Coronavirus Special - Disease Blues

This time we’ll revisit songs about disease. There have been a lot of comparisons to the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. The epidemic was still fairly recent when Blind Willie Johnson recorded this song in 1928 and surely remembered well by Johnson who would have been 21 years old in 1918. The song is pure religion, but Johnson uses the pandemic to make his point that Jesus is Coming Soon. The lyrics should resonate with anyone stuck at home right now. He sings: ‘The doctors they got troubled and didn’t know what to do. They got themselves together, they called it the Spanish Flu.” And “Well, the nobles said to the people, "You better close your public schools" and "Until the events of death has ending, you better close your churches too."

Blind Willie Johnson - Jesus is Coming Soon:

Well, we done told you, our God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon
We done told you, our God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon

In the year of 19 and 18, God sent a mighty disease
It killed many a-thousand, on land and on the seas
We done told you, God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon
We done told you, God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon.

Great disease was mighty and the people were sick everywhere
It was an epidemic, it floated through the air
We done told you, God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon
We done told you, God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon

The doctors they got troubled and they didn't know what to do
They gathered themselves together, they called it the Spanish influ
We done told you, God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon
We done told you, God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon

Soldiers died on the battlefield, died in the count too
Well the Captain said to the lieutenant, "I don't know what to do"
We done told you, God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon
We done told you, God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon

Well, God is warning the nation, He's a-warning them every way
To turn away from evil and seek the Lord and pray
We done told you, God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon.
We done told you, God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon.

Well, the nobles said to the people, "You better close your public schools"
"Until the events of death has ending, you better close your churches too"
We done told you, God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon
We done told God's done warned you, Jesus coming soon
Read the book of Zacharias, bible plainly says
Said the people in the cities dying, account of their wicked ways

Ace Johnson recorded this for John Lomax as part of a series of recordings made in prisons for the Library of Congress. This song was recorded in 1939 at Clemens State Farm. Like Blind Willie Johnson, Johnson is singing about a flu epidemic from ten years earlier and using it as for a religious song. This time it’s not the worldwide pandemic of 1918, but a local outbreak in Memphis in 1929. Johnson’s version is based on the gospel song Memphis Flu recorded by Elder Curry which was recorded in 1930. As a convict, Johnson would have known the danger of disease in the confined spaces of a prison. Influenza:

In nineteen hundred and twenty-nine, men and women sure was dying
From the disease, what the doctors called the flu
People was dying everywhere, death went creeping through the air
For the groans of the sick sure was sad

It was God's almighty hand, he was judging this old land
North and South, East and West can be seen
Yes, he killed the rich and poor, and he's going to kill more
If you don't turn away from your sins

It was Memphis, Tennessee, doctors said it soon would be
In a few days, influenza we’ll control
But God showed that He was head, and He put the doctor to bed
And the nurse they broke down with the same

It was God's almighty hand, he was judging this old land
North and South, East and West can be seen
Yes, he killed the rich and poor, and he's going to kill more
If you don't turn away from your sins

Influenza is a disease, that makes you weak all in your knees
Tis a fever everybody sure does dread
Puts a pain in every bone, a few days and you are gone
To a place in the ground called the grave

It was God's almighty hand, he was judging this old land
North and South, East and West can be seen
Yes, he killed the rich and poor, and he's going to kill more
If you don't turn away from your sins

These songs are about diseases, but this is the blues and these songs are also going to be about being mistreated or left by a lover. Even Bukka White’s doctor recognized this in High Fever Blues recorded in 1940 for Vocalion in Chicago with Washboard Sam. He sang “I want to know what’s the matter, how come it’s hard on a man. Doctor said it ain’t the fever, it’s that your lover had another man.”

I'm taken down with the fever and it won't let me sleep
I'm taken down with the fever and it won't let me sleep
It was about three o'clock before he could let me be

Wish somebody would come and drive my fever away
I wish somebody come and drive my fever away

This fever I'm having sure is in my way
The fever I'm having, sure is hard on a man
The fever I'm having, sure is hard on a man
They don't allow my lover come and shake my hand

I wonder what’s the matter with the fever, sure is hard on a man
I want to know what’s the matter, how come it’s hard on a man
Doctor said it ain’t the fever, it’s that your lover has another man

Doctor get your fever gauge and put it under my tongue
Doctor get your fever gauge and put it under my tongue
Doctor says all you need, your lover in your arms

I want my lover come and drive my fever away
I want my lover come and drive my fever away
Doctor said she do me more good in a day than he would in all of his days

Blind Lemon Jefferson also made the connection between disease and a mistreating woman. In Pneumonia Blues, he blames his woman for his condition. He describes standing outside in the cold waiting for his woman to come home. She never does and he ends up with the aches of pneumonia.

I'm aching all over, believe I got the pneumonia this time
I'm aching all over, believe I got the pneumonia this time
And it's all on account of that lowdown gal of mine

Slinking around the corner, running up alleys too
I said slinking around corners, running up alleys too
Watching my woman trying to see what she going to do

Stood out in the street one cold dark stormy night
I stood out in the street one dark and stormy night
Trying to see if my good gal going to make it home alright

I believe she's found something that probably made her fall
She must have found something that please made her fall
I stood out in the cold all night and she didn't come home at all
Wear BVDs in the winter, traveling around in the rain
Wear BVDs in the winter, traveling around in the rain

Last time my baby give me this pneumonia pain

Now when I die, bury me in a Stetson hat
I said when I die, bury me in a Stetson hat
Tell my good gal I'm going but I'm still standing pat

That’s Blind Lemon Jefferson with a song that blames the woman for the disease in Pneumonia Blues recorded in 1929 for Paramount.

