Blues DIVAS

♥   Wild Women Don’t Have The Blues  ↓ [Ida Cox]

I hear these women raving ‘bout their monkey men
About their trifling husbands and their no good friends
These poor women sit around all day and moan
Wondering why their wandering papas don’t come home
But wild women don’t worry, wild women don’t have the blues

Now when you’ve got a man, don’t never be on the square
Because if you do he’ll have a woman everywhere
I never was known to treat no one man right
I keep ‘em working hard both day and night
Because wild women don’t worry, wild women don’t have no blues . . .

÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷

♥    BESSIE SMITH    [1894-1937]

The Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the end of the 19^th century. Her voice, ringing and declamatory, retained the early influence of the black churches, and by the age of 14 she had become the protégé of blues singer Ma Rainey, touring with her and learning the craft. Like Ma Rainey, she based her interpretations around secure center tones, returning to them time and again to produce a stark, incantatory effect, utilizing key changes to vary the impact. More sophisticated than her mentor, Bessie’s dramatic delivery employs bent notes, slurs and a rhythmically adventurous use of rests, which tends to place her stylistically at a midpoint between the rural blues and instrumental jazz.    [B Case & S Britt]

 «Listen to my story and everything will come out true.»

«Throughout her life Bessie moved in a subculture that white America fostered but has only recently begun to understand. Her unique talent and her unflagging quest for a good time took her into a third world of segregated black entertainment where, in an atmosphere of make-believe, she stubbornly remained herself.

 

If she had a goal, no one knew just what it was, but those close to her agree that Bessie Smith yearned for acceptance rather than acclaim, and that she did not see the two as being the same. Without playing any show business games, she climbed as far up in her profession as a black artist of her time and genre could go. And when she tumbled from the pinnacle she landed without bitterness, gathered up the pieces, and began another climb.»

Chris Albertson: «Empress of the Blues»  (Abacus, 1975)

♥  ‘There’ll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight’  ⇓

Come along, get you ready Wear your bran’, bran’ new gown
For there’s gwine to be a meeting In that good, good old town
Where you knowded everybody And they all knowded you
And you’ve got a rabbit’s foot To keep away de hoo-doo.
When you hear that the preaching does begin
Bend down low for to drive away your sin
And when you gets religion, you want to shout and sing
There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight,

My baby
CHORUS:
When you hear dem a bells go ding ling ling
All join ‘round and sweetly you must sing
And when the verse am through in the chorus all join in
There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight.

There’ll be girls for ev’ry body: In that good, good old town,
For there’s Miss Consola Davis And there’s Miss Gondolia Brown
And there’s Miss Johanna Beasly She am dressed all in red,
I just hugged her and I kissed her And to me then she said:
Please oh please, oh do not let me fall,
You’re all mine and I love you best of all,
And you must be my man, or I’ll have no man at all,
There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight,

My baby . . .

♥  ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’  ↓

My heart is sad and I’m all alone – My man’s treating me mean
I regret the day that I was born and that man I ever seen

My happiness is less today – My heart is broke, that’s why I say
Lord, a good man nowadays is hard to find – You always get another kind

Just when you think that he’s your pal, you look and find him foolin’ ‘round some old gal
Then you rave, you all crave – You want to see him in his grave

So if your man is nice, take my advice;
Hug him in the morning, kiss him at night – Give him plenty lovin’; treat your good man right

Oh, a good man is so hard to find – We always get that roughed old kind
Just when you think that he’s your pal, you like and find him hangin’ ‘round some old gal
Then you rave, how you crave – You wanna see him dead layin’ in his grave

So if your man is nice, take my advice:
Hug him in the morning, kiss him at night – Give him plenty love madam; treat your man right
‘Cause a good man nowadays sure is hard to find

•→ ‘I Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl’ ⇐

♥   ‘You’ve Got To Give Me Some’  ↓

Loving is the thing I crave – For your love I’ll be your slave
You gotta give me some, yes give me some
Can’t you hear me pleading, you gotta give me some
Said mister Jones to old butcher Pete, I want a piece of your good old meat
You gotta give me some, oh give me some
I crave your round steak, you gotta give me some

Sweet as candy in a candy shop is just your sweet sweet lollypop
You gotta give me some, please give me some
I love all day suckers, you gotta give me some

To the milkman I heard Mary scream – Said she wanted a lots of cream
You gotta give me some, oh give me some
Catch it when you come sir, you gotta give me some
Hear my cryin’ on my bended knees – If you wanna put my soul at ease
You gotta give me some, please give me some
Can’t stand it any longer, you gotta give me some

Seeper called to Pele-Mele, sugar lump – Said I’m going crazy about your hump
You’ve got to give me some, please give me some
I can’t wait eight days, you gotta give me some

Jaybird said to the peckerwood, I like to peck like a pecker should
But give me some, yes give me some
I’m crazy about them worms, you’ve gotta give me some

÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷

♥   BILLIE HOLIDAY   [1915-1959]

·  ·  ·   Some Other Spring

Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen, and I was three.

