't have but the one thin dime
Never spent it for whiskey, and honey neither for wine
Yes I spent it all on the sake of the man of mine
She never spent it for whiskey, and honey neither for wine
I spent it all on the sake o' the man o' mine
[Instrumental verse outro]
a wooden bar swung at the center from a hitch on a plow, wagon, etc. and hooked at either end to the traces of a horse's harness
I really have a hard time picking keys and tunings with the 12 so I'm totally sure it could be out of E, in fact it's easier for me to play like that so that would be just fine! That would have him tuned down another full step to B flat, right? (he asked nervously)
She win all the money the skinner<ref>Could be a "mule skinner" (driver), see singletree ref below</ref> laid down
| Title | 1st pos. chord, or open tuning name | Semitones down from E | Pitch |
| Shorty George | C | 4 | Ab |
| Kansas City Papa | E | 6 | Bb |
| T.B. Woman Blues | A | 3 | F# |
| Fort Worth & Dallas Blues | G | 5 | D |
| Becky Deem, She Was a Gamblin' Girl | E | 6 | Bb |
| Honey, I'm All Out And Down | D | 6 | Ab |
Wax's Gee / Haw animal driver turn signals were new to me, thanks for that. So what the heck is "gee, by the lamb"? My gut feeling, there's more to it.
| Title | 1st pos. chord or open tuning name | Semitones down from E | Pitch |
| Packin' Trunk | Spanish, Ab | n/a | Ab |
| Becky Deem, She Was a Gamblin' Girl | E | 6 | Bb |
| Honey, I'm All Out And Down | D | 6 | Ab |
| Four Day Worry Blues | D | 6 | Ab |
| Roberta Part I | F | 6 | B |
| Roberta Part II | F | 6 | B |
| Death Letter Blues Part I | A | ||
| Death Letter Blues Part II | A | ||
| Kansas City Papa | E | 6 | Bb |
| Fort Worth & Dallas Blues | G | 5 | D |
| You Don't Know My Mind | G | ||
| Ox Drivin' Blues | A(7) | 6 | Eb |
| Daddy I'm Coming Back To You | C | ||
| Shorty George | C | 4 | Ab |
| Yellow Jacket | A | ||
| T.B. Woman Blues | A | 3 | F# |
| Pig Meat Papa | F | ||
| My Baby Quit Me | A |
Daddy I'm Coming Back to You: C (Is this the earliest recording of a black artist covering Jimmie Rodgers? and did we list this in the waltz thread?)
I didn't check the pitch but recall from checking at another time that some of these Spanish tuning songs were pitched at Ab.
I'm sittin' down here wonderin' would a matchbox hold my clothes
I'm sittin' here down wonderin' would a matchbox hold my clothes
I'm sittin' here down wonderin' would a matchbox hold my clothes
(She said, "Daughters, go play the piano please for me a little piece." Little girls jumped down and commenced to play the piano.)
Er... it IS in the waltz thread, but listed as "Daddy and Home". Is this uncorrect?
QuoteI didn't check the pitch but recall from checking at another time that some of these Spanish tuning songs were pitched at Ab.
Ab it is. Agree it's lap style.QuoteI'm sittin' down here wonderin' would a matchbox hold my clothes
I'm sittin' here down wonderin' would a matchbox hold my clothes
I'm sittin' here down wonderin' would a matchbox hold my clothes
You have "...down here..." reversed in both the second and third line, they are identical to the first.
(She said, "Daughters, go play the piano please for me a little piece." Little girls jumped down and commenced to play the piano.)
...playin the piano
'Me an' my gal come walkin' down the road
Wind from her feet knockin' Sugar In The Gourd
| Title | 1st pos. chord or open tuning name | Semitones down from E | Pitch |
| Packin' Trunk | Spanish, Ab | n/a | Ab |
| Becky Deem, She Was a Gamblin' Girl | E | 6 | Bb |
| Honey, I'm All Out And Down | D | 6 | Ab |
| Four Day Worry Blues | D | 6 | Ab |
| Roberta Part I | F | 6 | B |
| Roberta Part II | F | 6 | B |
| Death Letter Blues Part I | A | 6 | Eb |
| Death Letter Blues Part II | A | 6 | Eb |
| Kansas City Papa | E | 6 | Bb |
| Fort Worth & Dallas Blues | G | 5 | D |
| You Don't Know My Mind | G | 5 | D |
| Ox Drivin' Blues | A(7) | 6 | Eb |
| Daddy I'm Coming Back To You | C | 5 | G |
| Shorty George | C | 4 | Ab |
| Yellow Jacket | A | 4 | F |
| T.B. Woman Blues | A | 3 | Gb |
| Pig Meat Papa | F | 4 | Db |
| My Baby Quit Me | A | 4 | F |
1.3 I ain't got but little [business]...-- That's about as close as I think we'll get and could well be correct, he's fluffing all around the actual phrase.
