The conjunct melody made me want to sing along with her! 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. [3] However, that flood was at its worst some two months after the song was written. She believed that her truth needed to be told, so she told it. homophonic texture. The repetition of her lyrics depict just how saddening her situation is- she is in the middle of losing everything. Please use a recent version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, or Opera instead. Smith continued on to become very successful with hits like St. 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. There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. Log dich ein um diese Funktion zu nutzen. Discover an intuitive and deep understanding of how music works. What is 12-bar-blues form? Dazu brauchen wir deine Einwillung*. My name is Lex and I am a rising senior at the University of Georgia. When it's . 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. This incident gave birth to an important blues era, now known as the Delta Blues era. 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. 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. "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? Harmonically, what is the piece based on? Has data issue: false Hostname: page-component-75b8448494-knlg2 15Label: Route 16Year: 1990This CD is from my own collection. Over her ten year career, she created one hundred and sixty recordings. Since tab form can't express time interval, I hope you will figure 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. To pack my things and go. The three most important chords, built off the 1st, 4th and 5th scale degrees are all major . Backwater Blues tells the story of how the speaker is forced out of her home due to flooding waters. There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. Instagram oder Facebook auf Songtexte.com geladen werden. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. Play the music you love without limits for just $9.99 $3.33/month. The call and response between vocals and piano does what? Backwater Blues by Big Bill Broonzy was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. She is the author of three collections of poems, most recently Rhapsody in Plain Yellow (2002). The opening choruses of each performance . Updated September 9, 2020. The vocalization stands out far more than the sound of the instruments, primarily due to Smiths incredible voice. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. ). 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. Billed annually at $39.99. Bessie Smith had a powerful impact on future blues and Rock and Roll singers, like Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. 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. Alle Informationen dazu findest du in unseren 7 available keys. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. Another way of reading classic blues lyric structure is as weighted-sonic couplets. Hooktheory requires WebAudio and this browser doesn't support it. [2], The song has long been associated with the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begins to blow. The beginning of Down Hearted Blues actually reminded me of Ragtime music slightly. 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. One more piece. In our workshop, In the Voice and in the Deep, Blues Poetry, participants and I studied blues music, history, aesthetics, and ultimately blues poetry. Not only did she sing, she was also an actress and comedian. 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. Baraka attributes this knowledge to his mentor Sterling A. 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. "it rained five days and the sky turned dark as night". 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. Following her death, Smiths legacy continued on as she inspired new artists to display who they truly were. 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 . Of course, we Americans have historical amnesia. '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. Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. The melody is conjunct, making it easy to follow the lyrics of the song and the instrumental portions at the same time. The song has long been associated with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. Smith . This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. The first two verses are unique and do not have any repetition. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. Each verse in the song follows an AAB pattern from beginning to end. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 Backwater Blues became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. Lets look at this poem closely. Feature Flags: { 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. . Borrowing from song to write about whats wrong. 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. There's thousands of people ain't got no place to go. The piece has a homophonic texture due to the supplementation of the instruments to the vocalization of Smith. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. 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 . I see myself as an activist Chinese American poet, and I want to show the multiple sides of my literary inheritance. Smith did not cut any corners in her songs- she told everyone how the world really was and how she felt about it. Includes 1 print + interactive copy with lifetime access in our free apps. The consonant chords allow for a smooth harmony to flow continuously during the song. Down Hearted Blues, her first recording, sold nearly 800,000 copies, firmly establishing her as a new singer in the blues genre. According to the Theorytab database, it is the 5th most popular key among Major keys and the 5th most popular among all keys. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. In order to interrogate said materials, six recordings by different musicians were chosen and meticulously transcribed. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. 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. 