Memphis Minnie recorded a couple versions of Meningitis Blues including this one where she’s backed up by the Memphis Jug Band from 1931:

I’m coming home one Saturday night, pull off my clothes and I lie down
I’m coming home one Saturday night, pull off my clothes and I lie down
And that morning just about the break of day the meningitis begin to creep around

My head and neck was paining me, seems like my back would break in two
My head and neck was paining me, seems like my back would break in two
I hurried to the neighbors that morning, I didn't know what in the world to do

My companion take me to the doctor, "Doctor, please tell me my wife's complaint"
My companion take me to the doctor, "Doctor, please tell me my wife's complaint"
Doctor looked down on me, shook his head, said, "I wouldn't mind telling you, son, but I can't”

He take me round to the city hospital. The clock was striking ten
He take me round to the city hospital. The clock was striking ten
I done hear my companion say, "I don't believe I'll see your smiling face again”

Then the nurses all began to set around me, the doctors had done give me out
Then the nurses all began to set around me, the doctors had done give me out
Every time I'd have a potion, I would have a foaming at the mouth

Mmm, the meningitis killing me
Mmm, the meningitis killing me
I'm failing, I'm failing, baby, my head is bended down onto my knee

Bumble Bee Slim may be best remembered these days just for his name. But he made a lot of great records including “I Done Caught My Death of Cold” from 1936. Initially I thought this was a song describing suffering from sickness. But the more I listen to it the more I think it’s about a guy who desperately wants drugs from his doctor and is willing to describe just about any symptom that might get him that prescription.

Doctor, please give me something just to ease these awful pains
Doctor, please give me something just to ease these awful pains
I done caught my death of cold and it’s settling on my brain

I can’t hardly breathe, I got a wheezing in my chest
I can’t hardly breathe, I got a wheezing in my chest
Well, I’m having tonsilitis, doctor you should know the rest

Give me Oil of ninety-nine(?), three-sixty (?), anything
I done caught my death of cold
Lord have mercy

Ay doctor, is there any cure for me?
Ay doctor, is there any cure for me?
Well I’m in so much misery, I’m in so much misery

I done caught my death of cold, now my friends cannot be found
Caught my death of cold, swear my friends cannot be found
Well I been wading deep water and I been sleeping on the ground

Jimmy Oden’s Going Down Slow is incredibly influential with several great covers of the classic he first recorded in 1941. St. Louis Jimmy himself would return to the cong in the recording studio many times. It’s a truly haunting of a man in failing health beyond the help of a doctor wanting to get word to his mother.

I have had my fun if I don't get well no more
I have had my fun if I don't get well no more
My health is failing me and I'm going down slow

Please write my mother, tell her the shape I'm in
Please write my mother, tell her the shape I'm in
Tell her to pray for me, forgive me for all my sins

Tell her don't send no doctor, doctor can't do no good
Tell her don't send no doctor, doctor can't do no good
It's all my fault, didn't do the things I should

On the next train south, look for my clothes home
On the next train south, look for my clothes home
If you don't see my body, all you can do is moan

Mother please don't worry, this is all in my prayer
Mother please don't worry, this is all in my prayer
Just say your son is gone, I'm out in this world somewhere

People have been dealing with Tuberculosis for centuries and we still don’t have the answers. Victoria Spivey first sang about it in 1926. T.B. Blues would prove to be a hit inspiring a string of follow-up songs about Tuberculosis including several by Spivey herself. She sings about going to Denver, presumably for treatment. The worst part of it all is the abandonment by her friends. This reflects something we’ve seen with the current epidemic. The challenges of isolation are the hardest part for many. Older people who can’t have visitors are truly suffering whether sick or not. Spivey sang it about it powerfully and it’s one of the reasons T.B. Blues is a classic:

It’s Too late, too late, too late, too late, too late
It's too late, too late, too late, too late, too late
Well, I'm on my way to Denver
And mama, mustn't I hesitate

TB's alright to have if your friends didn't treat you so low down
TB's alright to have if your friends didn't treat you so low down
Don't you ask 'em for no favors, they even stop coming around

Mmm, TB's killin' me
Mmm, TB's killin' me
I'm like a prisoner, always wishing he's free

When I was up on my feet, I could not walk down the street
For the men looking at me from my head to my feet
But oh now, the TB's killing me
I want my body buried in the deep blue sea
The tuberculosis, the consumption's killing me

Let’s finish with one that’s not about disease. After all most of us are on stay-at-home orders not because we’re sick, but to prevent spreading the virus. By now everyone’s been told about washing your hands, but here’s Charley Jordan reminding us it take soap and water to keep it clean:

Keep it Clean:

I went to the river, I couldn't get across
I jumped on your papa because I thought he was a horse no
Rode him over, give him a coca-cola lemon soda, saucer of ice cream
Takes soap and water for to keep it clean

Up she jumped, down she fell, her mouth flew open like a mussel shell
Now ride him over, give him coca-cola lemon soda, saucer of ice cream
Takes soap and water for to keep it clean

You sister was a tabby, your daddy was a bear
Put a muzzle on your mama, because she had bad hair
Ride him over, give him coca-cola lemon soda, saucer of ice cream
Takes soap and water for to keep it clean

If you want to hear that elephant laugh
Take him down to the river and wash his yes yes yes
Got him over, give him coca-cola lemon soda, saucer of ice cream
Takes soap and water for to keep it clean

If you want to go to heaven when you D-I-E
You got to put on your collar and your T-I-E now
Ride him over, give him coca-cola lemon soda, saucer of ice cream
Takes soap and water for to keep it clean

If you want to get the rabbits out the L-O-G
You got to put on the stump like a D-O-G
Now ride him over, give him coca-cola lemon soda, saucer of ice cream
Takes soap and water for to keep it clean

Run here doctor, run here fast
See what's the matter with his yes yes yes
Now ride him over, give him a coca-cola and lemon soda, saucer of ice cream
Soap and water for to keep it clean

Disease is one of those classic situations that these songs use to describe suffering either through metaphor or a straightforward description of pain. A lot of it feels very familiar right now. Stay healthy everybody.

Show 65 - Snitcher's Blues

A few years back, the Stop Snitching movement received a lot of attention in the media with high profile rappers and athletes using songs and films to urge people not to cooperate with police investigating crimes. Of course, disdain for snitchers was nothing new and there have always songs about the problems with snitchers. Let’s start with one from 1928 that gives some history going back to 1894. It’s the Memphis Jug Band’s Snitchin' Gambler Blues:

People in this town, Lord, they ain't no friend to you
Oh, they'll do you a favor, go around and tell lies on poor you

If I only had me a brick house of my own
I wouldn't allow snitching and gambling people around my home
I hate a snitcher, worse than the good Lord hates the sin

If they ever give me any trouble, soon be on my way to the pen
If I only had me a shelter of my own

I wouldn't allow snitching and gambling people around my home
Now it's eighteen hundred, and it's ninety-one

That's when the snitching work, people, Lord, had just begun
Now it's eighteen hundred, and it's ninety-two

The snitchers in this town, Lord, they just won't do
Now it's eighteen hundred, and it's ninety-three

I got arrested off of Beale Street
I went before the judge, I said judge, what is my fine?