Mom was working as a maid with a White family. When they found out she was going to have a baby they just threw her out. Pop’s family just about had a fit, too, when they heard about it. They were real society folks and they never heard of things like that going on in their part of East Baltimore… But both kids were poor. And when you’re poor, you grow up fast.

It’s a wonder my mother didn’t end up in the workhouse and me as a foundling. But Sadie Fagan loved me from the time I was just a swift kick in the ribs while she scrubbed floors. She went to the hospital and made a deal with the head woman there. She told them she’d scrub floors and wait on the other bitches Laing up there to have their kids so she could pay her way and mine. And she did, Mom was thirteen that Wednesday, April 7, 1915, in Baltimore when I was born.

By the time she worked her way out of hock in the hospital and took me home to her folks, I was so big and smart I could sit up in a carriage. Pop was doing what all the boys did then – peddling papers, running errands, going to school. One day he came along by my carriage, picked me up and started playing with me. His mother saw him and came hollering. She dragged at him and said, “Clarence, stop playing with that baby. Everybody is going to think it’s yours.”

“But, Mother, it is mine,” he’d tell her. When he talked back to his mother like this she would really have a fit. He was still only fifteen and in short pants. He wanted to be a musician and used to take lessons on the trumpet. It was almost three years before he got long pants for the wedding.

After they were married awhile we moved into a little old house on Durham Street in Baltimore. Mom had worked as a maid up North in New York and Philly. She’d seen all the rich people with their gas and electric lights and she decided she had to have them too. So she saved her wages for the day. And when we moved in we were the first family in the neighborhood to have gas and electricity.

It made the neighbors mad, Mom putting in the gas. They said putting pipes in the ground would bring the rats out. It was true. Baltimore is famous for rats.

Pop always wanted to blow the trumpet but he never got the chance. Before we got one to blow, the Army grabbed him and shipped him overseas. It was just his luck to be one of the ones to get it from poison gas over there. It ruined his lungs. I suppose if he’d played piano he’d probably have got shot in the hand . . .

from  Billie Holiday + William Dufty:  «Lady Sings the Blues»  1956

Δ   ‘Fine & Mellow’  ↑  [1957]

My man he don’t love me he treats me oh so mean . . .
He’s the lowest man that I’ve ever see

He wears high peg pants, stripes are really yellow . . .
When he starts into love me he’s so fine and mellow

Love will make you drink and gamble make you stay out all night long . . .
Love will make you do things that you know is wrong

(Just) treat me right baby and I’ stay home every day . . .
But you’re so mean to  me, baby I know you’re gonna drive me away

Love is just like the faucet – it turns off and on . . .
Sometimes when you think it’s on, baby, it has turned off and gone

Δ  ‘God Bless the Child’  ⇑  

Them that’s got shall have
Them that’s not shall lose
So the Bible said and it still is news
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own, that’s got his own

Yes, the strong gets more
While the weak ones fade
Empty pockets don’t ever make the grade
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own, that’s got his own

Money, you’ve got lots of friends
They’re crowding around your door
But when you’re gone and spending ends
They don’t come no more
Rich relations give crust of bread and such
You can help yourself, but don’t take too much
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own, that’s got his own

Money you’ve got lots of friends
They’re crowding around your door
But when you’re gone and spending ends
They don’t come no more
Rich relations give crust of bread and such
You can help yourself, but don’t take too much
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own, that’s got his own

Here just don’t worry about nothing cause he’s got his own
Yes, he’s got his own

←• ‘My Man’

It cost me a lot but there’s one thing that I’ve got
It’s my man – It’s my man

Cold or wet, tired, you bet
All of this I’ll soon forget with my man
He’s not much on looks – He’s no hero out of books
But I love him – Yes, I love him

Two or three girls has he
That he likes as well as me but I love him
I don’t know why I should – he isn’t true
He beats me, too – What can I do?