...Daddy when I am cryin'-- Brilliant.
2.1 BEEN not bin--OK--,
no IT after had-- I definitely hear HAD IT in both lines, run together slightly.
And I was so ashamed of myself TO HEAR HER STANDIN' IN THERE cryin'-- agree.
...No SHE in next line
So many [high ???] was standin' aroundWhat I can hear in my head is "hacks" which I've always taken to mean carriages which brought folk to the funeral. But I'll have to give it a spin.
So many [high ???] was a-standin' around
When they take my baby, to the buryin' ground
Yes I went to the depot, [cause the train to fly ??? ]Again in my head I can hear for the first line "caught the train a-flyin'" but as this is a common blues expression I'd better listen to the disc!
I went to the depot, caught the train [up long ???]
When he walks in Lord, she was low lay down
So many [high ???] was standin' aroundWhat I can hear in my head is "hacks" which I've always taken to mean carriages which brought folk to the funeral. But I'll have to give it a spin.
So many [high ???] was a-standin' around
When they take my baby, to the buryin' ground
If you would speak one word babe, give my heart to me
You don't miss pretty mama, 'til you're [hang Huh] goodbye
I'm not sure I have the same version of the song, but it sounds like a garbled "So many hackney horses was a-standin' around."
If you would speak one word babe, give my heart SOME EASE
You don't miss pretty mama, 'til you SHAKE YOUR HANDS goodbye
I have a photocopy of a transcription of 'Whoa Back, Buck' from, I'm thinking, a Lomax American folk song book. 'Buck' is song 282 & has this verse
'Me an' my gal come walkin' down the road
Wind from her feet knockin' Sugar In The Gourd
Sugar in the gourd & the gourd on the ground,
Want to get the sugar gotta roll the gourd around.'
which just goes to show you get much better transcriptions on weeniecampbell!
'Breakfast on the table, my COFFEE's getting cold
Mama's in the kitchen getting her sweet papa TOLD'?
' . . . Come home & tucked my pistols in my overalls'
Hey Rivers, in that spoken part in 'Daddy I'm Comin' Back To You', I don't have the recording handy at the moment but I think he's saying
' . . . His papa's hair had turned to silver
When he got back home.'
| Title | 1st pos. chord or open tuning name | Semitones down from E | Pitch |
| Packin' Trunk | Spanish, Ab | n/a | Ab |
| Becky Deem, She Was a Gamblin' Girl | E | 6 | Bb |
| Honey, I'm All Out And Down | D | 6 | Ab |
| Four Day Worry Blues | D | 6 | Ab |
| Roberta Part I | F | 6 | B |
| Roberta Part II | F | 6 | B |
| Death Letter Blues Part I | A | 6 | Eb |
| Death Letter Blues Part II | A | 6 | Eb |
| Kansas City Papa | E | 6 | Bb |
| Fort Worth & Dallas Blues | G | 5 | D |
| You Don't Know My Mind | G | 5 | D |
| Ox Drivin' Blues | A(7) | 6 | Eb |
| Daddy I'm Coming Back To You | C | 5 | G |
| Shorty George | C | 4 | Ab |
| Yellow Jacket | A | 4 | F |
| T.B. Woman Blues | A | 3 | Gb |
| Pig Meat Papa | F | 4 | Db |
| My Baby Quit Me | A | 4 | F |
Yellow Jacket - Leadbelly
25 March 1935 NYC
Nothing wrong with being nitpicky, Bob, but if I may be nitpicky myself, the two American and one Canadian dictionary I checked have "yellow jacket" as two words, as do citations from Random House, Merriam-Webster and the American Heritage Dictionary at dictionary.com. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/yellow%20jacket. So the two-word version is certainly common, perhaps even the accepted version, though I'm no bug expert.