A hundred dollar fine, and do eleven twenty-nine
Now look-a-here, judge, can't you hold up off of that fine?

He said, go ahead on, nigger, that ain't no great long time
Oh, don't I hate a snitcher worse than the good Lord hates the sin

Now it's eighteen hundred and it's ninety-four
The white people rolled me in the workhouse door

It's eighteen hundred and it's ninety-five
These people in this town don't do nothing but tell dirty lies

Now it's eighteen hundred and it's ninety-six
That's when the snitchers got all-all their little snitching work fixed

It's nineteen-hundred and it's twenty-seven
They snitch so bad they're trying to snitch their way into heaven

It's nineteen-hundred and it's twenty-eight
I left the snitchers standing at the workhouse gate

Now, It's nineteen-hundred and it's twenty-nine
I left all the snitching people way behind

Oh, don't I hate a snitcher worse than the good Lord hates the sin

James Stump Johnson recorded Snitchers Blues singing about losing his friends and the police and the snitches around St. Louis:

When I had money, I had friends for miles around
When I had money, I had friends for miles around
Ain’t got no money, now my friends cannot be found

Some give me a nickel, some give me a lousy dime
Some give me a nickel, some give me a lousy dime
Some people say that old dunce ain’t no friend of mine

Be with me when I’m down, I’ll be the same when I rise
Be with me when I’m down, I’ll be the same when I rise
These St. Louis women, they think they are too wise

She cook good cabbage and she called them turnip greens
Oh, she cooked good cabbage, she called them turnip greens
Now she’s the best old woman, the best I’ve ever seen

Called my babe way down in Pollock town
mmmm, babe way down in Pollock town
Well the police and these snitches they have tore my playhouse down

Take me to Kirkwood, I’ll make St. Louis all by myself
Mmmm,, St. Louis by myself
When I get there, I hope you haven’t got nobody else

George Hannah recorded another version of the same song as The Snitches Blues:

When I had money, I had friends for miles around
When I had money, I had friends for miles around
Ain’t got no money, my friends cannot be found

Some give me a nickel, some give me lousy dime
Some give me a nickel, some give me lousy dime
Some let me know that they ain’t  no friend of mine

Be with me when I’m down, I’ll be the same way when I rise
Be with me when I’m down, I’ll be the same when I rise
These St. Louis women, they really are too wise

She cook good cabbage, she called them turnip greens
She cooked good cabbage, she called them turnip greens
She’s the best old woman, the best I’ve ever seen

Called my babe way down in Pollock town
Called my babe way down in Pollock town
The police and these snitches tore my playhouse down

Take me to Kirkwood, I’ll make St. Louis by myself
Take me to Kirkwood, St. Louis by myself
When I get there,babe, I hope you ain’t got nobody else

In 1937, Big Joe Williams took some elements of the Snitcher's Blues and recorded I Won't Be in Hard Luck No More talking about the police and the snitches trying to tear his reputation down.
 

 I said goodbye baby, oh yes I got to go
 I said goodbye baby, oh yes I got to go
 I don't want to be way in the South, ooh well mistreated for Mister so‑and‑so

 I stayed in hard luck and trouble every old place I go
 I stayed in hard luck and trouble most every old place I go
 I believe somebody put bad luck on me, ooo well I believe now it's time to go

I had money baby, I even had friends for miles around
When  I had money babe, I even had friends for miles around
Well all the money gone,  ooo well and my friends cannot be found

I started down, I started down in Pollock Town
I started down, baby, I started down in Pollock Town
Seem like the snitches and the police is trying to tear poor Joe's reputation down

Now you can hear me when I'm down, be the same way when I rise
you can hear me when I'm down, be the same way when I rise
I got a gal in East St Louis she lives down in Polack Town

Blind Boy Fuller's 1935 hit Rag, Mama, Rag has a good time feel, but some threatening lyrics directed at the woman who hollered murder:

Says I'm going uptown hat in my hand
Looking for the woman ain't got no man
Just as well be looking for a needle in the sand
Looking for a woman ain't got no man

Oh, rag Rag.
Rag Said do that rag

Oh, rag
Oh, rag
Rag
Said do that rag

Says I wouldn't have thought my gal would treat me so
Love another man stay at my back door
Mind, mama, what you sow
You got to reap just what you sow

Oh, rag
Rag, now
Rag, baby
Rag, mama
Said do that rag

Oh, rag
Do it a long time
Rag
Said do that rag

Now if you'll get you one woman, better get you two
One for your buddy other one for you
Got me a wife and a sweetheart too
Wife don't love me, my sweetheart do

Oh, rag
Rag, baby
Rag
Rag, mama,
Said do that rag
Oh, rag
Rag
Rag, baby
Said do that rag
Oh, rag
Oh, rag, baby
Rag, mama
Said do that rag
Oh, rag
Oh, rag, baby
Rag, mama
Said do that rag
Now rag, baby
Oh, rag
Oh, rag
Rag, mama
Said do that rag

Said my gal hollered murder I ain't raised my hand
Pistol in my pocket, blackjack in my hand
Took my gal under the willow tree
Ought to hear her hollering, "Don't murder me!"

