Topic: Jim Jackson Lyrics

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Jim Jackson recorded "I'm Gonna Start Me a Graveyard of My Own" in 1927, backing himself out of G position in standard tuning for the song.  G and E positions in standard tuning were certainly his favorite playing positions, and in G he normally employed a modified boom-chang approach.  He got a lot of mileage from a chromatic walk-down on the fourth string from the second fret down to the open fourth string, and particularly liked to use the move when vamping.
Jim Jackson excelled at this type of song, which may be characterized as a "comical threat" song.  I know some of you were fortunate enough to see John Jackson perform Jim Jackson's "I'm A Bad, Bad Man", just beaming as he sang, "chopped enough meat offa that man's head to feed all the dogs in town".  It always seemed so incongruous, because John Jackson was one of the nicest guys in the world.  In any event, Jim Jackson really delivered "I'm Gonna Start Me a Graveyard of My Own" with gusto.  Jim Jackson transitions seamlessly from the recitation to the sung lines that follow it in the performance.



REFRAIN: I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own
If that man don't leave my gal alone
Oh, my razor certainly am a trusty blade, lay that man right in the shade
I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own

Aw, she bundled up my clothes and th'owed 'em out of doors
I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own
Well, she gave me the sack, gonna never come back
And I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own

REFRAIN: Yeah, I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own
If that man don't leave my girl alone
My razor certainly am a trusty blade, lay that man right in the shade
I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own

'Cause I'm 'round him, downed him, I ain't good-lookin' but found him
I don't believe nobody'll drag me away
Yes, I'm around him, downed him, I ain't good-lookin' but found him
I don't believe nobody'll drag me 'way

Aw, she bundled up my clothes and th'owed 'em out of doors
I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own
She gave me the sack, gon' never come back
And I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own

RECITATION: 'Course, I was down to a girl's house the other night.  She told me she didn't have no one to come to see 'er.  I went down there, knocked on the door, she told me to come in.  Whilst I was sittin' down there, another man come down there, bigger than I was.  He come in and I spoke to him and he spoke awful dry, and to let me know he owned everything down there, he went on through in the back room.  Whilst he was in there, this girl said, "Don't pay that man no mind", say, "He used to be somethin' here, but he ain't nothin' here now.".  I said, "I ain't studyin' 'bout that man, 'cause I'm just--
SUNG:  'Round him, downed him, I ain't good-lookin' but found him
I don't believe nobody'll drag me away

REFRAIN: 'Cause I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own
If that man don't leave my girl alone
Oh, my razor certainly am a trusty blade, lay that man right in the shade
I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own

All best,
Johnm 

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Jim Jackson backed himself out of G position in standard tuning for his version of "Wild About My Lovin'".  From Jackson's era, the song was also recorded by the mandolin-banjo player and singer Lonnie Colman, whom I believe only had one other title released.  I first heard the song performed by the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, with a fine vocal by Geoff Muldaur.  Jim Jackson's spoken interjection in the middle of the chorus to the fifth verse is oddly reminiscent of some of Uncle Dave Macon's shouted asides.  For verses three through five, Jim Jackson chose not to go to the IV chord at the beginning of the refrain, and achieved an interesting sort of musical holding pattern, just hanging out in the I chord and walking down his fourth string.



I'm go and tell the sergeant, see the Chief Police
The women 'round here won't let me see no peace
REFRAIN: I'm wild about my lovin' and I like to have my fun
You want to be a girl of mine, baby, bring it with you when you come

Hello, Central, what's the matter with your line?
I want to talk to that high brown of mine
REFRAIN: I'm wild about my lovin' and I like to have my fun
If you want to be a girl of mine, baby, bring it with you when you come

I don't want no sugar stirred up in my tea
'Cause the girl I love is sweet enough for me
REFRAIN: I'm wild about my lovin' and I like to have my fun (Spoken: Hey, now!)
You want to be a girl of mine, baby, bring it with you when you come

I ain't no iceman, and no iceman's son
But I can keep you cool until the iceman comes
REFRAIN: I'm wild about my lovin' and I like to have my fun
If you want to be a girl of mine, baby, bring it with you when you come

I ain't no fireman, and no fireman's son
But I can keep you warm until the fireman comes
REFRAIN: I'm wild about my lovin' and I like to have my fun (Spoken: Set the soup outdoors!)
If you want to be a girl of mine, baby, bring it with you when you come