So ... What's the story with Tom Bluecoat Nelson?
QuoteSo ... What's the story with Tom Bluecoat Nelson?
I've always worried about that... I went to a Bluecoat school, Reading to be precise, see http://www.archivist.f2s.com/bsu/Blcoat.htm ... weird, eh? I seriously doubt there's a connection though! :P
Years of managing the heavy skirted garment are said to develop a gait of measured dignity amongst the bluecoat boys.
[edit: now added to weeniepedia (http://www.weeniecampbell.com/wiki/index.php?title=Kansas_City_Papa)]
Somebody please listen and tell me what he sings in the last line of each verse. My theory is total gibberish. I've translated as close as I can get to it. It sounds like it might be a mangled 'Believe I'm 'bout blow my line', and 'blow my line' is also clear in verse 2 line 1. But on the tag lines he sings 'low my line'. ??? And what does 'blow my line' mean anyway, or is that a dumb question?
...Kansas City, ain't it a pity
Kansas City, b'lieve 'm 'bout to low' my line <ref>Clearly he says "low" which we believe is a contraction of "lower" and a fishing reference, he's casting his line out for the Kansas City women</ref>
When I get to Kansas City I'm gonna blow my line <ref>At variance with the tag lines, he clearly says "blow my line". Cab Calloway reports "line" means money in the Hepster's Dictionary</ref>
I get to Kansas City I'll be hard to find
In Kansas City, ain't it a pity
Kansas City, believe 'm bout to low' my line
Some of this was covered. There are lots of Leadbelly songs about gambling. "To blow my line" means he is willing to blow his whole bankroll. The odds laid on a game are often called "the line"
[spoken] Two women was jivin' with one another one day
"You keep on talkin' til you make me think
Your daddy was a bulldog and your mammy was a man" I think this line should be mink rather than man. Mink and weasel are closely related and the terms are interchanged. The offspring of a bulldog and a weasel would make for a pretty truculent woman. Later in the song he also mentions a polecat. Some people call skunks polecats (polecats and skunks are related, but they are not the same animal. They all stink however). It is kind of hilarious to think about a smell skunk climbing a persimmon tree to get at the tasty fruit. Its possible that it could be minx as well. I like the idea of a mink better because it is more internally consistent.
In Kansas City, wadn't it a pity
Kansas City, b'lieve 'm 'bout to low' my line
"You keep on talkin' til you make me mad
I tell you 'bout the puppies that your sister had" Another hilarious line! I though he said "trouble that your sister had". Now that I have gone back and listened to it, it really does sound like puppies!"
In Kansas City, wadn't that a pity
Kansas City, b'lieve 'm 'bout to low' my line
The funniest thing that I ever did see
S'a polecat climbin' up a 'simmon tree
In Kansas City, wadn't it a pity
Kansas City, b'lieve 'm 'bout to low' my line
[edit: This is now in weeniepedia (http://www.weeniecampbell.com/wiki/index.php?title=Ox_Drivin%27_Blues)]
The phrase 'gee by the lamb', is that a cuss defused by an oblique reference to Christ do you think, or have I misheard 'lamb'? Perhaps it evolved from the vernacular, from 'gee-by-Christ' to 'gee-by-The-Lamb' is not too big of a stretch. I'm not convinced though.
I transcribed it blind first then did a lot of searching to see what others had come up with. There are a lot of dubious transcripts out there. Nobody else has "who made it black bad", you'd have to be a weenie and know some Lemon to hear that. I think it's right but as always I'm open to all corrections & comments.
I always thought it was "lam" as in "on the lam" or running from the law. Leadbelly of course had many prison songs/crime songs. I "heard it differently as well. There are other songs that refer to "jaybird". Jaybird pulling the turnin plough, sparrow pulling the harrow. Your gonna pull it today big boy, I'm gonna pull it tomorrow. Sometimes singers use and odd cadence to make the words fit the melody. Sometimes words are repeated etc. I always thought that it was about a prison break, and they were trying to get back home.
So........
Whoa back buck and jaybird on the lam
who mad it back, back.....Cunningham? ( Cunningham? Who is Cunningham? Is Jaybird Cunningham? Or is it a town? A jail, a sheriff or did it just rhyme?)
Whoa back buck and jaybird on the lam
Who made it back, back.....Oh God damn.
