I chose these works for how they built upon classic blues (blues that follows the standard AAB lyrical structure and common themes of love, longing, suffering, and travel) by addressing an ecological concern, as in Backwater Blues, or innovating the classical structure, as in Too Blue, and Duplex., I want to encourage reading and listening to early blues poetry and classic blues as a method toward mastering blues aesthetics. As musicologist Dr. David Evans has noted, Back-Water Blues was recorded in February 1927, before the great disaster of April. The conjunct melody made me want to sing along with her! For examples of innovative uses of these devices in poetry, visit Jericho Browns Duplex, Evie Shockleys Fukushima Blues, and Kevin Youngs Langston Hughes.. The Mississippi River flood of 1927 was horrific. The scene is set with the terrific storm by the female speaker, so depressed that she cant even get out of the door. Teach music and songwriting in ways that keep students engaged, excited, and inspired. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Bessie actually wrote "Backwater Blues" for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. Smith, Bessie. Carl Van Vechten Estate/Library of Congress, Washington D.C., photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1936, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bessie-Smith. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. The initial first line resoundstherefore necessitates itself perhaps as a question, a declaration, or even a second guessing of this sung things existence to its audience of many or just their self. Feature Flags: { Create beats, songs, and musical snippets with built-in music theory, melody guides, and intelligent chord suggestions. Kevin Young was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. The third-sixth verses have the traditional AAB blues pattern, which helps emphasize what she is saying during each verse. Notice, however, that although the form remains the same throughout, pianist James P. Johnson's accompaniment style frequently changes during different verses of the song, as he interacts musically with Smith and attempts to depict the meaning of her lyrics through his playing.\r\rBessie Smith (vocal); James P. Johnson (piano)\r\rRecorded in New York, February 17, 1927 Bessie Smith- Back Water Blues. Youtube, uploaded by TravelerIntoTheBlue, 9 Oct 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXShOJVwaM. Another way of reading classic blues lyric structure is as weighted-sonic couplets. Of course, I learn so much from the Bessie Smiths blues poems. Train with real songs. Please download this song, preferably the original 1927 recording by Bessie Smith, and listen to her amazing singing. There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. The three most important chords, built off the 1st, 4th and 5th scale degrees are all major . The elements of voice, musical instrument, and audience formed a living tercet in which the blues singer and musician resound one another to deliver that final line blues statement. I do not believe in a fixed way to write blues poems or poetry with blues feeling. This incident gave birth to an important blues era, now known as the Delta Blues era. Pro Credit Pack (3 Pro Credits) Included with first year, Your high-resolution PDF file will be ready to download in Following her death, Smith received numerous awards and honors for her achievements, including: Bessie Smith- American Singer. Encyclopedia Britannica, written by The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Feb 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bessie-Smith. Discuss Bessie Smith's performance of "Back Water Blues" as an example of both. Smith is believed to be one of the highest paid black performers of her time. Big Bill Broonzy released it on the album Folk Blues in 1954. 15Label: Route 16Year: 1990This CD is from my own collection. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. Almost half a million homes were destroyed. The lyrics are in the often-used AAB blues format. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. Lets look at the blues poem as a form. When it rained five days and the sky turned dark as night, Zur deutschen bersetzung von Backwater Blues, Die 10 schnsten Songs fr ein gemtliches Picknick, Die 10 beliebtesten ESC-Songs aller Zeiten, "Sing meinen Song" 2023: Alle Infos, Teilnehmer, Songs & Folgen, "Let's Dance 2023": Alle Tnze aus Show 9 + Songtexte, I'd Rather Be Dead and Buried in My Grave, Udo Lindenberg & Apache 207 - Komet Songtext, Ikke Hftgold, Schrze & DJ Robin - Bumsbar Songtext, Purple Disco Machine & Kungs - Substitution Songtext, Hypaton, David Guetta & La Bouche - Be My Lover (feat. She earned her title by displaying her powerful voice to the public for everyone to hear. Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. He attended Rutgers University and Howard University, spent three years in Jericho Brown's first book,Please(New Issues, 2008), won the American Book Award, and his second book,The New Testament(Copper Canyon, 2014), was named one of the best poetry books of the year SterlingAllenBrown devoted his life to the development of an authentic black folk literature. Datenschutzbestimmungen. Smith continued on to become very successful with hits like St. The beat is easy to tap along to, making it easier to focus on her lyrics. The words vary from one performer to another; this opening verse is representative: When it rains five days, and the skies turn dark as night (2) Includes 1 print + interactive copy with lifetime access in our free apps. Billed annually at $39.99. Este es un disco muy bueno; una gran voz, la Reina del Blues Dinah Washington, y unos temas espectaculares, las canciones de la gran Bessie Smith. Download and Print scores from huge community collection ( 1,426,528 and growing) Advanced tools to level up your playing skills. [1] Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. The blues poems remind us that the American poetic tradition can be traced to African American oral tradition; that great art, great poems come from deep suffering that is personal, historical, and political and could be read on the page as well as sung out loud. Jazz- Review Questions. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 Backwater Blues became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. The piece has a homophonic texture due to the supplementation of the instruments to the vocalization of Smith. 'Cause my house fell down. She lets the chords of the instruments dangle off of her words, resulting in a beautiful piece that focuses primarily on the lyrics. Bessie Smith (Down Hearted Blues, 1923) Jazz Legend. Youtube, uploaded by RagtimeDorianHenry, 3 Jun 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA. Entire black neighborhoods were wiped out. "Backwater Blues" (1927) . One more piece. Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. The flood was a devastating ordeal. I cant do justice to this poem, to Backwater Blues, by just reciting it myself. Bessie Smith, "Backwater blues", 1927The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard. Writer(s): Smith This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. Bessie Smith's Back-Water Blues: the story behind https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143007001158, Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? Back-Water Blues 65th in 1927. This personal depression by extension is about the depression of an entire people, marginalized in the back waters, stricken with poverty, homelessness, suffering social injustice, discrimination, and now hit with this catastrophic natural disaster. "useRatesEcommerce": false Through an examination of Smith's touring itinerary, the testimony of fellow entertainers who toured . Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. In our workshop, In the Voice and in the Deep, Blues Poetry, participants and I studied blues music, history, aesthetics, and ultimately blues poetry. Total loading time: 0 I see myself as an activist Chinese American poet, and I want to show the multiple sides of my literary inheritance. for this article. The beat does . How does the music reflect the lyrical content of the piece? The flood from The Cumberland River that struck Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Day 1926, AAB e.g. What characterizes a blues performance? Smith did not cut any corners in her songs- she told everyone how the world really was and how she felt about it. Her powerful voice stands out so much in this song that the instrumental background may not even be needed as supplementation. Marilyn Chin (1955- ) was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Oregon, and received her MFA from the University of Iowa. As a poet who writes in English I know that every time I write a sonnet I pay homage to the high European tradition and to master poets like Shakespeare, Dunn, Keats, Petrarch. They relocated the white folks in an expedient manner but corralled the black folks into abysmal camps. Bessie Smith is the best-known of the female \"classic blues\" (or \"city blues\") singers from the 1910s and 1920s (others include Ma Rainey, Ethel Waters, Clara Smith, and Mamie Smith). "it rained five days and the sky turned dark as night". 'Back-Water Blues', composed by Bessie Smith and recorded by her on 17 February 1927, has long been associated in the popular mind and even by some writers with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River and its tributaries that occurred that year. She is considered by many as one of the most successful African-American females of all time. This suggests to me that aspects of contemporary US poetry could be in lineage of African diasporic culture. Published online by Cambridge University Press: In this recording of \"Backwater Blues,\" we can hear these techniques at work, and they stand in contrast to the very structured twelve-bar blues form of the song. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begins to blow. To pack my things and go. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 "Backwater Blues" became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. Log dich ein um diese Funktion zu nutzen. Down Hearted Blues, her first recording, sold nearly 800,000 copies, firmly establishing her as a new singer in the blues genre. [Verse 5] And I went . Bessie actually wrote Backwater Blues for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. Become a Musicnotes Pro - Premium member today and receive 24 titles per year plus take 15% off all digital sheet music purchases and get PDFs included with every song! The despair is deep, is deeply personal, but it is also metaphorical and speaks to the despair of an entire community. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. The rhythm remains constant throughout the song, allowing the melody to flow peacefully during the piece. She made almost 200 recordings, including duets with Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith. The song has long been associated with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. Her ability to use \"blue notes\" and other vocal embellishments, along with a loose melodic phrasing, became hallmarks of jazz and blues inflection that other musicians (singers and instrumentalists) emulated. 04 January 2007. The a rhyme glues the three-line stanza together. Third, Mamie Smith became the first Black blues singer to record a blues record in 1920. . hear how the piano embodies the texture of what is being sung, as if the piano witnesses and takes on the storm and flood alongside Bessie Smith. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. Perhaps the build-up of rain made her anticipate the flood; it was released just as the flood came, and as a result, it became a big hit., Charter Member Directory (Password Protected). Photo credit: Carl Van Vechten, Celebrating Contemporary Books & Writers at the Library, From the Catbird Seat: The official Poetry and Literature podcast, Receive notifications about events, activities, and online resources, Marilyn Chin reads and discusses Bessie Smith's "Backwater Blues", Rhapsody in plain yellow, by Marilyn Chin, Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. Lets look at this poem closely. Backwater Blues tells the story of how the speaker is forced out of her home due to flooding waters. On September 26, 1937, Smith was en route to a show in Memphis, Tennessee with her companion of many years, Richard Morgan, when he sideswiped a truck and lost control of their car. In this blog post I am going to be looking at and analysing a track by famous New Orleans jazz musician, Louis Armstrong. But the second strophe, the second stanza, we turn inward, and its about personal disaster: I woke up this morning cant even get out of my door, I woke up this morning cant even get out of my door. hasContentIssue false. } This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith . I have her strong voice in my ear at all times. Bessie Smith is the best-known of the female "classic blues" (or "city blues") singers from the 1910s and 1920s (others include Ma Rainey, Ethel Waters, Clar. In terms of chords and melody, Backwater Blues is more complex than the typical song, having above average scores in Chord Complexity, Melodic Complexity, Chord-Melody Tension and Chord Progression Novelty. Blues on Yellow Marilyn Chin from Rhapsody in Plain Yellow. "When it rains five days, and the skies turn dark as night (x2). And the rain begin to pour. According to the Theorytab database, it is the 5th most popular key among Major keys and the 5th most popular among all keys. print music publishers. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begin to blow. View Official Scores licensed from. Theres this rich toughness in her voice that tells us this girl and her people are going to get through this calamity. Yeah, when it's thunderin' and lightnin'. Once more, listen for the turnaround (the melody at the final two bars of each 12-bar progression or last line of each stanza) and hear it transform the melody of one progression/stanza into the next. I believe the blues represents a range of human experience that can speak on and to that thing that nearly ended someone but the very fact of them living to sing about it encapsulates the blues. The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. And I can't live there no more. Smith . :)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Title: Backwater BluesLevel: BeginnerCom. Of course, we Americans have historical amnesia. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. I make it a point to learn the African American poetic tradition. The poem moves to personal depression. Bessie Smith had a powerful impact on future blues and Rock and Roll singers, like Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. ). My name is Lex and I am a rising senior at the University of Georgia. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. There's thousands of people ain't got no place to go. Backwater Blues does not sound as much like the blues as Down Hearted Blues to me, but it is still distinguishable as the blues due to the sad content of the song. Backwater blues done caused me to pack up my things and go, / Backwater blues done caused me to pack up my things and go, / 'Cause my house fell down and I can't live there no more. This is a song poem. The vocals to be the focus and the 'response' to be more complex, At times it can sounds almost 'half-spoken'. I am majoring in biology and love helping my community! Instagram oder Facebook auf Songtexte.com geladen werden. Bemoaning the fate of losing a home to flood waters after five days and nights of rain, Smith laments: Thousands of people aint got no place to go. While many latter-day listeners have equated this song with the disastrous 1927 flood of the Mississippi River, Smith actually recorded this before that particular flood had occurred. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? However, the blues utility in our everyday language signifies to me that the blues are ingrained into US culture. The lyrics of the song are interpreted with respect to the events of that flood. I love writing blues poems. Render date: 2023-05-02T09:42:40.381Z However, I recommend practicing the classic form (first line repeated in the second line, third line responds to the second, entire poem at least three tercets long) to fully grasp blues aesthetics. Thematically, write about whatever you feel must be sung. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. She manages to escape her flooding home, only to look back and see that she will never be able to go back to it. Johnson was instrumental in the development of the piano style that emerged from Harlem in the 1920s known as \"stride.\" \r\rIn the age before sound amplification and microphones, a successful singer needed to be able to project. Hi! Mmm, I cant move no more. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. Terrible images came across the television screen and recently with global warming and continuous flooding and natural disasters this poem survives the test of time and can speak to a variety of incidents and international dislocated peoples. [2], The song has long been associated with the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. Considering these notes about the blues inception, the blues endured and scoredif not directly then through derived musical formsthe majority of the United States early nation-building and cultural formation. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bessie-Smith, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXShOJVwaM, https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/bessie-smith, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA, 1980: Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, 1989: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1989: Received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 1994: Face was placed upon a US Postage Stamp, 2001: Down Hearted Blues was named one of the Songs of the Century by the National Endowment for the Arts, 2002: Down Hearted Blues was listed on the National Recording Preservation Board by the Library of Congress, 2006: Down Hearted Blues listed in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Back-Water Blues, composed by Bessie Smith and recorded by her on 17 February 1927, has long been associated in the popular mind and even by some writers with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River and its tributaries that occurred that year. We could define and reproduce several devices of blues lyric, such as call and response, and blues turnaround, and surely, we can write sad poems. "When it rains five days, and the skies turn dark as night (x2) There's trouble taking place in the lowland that night." Harmonically, what is the piece based on? The first line sets the scene, the second line repeats the first for emphasis. Hier geht's zu meiner Musik auf Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/1EV1CjZHtzJGK5SZyEyKst?si=ya1BsYRcTpSlZeVFtMKekAMeine Musik auf Deezer:https://deezer. Irma Thomas released it on the album Our New Orleans 2005 - A Benefit Album in 2005. The opening choruses of each performance . She uses her voice in this particular form to symbolize that she has given up and that she knows she will never find true love. When it's . I think in the best identity poems that the self represents something much larger than the self. Bessie Smith recorded Backwater Blues in 1927, and it became an anthem for one of the most devastating national disasters in US history. As an attempt to escape poverty as a teenager, she joined the Moss Stokes Company with her brother and Gertrude Ma Rainey, the Mother of the Blues. Ma Rainey served as the most influential person during Smiths pre-professional career. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. Writer (s): Smith Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. Back Water Blues by Irma Thomas was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. There is one integral line throughout the stanza. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. The three most important chords, built off the 1st, 4th and 5th scale degrees are all major chords (E Major, A Major, and B Major). Although Smith is very pleasing to the ears, she seems to be slightly monotone in this piece. Bessie Smith, commonly referred to as the Empress of the Blues, was born in 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Furthermore, Baraka notes that Africanisms (retentions of African culture throughout the African diaspora) were not limited to US Black people but that the culture of the Americas contains and is itself influenced by Africanisms. Back-Water Blues. There aint no place for a poor old girl to go. Since tab form can't express time interval, I hope you will figure The vocalization stands out far more than the sound of the instruments, primarily due to Smiths incredible voice. El disco e. The flood was a devastating ordeal. The first two lines are of almost equal length. Leadbelly - Backwater BluesTaken from: 16 Greatest Songs (As Pictured)Track no. Bessie Smith (1894-1937) began her professional career as a blues singer in cabarets in 1912. Try listening to Backwater Blues while reading the lyrics; hear how the piano embodies the texture of what is being sung, as if the piano witnesses and takes on the storm and flood alongside Bessie Smith. Backwater Blues by Bessie Smith - Digital Sheet Music, View our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out. 7 available keys. Dazu brauchen wir deine Einwillung*. Almost a million people became homeless for a time. Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. It was written by Bessie Smith, and recorded (under the title ". Backwater Blues gefllt bisher niemandem. View all Google Scholar citations She is the author of three collections of poems, most recently Rhapsody in Plain Yellow (2002). Nose To Tail - Dragon Ball Z Raging Blast 2, Mushihimesama Futari - Sea of Frozen Crystals. It was originally composed by Joe "King" Oliver and is largely performed as an instrumental, although lyrics were . She believed that her truth needed to be told, so she told it. Print and download Backwater Blues sheet music by Bessie Smith. After discussing blues history, we went over Bessie Smiths Backwater Blues, then Langston Hughes Too Blue, and concluded our study with Jericho Browns Duplex (specifically A poem is a gesture toward home). Smith describes how down she is about her life and how she knows there is nothing she can do about it. Though theres no singular definition of the blues that fully encompasses the history and culture of the people from whom the blues are derived, I do think there are some notes to consider. Through an examination of Smith's touring itinerary, the testimony of fellow entertainers who toured with her, newspaper reports, and other documents, it can be shown that the song was composed about a flood of the Cumberland River that struck Nashville, Tennessee, on Christmas morning, 1926. homophonic texture. Each verse in the song follows an AAB pattern from beginning to end. Though, after repeated listening and reading of blues standards like Backwater Blues, call and response became more than an AAB tercet on page/to my ear. Back-Water Blues' was one of the best known works of the Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith, recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 with James P. Johnson on piano. The blues artists who wrote and sang in this era there are famous names in this era such as Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Howling Wolf, and of course, Bessie Smith, who is one of my favorites.
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