Oh, my man, I love him so – He’ll never know
All my life is just despair but I don’t care
When he takes me in his arms, the world is bright
All right

What’s the difference if I say, I’ll go away
When I know I’ll come back on my knees someday
For whatever my man is, I’m his forevermore

Δ   ‘Stormy weather’  ↑

Δ   ‘STRANGE FRUIT’  ↑

Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop
Here is a strange and bitter cry

 ‘Gloomy Sunday’ ⇒

÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷

♥   BLU LU BARKER   [1913-1998]

Don’t you feel my leg, ↑  don’t you feel my leg

‘Cause if you feel my leg  you’ll want to feel my thigh

And if you feel my thigh  you’ll wanna move up high

So don’t you feel my leg

 

Don’t you buy no rye,  don’t you buy no rye

Because if you buy some rye  you’re gonna make me high

And if you make me high  you’re gonna tell me a lie

So don’t you make me high

You say you’ll take me out and treat me fine

But I know there’s something you got on your mind

If you keep drinking you’re gonna get f_

And your wino asking for a fine remedy place

 

Don’t you feel my leg,  don’t you feel my leg

‘Cause if you feel my leg  you’ll want to feel my thigh

And if you feel my thigh  you’ll wanna go up high

So don’t you feel my leg

÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷

♥   RUTH BROWN   [1928-2006]

◊ → ‘If I Can’t Sell It, I’m Going To Sit Down On It’ ↓

I own a secondhand furniture store and I think my prices are fair,

Course this real cheap guy I know came in one day.

Saw this chair he wanted to buy, but he wouldn’t,

claimed the price was too high.

So I looked straight in the eye, and this was my reply…

If I can`t sell it, I`m gonna sit down on it. I ain’t gonna give it away.

Now darling if you want it, you`re gonna have to buy it.

And I mean just what I say.

Now how would you like to find this waitin’ at home for you every night.

Only been used once or twice but it`s still nice and TIGHT! Whoa…

So if I can’t sell it, I`m gonna keep sittin’ on it. I ain`t gonna give it away.

Now you can`t find a better pair of legs in town and a back like this,

huh, not for miles around.

And that is why if I can`t sell it, I’m going to recline upon it.

Why should I give it away?

Because it’s made for comfort, built for wear and tear.

Where else could you find such an easy chair! Haa… Whoa…

If I can’t sell it, darling I`m gonna sit down on it.

I don’t see the need to give it away.

Because it`s lush, plush, slick and sleek.

Darling, a high class speech like this at any price is cheap!

So if I can`t sell it, I`m gonna sit back down on it.

Why should I give it away?

Now look at this nice bottom, ain’t it easy on the eye,

guaranteed to support any weight or size! Whoa…

If I can`t sell it, I`m just gonna keep sittin’ on it.

Don`t ask me to give it away.

Now, I have really had my fill of folks

always comin’ around with their hands stuck out,

wantin’ something, don`t want to give up nothing.

Now if you want this, put your hand in your stash and give me some cash.

Now if you want something for free, go to the Salvation Army,

don`t come runnin’ to me.

Now this is not Saint Paul`s place, this is Ruth`s place.

Read my lips. NO FREE TRIPS!

And you can look at me and see I have not been starvin’ darling.

Now I have a few diamonds that I haven`t even taken off to dust lately.

Now you are not getting anything around here for free.

Show me the color of your money.
GOODBYE! 

◊   ‘5-10-15 hours’  ⇓

Baby baby baby, I’ve got to have you for my own …
If you ever need me baby, call me on the telephone.

I wanna love ya love ya love ya, love ya love ya all the time …
I wanna love ya love ya baby, if I live to ninety nine!

Just give me five, ten, fifteen hours of your love …
Give me fifteen hours while that shiny moon’s above.

I wanna hold ya hold ya hold ya, hold ya till the broad daylight …
I wanna thrill ya thrill ya thrill ya till the sun is shinin’ bright.

So give me five, ten, fifteen hours there with you …
Give me fifteen hours and I’ll prove my love to you

Well, if you ever think about me, daddy won’t you let me know?
I´ll be your loving baby and you can be my so and so
Ohh yeah, ooh yeah! Oohh, Uuh yeah!

∇   ‘Chains of Love’  ⇓  [Big Joe Turner]

w/  Pinetop Perkins (piano), Deborah Coleman (guitar), Jimmy Vivino (guitar), Bob Stroger (bass), Willie «Big Eyes» Smith (drums), Jerry Vivino (saxophone)

Chains of love have tied my heart to you
Chains of love have made me feel so blue
Well, now I’m your prisoner, tell me what are you going to do

Are you gonna leave me, or are you gonna make me cry …
These chains are gonna gonna haunt me until the day I die.

Well, it’s three ‘o clock in the morning, the moon is shining bright …
I just sit here and I wonder… wonder where are you sleeping tonight. 