Oh, rag, shh...
Oh, rag
Rag, now, baby,
Rag
Said do that rag

Oh, rag
Oh, rag, baby
Rag again
Said do that rag

Joe McCoy recorded a similarly threatening song in 1935, Something Gonna Happen to You:

I'm going to ask my old buddy now how come he shares
Won’t fool around if he’s has to go to the electric chair
Crying something bad now sure is going to happen to you
That's when I done everything that a poor boy could do

I have bought me a pistol, shotgun and some shells
Start some stuff to show them, raise some hell
Crying something bad now sure is going to happen to you
That's when I done everything that a poor boy could do

Yes you talked about me all through the neighborhood
Told everybody that I was no good
Crying something bad now sure is going to happen to you
That's when I done everything that a poor boy could do

Yes you called on the old law and he brought his ball and chain
Accused me of murder, I never harmed a man
Crying something bad now sure is going to happen to you
That's when I done everything that a poor boy could do

Yes my mother she told me, my daddy sat down and he cried
Someday son you’ve got to lay down and die
Crying something bad now sure is going to happen to you
When I done everything that a poor boy could do

There'll be one of these mornings, you going to jump and shout
Open the jailhouse door and you come walking out
Crying something bad now sure is going to happen to you
That's when I done everything that a poor boy could do

I used to have so many women, I didn't know who I loved
Used to gather around me like the angels above
Crying something bad now sure is going to happen to you
That's when I done everything that a poor boy could do

Songs:
Snitchin' Gambler Blues - Memphis Jug Band
Snitchers Blues - James Stump Johnson
The Snitches Blues - George Hannah
I Won't Be in Hard Luck No More - Big Joe Williams
Rag, Mama, Rag - Blind Boy Fuller
Something Gonna Happen to You - Joe McCoy

Show 64 - Where the Weather Suits My Clothes

I think I'm going back down South where the weather suits my clothes. Variations on that line appear in a lot of blues songs. In the context of the great African-American migration to the North, leaving Chicago or Detroit to return South for the better weather can be a metaphor for a few things. The longing for friends and family and the life you grew up with or the more troubling flip side which suggests its too hard for a black man to make it in the North. Or maybe sometimes it wasn't a metaphor at all and the singer just didn't like the cold. Lee Green seems to get at all these varieties while singing about his final resting place in Death Bell Blues from 1930.

I hate to hear that lonesome death bell toll
I hate to hear that lonesome death bell toll
But it reminds me of my dear mother, I mean that’s dead and gone

I can’t stay here, Lord, I can’t stay nowhere
Lord, I can’t stay here, Babe, I can’t stay nowhere
Lord I’ve been to the Nation, sweet woman I couldn’t stay there

From St. Louis to the river, river to the deep blue sea
From St. Louis to the river, from the river to the deep blue sea
If I don’t get woman that I’m loving, I don’t care what becomes of me

It’s so cold in Chicago, the birds can’t hardly sing
It’s so cold in Chicago, the birds can’t hardly sing
It’s so cold in East St. Louis, that these women can’t make a doggone thing

But my babe, she done quit me and I don’t even care
I mean my babe done quit me and I don’t even care
I believe that lonesome death bell will take me away from here

In the end Lee Smith is so empty without his woman, he longs for death to take him away from the cold Northern cities.

Clara Smith was one of the earlier recorded blues singers. In Down South Blues from 1923, she wants to hop on a train to head down south away from the men who've mistreated her in that cold weather:

I think of the ones down there, down South is my Southern home
I realize my life has been driftwood, like some kind of rolling stone
But I’ve learned my lesson, I mean it, I am through and folks I am not joking when I sing these Down South blues

I'm going to the station and catch the fastest train back home
I'm going to the station and catch the fastest train back home
I'm going back South where the weather suits my clothes

Because my mama told me and my daddy told me too
I say my mama told me and my daddy told me too
Don't go North and let them men make a fool out of you

Because their love's like water, it turns off and on
Because their love's like water, it turns off and on
Time you think you've got them, it’s turned off and gone

I'm going back South, if I wear out ninety‑nine pairs of shoes
I'm going back South, if I wear out ninety‑nine pairs of shoes
Because I'm broken-hearted, got those Down South blues

Ida Cox Southern Woman's Blues is from 1925:

Takes a southern woman to sing this southern song
Takes a southern woman to sing this southern song
Lord, I'm worried now but I won't be worried long

When I was downtown, I wouldn't take no one's advice
When I was downtown, I wouldn't take no one's advice
But I ain't going to let that same bee sting me twice

Because I'm going back down where the weather suits my clothes
Yes, I'm going back down where the weather suits my clothes
Down where there ain't no snow and the chilly wind never blows

I don't want no northern yellow, no northern black nor brown
I don't want no northern yellow, no northern black nor brown
Southern men will stick by you when the northern men can't be found

If you ever been South, you know just what I meanIf you ever been South, you know just what I mean
Southern men are all the same from Kentucky to New Orleans

I'm going back south where I can get my hambone boiled
I'm going back south where I can get my hambone boiled
These northern men are about to let my poor hambone spoil

John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson was a Jackson, Tennessee native and long time Chicago resident. In Down South from 1938, he talked about heading back to warmer weather:

Now I’m going back down South, man, where the weather suits my clothes
Now I done fooled around in Chicago, Lord, I done almost froze
Now that I done fooled around in Chicago, Lord, I done almost froze

Lord, my baby, my baby, she don’t treat me good no more
Now I know the reason she don’t love me, she’s wild about Mr. so and so
Now I know the reason she don’t love me, she’s wild about Mr. so and so

Now I know my baby, I know Ms. Lacy gonna want to see me now
Because my baby she didn’t want me to come way back up here no how
Lord, my baby she didn’t want me to come way back up here no how

Guitar great Scrapper Blackwell was an Indianapolis native, so his Down South Blues clearly isn't autobiographical. He sings about wondering if his baby is waiting for home in dear old sunny Tennessee. He's accompanied here by his famous piano playing partner Leroy Carr:

I'm just sitting here thinking of dear old sunny Tennessee
I'm just sitting here thinking of dear old sunny Tennessee
And wondering if my baby is waiting there for me

I'm going where the Monon crosses the L and N
I'm going where the Monon crosses the L and N
And catch me a freight train and go back home again

I'm going back South where it's warm the whole year round
I'm going back South where it's warm the whole year round
I'll be so glad when my train pulls up in town

In 1936, Victoria Spivey recorded Detroit Moan. More than any other song, it tells the story of someone who just can't make it financially in the cold cold place of Detroit.

