When Alan posed the question "What are the blues? What do they mean to you?" the answers were in part something he sought for himself, to understand this musical form that may have been as ancient as the griots in West Africa, or perhaps as recent as the automobile, the airplane, and the phonograph (all of which made guest appearances in the blues). The blues had become a craze, like ragtime, which grew up alongside it, and it leaped from the bottom of the social order to the Astors and the Vanderbilts, who staged blues contests for their own amusement well before the rest of white America came to know them - from Alan Lomax, The Man Who Recorded the World, by John Szwed
Mary Johnson – Vocals Judson Brown – Piano Tampa Red – Guitar
April 8, 1930 Chicago, Illinois
Piano in F# Guitar in Vestapol
INTRO
I wake up every mornin’, just at the dawn of day I wake up every mornin’, just at the dawn of day I am wonderin’ and thinkin’ why, did my good man go away
When I woke up this mornin’, it was just at the break of day When I woke up this mornin’, it was just at the break of day I was thinkin’ of that mean old woman, that had stole my man away
GUITAR SOLO (Ah, play ‘em, play it a long time)
Now, I go out and I try, to have my good time Now, I go out and I try, to have my good time But it seems to me that I, just not can’t keep from cryin’
Well, I hate to see, that evening sun go down Well, I hate to see, that evening sun go down But it’s the worrisome old night and I’m, blue all night long
OUTRO
« Last Edit: November 20, 2021, 03:17:35 PM by Blues Vintage »
Rattlesnake treating papa, what makes you treat your mama so mean Rattlesnake treating papa, what makes you treat your mama so mean You know that your mama loves you, that's why you treat me like you do
You treats me like a rattlesnake, crawling on the ground You treats me like a rattlesnake, crawling on the ground The better I try to treat you, the more you throw your mama down
SOLO (Spoken: Ah, fiddle that ivory board)
Oh, that's all right, daddy, that's all right for you Oh, that's all right, daddy, that's all right for you Someday you'll want poor Mary and she'll, be so far from you
SOLO
Oh, rattlesnake crawling daddy, you know you doin’ me wrong Oh, rattlesnake crawling daddy, you know you doin’ me wrong I'm looking for you baby and you, crawling ‘round some other terrapins home
You dog me early in the morning, and dog me late at night You dog me early in the morning, and you dog me late at night And I can tell by that rat, you ain't treating your mama right
OUTRO
« Last Edit: November 27, 2021, 01:05:10 PM by Blues Vintage »
You dog me ALL in the morning, and dog me late at night You dog me ALL in the morning, and you dog me late at night And I can tell by that, RAT, you ain't treating your mama right
She would probably sing "soon one morning" if she meant "early"
In the tag line of the next to last verse I think she is using a derogatory term for another woman that sounds something like "terpie's" (almost "turkey" in honor of yesterday in the states).
Heh-heh. I checked Bob McLeod and he had "terrapin's". Another reptile, like a rattlesnake? Well, some agreement with the "t" and "p" sounds I hear.
Wax
Logged
"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it." George Bernard Shaw
“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.” Joseph Heller, Catch-22
I hear "early" also and it sounds more like "Ray" than "Rat" to me. Terrapin I think is possible; I looked it up and it can be a term of contempt besides the obvious reptile meaning.