Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. 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.'. Of course, we Americans have historical amnesia. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. 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. As musicologist Dr. David Evans has noted, Back-Water Blues was recorded in February 1927, before the great disaster of April. Instagram oder Facebook auf Songtexte.com geladen werden. She believed that her truth needed to be told, so she told it. Not only did she sing, she was also an actress and comedian. 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 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). Today, I hear phrases such as the winter blues and Blue Monday and know that they are not considering this history. Yeah, when it's thunderin' and lightnin'. 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. C, F7, C, C7, F7, C. I think in the best identity poems that the self represents something much larger than the self. It is a flexible approach to pitch (pentatonic base)-BLUES NOTES, descending melodic lines, raw/ gritty timbres, call and response, swing or laid back/flexible approach to the . Death. Create beats, songs, and musical ideas with built-in music theory and AI from over 30k songs. The opening choruses of each performance . Smith describes how down she is about her life and how she knows there is nothing she can do about it. View Official Scores licensed from. Smith did not cut any corners in her songs- she told everyone how the world really was and how she felt about it. 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. Download and Print scores from huge community collection ( 1,426,528 and growing) Advanced tools to level up your playing skills. Includes 1 print + interactive copy with lifetime access in our free apps. Blues on Yellow Marilyn Chin from Rhapsody in Plain Yellow. La Bouche) [2023 Mix] [Extended Mix] Songtext. 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. 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). Jazz- Review Questions. The Cumberland River, which flows through the city, rose 56 feet (17m) above its normal level, still a record as of 2014[update].[4]. Smith continued on to become very successful with hits like St. We were grounded by Amiri Barakas claim in Blues People, in which he conveyed that in the context of Black American culture, music explains history as history explains music. Poet, writer, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. Known as the\"Empress of the Blues,\" Bessie Smith's first recording, \"Down-Hearted Blues,\" from 1923, was very successful, and helped her to become the leading African-American performer of the time. The beginning of Down Hearted Blues actually reminded me of Ragtime music slightly. Bessie Smith, commonly referred to as the Empress of the Blues, was born in 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Bessie Smith- Back Water Blues. Youtube, uploaded by TravelerIntoTheBlue, 9 Oct 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXShOJVwaM. The third line either comments or reverses the first two lines. 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. 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. Teach music and songwriting in ways that keep students engaged, excited, and inspired. 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. What characterizes a blues performance? The lyrics of the song are interpreted with respect to the events of that flood. ). And the rain begin to pour. It was written by Bessie Smith, and recorded (under the title ". The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. 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. The backwater blues caused me. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begins to blow. 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. 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. And I can't live there no more. One more piece. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. This piece draws its material from the song "Backwater Blues" by Bessie Smith and from the historically articulated performance practice that has accrued to it. Almost a million people became homeless for a time. 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! 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. The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. 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. homophonic texture. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. 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. Please use a recent version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, or Opera instead. They relocated the white folks in an expedient manner but corralled the black folks into abysmal camps. I am majoring in biology and love helping my community! Over her ten year career, she created one hundred and sixty recordings. The lyrics are in the often-used AAB blues format. Writer(s): Smith The three most important chords, built off the 1st, 4th and 5th scale degrees are all major . However, the blues utility in our everyday language signifies to me that the blues are ingrained into US culture. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. Smith performed for nearly a decade until Columbia Records signed her in 1923. Brown, who alongside Langston Hughes was a pioneer of blues poetry in the 1920s. "it rained five days and the sky turned dark as night". El disco e. Baraka attributes this knowledge to his mentor Sterling A. 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. The piece has a homophonic texture due to the supplementation of the instruments to the vocalization of Smith. There aint no place for a poor old girl to go. Bessie Smith, "Backwater blues", 1927The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard. There's thousands of people ain't got no place to go. She earned her title by displaying her powerful voice to the public for everyone to hear. Hostname: page-component-75b8448494-knlg2 The song has long been associated with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. Hi! She began recording regularly in the 1920s, distinguishing herself as the most successful African American artist of her time with her recording Down Hearted Blues in 1923. She is considered by many as one of the most successful African-American females of all time. Train with real 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. Learn to hear chords by ear. I cant do justice to this poem, to Backwater Blues, by just reciting it myself. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begin to blow. hasContentIssue false. How does the music reflect the lyrical content of the piece? The melody is conjunct, making it easy to follow the lyrics of the song and the instrumental portions at the same time. Datenschutzbestimmungen. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. 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. Feature Flags: { See the E Major Cheat Sheet for popular chords, chord progressions, downloadable midi files and more! '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 rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. The poem moves to personal depression. Hooktheory requires WebAudio and this browser doesn't support it. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. Create beats, songs, and musical snippets with built-in music theory, melody guides, and intelligent chord suggestions. 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. View all Google Scholar citations [1] Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. } Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 "Backwater Blues" became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. 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). The first line sets the scene, the second line repeats the first for emphasis. Mmm, I cant move no more. 