Detroit's a cold cold place and I ain't got a dime to my name
Detroit's a cold hard place and I ain't got a dime to my name
I would go to the poorhouse but Lord you know I'm ashamed

I been walking Hastings Street, nobody seems to treat me right
I been walking Hastings Street, nobody seems to treat me right
I can make it in the daytime, but Lord these cold cold nights

Well I'm tired of eating chili and I can't eat beans no more
Yes, I'm tired of eating chili and I can't eat beans no more
People it hurts my feelings, Lord, from door to door

I've got to leave Detroit if I have to flag Number 94
I'm gonna leave Detroit if I have to flag Number 94
And if I ever get back home, I ain't never coming to Detroit no more

Memphis Jug Band showed their affinity for the warmth in their hometown in Going Back to Memphis

I'm leaving here, mama, don't you wanna go
I'm leaving here, mama, don't you wanna go
Because I'm sick and tired of all this ice and snow

When I get back to Memphis, you can bet I'll stay
When I get back to Memphis, you can bet I'll stay
And I ain't gonna leave until that judgment day

I love old Memphis, the place where I was born
I love old Memphis, the place where I was born
Wear my box-back suit, and drink my bottle of corn

I wrote my gal a letter, way down in Tennessee
I wrote my gal a letter, way down in Tennessee
Told her I was up here hungry, hurry up and send for me

I'm gonna walk and walk 'til I walk out all my shoesI'm gonna walk and walk 'til I walk out all my shoes
Because I've got what they call them leaving here blues

Blind Blake recorded Georgia Bound in 1929. It's a poetic take on returning to his native state and the agricultural lifestyle replacing the ice and snow:

Packing up my duffel, gonna leave this town
Packing up my duffel, gonna leave this town
And I'm gonna hustle to catch that train southbound 

I got the Georgia blues for the plow and hoe
I got the Georgia blues for the plow and hoe
Walked out my shoes over this ice and snow 

Tune up the fiddle, dust the catgut bow
Tune up the fiddle, dust off the catgut bow
Put on the griddle, and open up the cabin door 

I thought I was going to the Northland to stay
I thought I was going to the Northland to stay
South is on my mind, my blues won't go away 

Potatoes in the ashes, possum on the stove
Potatoes in the ashes, possum on the stove
You can have the hash, but please leave me the clove(?) 

Chicken on the roost, babe, watermelon on the vine
Chicken on the roost, babe, watermelon on the vine
I'll be glad to get back to that Georgia gal of mine

"I’ll be glad to get back to that gal of mine." That seems to be the most common theme in the songs about getting away from the cold North to return home to the South. The economic opportunities and escape from Jim Crow brought many African-American north, but knowing loved ones were still down South must have presented a constant lure to return home where it’s warm.

Songs:

Lee Green - Death Bell Blues
Clara Smith - Down South Blues
Ida Cox - Southern Woman's Blues
Sonny Boy Williamson - Down South
Scrapper Blackwell - Down South Blues
Victoria Spivey - Detroit Moan
Memphis Jug Band - Going Back to Memphis
Blind Blake - Georgia Bound

Show 59 - Walking the Street

Prostitution was illegal almost everywhere in the United States by the blues era. But, of course it was everywhere. Most blues songs on the subject address women walking in the street trying to find a trick. There’s no sign of the brothels that are often thought to be a higher class form of prostitution. Call girls that can be reached by telephone don’t seem to turn up either. In the blues, it’s the street walking woman. Some of the songs are poignant and touching descriptions of life of the street, others are pretty funny. Let’s start with a woman who chronicled prostitution in several songs. Georgia White’s Walking the Street:

Stood on the corner til my feet got soaking wet
Stood on the corner til my feet got soaking wet
These are the words I said to each and every man I met

If you ain't got a dollar, give me a lousy dime
If you ain't got a dollar, give me a lousy dime
I've got to beg and steal to please that man of mine

My feets are blistered just from walking these lonesome streets
My feets all blistered just from walking these lonesome streets
I've been walking all night like a police on his beat

Wait a minute mister, mister, give me a cigarette
Wait a minute minute mister, give me a cigarette
Stop your car, let me in, I've got what you should get

I've got these streetwalking blues, I ain't got no time to lose
I've got these streetwalking blues, I ain't got no time to lose
I've got to make six dollars just to buy my man a pair of shoes

Like Georgia White, Memphis Minnie was named for her Southern roots, but resided in Chicago by the mid-thirties. Down in the Alley is probably about the dangers of working the streets in that town.

I met a man, asked me did I want a pally
Yes, baby, let's go down in the alley
Take me down in the alley
Take me down in the alley
Take me down in the alley
And I can get my business fixed all right

Well, I met another man, asked him for a dollar
Might have heard that mother-for-you holler
Let's go down in the alley
Let's go down in the alley
Let's go down in the alley
Take me down in the alley
And I can get my business fixed all right

When he got me in the alley, he called me a name
What I put on him was a crying shame
Down in this alley
Down in this alley
Down in this alley
Where I got my business fixed all right

You got me in the alley, but don't get rough
I ain't gonna put up with that doggone stuff
Way down in this alley
Down in this alley
Down in the alley
Got me down in the alley, now my business fixed all right

(spoken:Woo, it's dark
Can't see no light
Got to feel my way out this alley
I'm sure gonna stop working at night)

You took me in the alley, you knocked me down
Now I'm gonna call every copper in this town
You got me down in the alley
Way down in the alley
You got me down in the alley
Now you got your business fixed all right
(spoken: Boys, I'm sure gonna stop working, and walking late at night, especially when you gotta do it in the alley)

Memphis Minnie recorded Tricks Ain’t Walking No More in 1931 about the difficulty of finding a trick during the hard times of the Great Depression.

Times has done got hard, work done got scarce
Stealing and robbing is taking place
Because tricks ain't walking, tricks ain't walking no more
Tricks ain't walking, tricks ain't walking no more
And I'm going to grab somebody if I don't make me some dough

I'm going to do just like a blind man, stand and beg for change
Tell these tricking policemen change my second name
Because tricks ain't walking, tricks ain't walking no more
Tricks ain't walking, tricks ain't walking no more
And I've got to make some money, I don't care where I go

I'm going to learn these walking tricks what it's all about
I'm going to get them in my house and ain't going to let them out
Because tricks ain't walking, tricks ain't walking no more
Tricks ain't walking, tricks ain't walking no more
And I can't make no money, I don't care where I go

I got up this morning with the rising sun
Been walking all day and I haven't caught a one
Because tricks ain't walking, tricks ain't walking no more
Tricks ain't walking, tricks ain't walking no more
And I can't make a dime, I don't care where I go

I got up this morning, feeling tough
I got to calling my tricks and it's rough, rough, rough
Because tricks ain't walking, tricks ain't walking no more
Tricks ain't walking, tricks ain't walking no more
And I have to change my luck if I have to move next door

