Please use a recent version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, or Opera instead. Almost half a million homes were destroyed. There is one integral line throughout the stanza. 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. Hi! print music publishers. 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. Brown, who alongside Langston Hughes was a pioneer of blues poetry in the 1920s. What is 12-bar-blues form? She earned her title by displaying her powerful voice to the public for everyone to hear. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begins to blow. The Cumberland River, which flows through the city, rose 56 feet (17m) above its normal level, still a record as of 2014[update].[4]. Entire black neighborhoods were wiped out. 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. Back-Water Blues. It also deals with how said flood displaced several victims and led to the loss of hundreds of lives. Baraka attributes this knowledge to his mentor Sterling A. What is the structure of the lyrics? What characterizes a blues performance? The lyrics are in the often-used AAB blues format. The beat is easy to tap along to, making it easier to focus on her lyrics. What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? [3] However, that flood was at its worst some two months after the song was written. Mmm, I cant move no more. The vocals to be the focus and the 'response' to be more complex, At times it can sounds almost 'half-spoken'. Billed annually at $39.99. Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. homophonic texture. Back-Water Blues 65th in 1927. Bessie actually wrote Backwater Blues for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. Hostname: page-component-75b8448494-knlg2 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. LISTENING part 1 SEIGFRIED CHAP 5. richard wagner germany 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. She believed that her truth needed to be told, so she told it. The poem moves to personal depression. One subscription across all of your devices. Blues on Yellow Marilyn Chin from Rhapsody in Plain Yellow. In "Backwater Blues", the writer retells the incidents surrounding the flooding of Nashville in 1927. Render date: 2023-05-02T09:42:40.381Z Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. hasContentIssue false. The first two lines are of almost equal length. Bemoaning the fate of losing a home to flood waters after five days and nights of rain, Smith laments: 'Thousands of people ain't got no place to go.'. Third, Mamie Smith became the first Black blues singer to record a blues record in 1920. As musicologist Dr. David Evans has noted, Back-Water Blues was recorded in February 1927, before the great disaster of April. La Bouche) [2023 Mix] [Extended Mix] Songtext. What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? 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. Dazu brauchen wir deine Einwillung*. In this blog post I am going to be looking at and analysing a track by famous New Orleans jazz musician, Louis Armstrong. 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. There's thousands of people ain't got no place to go. The blues poems was more here on American soil, and so I study the blues poems closely and write blues poems to pay homage to all those African American blues masters. I see myself as an activist Chinese American poet, and I want to show the multiple sides of my literary inheritance. Harmonically, what is the piece based on? 04 January 2007. Big Bill Broonzy released it on the album Folk Blues in 1954. 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 is believed to be one of the highest paid black performers of her time. 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. I have her strong voice in my ear at all times. Download and Print scores from huge community collection ( 1,426,528 and growing) Advanced tools to level up your playing skills. Create beats, songs, and musical snippets with built-in music theory, melody guides, and intelligent chord suggestions. 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. To pack my things and go. 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. 7 available keys. Mchtest du Inhalte von aktivieren? There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 Backwater Blues became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. 'Cause my house fell down. And the rain begin to pour. Leadbelly - Backwater BluesTaken from: 16 Greatest Songs (As Pictured)Track no. 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). 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. A modified 12 bar blues. According to the Theorytab database, it is the 5th most popular key among Major keys and the 5th most popular among all keys. Backwater Blues gefllt bisher niemandem. Discuss Bessie Smith's performance of "Back Water Blues" as an example of both. The conjunct melody made me want to sing along with her! Smith describes how down she is about her life and how she knows there is nothing she can do about it. Of course, we Americans have historical amnesia. The flood from The Cumberland River that struck Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Day 1926, AAB e.g. Cause my house fell down and I can't live there no more. She is considered by many as one of the most successful African-American females of all time. Bessie Smith, "Backwater blues", 1927The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard. 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. Bessie Smith- Back Water Blues. Youtube, uploaded by TravelerIntoTheBlue, 9 Oct 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXShOJVwaM. Pro Credit Pack (3 Pro Credits) Included with first year, Your high-resolution PDF file will be ready to download in 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. First, research supports the claim that blues music originated during the postUS Civil War era (186165) and is derived from spirituals and work and field songs of Black sharecroppers of the rural south, particularly the Mississippi Delta. Study of Smith's touring itinerary, of testimony of fellow entertainers who toured with her, and of contemporary reports indicates that the song was written in response to the flood that struck Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Day 1926. The piece has a homophonic texture due to the supplementation of the instruments to the vocalization of Smith. 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. Bessie Smith had a powerful impact on future blues and Rock and Roll singers, like Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. Backwater Blues by Big Bill Broonzy was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. Chin is the recipient of the PEN/Josephine Miles Award, a Fullbright Fellowship, and the Paterson Prize, among numerous other honors. 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. [2], The song has long been associated with the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. 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. Train with real songs. Bessie Smith (Down Hearted Blues, 1923) Jazz Legend. Youtube, uploaded by RagtimeDorianHenry, 3 Jun 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA. Almost a million people became homeless for a time. Poet, writer, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. Since tab form can't express time interval, I hope you will figure 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. The repetition of her lyrics depict just how saddening her situation is- she is in the middle of losing everything. 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. 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. Smith . 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. Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. 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. How does the music reflect the lyrical content of the piece? '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. The despair is deep, is deeply personal, but it is also metaphorical and speaks to the despair of an entire community. Log dich ein um diese Funktion zu nutzen. The opening choruses of each performance . She teaches in the MFA program at San Diego State University. 