Folktunes.org - blues

Cocaine Habit Blues by The Memphis Jug Band

Forrest Oliphant — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:58:23 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

Cocaine habit mighty bad
It's the worst old habit that I ever had
Hey, hey, Honey take a whiff on me

I went to Mr Beaman's in a lope
Saw a sign on the window said no more dope
Hey, hey, Honey take a whiff on me

If you don't believe cocaine is good
Ask Alma Rose at Minglewood
Hey, hey, Honey take a whiff on me

I love my whiskey, and I love my gin
But the way I love my coke is a doggone sin
Hey, hey, Honey take a whiff on me

(break)

Since cocaine went out of style
You can catch them shooting needles all the while
Hey, hey, honey take a whiff on me

It takes a little coke to give me ease
Strut my stuff long as you please
Hey, hey, honey take a whiff on me

(break)

(Let's all take a whiff on Hattie now.)

Hey, hey.

Notes:

Recorded on May 17, 1930. Hattie Hart sings the lead with Will Shade on harp, Tee Wee Blackman on guitar, Ben Ramey on kazoo, and Ham Lewis on the jug.

A Black Woman Is Like A Black Snake by The Memphis Jug Band

Forrest Oliphant — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:58:23 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

A black woman's like a black snake, she will strike and run,
A black woman's like a black snake, she will strike and run
...

...

I wouldn't marry a black woman, I'll tell you the reason why,
I wouldn't marry a black woman, I'll tell you the reason why,
She's so black and evil she won't look in your eye

...

Oh fish are swimming, they come into the net,
Oh fish are swimming, they come into the net,
... try to do the best they can, they do the best they can

Notes:

[This recording is included despite its overt racism as an integral part of any archive of this kind of music. This song does not represent the views of The Folktunes Archive, nor does the inclusion of any other song. - ed.]

Recorded on September 11, 1928. This jug band's lineup includes leader Will Shade on harp and guitar, Charlie Burse on guitar, Ben Ramey on kazoo, and Jab Jone on the lead vocal and jug.

Stealin' Stealin' by The Memphis Jug Band

Forrest Oliphant — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:58:23 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

Stealin', stealin', pretty mama don't you tell on me
I'm stealin' back to my same old used to be

Now, put your arms around me like the circle round the sun
I want ya to love me, mama like my easy rider done

If you don't believe I love ya, look what a fool I've been
If you don't believe I'm sinkin', look what a hole I'm in

Stealin', stealin', pretty mama don't ya tell on me
I'm stealin' back to my same old used to be

(kazoo and harmonica break)

The woman I'm lovin', she's just my height and size
She's a married woman, come to see me sometimes

If you don't believe I love you, look what a fool I've been
If you don't believe I'm sinkin', look what a hole I'm in

I'm stealin', stealin', pretty mama don't you tell on me
I'm stealin' back to my same old used to be

(break)

Stealin', stealin', pretty mama don't ya tell on me
I'm stealin' back to my same old used to be

Notes:

This is the first recording of this song, which has since been recorded by everyone from Taj Mahal to The Greatful Dead.

Recorded on September 15, 1928. Will Shade sings the lead with Vol Stevens on guitar, Ben Ramey on kazoo and Jab Jones on jug.

Viola Lee Blues by Cannon's Jug Stompers

Forrest Oliphant — Thu, 2 Mar 2006 10:34:42 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

The judge decreed it, clerk he wrote it,
The clerk he wrote it down indeed-eh,
The judge decreed it, the clerk he wrote it down,
If you miss jail sentence, you'll be Nashville bound.

Some got six months, some got one solid,
Some got one solid, year indeed lord,
Some got six months, some got one solid year,
But me and my buddy, oh got lifetime here.

Fix my supper, mama, let me go to,
Let me go to bed, indeed lord,
Fix my supper, let me go to bed,
I've been drinking white lightning, and it just gone to my head.

Notes:

Recorded on September 20, 1928 presumably in Memphis. The lineup is the same as on "Minglewood Blues," only Noah Lewis sings. The line "ain't got a jail sentence, you must be Nashville bound," refers to the common practice in the South at that time of sometimes not sentencing black men who were arrested for certain crimes. Rather, they would often be sent to places where they had to work very hard, which was often worse than a jail sentence.

Minglewood Blues by Cannon's Jug Stompers

Forrest Oliphant — Thu, 2 Mar 2006 10:34:39 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

Don't you never let one woman rule your mind
Don't you never let one woman rule your mind
Said she keep you worried, troubled all the time

Don't you think your fairer was li'l and cute like mine
Don't you wish your fairer was li'l and cute like mine
She's a mar- She's a married woman,
But she comes to see me all the time

Don't you never let one woman rule your mind
Don't you never let one woman rule your mind
Said she keep you worried, troubled all the time

Well I got a letter mama and you ought to hear it read
Well I got a letter Lord and you ought to hear it read
If you comin' back baby now be on your way

Notes:

There is an interesting breakdown of the history of this song in the folk tradtion at the Roots of the Greatful Dead page.

Recorded on January 30, 1928 in Memphis, Tennessee. This recording features Gus Cannon on banjo and jug (Cannon created a contraption to hang the jug from his band so he could blow and pick banjo at the same time), Ashley Thompson on vocals and guitar and Noah Lewis on the harp. Minglewood was a lumber camp in Ashley, Tennessee, which was popular amongst musicians in the Mississippi Delta as a "hot spot." This tune became a popular staple of the Grateful Dead. Along with the Memphis Jug Band, Cannon's Jug Stompers was one of the great jug bands of the twenties.

My Sweet Farm Girl - Clarence Ashley

Forrest Oliphant — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 08:59:39 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

My sweet farm girl, she's jolly of my pride
My sweet farm girl, she's jolly of my pride
She knows I know how to keep her satisfied

So early in the morning I cut her grass you bet
So early in the morning I cut her grass you bet
Pull up the hose; I keep her lawn all wet

I close her fire; I shake her ashes down
I close her fire; I shake her ashes down
We eat our breakfast, then we ride on back to town

I keep her garden all free from bugs and weeds
I keep her garden all free from bugs and weeds
I plow her land, and then I sow my seeds

I trim her hedges; I clean out her back yard
I trim her hedges; I clean out her back yard
She loves her daddy because I'm long and hard

Notes:

Recorded on December 1, 1931 in New York City. Ashley plays guitar and sings, with Gwen Foster on guitar and harmonica. The sexual connotations are rather obvious.

The Worried Blues by Samantha Bumgarner

Forrest Oliphant — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 23:44:30 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

Got the worried blues,
Oh, got the worried blues,
Got the worried blues...

Notes:

Recorded on April 23, 1924 in New York City. This tune is from her first recording session, which made her the first recorded female country performer. "The Worried Blues" is a variant of "Going Down The Road Feeling Bad."