Atlanta's Curley Weaver recorded his take on Tricks Ain’t Walkin’ No More in 1935 providing a male perspective and some humorous verses:

Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, tricks ain’t walking no more
Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, stay away from my door
I got a gal, she’s little and low
Used to have a trick, but she don’t no more
Now tricks ain’t walking no more, babe
Tricks ain’t walking no more
I said tricks ain’t walking no more

Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, tricks ain’t walking no more
Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, stay away from my door
Two fat women laying in the shade, waiting on the money the monkey man made
Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, tricks ain’t walking no more
I said, tricks ain’t walking no more

Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, tricks ain’t walking no more
Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe stay away from my door
I got a gal she’s long and tall, sleeps in  in the kitchen with her head in the hall

Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, tricks ain’t walking no more
Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, tricks ain’t walking no more
Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, stay away from my door
Sue’s out running every day, trying to drive her friends away
Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, tricks ain’t walking no more
I said, tricks ain’t walking no more

Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, tricks ain’t walking no more
Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, stay away from my door
Come in hot mama you long and tall, shake for me like a cannonball
Tricks ain’t walking no more, babe, tricks ain’t walking no more

Sonny Boy Nelson recorded Street Walkin’ Woman about the difficulty of living with a woman that's walking the streets:

Nobody knows street walking woman like I do
Well, nobody knows street walking woman like I do
She’ll keep you up all night long, then will spend your money too

She’ll come home every morning with a rag tied on her head
She’ll come home every morning with a rag tied on her head
And if you speak about loving, man, she’ll swear she’s almost dead

She won’t cook you no breakfast, clothes ain’t never clean
She won’t cook you no breakfast, and your clothes ain’t never clean
But she can spend more money than any woman that you’ve ever seen

Sometimes she will say “Baby, I love you so”
Sometimes she will say “Baby, I love you so”
And again she will tell you to pack your clothes and go

I don’t want no woman that walks the streets all night
I don’t want no woman that walks the streets all night long
She will spend all of your money and then won’t want to treat you right

Memphis Jug Band recorded the metaphor-filled She Done Sold it Out in 1934:

You know I had a gal, she run a java shop
I asked her how about it, not a crust in that shop
You ought to know she done sold it out
You ought to know she done sold it out
You ought to know, you oughta know, she done sold it out

You know a man walked in, say have you any eggs
Say I'll sell you some meat, if you furnish your bread
You ought to know she done sold it out
You ought to know she done sold it out
You ought to know, you oughta know, she done sold it out

Now the butcher's in the market they begin to pout
She sold all their meat and the butchers could not sell out
You ought to know she done sold it out
He ought to know she done sold it out
He ought to know, you oughta know, she done sold it out

You know they taken her before the judge, the judge asked me what is your name?
Cooncan Suzie and my mother was to blame
He ought to know she done sold it out
He ought to know she done sold it out
He ought to know, you oughta know, she done sold it out

You know the judge said little girl, you know you're rather bold
You can sell me some meat just before you go
He ought to know she done sold it out
He ought to know she done sold it out
He ought to know, you oughta know, she done sold it out

I'm going to the races, see my pony run
I believe I can find something just begun
He ought to know I done sold her out
He ought to know I sold my racehorse out
He oughta know, he oughta know, I done sold him out out out.

Georgia White recorded a humorous take on the subject I’ll keep Sitting on It:

If I can't sell it, keep sitting on it
Before I give it away
You've got to buy, don't care how much you want it
I mean just what I say

Just feel that nice old bottom built for wear or tear
I really hate to part with such a lovely chair
If I can't sell it, keep sitting on it
Before I'll give it away

If I can't sell it, I'll keep sitting on it
Before I'll give it away
You've got to buy, don't care how much you want it
I mean just what I say

When you want something good you've got to spend your jack
I guarantee you will never want your money back
If I can't sell it, I'll keep sitting on it
Before I'll give it away

If I can't sell it, keep sitting on it
Before I give it away
You've got to buy, don't care how much you want it
I mean just what I say

When you want something good you've got to spend your jack
I guarantee you'll never want your money back
If I can't sell it, I'll keep sitting on it
Before I'll give it away

In these blues songs, prostitution is presented largely without judgment. It’s shown as a tough life, where sometimes you need to laugh. Having to walk the streets is a classic blues situation. 

Songs:
Walking the Streets - Georgia White
Down in the Alley - Memphis Minnie
Tricks Ain't Walking No More - Memphis Minnie
Tricks Ain't Walkin' No More - Curley Weaver
Street Walkin' Woman - Sonny Boy Nelson
She Done Sold It Out - Memphis Jug Band
I'll Keep Sitting On It - Georgia White

Show 55 - News of the World

Most blues songs tend to focus on the local. Songs often address issues at home. But like everyone else, blues singers live in the world and are aware of the world beyond their hometowns. So I thought we’d take a look at some songs that talk about what’s going on overseas and news from around the world.

Maybe the best song of this type is Minnie Wallace’s The Cockeyed World. Recorded in 1935, the song’s about the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. The bravery of the Ethiopian soldiers fighting against an army with vastly superior weapons became a point of pride for African-Americans. Newspapers like the Chicago Defender reported on the war frequently and Minnie Wallace recorded this song just nine days after the invasion of October 3rd:

I woke up this morning feeling mighty sadI woke up this morning feeling mighty sadWas the worst old feeling that I ever had

It's war on Ethiopia and mama's feeling blue
It's war on Ethiopia and mama's feeling blue
I tell the cockeyed world I don't know what to do

They say that Ethiopia is a long ways from here
They say that Ethiopia is a long ways from here
They trying to steal my man and hurry him over there

I love my man, tell the cockeyed world I do
I love my man, tell the cockeyed world I do
It's coming the time that he'll sure love me too

This old cockeyed world will make your good man treat you mean
This old cockeyed world will make your good man treat you mean
He will treat you just like a poor girl he never seen

It's war on Ethiopia and my man won't behave
It's war on Ethiopia and my man won't behave
I tell the cockeyed world I'll spit in my baby's face

It's war on Ethiopia baby please please behave
It's war on Ethiopia please please behave
I tell the cockeyed world I'll follow you to your grave