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. Smith's voice not only had this quality, it also possessed a rich timbre and tremendous emotive power. 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. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Bessie and Me). I cant do justice to this poem, to Backwater Blues, by just reciting it myself. 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 Louis Blues featuring Louis Armstrong, Backwater Blues, and Nobody Knows You When Youre Down and Out. As the Swing era was emerging, Bessie Smith was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1937 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Has data issue: false Down Hearted Blues, her first recording, sold nearly 800,000 copies, firmly establishing her as a new singer in the blues genre. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. For examples of innovative uses of these devices in poetry, visit Jericho Browns Duplex, Evie Shockleys Fukushima Blues, and Kevin Youngs Langston Hughes.. She made almost 200 recordings, including duets with Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith. [Verse 5] And I went . The piece uses syncopation to allow variation between the instruments and the vocals. Writer (s): Smith Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. Discover an intuitive and deep understanding of how music works. Over her ten year career, she created one hundred and sixty recordings. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 "Backwater Blues" became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. 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. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. 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! Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. There's trouble taking place in the lowland that night, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Bessie Smith's 'Back-Water Blues': the story behind the song", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Backwater_Blues&oldid=1150358087, This page was last edited on 17 April 2023, at 18:17. Hooktheory requires WebAudio and this browser doesn't support it. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. The beginning of Down Hearted Blues actually reminded me of Ragtime music slightly. 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. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. for this article. Death. Teach music and songwriting in ways that keep students engaged, excited, and inspired. The narrator, who presents himself as a victim describes how . In our workshop, In the Voice and in the Deep, Blues Poetry, participants and I studied blues music, history, aesthetics, and ultimately blues poetry. Please download this song, preferably the original 1927 recording by Bessie Smith, and listen to her amazing singing. Through an examination of Smith's touring itinerary, the testimony of fellow entertainers who toured . Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. 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. Hier geht's zu meiner Musik auf Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/1EV1CjZHtzJGK5SZyEyKst?si=ya1BsYRcTpSlZeVFtMKekAMeine Musik auf Deezer:https://deezer. It was covered by Brother John Sellers, Toni Lynn Washington, Meschiya Lake and The Little Big Horns, The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band and other artists. 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. Great cover of blues classic Backwater blues on The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 2011. album How I Go ). Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. About a thousand people lost their lives. The first two verses are unique and do not have any repetition. In order to interrogate said materials, six recordings by different musicians were chosen and meticulously transcribed. Mmm, I can't move no more. The song is called "West End Blues" and was recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five in 1928. It was originally composed by Joe "King" Oliver and is largely performed as an instrumental, although lyrics were . Bessie actually wrote "Backwater Blues" for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. Back Water Blues by Irma Thomas was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. Designed and built by Hooktheory in California. 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. One more piece. Lets look at the blues poem as a form. 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. I love writing blues poems. The Mississippi River flood of 1927 was horrific. 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). The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. The backwater blues caused me. "useRatesEcommerce": false She performed in various minstrel and black vaudeville shows, and as her reputation and fame grew, she performed with many of the other leading early jazz musicians of her time: Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, and James P. Johnson, just to name a few. *Als Songtexte.com PUR User kannst du entscheiden, welche Inhalte von externen Anbietern wie Youtube, While many latter-day . I think in the best identity poems that the self represents something much larger than the self. However, the blues utility in our everyday language signifies to me that the blues are ingrained into US culture. 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. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. 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. 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. There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. My name is Lex and I am a rising senior at the University of Georgia. The flood was a devastating ordeal. Bessie Smith tabs, chords, guitar, bass, ukulele chords, power tabs and guitar pro tabs including backwater blues, careless love, nobody knows you when youre down and out, taint nobodys business . Each verse in the song follows an AAB pattern from beginning to end. Thematically, write about whatever you feel must be sung. Second, the first published blues composition is accredited to W.C. Handys Memphis Blues in 1912. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begin to blow. She lets the chords of the instruments dangle off of her words, resulting in a beautiful piece that focuses primarily on the lyrics. Borrowing from song to write about whats wrong. View all Google Scholar citations Not only did she sing, she was also an actress and comedian. 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. Today, I hear phrases such as the winter blues and Blue Monday and know that they are not considering this history. The best song poems, I believe, can live on the pages as well as in the ear. See the E Major Cheat Sheet for popular chords, chord progressions, downloadable midi files and more! The song has long been associated with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. Learn to hear chords by ear. Alle Informationen dazu findest du in unseren I have sympathy towards Smith during her performance of this song because she conveys how lonesome she is. I do not believe in a fixed way to write blues poems or poetry with blues feeling. I mean, first, it sets up a terrible storm when it rained five days and the skies turned dark as night, when it rained five days and the skies turned dark as night. Smith performed for nearly a decade until Columbia Records signed her in 1923. Kevin Young was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Play the music you love without limits for just $9.99 $3.33/month. Of course, I learn so much from the Bessie Smiths blues poems. View Official Scores licensed from. Another way of reading classic blues lyric structure is as weighted-sonic couplets. There was evidence of lynchings and unspeakable killings and terrible acts against the black community. :)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Title: Backwater BluesLevel: BeginnerCom. I am majoring in biology and love helping my community!