I don’t trust you; came home last night late. This key don’t […?] Don’t even try that key at this door. No-no-no-no-no. You go back where you’ve been, there. ‘And no time here?’ No, you’re in the wrong place. I’m sorry about that. You must really think you really were a fool. Chains, that’s all right. Chains tied my heart to you but you better give a beat of here, I’m sick of it. There’s a man right next door, I met him yesterday, ain’t too bad… Can you… Look, look, look, don’t come up to my door now, I warn you, I’m gonna call the police ‘cause I’m sick of you got to my door all kinds of night, any time you […?]

You better let me alone, baby, while the moon is shining bright
Yeah, you know all the witches come up about that time.
You better let me alone babe while the moon is bright
I just sit and I wonder where you gonna sleep tonight… Not here – not here.

I got up early this morning so I can walk the floor

I’ve got to hit the streets ‘cause there’s a wolf outside my door

the bill collectors calling and my kids need better shoes

gonna go to church on Sunday ‘cause I got nothing left to loose

and it´s a good day – it´s a really good day for the blues

 

It’s raining cats and dogs outside – then I’m looking for a job

the man I worked for laid me off – lord and I worked for him really hard

but I won’t let my kids go hungry – no matter what I have to do

and it´s a good day – it´s a really good day for the blues

 

Things are getting better – the check is in the mail

I just threw my last dye in the wishing well

and it´s a good day – a really good day for the blues

÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷

♥  Big Mama Thornton  [1926-1984]

•→ ‘Hound Dog‘ 

You ain’t nothing but a hound dog – Been snoopin’ ‘round the door . . .
You can wag your tail – I ain’t gonna feed you no more

You told me you was high class but I could see through that . . .
Daddy, I know you ain’t no real cool cat

You ain’t nothing but a hound dog – Been snoopin’ ‘round the door . . .
Wag your tail – I ain’t no feed you no more

∇   ‘Ball & Chain’  ↓  [with Buddy Guy’s Blues Band _ 1970]

I would like to say ladies and gentlemen it’s been a great pleasure to me to have […?] with Buddy Guy since 1965 in Europe. This is a song I wrote, made famous by me and Janis Joplin. I wrote this tune called «Ball & Chain». I hope you like it.

Sitting by my window, I was looking out at the rain.
Sitting down by my window,  yeah Lord,  looking out at the rain,
And you know, something struck me whoa!like a ball and chain. I wanna tell you about it. Just listen

I say, why you wanna do this to me baby…

because you know, you know I love you and I’m so sick and tired… so sick and tired of being in misery

All right  […solo…] our love is like a ball and chain . . . I want somebody to tell me…

I know you’re gonna miss me baby – Lord, I say you’re gonna miss all of those sweet  things . . .

And then you’ll find that your whole life will be like mine, oh Lord, wrapped up just like a ball and chain.

Δ  ‘Watermelon Man’  ↑  [H. Hancock]

Hey! Watermelon Man
Hey you with the red truck – Watermelon Man
Bring me a watermelon make it now
make it mellow- yes you young fellow
bring it up here to the 5th floor – Watermelon Man

Say Watermelon Man – did you hear what I said?
Can you bring me a watermelon up to the fifth flo’
Five dollars!?  Wait a minute!
What you doin’ chargin’ a dollar a floor!?
Think I’m gonna pay five dollars for a watermelon – you crazy!
and move, and move your truck out the front of my house

what you say?  say you got what?
tell me you got a license?
that’s alright – I’ll call the Po-lice! he’ll make
what you say? you gonna sell the Po-lice a watermelon?
You might not know what kinda Police I’m gonna call
might not even like watermelon
and you keep on tellin’ me you got a license
I don’t care what kind of license you got
you ain’t got no license to sell in my driveway so move it!

oh you ain’t gonna move huh?
(laughs) Just stay there
I’ll get all these hound dogs and we’ll come downstairs
and flatten your tires
And we’ll get some free
You better move you smart aleck!
I was gonna buy one of your watermelons for you talk too smart!
and that go for your truck too!

∇   ‘Down Home Shakedown’  ↓

Big Mama Thornton, John Lee Hooker, Big Walter Horton, Dog Ross, JB Lander 

÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷

♥  KOKO TAYLOR  ← [1928-2009]

Accurately dubbed «the Queen of Chicago blues», Koko Taylor helped keep the tradition of big-voiced, brassy female blues belters alive, recasting the spirits of early legends like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Big Mama Thornton, and Memphis Minnie for the modern age.Taylor’s rough, raw vocals were perfect for the swaggering new electrified era of the blues, and her massive hit «Wang Dang Doodle» served notice that male dominance in the blues wasn’t as exclusive as it seemed. After a productive initial stint on Chess, Taylor spent several decades on the prominent contemporary blues label Alligator, going on to win more W.C. Handy Awards than any other female performer in history, and establishing herself as far and away the greatest female blues singer of her time.