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. While many latter-day . Great cover of blues classic Backwater blues on The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 2011. album How I Go The scene is set with the terrific storm by the female speaker, so depressed that she cant even get out of the door. Death. 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. And the rain begin to pour. Chin is the recipient of the PEN/Josephine Miles Award, a Fullbright Fellowship, and the Paterson Prize, among numerous other honors. I think in the best identity poems that the self represents something much larger than the self. } Third, Mamie Smith became the first Black blues singer to record a blues record in 1920. Print and download Backwater Blues sheet music by Bessie Smith. El disco e. 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. Thematically, write about whatever you feel must be sung. Although Smith is very pleasing to the ears, she seems to be slightly monotone in this piece. Bessie Smith recorded Backwater Blues in 1927, and it became an anthem for one of the most devastating national disasters in US history. 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. I love writing blues poems. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 "Backwater Blues" became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. Published online by Cambridge University Press: Her lyrics aid the audience in understanding why she is down. [Verse 5] And I went . 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. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith . Big Bill Broonzy released it on the album Folk Blues in 1954. 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. "Backwater Blues" (1927) . What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? The first line sets the scene, the second line repeats the first for emphasis. Bessie actually wrote Backwater Blues for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. How does the music reflect the lyrical content of the piece? And I can't live there no more. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. Of course, I learn so much from the Bessie Smiths blues poems. La Bouche) [2023 Mix] [Extended Mix] Songtext. The despair is deep, is deeply personal, but it is also metaphorical and speaks to the despair of an entire community. *Als Songtexte.com PUR User kannst du entscheiden, welche Inhalte von externen Anbietern wie Youtube, It was written by Bessie Smith, and recorded (under the title ". 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. 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. Bessie Smith- Back Water Blues. Youtube, uploaded by TravelerIntoTheBlue, 9 Oct 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXShOJVwaM. See the E Major Cheat Sheet for popular chords, chord progressions, downloadable midi files and more! The narrator, who presents himself as a victim describes how . The beat does . 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. Create beats, songs, and musical snippets with built-in music theory, melody guides, and intelligent chord suggestions. The third-sixth verses have the traditional AAB blues pattern, which helps emphasize what she is saying during each verse. Mmm, I can't move no more. 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. She earned her title by displaying her powerful voice to the public for everyone to hear. 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. Hi! The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. Writer(s): Smith This suggests to me that aspects of contemporary US poetry could be in lineage of African diasporic culture. I make it a point to learn the African American poetic tradition. Create beats, songs, and musical ideas with built-in music theory and AI from over 30k 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. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. It also deals with how said flood displaced several victims and led to the loss of hundreds of lives. The backwater blues caused me. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? Entire black neighborhoods were wiped out. One subscription across all of your devices. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. The vocals to be the focus and the 'response' to be more complex, At times it can sounds almost 'half-spoken'. Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. 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. The flood was a devastating ordeal. 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. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. 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. The Mississippi River flood of 1927 was horrific. The a rhyme glues the three-line stanza together. "useRatesEcommerce": false 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. Mmm, I cant move no more. Today, I hear phrases such as the winter blues and Blue Monday and know that they are not considering this history. Teach music and songwriting in ways that keep students engaged, excited, and inspired. Poet, writer, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. Lets look at the blues poem as a form. Back-Water Blues 65th in 1927. She lets the chords of the instruments dangle off of her words, resulting in a beautiful piece that focuses primarily on the lyrics. About a thousand people lost their lives. There aint no place for a poor old girl to go. Second, the first published blues composition is accredited to W.C. Handys Memphis Blues in 1912. LISTENING part 1 SEIGFRIED CHAP 5. richard wagner germany Kevin Young was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. for this article. The first two lines are of almost equal length. 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. Designed and built by Hooktheory in California. Leadbelly - Backwater BluesTaken from: 16 Greatest Songs (As Pictured)Track no. 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. The song is called "West End Blues" and was recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five in 1928. Backwater Blues gefllt bisher niemandem. Through an examination of Smith's touring itinerary, the testimony of fellow entertainers who toured . Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. In this blog post I am going to be looking at and analysing a track by famous New Orleans jazz musician, Louis Armstrong. She is considered by many as one of the most successful African-American females of all time. What characterizes a blues performance? Download and Print scores from huge community collection ( 1,426,528 and growing) Advanced tools to level up your playing skills. The beat is easy to tap along to, making it easier to focus on her lyrics. 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 Back-Water Blues. 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. Almost a million people became homeless for a time. 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. The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. 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. 'Cause my house fell down. The lyrics of the song are interpreted with respect to the events of that flood. Discuss Bessie Smith's performance of "Back Water Blues" as an example of both. C, F7, C, C7, F7, C. Bessie Smith. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, courtesy of the Rock Hall Library and Archive, https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/bessie-smith. 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. I have her strong voice in my ear at all times. [1] Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. Total loading time: 0 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. 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) The flood was a devastating ordeal. As musicologist Dr. David Evans has noted, Back-Water Blues was recorded in February 1927, before the great disaster of April. 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). 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. I cant do justice to this poem, to Backwater Blues, by just reciting it myself. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Bessie and Me). However, the blues utility in our everyday language signifies to me that the blues are ingrained into US culture. Train with real songs. I do not believe in a fixed way to write blues poems or poetry with blues feeling. 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 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. 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. 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 best song poems, I believe, can live on the pages as well as in the ear. Almost half a million homes were destroyed. Please download this song, preferably the original 1927 recording by Bessie Smith, and listen to her amazing singing. SKU: MN0121681 The beat does not change because each verse follows the same AAB pattern, which results in the same rhythm continuing on. Back Water Blues by Irma Thomas was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. Theres this rich toughness in her voice that tells us this girl and her people are going to get through this calamity. For examples of innovative uses of these devices in poetry, visit Jericho Browns Duplex, Evie Shockleys Fukushima Blues, and Kevin Youngs Langston Hughes.. 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. Bessie Smith, commonly referred to as the Empress of the Blues, was born in 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Jazz- Review Questions. Smith describes how down she is about her life and how she knows there is nothing she can do about it. 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. She made almost 200 recordings, including duets with Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith. Smith's voice not only had this quality, it also possessed a rich timbre and tremendous emotive power. AAB e.g. Nose To Tail - Dragon Ball Z Raging Blast 2, Mushihimesama Futari - Sea of Frozen Crystals. :)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Title: Backwater BluesLevel: BeginnerCom. 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. Mchtest du Inhalte von aktivieren? We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Yeah, when it's thunderin' and lightnin'. Datenschutzbestimmungen. View all Google Scholar citations Cause my house fell down and I can't live there no more. Chris Fisher-Lochhead. I have sympathy towards Smith during her performance of this song because she conveys how lonesome she is. 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. 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. Bessie Smith (Down Hearted Blues, 1923) Jazz Legend. Youtube, uploaded by RagtimeDorianHenry, 3 Jun 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA. View Official Scores licensed from. hasContentIssue false. Learn to hear chords by ear. Pro Credit Pack (3 Pro Credits) Included with first year, Your high-resolution PDF file will be ready to download in print music publishers. 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. 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. The rhythm remains constant throughout the song, allowing the melody to flow peacefully during the piece. The piano's bass part keeps the rhythm of the piece steady but when doing the 'response', the right hand can complicate this and create interest. 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. The piece uses syncopation to allow variation between the instruments and the vocals. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. Her powerful voice stands out so much in this song that the instrumental background may not even be needed as supplementation. When it rains five days and the skies turn dark as night, when it rains five days and the skies turn dark as night, then trouble's takin' place in the lowlands at night. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. Bessie Smith, "Backwater blues", 1927The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard. She teaches in the MFA program at San Diego State University. Her voice is subversive, defiant despite all odds against her. There was evidence of lynchings and unspeakable killings and terrible acts against the black 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. According to the Theorytab database, it is the 5th most popular key among Major keys and the 5th most popular among all keys. It was originally composed by Joe "King" Oliver and is largely performed as an instrumental, although lyrics were . 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).