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 uses her voice in this particular form to symbolize that she has given up and that she knows she will never find true love. Discuss Bessie Smith's performance of "Back Water Blues" as an example of both. I have her strong voice in my ear at all times. Great cover of blues classic Backwater blues on The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 2011. album How I Go Down Hearted Blues, her first recording, sold nearly 800,000 copies, firmly establishing her as a new singer in the blues genre. The call and response between vocals and piano does what? She teaches in the MFA program at San Diego State University. 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. Nose To Tail - Dragon Ball Z Raging Blast 2, Mushihimesama Futari - Sea of Frozen Crystals. "useRatesEcommerce": false 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. Almost half a million homes were destroyed. 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. The flood was a devastating ordeal. [3] However, that flood was at its worst some two months after the song was written. She made almost 200 recordings, including duets with Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith. Billed annually at $39.99. 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. Bessie Smith (1894-1937) began her professional career as a blues singer in cabarets in 1912. The piece uses syncopation to allow variation between the instruments and the vocals. Backwater Blues gefllt bisher niemandem. The vocalization stands out far more than the sound of the instruments, primarily due to Smiths incredible voice. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Bessie and Me). Third, Mamie Smith became the first Black blues singer to record a blues record in 1920. Render date: 2023-05-02T09:42:40.381Z What is the structure of the lyrics? 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. . Following her death, Smiths legacy continued on as she inspired new artists to display who they truly were. She lets the chords of the instruments dangle off of her words, resulting in a beautiful piece that focuses primarily on the lyrics. In "Backwater Blues", the writer retells the incidents surrounding the flooding of Nashville in 1927. 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. The conjunct melody made me want to sing along with her! *Als Songtexte.com PUR User kannst du entscheiden, welche Inhalte von externen Anbietern wie Youtube, There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. 7 available keys. Discover an intuitive and deep understanding of how music works. What is 12-bar-blues form? My name is Lex and I am a rising senior at the University of Georgia. Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. There is one integral line throughout the stanza. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Please download this song, preferably the original 1927 recording by Bessie Smith, and listen to her amazing singing. 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. Thematically, write about whatever you feel must be sung. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 Backwater Blues became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. Backwater Blues tells the story of how the speaker is forced out of her home due to flooding waters. Of course, I learn so much from the Bessie Smiths blues poems. Chin is the recipient of the PEN/Josephine Miles Award, a Fullbright Fellowship, and the Paterson Prize, among numerous other honors. Her lyrics aid the audience in understanding why she is down. According to the Theorytab database, it is the 5th most popular key among Major keys and the 5th most popular among all keys. Another way of reading classic blues lyric structure is as weighted-sonic couplets. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. The flood from The Cumberland River that struck Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Day 1926, AAB e.g. Backwater Blues by Big Bill Broonzy was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. The scene is set with the terrific storm by the female speaker, so depressed that she cant even get out of the door. Published online by Cambridge University Press: Irma Thomas released it on the album Our New Orleans 2005 - A Benefit Album in 2005. Has data issue: false To pack my things and go. 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 . Her powerful voice stands out so much in this song that the instrumental background may not even be needed as supplementation. Bessie actually wrote Backwater Blues for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. Most of us dont remember the great Mississippi River Flood of 1927, but when I read this poem a few years ago during a gathering on the behalf of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, the same issues resoundedneighborhoods destroyed, slow government response, the African American neighborhoods were hit the hardest. Designed and built by Hooktheory in California. The song is called "West End Blues" and was recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five in 1928. This suggests to me that aspects of contemporary US poetry could be in lineage of African diasporic culture. Each verse in the song follows an AAB pattern from beginning to end. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. Bessie Smith recorded Backwater Blues in 1927, and it became an anthem for one of the most devastating national disasters in US history. Bessie Smith had a powerful impact on future blues and Rock and Roll singers, like Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. For examples of innovative uses of these devices in poetry, visit Jericho Browns Duplex, Evie Shockleys Fukushima Blues, and Kevin Youngs Langston Hughes.. Her voice is subversive, defiant despite all odds against her. The first two verses are unique and do not have any repetition. 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 do not believe in a fixed way to write blues poems or poetry with blues feeling. Sheet music arranged for Piano/Vocal/Guitar in C Major (transposable). Mmm, I can't move no more. 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. 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. Bessie actually wrote "Backwater Blues" for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. In order to interrogate said materials, six recordings by different musicians were chosen and meticulously transcribed. One subscription across all of your devices. 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. 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. Total loading time: 0 The best song poems, I believe, can live on the pages as well as in the ear. When it's . 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. He studied under Seamus Heaney and Lucie Brock-Broido at Harvard University and, while a student there, became a member of the Dark Room African diasporic culture and the aesthetics of the blues. I have sympathy towards Smith during her performance of this song because she conveys how lonesome she is. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. About a thousand people lost their lives. Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. for this article. The despair is deep, is deeply personal, but it is also metaphorical and speaks to the despair of an entire community. 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. The Mississippi River flood of 1927 was horrific. [Verse 5] And I went . Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. The a rhyme glues the three-line stanza together. [2], The song has long been associated with the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. Bessie Smith (Down Hearted Blues, 1923) Jazz Legend. Youtube, uploaded by RagtimeDorianHenry, 3 Jun 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA. The flood was a devastating ordeal. Dazu brauchen wir deine Einwillung*. 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.