S. Weasel has an article up on Blues Legend Blind Lemon Paterson. Included is a list of observations helpful in constructing the music:
1. Most blues songs begin, “Woke up this morning.”
Let that be a lesson to you.
In my opinion, some of his best work was done with Jelly Roll Gleckman.
5. Blues cars: Chevys and Cadillacs and broken down trucks. Blues don’t travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles.
I once wrote a down and dirty blues song about having to trade in my truck for a mini-van.
Does that count?
‘Cause, man, that was the shits. My balls currently reside in the glove box.
My favorite blues singer was Blind Lemon Meranguepie.
BAH-NAH-NAH
Woke up this mornin’
BAH-NAH-NAH
Feelin’ kinda dead,
BAH-NAH-NAH
Lyin’ there with my baby,
BAH-NAH-NAH
and five other guys in the bed! BAH-NANNA BAH-NANNA BAH-NANNA BAH-NANNA
and I got the blues….
I had a Volvo, once, that might have made for some good blues. Plus, it was blue.
I had a blues Volvo stationwagon. It was primer gray and had 163,000 miles on it. The back door didn’t latch and slammed up and down as I drove, and it had dents on opposite sides of the body in front of the wheels, like God had picked it up to look inside.
It all started for me with “Three Blind Mice” chasing that little Spoonful farmer’s wife.
What, no “Blind Melon Chitlin'” references?
Oh wait, there’s one now…
Whaddaya mean woke up. That wasn’t a problem, ’cause for me it was I “came to”. I didn’t know nothin’ about waking up. I came to in a lot of interesting places. It made life unpredictable and added an element of danger.
That’s odd. Waking up in the morning generally tells me it’s gonna be a fairly decent day.
Considering the alternative…
I drive a Ford Bronco. Trading it in for a Volvo wouldn’t give me the blues, it would drive me to suicide.
Which would be an improvement on driving a @#$!ing Volvo.
“Waking up in the morning….”
Magoo;
I think you meant to say conscious. Waking up will take a little more.
Most blues songs actually start with:
“Woke up this mo-nin.”
Almost all blues songs also contain the word: “git”
As in: Gonna git me summa dat.
The only song in the universe that actually begins “Woke up this morning …” is “Fire and Rain” by noted non-Blues warbler James Taylor.
“The Sky is Crying” was my first clue that Gaia had the Blues. Earth Day was not far behind. But, fortuneately, Blind-Drunk Jimmy Reed had it anticipated – “If you don’t straighten up baby, honey I’m going upside your head.”
I bought you a suit, baby
Cost ninety nine ninety nine
Now you want to mistreat me, baby
And take-on all the time
You better hear me, baby
‘Better believe what I say
If you don’t straighten up, baby
Child, I’m going upside your head.
Even the beat was uplifting.
I got me them ain’t-got-no-blues blues.
I woke up this morning
Then I went back to bed
Said I woke up this morning
Then I went right back to bed
I woke up this afternoon
Both cars were gone
I woke up this afternoon
Both cars were gone
I felt so low down deep inside
I threw my drink across the lawn
–Martin Mull
Sig, how about “I got the can’t sing the blues ’cause I can’t pay my dues blues”?