The contexts of the word "who" is interesting. Is it a question? Could it be read as "Buck and Jaybird, the ones that made it back" or the ones that successfully escaped prison.
Ox Drivin' Blues - Leadbelly
24 January 1935 NYC
ARC 16694-1 unissued
Transcribed from Leadbelly King of the 12-String Guitar, Columbia Roots 'N' Blues 467893
12 string in standard down 6 semitones to B and played in A(7) position, actual pitch is E flat
Whoa! back buck, and gee! by The Lamb!
Who made the back band? Cunningham
Whoa! back buck, and gee! by The Lamb
Who made the back band? Oh God damn
Whoa buck, and gee, by the lamb
Who made the back band? Oh God damn
[holler]This man he was drivin' twenty yoke of oxen
He was a long ways from home
And he looked down the road, looked like he could see his wife
And he 'gin to holler at the old oxen
"Kyyah! Whoa yeah buck, back up!"[/holler]
Whoa buck, and gee, by The Lamb
Who made the back band? Whoa, God damn
Eighteen, nineteen, twenty years ago
I'd take Shirl' to the party-oh
I'd take Shirl' to the party-oh
All dressed up in her calico
Whoa buck, and gee, by The Lamb
Who made the back band? Whoa, God damn
Me and my baby come a-walkin' down the road
Wind from her feet knockin' "Sugar In The Gourd"
Sugar in the gourd and the gourd on the ground
Want to get a sugar gotta roll the gourd around
Whoa buck, and gee, by The Lamb
Who made the back band? Whoa, God damn
[holler]"Kyyah! Whoa yeah, back up, whoa buck!"[/holler]
Whoa buck, and gee, by The Lamb
Who made the back band? Whoa, God damn
Whoah b(l)ack buck, and gee, by The Lamb
Who made the back band? Whoa, God damn
When I was skinnin' for Johnny Rye
Puttin' my initials on a mule's behind
Whoa buck, and gee, by The Lamb
Who made the back band? Whoa! God damn
[holler]"Kyyah! Whoa yeah, back up, whoa buck!"[/holler]
Whoa Buck, and gee, by The Lamb
Who made the back band? Whoa, God damn
Eighteen, nineteen, twenty years ago
Shirl' knocked down old Cotton Eyed Joe
Cotton Eyed Joe and-a Cotton Eyed Joe
Wouldn't let him dance for to sell his soul
Whoa buck, and gee, by The Lamb
Who made the back band? Whoa, God damn
==Notes==
<references/>
<ref>Whoa, back buck: Later song titles have 'back', he sometimes sings 'black' here</ref>
<ref>Gee: Animal team driver command to turn right. "Haw" is the command to turn left, "Whoa" to stop</ref>
<ref>"Gee! by The Lamb!", reference to Christ, defused exclamation venting frustration at getting the team to turn</ref>
<ref>back band: A strap going through the harness saddle to join the belly band either side. Takes the weight of the shafts or pole. In cart harness it is replaced by a chain running in a groove in the harness saddle, hooked to the shafts either side.</ref>
<ref>black bad: Alternative theory is "black bad", as in "too black bad". It actually sounds most like a hybrid, "black band"</ref>
<ref>Had fun feedin' on the sugar in the gourd: Could also be "Went for fishin' out the sugar in the gourd"
<ref>Sugar in the gourd: Various theories exist. Reference to coitus is the more likely, "gourd" as female reproductive apparatus, "sugar" as male, or semen</ref>
[edit: picked up corrections, added notes at bottom for inclusion in-line in weeniepedia]
[edit: picked up correction from cheapfeet]
His head, it was found in a driver's wheel
QuoteHis head, it was found in a driver's wheel
Listening to it again that's definitely what he sings, thank you. I've been singing it wrong for years, drivin' wheel versus driver's wheel. It's one of my favorite Lead songs. Do locomotives really have a driver's wheel, being on a track and all? I personally doubt it, my grandfather drove steam trains and they just had a throttle and a brake in the cab, and a bunch of plumbing and gauges. They did have a driving wheel though, two actually on the same axle, the biggest wheels. Perhaps he misheard it from an older source. But that is indeed what he sings.
Old Riley walked the water (Spoken: July is over (?))
Old Riley, he walked the water
In them long hot summer days
Can anyone help out with a exact date and location?
15 October 1948