In this column: history of the songs "St. James Infirmary" and "Crapshooters Blues", added "Pneumonia Blues" "St. James Infirmary" and "Dying Crapshooter Blues" have the same origin: an old English folk song, which tells the story of a dying soldier, in which he instructs his friend to arrange funeral affairs. The song is called "The …
In this column: bottle it up and go, beer bucket, bourbon, sloppy drunk "May be old, may be gray You ain't too old just to shift them gears You gotta bottle up and go" Leave, make a change, stop talking (or drinking) and hit the road. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSlozlntn4I “My bucket's got a hole in it, won't …
In this column: moonshine, corn, white lightning Moonshine, also known as "hooch" (a name borrowed from the Hoochinoo tribe of Alaska, known for its potent homemade brew) or "homebrew," is made by fermenting a sugar source to produce ethanol. Traditionally, moonshine is made from a mash of corn and sugar. The alcohol is separated from …
In this column: kidney stew, grits ain't groceries, potatoes Crazy about you baby, but I just ain't got the price You're a high class mama, so I guess it ain't no dice Goin' back home, and get my old gal Sue She ain't the caviar kind, just plain old kidney stew Old… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zepOvRPilAg Grits are …
In this column: jelly roll, squeeze my lemon, all that meat and no potatoes A jelly roll is a dessert made of sponge cake that has been spread with jam (or jam mixed with cream) and rolled up into a log, but this is the blues and that's not all it means! Jelly roll is …
In this column: soul food Soul food (aka downhome southern food) is often mentioned in blues lyrics. The menu includes dishes with: oxtails, neck bones, pigs' feet, ham hocks, chitterlings, ribs (pork and beef), fried chicken, catfish, several kinds of green, turnips, rutabagas, fried corn, fried green tomatoes, field peas, cobbler and cornbread. The most …
In this column: Cannonball Express, The Flying Crow and The Frisco “I’m goin' down to the station, catch that west cannonball”. Sunshine Blues -- Memphis Jug Band The Cannonball is a fast passenger train, that refers to a crack train (fastest train between two points) on the Illinois Central Line. On April 30, 1900, John …
In this column: Dust my broom, mop the floor, moppers blues, help me, diggin my potatoes, cabbage sprouts, tattoos all red|This column is about sayings and words in blues lyrics. For a Dutchman it is sometimes hard to understand, what a singer is singing. In earlier days, we copied lyrics from vinyl records. If we …
In this column: Symbolic meaning of animals in blues lyrics, fattening frogs for snakes, monkey, dog, cat, kingsnake, catfish, PART3 Fattening frogs for snake, Sonny Boy Williamson"It took me a long time, to find out my mistakesTook me a long time, to find out my mistakes(It sho' did man)But I bet you my bottom dollar, …
In this column: Symbolic meaning of animals in blues lyrics, chicken, rooster, PART2 In Bessie Tucker's Katy Blues you read the following stanza:"Well, I ain't no pullet, I'm a real young hen;If you come by here once, you'll come back again."A pullet is a female chicken younger than one year of age. On her first …
In this column: Symbolic meaning of animals in blues lyrics, pig in a sack, cow and milk, bee's, low down dog, salty dog, PART1 The images of animals are commonly used with a symbolic meaning and characterize a person in a negative manner.For instance in "Ups and Down Blues" by Roosevelt Sykes. Roosevelt uses the …
In this column: Colorado Central, Narrow Gauge Railways, The Chief, Santa Fe's Fleet Of Famous Trains, Freight Train Blues, Yellow Dog Blues, Smokestack Lightning, Trixie Smith, Louis Armstrong, W.C.Handy, Howling Wolf In the episode about C.C.Rider you can read that C.C. the acronym could be for Colorado Central.The Colorado Central Railroad operated in Colorado and southeastern Wyoming in …
In this column: The Katy, The Santa Fe, The Dummy, The Chief, The Midland, The T.P, Mystery Train, Mean Old Train, Midnight Special, The Box Car More background information on trains, on the basis of the song Katy Blues of Bessie Tucker."Katy's at the station, Santa Fe is in the yard; Mmmmmmmm, Santa Fe is …
In this column: Weevil, Boll Weevil, The Katy, The Santa Fe, The Mule, Bessie Tucker Weevil in Can't get no grinding (Muddy Waters) and Boll Weevil (Lead Belly). See an earlier episode.The wheat weevil / grain weevil in "Can't get no grinding" (Muddy Water) is a beetle that causes damage to harvested stored grains and …
In this column: Shorty George Blues, Shorty George, Sippie Wallace, Lead Belly, Shorty George Snowden, Mailed in the air, Monkey Man Shorty George BluesBeulah "Sippie" Wallace recorded "Shorty George Blues" in 1923. It is like "Fore Day Creep" and "Empty Bed Blues" about men who leave their women. If Sippie wrote the song with her …