I'm gonna tell all you peoples to listen to this song
I'm gonna see my good girl and it won't be long
REFRAIN: 'Cause I'm wild about my lovin' and I like to have my fun
You want to be a girl of mine, baby, bring it with you when you come, I mean, when you come

Edited 7/3 to pick up corrections from ScottN

All best,
Johnm

[ScottN]

Hi Johnm - I only have one take (Take 2) of I'm Wild About My Lovin' but I assume it is the same one based on some of the phrasing.  Here is what I am hearing:

1.2 [THEM] women round here
1.3 Refrain: ['Cause] I'm wild
2.4 I don't hear the opening "If" maybe the " 'f " but I don't even hear that
4.1 I don't here the "and" in "and no iceman's son"
4.2 ['til] vs "until"
6.2 [Goin' to] vs [gonna] see...
6.2 I don't here the "good" in "good girl"
6.3 [Because] I'm wild about...

Thanks,
           Scott

[Johnm]

Hi Scott,
I don't know what take of "Wild About My Lovin'" this one is, but it's the one I did the transcription from.  I'll check it against your suggestions.



All best,
Johnm

[dj]

Johnm, the version you've posted is take 1.

[Johnm]

Thanks for that information, dj.  I figured it was a different take, but made a couple of changes after re-listening.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Jim Jackson backed himself out of G position in standard tuning for "What A Time".  The song is a kind of novelty song with an unusual double chorus.  The verses remind me a bit of Frank Stokes' song "You Shall", with a droning sort of melody and very droll lyrics.  This song is of a type you virtually never hear performed by present-day musicians.



REFRAIN:  Sayin', what a time, what a time
What a time, what a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time
Sayin', what a time
What a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time

There tain't no need of me workin' hard
I got a girl in the white folks' yard
Brings me chicken and she brings me pie
I get some of everything the white folks buy
REFRAIN: Ain't that a time, what a time
Oh, what a time, what a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time
Sayin', what a time
What a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time

Tain't no need of me workin' hard
I had another girl in the white folks' yard
Bring me chicken and she bring me ham
If she don't bring nothin', I don't give a ---
REFRAIN:  Oh, what a time, what a time
What a time, what a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time
Sayin', what a time
What a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time

I crawled in the henhouse on my knees
Thought I heard a Shanghai sneeze
Wasn't but a rooster sayin' his prayers
Givin' out hymns to the hens upstairs
REFRAIN: Ain't that a time, what a time
Oh, what a time, what a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time
Sayin', what a time
What a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time

There stand a man, right over there
With a blue coat on and looks pretty fair
Got his collar all 'round his th'oat
I said he smells like a billy goat
REFRAIN: Ain't that a time, ain't it a time
Oh, what a time, what a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time
Sayin', what a time
What a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time

Me and my girl had a falling out
Goin' to tell you what the fuss was about
That's the truth and it's a natural fact
She wanted me to work on the railroad tracks
REFRAIN:  Wasn't that a time, what a time
What a time, what a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time
Sayin', what a time
What a time
What a time, talkin' with angels
What a time

I went down the cellar, t' get a glass of cider
There was a bedbug, playin' with a spider
Spider and the bedbug got in a tussle
Spider kicked the stuffin' out of the bedbug's bustle
REFRAIN: Ain't that a time
Oh, what a time
Oh, what a time, talkin' with angels
What a time

All best,
Johnm

   

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Jim Jackson played "My Monday Blues", an 8-bar blues, out of E position in standard tuning.  It's an interesting agglomeration of verses, starting out with "East St. Louis Blues", maybe the progenitor of all 8-bar blues, going into "Every Day of the Week", and even working in a bit of "Corinne".  Is this the take you alluded to earlier in this thread, Alex?
Jim Jackson had a wonderful time stroke, and his backbeat really smacked down crisply.  He has an interesting personal take on the very beginning of the form--he's the only player I can remember hearing who opens the form playing an E7, fingered 0-X-X-X-4-3-4, rather than an E, fingered 0-X-X-X-4-5-4.  I can't figure out what he's saying at the tail end of the opening line of the second verse, and would appreciate some help.  I'll attach a video of the performance.