Δ   ‘Time Will Tell’  ↑

«Cigarette ashes and an old empty glass… They seem to remind me that it’s over and […?]
His parting kisses brought tears to my eyes
Was it goodnight? Was it goodnight, or was it goodbye?
And only time, only time, time will tell

     ◊ → ‘Wang Wang Doodle’  ↓

Tell Automatic Slim , tell Razor Totin’ Jim
Tell Butcher Knife Totin’ Annie, tell Fast Talking Fanny
We gonna pitch a ball, a down to that union hall
We gonna romp and tromp till midnight
We gonna fuss and fight till daylight
We gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long
All night long – All night long – All night long

Tell Kudu-Crawlin’ Red, tell Abyssinian Ned
Tell ol’ Pistol Pete, everybody gonna meet
Tonight we need no rest, we really gonna throw a mess
We gonna to break out all of the windows,
we gonna kick down all the doors
We gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long
All night long – All night long – All night long

Tell Fats and Washboard Sam, that everybody gonna to jam
Tell Shaky and Boxcar Joe, we got sawdust on the floor
Tell Peg and Caroline Dye, we gonna have a time
When the fish scent fill the air, there’ll be snuff juice everywhere
We gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long
All night long … All night long … All night long . . .

   Δ  ‘ERNESTINE’  ↑

Ernestine, you’d better leave my man alone,

Ernestine, because of you I can’t go on,


I told you for the last time, To find you a man of you own.



Ernestine, what you doing, you know it ain’t right,


Ernestine, when you play, it make me wanna fight,


Girl you playin’ with danger,


And girl, this might take, it might.



Chorus
 Riff/ i warned you once
 Riff/

girl without a doubt
 Riff/

2 strikes you lose 
Riff/

third strike you’re out
 Riff/

like a baseball game
 Riff/

you dancin’ with a slugger 
Riff/

I hit a grand slam,
 Cause i’m a bad mmam duck



Ernestine, you’d better leave my man alone


I told you for the last time  to find you a man of your own.

  Hey! 

∇   ‘If Walls Could Talk’   ⇓

If walls could talk, I’m sure you’d hear
A lot of things to make you cry my dear
Ain’t you glad – Oh you oughta be glad
that walls don’t talk – No they don’t talk

Now, if doors could tell who’s turned the knob
When your away, away on your job
Ain’t you glad – Oh you oughta be glad
that doors don’t talk – No they don’t talk

If cars could tell who’s been inside
And who’s been taken, taken for a ride
Ain’t you glad – Oh you oughta be glad
that cars don’t talk – No they don’t talk

If shoes could tell where they’ve been
When you claim that you’ve been visiting a friend
Ain’t you glad – Oh you oughta be glad
that shoes don’t talk – No they don’t talk

In a world of trouble we’d be
the things they’s tell on me
My love life would be through
‘Cause I’m guilty, how about you ?
If things could talk that way
Ain’t no telling what they might say
Ain’t you glad – Oh, you oughta be glad
that things don’t talk – No they don’t talk

Ain’t you glad  that things don’t talk
cuz if they did, we’d all be in a world of trouble, yeah

Oh ain’t you glad
I’m so glad  that things don’t talk.

Δ   LIVE    ⇑   1978    

• ‘Let the good time roll’  ↑

Hey everybody – Let’s have some fun

You only live once but when you’re dead you’re gone

So let the good times roll – Well let the good times roll

Don’t care if you’re young or old – Just get together and let the good times roll

Don’t sit there mumbling, talkin’ trash

If you wanna have a ball you gotta spend some cash

Let the good times roll – let the good times roll

Don’t care if you’re young or old – Just get together and let the good times roll

 

Hell! It’s the Landlord! Knock on the door

when police come, tell them I’m gone

Let the good times roll – Yeah let the good times roll

Don’t care if you’re young or old – Just get together and let the good times roll 

Let the good times roll . . .

Tell everybody Koko Taylor is in town

A dollar and a quarter I’m just wearing a crown

Don’t let nobody play me cheap  –  I got fifty cents more than I’m gonna keep

Let the good times roll … let the good times roll

Don’t care if you’re young or old – Just get together and let the good times roll

•→ I’m a Woman 

Oh, yeah, oh, yeah – Everything, everything

Everything gone be alright – Oh, yeah

When I was a little girl, only twelve years old

I couldn’t do nothing to save my dog gone soul

My mama told me the day I was grown

She says, “Sing the blues child, sing it from now on”

 

I’m a woman, oh, yeah

I’m a woman, I’m a ball of fire

I’m a woman, I can make love to a crocodile

I’m a woman, I can sing the blues

I’m a woman, I can change old to new

Spell W-O-M-A-N, oh, yeah

 

That means I’m grown

I’m a woman, I’m a rushing wind

I’m a woman, I can cut stone with a pin

I’m a woman, I’m a love maker

I’m a woman, you know I’m an earth shaker

.