Wallace sees the war in Ethiopia as an example of screwed up nature of the world. It’s the same thing that makes her man mistreat her at home. Several years later, Georgia’s Frank Edwards also looked at war with an eye towards how it affected things at home. He recorded We Got to Get Together in May of 1941, seven months before he U.S. would enter the war, but he was already seeing the effect of the War in Europe on the men at home that Uncle Sam would soon need:

Hitler cutting the world gotten disturbed
Uncle Sam better decide and gotten blood in his eye

You got to get together, you got to get together
Got to closen up together, join one hand in hand

Mussolini jumped back up in the sack
Hitler kicked him out so he couldn't get back
We got to get together
We got to get together
Got to closen up together, join one hand in hand

Uncle Sam called the men down name by name
He ain't together but they ready just the same
You got to get together
We got to get together
Got to closen up together, join one hand in hand

Uncle Sam need a champ, he rang the bell
A well trained man when you leave Camp Shelby

We got to get together
We got to get together
Got to closen up together, join one hand in hand

Say I left my woman standing in the door
Crying Lord have mercy they mustn't let him, please don't go
We got to get together
We got to get together
Got to closen up together, join one hand in hand

When King Edward VIII chose to give up the throne for the love of a divorced American woman in 1936, he became  a symbol of love for romantics all over the world. That included Blind Willie McTell who recorded King Edward Blues in 1940.

Tell me honey, now tell me please
Is my lover now hard to please?
I’m getting groggy in my knees
Baby and it must be love

A funny feeling reaches up my spine
My head like cherry wine
Makes me think the world’s allmine
Baby and it must be love

I hear church bell ringing, I see visions clear
I hear the birdies singing
I know darn well that no bird is there

I don’t like your shirts and ties, they don’t seem to harmonize
They don’t match those big brown eyes
Baby and it must be love

Can be a rich man, a poor man, a beggar man king
It will make you give up everything
Every time you feel that sting, honey, it must be love

Make a preacher lay his bible down
Made a rabbit hug a hound
Made King Edward give up his crown
Baby and it must be love

I hear church bell ringing, I see visions clear
I hear the birdies singing
I know darn well that no bird is there

I don’t like your shirts and ties, they don’t seem to harmonize
They don’t match those big brown eyes
Mama and it must be love
Baby and it must be love

We know Kokomo Arnold traveled a lot across the United States, from the descriptive storytelling in Big Ship Blues he may have made a trans-Atlantic voyage as well:

Now this big ship is rocking and my body's filled with aches and pains
Now this big ship is rocking and my body's filled with aches and pains
Now if I get across the Atlantic Ocean, good people I will not live to Spain

Now the big tide is rising, you better lower your anchors down
Now the big tide is rising, you better lower your anchors down
Now if we don't make the circle, we never will get back to New York town

Now why don't you people quit laughing? I feel mighty sad in my mind
Now why don't you people quit laughing? I feel mighty sad in my mind
Said this big fog gone to rising and a cyclone is right behind

Now I feel bad, nobody seems to want to go my way
Now I feel bad, nobody seems to want to go my way
Said this big ship going to leaking, right between midnight and day

Now I see something shining, daylight is breaking all around
Now I see something shining, daylight is breaking all around
Soon as we make a few more notches, I will be right back in New York town

Arnold’s story brings to mind the many great songs telling the story of the sinking of the Titanic including Rabbit Brown’s amazing Sinking of the Titanic from 1928:

It was on the 10th of April on a sunny afternoon
The Titanic left Southampton, each one as happy as bride and groom
No one thought of danger or what their fate may be
Until a gruesome iceberg caused 1500 to perish in the sea

It was early Monday morning, just about the break of day
Captain said call for help from the Carpathia and it was many miles away
Everyone was calm and silent, asked each other what the trouble may be
Not thinking that death was lurking there upon that northern sea

The Carpathia received the wireless SOS redistress
Come at once, we are sinking, make no delay and do your best
Get the lifeboats all in readiness 'cause we're going down very fast
We have saved the women and the children and tried to hold out to the last

Now at last they called out all the passengers, told them to hurry to the deck
Then they realized that the mighty Titanic was about to be a wreck
They lowered the lifeboats one by one, taking women and children from the start
The poor men were left to care for themselves but they sure played a hero's part 

You know they stood out on that sinking deck and they was all in great despair
You know accidents may happen most anytime and we know not when and where
The music played as they went down on that dark blue sea
And you could hear the sound of that familiar hymn, singing 'Nearer my God to Thee'

Nearer my God to thee
Nearer my God to thee
Nearer my God to thee
Nearer to thee

Though like a wanderer as the sun goes down
Darkness be over me just when the Titanic went down

Rabbit Brown recorded that in 1928 and the Titanic sunk in 1912, so Brown was retelling a legend more than commenting on the news.  When the Memphis Jug Band recorded Lindberg Hop that same year they were talking about more recent news, Charles Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight of the year before:

I know they’re gonna write to me
When they get across the sea, every chance when that Washington lands in France

How you say it, for now, sugar baby

Now mama, don’t you weep and moan,
Uncle Sam’s got your man and gone,
Now he’s doing that Lindbergh across the sea.

Now mama how can it be, you went way across the sea,
Just to keep from doing that Lindybird with me
Oh babe now I done told you
If I had my uniform on, I could live it — just as sure as you born
Then I’ll do that Lindbergh across the sea

She asked me for a bottle of Kaye Ola
I said, “Mama, let me play it on your Victrola,
Then I’ll do that Lindybird with you. ”
How you say it, for now, sugar baby?

I asked her for a piece of banana
She said, “Jab, play the blues on your piano,
Then I’ll do that Lindybird with you."

Songs:

The Cockeyed World - Minnie Wallace

We Got to Get Together - Frank Edwards

Kings Edward Blues - Blind Willie McTell

Big Ship Blues - Kokomo Arnold

Sinking of the Titanic - Rabbit Brown

Lindberg Hop - Memphis Jug Band

Show 50 - Beating Blues

Songs about abusing women are pretty common and there is another huge set of songs about murdering women. They do illustrate how attitudes toward violence against women have changed and how prevalent this problem was. One of the great Robert Johnson songs, Me and the Devil Blues,
includes lyric about beating:

Early this morning, when you knocked upon my door
Early this morning, ooh, when you knocked upon my door
And I said, "Hello, Satan, I believe it's time to go"


Me and the devil, was walking side by side
Me and the devil, ooh, was walking side by side
And I'm going to beat my woman, until I get satisfied


She say you don't see why, that you will dog me around
Now, babe, you know you ain't doing me right, don't you
She say you don't see why, ooh, that you will dog me around
It must be that old evil spirit, so deep down in the ground


You may bury my body, down by the highway side
(Baby, I don't care where you bury my body when I'm dead and gone)
You may bury my body, ooh, down by the highway side
So my old evil spirit, can catch a Greyhound bus and ride

Robert Johnson associates himself with the devil, calling himself evil and talking about the bad things a man does in life including beating his woman. Roosevelt Sykes Single Tree Blues, recorded in 1929, is not so metaphorical. It’s about how a man deals with a woman that’s not treating him right. A singletree is a wood bar that’s a part of a plow.

