Topic: Memphis Minnie Lyrics

[Dr Pryor]

Can't find the "thumbs up" icon... Thank you, thank you, and thank you again!

[Dr Pryor]

Hi, can't access the Memphis Minnie lyrics page. Below, thanks to your forum and the solving of my missing line, I'm proposing Minnie's Bad luck blues:

Every man I get, if he don't get sick, he will die
Don't some woman take him away from me on a doggone fly

I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman I can't see the reason why

Well the next man I got, you know he worked very hard
Just as soon as I got him he lost his doggone job

I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman I can't see the reason why

Well the next man I got he was a railroad man
Just as soon as I got him everything went out his doggone hands

I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman I can't see the reason why

Well the next man I got he was long and tall
Everytime I looked around he was kickin' at some other man’s stall

I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman I can't see the reason why

(Ok, play now boys… play it for me
That's what I am talking about...)

Well the next man I got he was short and fat
I couldn't keep him because he wasn't tight like that

I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman I can't see the reason why

Well the next man I got he was a sandhog in the sea
I had him two days and he got drowned away from me

I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman I can't see the reason why

Well the next man I got bought me a hat and a dress
And every time I look around, the police had gone a doggone arrest

I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman
I'm a bad luck woman I can't see the reason why

[banjochris]

Couple suggestions Dr. Pryor – hopefully the admins can merge this into the main lyric thread:

Title is I'm a Bad Luck Woman

3.2 Just as soon as I got him everything HURT his doggone HAND

7.2 And every time I look around, the police had HIM UNDER doggone arrest
Chris

[Dr Pryor]

Hi Banjochris,
If I ever manager to convince a publisher that my project is worth printing, your name will be in it!

[banjochris]

thanks!

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I was surprised to find that we've never transcribed the lyrics to Memphis Minnie's "Drunken Barrelhouse Blues", one of her solo numbers. She played it out of G position in standard tuning and uses a form in which most of the proportions of the 12-bar form are doubled, for the verses. Here is "Drunken Barrelhouse Blues":



INTRO SOLO

If you listen to me, good people, I'll tell you what it's all about
If you listen to me, good people, I'll tell you what it's all about
Well, this good stuff is here, and it's just come now

Catch me drunk in the mornin', don't say one mumblin' word
Catch me drunk in the mornin', don't say one mumblin' word
I can't tell y'all about it, and I ain't gon' tell you nothin' I heard (Spoken: Aw, play!)

SOLO

Well, I b'lieve I get drunk, tear this old barrelhouse down
Well, I b'lieve I'll get drunk, tear this old barrelhouse down
'Cause I ain't got no money, but I can hobo on out of town

Give me one more drink, drink of that bottle in bond
Give me one more drink, drink of that bottled in bond
And I will tell everything, just as soon as I get back home

Give me a stein of beer, if not a drink of gin
Give me a stein of beer, if not a drink of gin
I feel myself gettin' sober, I want to get back drunk again

CODA

Edited 2/2 to pick up corrections from lindy
Edited 2/3 to pick up correction from Harry

All best,
Johnm










 

[Blues Vintage]

I'm working on a Memphis Minnie song myself.

suggestions

1.3 and it's it just warm come now

3.3 but I can hobo on out of outta town

4.1 & 4.2 drink of that bottled in bond bottling burn     

5.3 I want to wanna get back drunk again

[lindy]

I've been working on this song for a while, and I hear three things differently. Except for the last line of verse 1 they're nit-picky, and can go either way.

1.1 / 1.2 --  I tell you what it's all about (instead of "I'll"--I don't hear the -'ll-)

1.3 and it's just pouring out

4.1 / 4.2 -- I don't hear the "d" in "bottled in bond," even though that's the formal written form for describing "the good stuff."

I'm confident I've heard "bottle in bond" (no 'd') sung in the past, but I admit that those memories could very well be from covers of the original. When I went looking for evidence on Weeniepedia, the only thing I came up with was a song titled "Boll Weevil" by Irvin 'Gar Mouth' Lowry:

The clerk said, "Go 'way, mister farmer, boll weevil's in your field."
She were drinkin' bottle in bond, bottle in bond.

Discovering someone with the nickname "Gar Mouth" made my day.

Lindy  


[banjochris]

I agree with Lindy on the "I" in 1.1/1.2

1.3 I think is "it's just come now"

4.1/4.2 I don't hear the "d" either, but it's definitely bottle/bottled in bond. Interestingly, Ethel McCoy doesn't pronounce the "d" either in her recording.

On the outta/out of, want to/wanna, I know we've been over that before; I think it's fine as is.
Chris

[Johnm]

Thanks for the suggestions, Harry and lindy. I took some but not all of them. Re "I" versus, "I'll", I hear "I'll" in 1.1 and 1.2, it just seems a more complex sound at the back than a simple "I" would. I do hear "pouring out" rather than "come out", in re-listening to 1.3. I'm not going to change "out of" to "outta". Re "bottled in bond", I agree it's "bottle in bond" the first time she sings it, but she does put the "d" on the second time. "Bottling burn" is meaningless, Harry.

[Blues Vintage]

I don't hear "pouring out" at all in 1.3
I'm pretty sure it's "come now".

[Johnm]

Harry, I don't hear the "c" at the front end, and I also don't hearing the "m" in "come". It sounds like "pourin' out" to me.

[MarkC]

Sounds like “it just come now” to me.

[Johnm]

Thanks for hanging in there with "just come now" for those of you who did. I just re-listened again, and heard "now" clearly, and as a separate word, and that cleared the way for "come". Actually, I put "come now" when I entered the song in Weeniepedia originally, so I'll just make the change in the original post. Thanks!

[Blues Vintage]

Sylvester And His Mule Blues


Memphis Minnie - Vocals, Guitar
"Dennis" (Possibly Charlie Segar) – Piano

January 10, 1935
Chicago, Illinois

Piano in D





Sylvester went out his lot he looked at his mule
And he decided he send the president some news
Sylvester went out in his lot and he looked at his mule
And he decided he will send the president some news

Sylvester walked out across his field begin to pray and moan
He cried oh Lord b’lieve I'm gonna lose my home
Sylvester walked out across his farm begin to pray and moan
He cried oh Lord I believe I will lose my home

He thought about the president he got on the wire
If I lose my home I believe I'll die
He thought about the president and he got on his wire
If I lose my home I believe I will die

He called the president on the telephone
I wanna talk to you I’m ‘bout to lose my home
He called the president on the telephone
I wanna talk to you I’m ‘bout to lose my home

First time he called he get him somebody else
I don't want to talk to that man I’ll speak to Mr. President Roosevelt
First time he called he get him someone else
I don't want to talk to that man I want to talk to Mr. Roosevelt

He said now Sylvester you can rest in ease
Catch that big black jackass and go in by your field
He said Sylvester you can rest in ease
You can catch that jackass to raise all your cotton and seed