I walked all the way from East St. Louis here
I did not have but one poor dime

It wasn't for me and either no poor soul
it was for that high brown-skinned of mine

I started to walkin' and my feet got soakin' wet
I got to thinkin' 'bout my good gal and I ain't quit walkin' yet

My Monday brownskin works 22 on Main
But my Tuesday brownskin brings me pocket change

But my Wednesday woman loves whiskey and sometimes do drink beer
But my Thursday girl give me the devil if she catch me here

My Friday good girl reads me the daily news
But my Saturday high brown buys my socks and shoes

I've got a gal in Georgia, one in Lou'siana
Four in Chattanooga, six in Alabama
Four, five women, right down in Memphis, Tennessee
If you don't like my peaches, let my orchard be

When you see me comin', a-heist your window high
And when you see me leavin', hang your head and cry

If you see Corinne, tell her I say hurry home
I ain't had no lovin' since Corinne been gone

A good-lookin' woman'll make a rabbit move his family to town
And a bad-lookin' gal will make a mule kick his stable down

Edited 7/9 to pick up corrections from dj

All best,
Johnm

[dj]

John, I believe the second verse is:

It wasn't for me and EITHER NO POOR SOUL
It was for that high brown-skinned of mine

Also, I think you've got a typo in the second line of the third verse, it should be:

I got to thinkin' 'bout my good gal and I ain't QUIT walkin' yet

[Johnm]

Thanks very much for "either no poor soul", dj.  I think I have heard that sung by other musicians, too, and have never understood it before.  You're right, too, I transcribed "quit" and typed "stopped".  I work in too much haste sometimes.  Thanks for back-stopping me.
All best,
Johnm

[GhostRider]

John:

Yes, this is the version I'm familar with.

Alex

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Jim Jackson backed himself out of E position in standard tuning for "Mobile-Central Blues".  This is such a strong performance.  His accompaniment is almost static--he only goes to the IV chord in the second and last verses, briefly, and never really goes to a V chord, but the wonderful rocking time of his and the sheer force of repetition has a cumulative impact.  I'm beginning to feel that Jim Jackson is like Lemon Jefferson and Peg Leg Howell, in that so many of his lyrics were picked up and used by people who came after him (and may have been used for some time before Jim Jackson sang them).  The vocal gets full emphasis on this song; he arrives singing and never takes a solo.



Have you ever loved somebody, that somebody didn't love you?
Have you ever loved somebody, that somebody didn't love you?
Well now, I love my good girl, I don't care what she do

I'm worried now, baby, I won't be worried long
I'm worried now, baby, I won't be worried long
'Cause the girl I love done caught the train and gone

Have you ever taken a trip on the Mobile-Central line?
Have you ever taken a trip on the Mobile-Central line?
That's the road to ride to ease your trouble in mind

Love you like a faucet, you can turn it off or on
Love you like a faucet, you can turn it off or on
And when you think you've got it, it's done turned off and gone

If a white man had the blues, he goes down to the river and set down
If a white man had the blues, he goes down to the river and set down
Then if the blues overtakes him, he jumps overboard and drowns

If a colored man had the blues, he goes down to the river and set down
If a colored man had the blues, he goes down to the river and set down
Then if the blues overtakes him, he thinks about his woman and come on back to town

All best,
Johnm

[GhostRider]

If a white man had the blues, he goes down to the river and set down
If a white man had the blues, he goes down to the river and set down
Then if the blues overtakes him, he jumps overboard and drowns

If a colored man had the blues, he goes down to the river and set down
If a colored man had the blues, he goes down to the river and set down
Then if the blues overtakes him, he thinks about his woman and come on back to town

All best,
Johnm

John, I'm more familiar with these two verses being the first two verses in Stokes' Nehi Mama Blues. Do you know whether this tune or Nehi was released first.

And the rest of the verses are all classics. If this was first, it must have the most stolen verses of all time (with the exception of "Matchbox")!


Alex

[dj]

Mobile-Central Blues was recorded on January 22, 1928.  Nehi Mama Blues came 8 months later, on August 27, 1928.

[GhostRider]

Mobile-Central Blues was recorded on January 22, 1928.  Nehi Mama Blues came 8 months later, on August 27, 1928.

Thanks, dj.

Alex