Hit my woman with a singletree
Hit my woman with a singletree
You might've heard her hollering “daddy don't you murder me”


Going to shoot you mama, going to cut you too
Going to shoot you mama, I’m going to cut you too
Lord on account of the old way you do


Been sick and down babe, I'm getting up again
Been sick and down mama, I'm getting up again
Mmm but I'm bl...


Going away mama, coming here no more
Going away baby, coming here no more
You know you shout at me, you’ve thrown my trunk outdoors


She's a good old girl, but she do mess around
She's a good old girl, but she do mess around
She ain't there, she's all over town

The Memphis Jug Band recorded a similar song with first couple verses alone the same lines, I Whipped My Woman With a Single Tree:

I said my woman had a falling out
People in the town want to know what it was all about
Same thing, same thing
Now don’t you hear me talking to you, talking about the same old thing


Yes, I whipped my woman with a singletree
You oughta heard her hollering don't you murder me
What about? Same thing, same thing
Now don’t you hear me talking to you, talking about the same old thing


Yes, I went to the Gypsies to get my fortune told
The Gypsies told me something I didn't want no one to know
What about? Same thing, same thing
Now don’t you hear me talking to you, talking about the same old thing


Yes, I went to my back door and that ??? was locked
I went to that front door you know the ??? was locked
What was it doing? Same thing
Now don’t you hear me talking to you talking about the same old thing


Now don't you wish your easy roller was little and cute like mine
Every time she walks she leaves a lot behind
Oh same thing, same thing
Now don’t you hear me talking to you talking about the same old thing

Sonny Boy Williamson recorded another example of a song about beating a woman that a man feels is out of line. You Give an Account:

I'm going to tell you something baby you can't do
You better take it kind of easy, I've got my eyes on you
You got to give an account of just what you do


If you got a good woman and she won't treat you right
You feed her three times a day and whip her a little at night
You got to give an account of just what you do


Now Mr. depot agent, don't you make me cry
Did my baby stop here, did she keep on by?
You got to give an account of just what you do


Now I want all you people to gather around
My baby done left me, treat me like a hound
You got to give an account of just what you do


I told her I'd buy her a Chevrolet say but she wanted a V‑Eight Ford
She say she wanted something would beat us a hole in the road
She got to give an account of just what she’ll do


Now I waved my hands, she wouldn't pay me no mind
Way out on my door she made a loving sign
But she got to give an account of just what she’ll do

In one of his few pre-war recordings, 1941’s Little Boy Blue, Robert Lockwood jr. sang about whipping and stabbing a woman:

Little boy blue, please come blow your horn
Little boy blue, please come blow your horn
My baby she gone and left me, she left me all alone


Now the sheep is in the meadow and the cows is in the corn
I've got a girl in Chicago she loves to hear me blow my lonesome horn
Little boy blue, please come blow your horn
My baby she gone and left me, she left me all alone


I'm going to take my whip and whip her, I'm going to whip her down to the ground
I'm going to take my dirk and stab her then I'm you know I'm going to turn it round and round
Little boy blue, please come blow your horn
My baby she gone and left me, she left me all alone


I have rambled and I've rambled until I broke my poor self down
I believe to my soul that the little girl is out of town
Little boy blue, please come blow your horn
My baby she gone and left me, she left me all alone

There’s often at least some female perspective to provide counterpoints in the blues, and Jewell Nelson provided one in 1928, Beating Me Blues:

I wish someone could tell me where that man of mine that has been mistreating me all the time
My daddy’s beating me almost every day
I’m getting sick and tired of the way my daddy’s killing me


He used to be sweet, everybody know
But here on lately, he beats me everywhere we go
He’s just killing me, yes just killing me
I’m getting sick and tired of the way my daddy’s treating me


I went on the mountaintop, he found me there
I believe he’ll find me anywhere
He’s just killing, yes, just killing me
I’m getting sick and tired of the way my daddy’s killing me


I’m going to find the policeman
Tell him how my daddy is beating me
You know he’s killing me, just killing me
I’m getting sick and tired of the way my daddy’s beating me

Clara Herring also recorded a song about receiving beatings in 1928, Beating Blues:

Woke up this morning, my eyes were dark as night
I woke up this morning, my eyes were dark as night
And you know about that, my man ain’t acting right


He beats me in the morning and before the break of day
Beats me in the morning and before the break of day
Then I’m getting tired of being treated this way


Now the way he beats me, there must not be no laws
The way he beats me, there must not be no laws
And I know about that, some other girl is in my ...


Someday sweet papa, someone’s going to take your place
Someday sweet papa, someone’s going to take your place
But you took off(?) and left with that in your place(?)


You don’t want me papa, I’ll pack my things and go
You don’t want me papa, I’ll pack my things and go
But remember daddy, you got to reap just what you sow

So what should we think about men like Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Lockwood, men whose music I admire tremendously, singing about whipping, stabbing, and beating women? Well, it’s always a mistake to assume that these songs are autobiographical. But they do reflect the culture that these men were a part of and that they helped create. Their casual mentions of beatings should be recognized. Though the violence can certainly be seen as yet another consequence of the oppression of the black male in a Jim Crow world, it can never be excused and shouldn’t be ignored.

Songs:
Me and the Devil Blues - Robert Johnson
Single Tree Blues - Roosevelt Sykes
I Whipped My Woman with a Single Tree - Memphis Jug Band
You Give an Account - Sonny Boy Williamson
Little Boy Blue - Robert Lockwood, jr.
Beating Me Blues - Jewell Nelson
Beating Blues - Clara Herring