I’m a woman, I’m a rushing wind

I’m a woman, I can cut stone with a pin

I’m a woman, I know my stuff

I’m a woman, I ain’t never had enough

I’m goin’ down yonder, behind the sun

Gonna do some for you, ain’t never been done

I’m a hold back the lightning, with the palm of my hand

Shake hands with the devil, make him crawl in the sand

I’m a woman, oh, yeah

I’m a woman, I’m a ball of fire

I’m a woman, I can make love to a crocodile

I’m a woman, I’m a love maker

I’m a woman, you know I’m an earth shaker

Oh, oh, oh, oh, I’m a woman

•→  29 Ways to Get to My Baby

I got 29 ways just to get to my baby’s door . . .
And if he need me bad I can find about two or three more
I got 29 ways just to get to my baby’s door . . .
And when he need me bad I can find about two or three more

I got a way through the front, I got a way through the back,
I got a loose hole and I can ease through the crack
I got 29 ways just to get to my baby’s door
And if he need me bad I can find about two or three more . . .

Now I got ways that I never have said – I got a trapdoor right under his bed
I got 29 ways just to get to my baby’s door . . .
And when he need me bad I can find about two or three more

I got a way through the window, I got a way down the hall,
and if the goin’ get rough I got a hole in the wall
I got 29 ways to get to my baby’s door
And when he need me bad I can find about two or three more . . .

Now I got ways that I never have said – I got a trapdoor right under his bed
I got 29 ways just to get to my baby’s door . . .
And when he need me bad I can find about two or three more
I got 29 ways just to get to my baby’s door

•→  Baby please don’t dog me

•→  Trying to make a livin’

We’ll I’m standing on the corner with a nickle and a key

I’m looking for a man that go along with me

CHORUS

Well I’m tryin make a living – I’m tryin’ make a living

Yeah, I’m tryin’ make a living – Best thing I can do

 

I’m gonna pawn my coat – I’m gonna pawn my shoe

I’m gonna pawn these clothes that ain’t never been used

I’m gonna pawn my watch – I’m gonna pawn my ring

I’m tellin’ you people, I’m gonna pawn everything

 

Well I’m tryin’ make a living – I’m tryin’ make a living

Yeah, I’m tryin’ make a living – Best thing I can do

•→  Blues Never Die

Everybody’s wondering where did the blues come from?

I said everybody’s wondering where did the blues come from?

Way back in the low land – right of from my country farm.

 

When you’re in trouble, blues is a girl’s best friend.

When you’re in trouble, blues is a girl’s best friend.

Blues ain’t no ask where you’re going and the blues don’t care where you’ve been.

We just can’t let the blues die, blues don’t mean no harm.

We just can’t let the blues die – Blues don’t mean no harm

I’m gonna move back in the low land – that’s where the blues and I come from.

 

Maestro! Oh yeah!

•→  You can have my husband  (but please don´t mess with my man)

You can have my husband but please don’t mess with my man
You can have my husband but please don’t mess with my man
I’m telling all you women I want you all to understand . . .

When my man gets paid, he brings red beans and rice
My man cooks me steaks, now ain’t that nice?
You can have my husband but please don’t mess with my man
I’m telling all you women I want you all to understand

WELL, MY MAN HE’S LITTLE AND HE LOOKS LIKE A FROG
BUT WHEN HE STARTS TO LOVE ME I HOLLER, OOH, HOT DOG . . .

You can have my husband but please don’t mess with my man
I’m telling all you women I want you all to understand . . .

YOU CAN HAVE MY HUSBAND
BUT PLEASE DON’T MESS WITH MY MAN…

•→  The Way They Do 

Tell Automatic Slim , tell Razor Totin’ Jim
Tell Butcher Knife Totin’ Annie, tell Fast Talking Fanny
A we gonna pitch a ball, a down to that union hall
We gonna romp and tromp till midnight
We gonna fuss and fight till daylight
We gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long
All night long, All night long, All night long

Tell Kudu-Crawlin’ Red, tell Abyssinian Ned
Tell ol’ Pistol Pete, everybody gonna meet
Tonight we need no rest, we really gonna throw a mess
We gonna to break out all of the windows,
we gonna kick down all the doors
We gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long
All night long, All night long, All night long

Tell Fats and Washboard Sam, that everybody gonna to jam
Tell Shaky and Boxcar Joe, we got sawdust on the floor
Tell Peg and Caroline Dye, we gonna have a time
When the fish scent fill the air, there’ll be snuff juice everywhere
We gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long
All night long, All night long . . .

÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷

♥   Katie Webster  ←  [1936-1999]

•→  ‘SEA OF LOVE’  

Do you remember when we met

That’s the day I knew you were my pet

I want to tell you how much I love you

Come with me, my love, to the sea, the sea of love  

I want to tell you how much I love you

Come with me, to the sea

                    ♦  ‘Came Home This Morning’  ↓

Came home this morning – Found my baby gone . . .

People I sat down and began to wonder what in the world I done wrong

Yes I try, yes I try – everything was all in vain . . .

That man caused me nothing but misery – a lot of [. . . ?]                          

Ain’t it hard, ain’t it hard when you do the best you can?

No matter how hard you try, can’t seem to please your man

I’m gonna get up early in the morning and write myself a letter . . .

I’m gonna mail it and deliver it to me – I hope it find me feeling better

Yeah! Yeah!

Δ   ‘A Little Meat On The Side’  ⇑   

What I say is true: a woman needs love just like I do . . .

[…?] business – Bring your business on – or you’ll find your good thing up and gone

A woman can’t live on bread alone – Got to have a little meat on the side . . .

Feel my heart – it’s [. . . ?] but a woman like me is made out of lonesome bone

I need love and I gotta have my affection, or I’ll go and get my thing in the wrong direction

A woman can’t live on bread alone – Got to have a little meat on the side . . .

You better treat me man like you treat yourself, or you’ll find me runnin’ round with someone else

I need love and I gotta have my affection, so don’t you deny me and don’t treat me no fool

A woman can’t live on bread alone – Got to have a little meat on the side . . .

 

You can’t make me stay home all alone – I got to have a little meat on the side

I don’t stay at home all alone – I’m gonna get a lot of meat on the side!

∞  w/  Gatemouth Brown ↓ ‘Every Day I Have The Blues’

Everyday, everyday I have the blues . . .
When you see me worried, baby, it’s you that I hate to lose

Nobody loves me, nobody seems to care . . .
Speakin’ of bad luck and trouble, people, you know, I’ve had my share

I’m packin’ my suitcase , movin’ on down the line . . .
Well, there ain’t nobody worried and there ain’t nobody cryin’

Everyday, everyday, everyday – Everyday I have the blues
When you see me worryin’, baby it’s you that I hate to lose

Oh, packin’ my suitcase –  movin’ down my, yeah
Well, there ain’t nobody worried and there ain’t nobody cryin’

Seems to me that everyday . . . 

÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷

♥    NINA SIMONE    [1933-2003]

«I only knew classical music, which to me was the only true music. The only way I could survive at the bar was to mix the classical music with popular songs, and that meant I had to sing. What happened was that I discovered I had a voice plus the talent to mix classical music together with more popular songs, which at the time I detested.»

If your mind lies in the Devil’s workshop
Evil doin’s your thrill
And trouble and mischief is all you live for
You know damn well
That you’ll go to hell (yeah) You’ll go to hell

Now you’re living high and mighty
Rich off the fat of the land
Just don’t dispose of your natural soul
‘cos if you do you know damn well
That you’ll go to hell (yes, you will) You’ll go to hell

Hell  –  Where your natural soul burns
Hell  –  Where you pay for your sins
Hell  –  Keep your children from doing wrong (if you can)
‘cos you know damn well
That they’ll go to hell – They’ll go to hell

Hell  –  Man, woman were created
Hell  –  To live for eternity
Hell  –  With an apple they ate from the tree of hate
So you know damn well
Oh… they went to hell (yes, they did) They went to hell

Some say that hell is below us – But I say it’s right by my side
‘cos you see evil in the morning – Evil in the evening, all the time
You know damn well that we all must be in hell
We got to be in hell – We all must be in hell – We must be in hell.

…

•→ ‘Love Me or Leave Me’ ⇐

Love me or leave me and let me be lonely
You won’t believe me but I love you only
I’d rather be lonely than happy with somebody else

You might find the night time the right time for kissing
Night time is my time for just reminiscing
Regretting instead of forgetting with somebody else

There’ll be no one unless that someone is you
I intended to be independently blue

I want your love, don’t wanna borrow
Have it today to give back tomorrow
Your love is my love – There’s no love for nobody else

Say, love me or leave me and let me be lonely
You won’t believe me but I love you only
I’d rather be lonely than happy with somebody else

You might find the night time the right time for kissing
Night time is my time for just reminiscing
Regretting instead of forgetting with somebody else

There’ll be no one unless that someone is you
I intended to be independently blue

Say I want your love, don’t wanna borrow
Have it today to give back tomorrow
Your love is my love – My love is your love
There’s no love for nobody else

•→ ‘My baby just cares for me‘  ↑

My baby don’t care for shows – My baby don’t care for clothes
My baby just cares for me
My baby don’t care for cars and races
My baby don’t care for high-tone places
Liz Taylor is not his style and even Lana Turner’s smile is somethin’ he can’t see
My baby don’t care who knows – My baby just cares for me

Baby, my baby don’t care for shows and he don’t even care for clothes
He cares for me
My baby don’t care for cars and races
My baby don’t care for – He don’t care for high-tone places

I put a spell on you  ↑  ‘Cause you’re mine

You better stop the things you do  –  I ain’t lyin’  –  No I ain’t lyin’

You know I can’t stand it  –  You’re runnin’ around  –  You know better daddy
I can’t stand it cause you put me down – Yeah, Yeah

I put a spell on you  –  Because you’re mine – You’re mine

 

I love ya  –  I love you  –  I love you  –  I love you anyhow
And I don’t care  If you don’t want me  –  I’m yours right now

You hear me  –  I put a spell on you  –  Because you’re mine

Δ  ‘I Want a Little Sugar In My Bowl’  ↑

I want a little sugar in my bowl – I want a little sweetness down in my soul
I could stand some lovin’  oh so bad – I feel so funny and I feel so sad

I want a little steam on my clothes – Maybe I can fix things up so they’ll go
Whatsa matter Daddy – Come on, save my soul
I need some sugar in my bowl – I ain’t foolin’ – I want some sugar in my bowl

You been acting different, I’ve been told – Soothe me, I want some sugar in my bowl
I want some steam on my clothes – Maybe I can fix things up so they’ll go
Whatsa matter Daddy – Come on, save my soul
I want some sugar in my bowl – I ain’t foolin’ – I want some sugar hmmm
In my bowl.

◊  ‘Strange Fruit’  ↓  (B. Holliday)

÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷

♥    ODETTA    [1930-2008]

«School taught me how to count and taught me how to put a sentence together. But as far as the human spirit goes, I learned through folk music.»

♦  Jim Crow Blues  ↓  [Lightning In a Bottle_2003]

We have heard about segregation, and in the 20s, in the 30s, all of these excluding people was called «Jim Crow», and Leadbelly wrote a blues called ‘Jim Crow Blues’...

Bunk Johnson told me  […?]: Jim Crowism is dead bad luck for me and you . . .
Down in Louisiana, Tennessee, in Mississippi, New York and California, that’s a great place to be

Go over there and you’ll find some more Jim Crow

 

I told everybody over the radio, 
We gotta get together people and break up this old Jim Crow . . .

◊→  Hit Or Miss  ↓  (dubber mix)

Can’t you see  – I gotta be me
Ain’t nobody  just like this
I gotta be me – Baby hit or miss

Sitting here  all by myself
Trying to be  everybody else

Can’t you see I gotta be me
Ain’t nobody just like this
I gotta be me – Baby hit or miss

Look at you sitting there all by yourself
Listening to everybody
Everybody saying be everybody else

Can’t you see – You gotta be thee
Ain’t nobody  just like you
You gotta be you – Baby hit or miss . . .

÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷                        ÷            ÷

♥  ◊  ♣  Bessie Billie & Ruth ↓ [Sweet Baby J’ai]

A short film by Grammy award winning filmmakers Renee Sotile and Mary Jo Godges, celebrate the lives of these famous women capturing the spirit and skill for survival they possessed.  Actress/singer/writer, Sweet Baby J’ai brings to life three divas, highlighting little known stories about their lives and music.

Few entertainers can command a stage like the indefatigable, ↑ Sweet Baby J’ai. She is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer, arranger and actress who has toured the world with her distinctive sound. Although J’ai is known for her energetic stage presence and powerful vocals, some critics describe her as a «jazz singer», a R&B/Pop singer, others as a «blues singer” but all agree that this versatile singer-songwriter is a «storyteller». She can’t be contained by one genre of music. She has performed in many styles, from soul, R&B, folk, jazz, blues, pop, spoken word, and occasionally even the diva singer fronting the orchestra. She tackles diverse social issues, lost and found love and pays tribute to those who have inspired her and the art form. Talented both as a vocalist and musician, she takes unconventional instruments, the washboard and spoons, and claims them as her own special sound.