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). The beat is easy to tap along to, making it easier to focus on her lyrics. [Verse 5] And I went . Leadbelly - Backwater Blues - YouTube Performance: Backwater Blues by Big Bill Broonzy | SecondHandSongs To pack my things and go. Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. Song: Back-Water Blues written by Bessie Smith | SecondHandSongs 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. She made almost 200 recordings, including duets with Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith. The piece uses syncopation to allow variation between the instruments and the vocals. The narrator, who presents himself as a victim describes how . SKU: MN0121681 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. 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. I am majoring in biology and love helping my community! *Als Songtexte.com PUR User kannst du entscheiden, welche Inhalte von externen Anbietern wie Youtube, One subscription across all of your devices. Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. And the rain begin to pour. "it rained five days and the sky turned dark as night". See the E Major Cheat Sheet for popular chords, chord progressions, downloadable midi files and more! Please download this song, preferably the original 1927 recording by Bessie Smith, and listen to her amazing singing. Smith did not cut any corners in her songs- she told everyone how the world really was and how she felt about it. 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. Kevin Young was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Designed and built by Hooktheory in California. There's thousands of people ain't got no place to go. However, the blues utility in our everyday language signifies to me that the blues are ingrained into US culture. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. "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? Almost half a million homes were destroyed. Marilyn Chin (1955- ) was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Oregon, and received her MFA from the University of Iowa. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begins to blow. Backwater Blues by Bessie Smith Chords, Melody, and Music Theory Great cover of blues classic Backwater blues on The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 2011. album How I Go Pro Credit Pack (3 Pro Credits) Included with first year, Your high-resolution PDF file will be ready to download in 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. Bessie actually wrote Backwater Blues for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. 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. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begin to blow. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. 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. 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. Published online by Cambridge University Press: ). 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. One more piece. The third-sixth verses have the traditional AAB blues pattern, which helps emphasize what she is saying during each verse. Baraka attributes this knowledge to his mentor Sterling A. She is the author of three collections of poems, most recently Rhapsody in Plain Yellow (2002). She teaches in the MFA program at San Diego State University. 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. Log dich ein um diese Funktion zu nutzen. Through an examination of Smith's touring itinerary, the testimony of fellow entertainers who toured . 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. 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 . Down Hearted Blues, her first recording, sold nearly 800,000 copies, firmly establishing her as a new singer in the blues genre. 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. My name is Lex and I am a rising senior at the University of Georgia. Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. 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. Her powerful voice stands out so much in this song that the instrumental background may not even be needed as supplementation. 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. Backwater Blues - Wikipedia Includes 1 print + interactive copy with lifetime access in our free apps. 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. Bessie Smith, "Backwater blues", 1927 - YouTube She manages to escape her flooding home, only to look back and see that she will never be able to go back to it. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith . The despair is deep, is deeply personal, but it is also metaphorical and speaks to the despair of an entire community. There is one integral line throughout the stanza. She believed that her truth needed to be told, so she told it. She earned her title by displaying her powerful voice to the public for everyone to hear. hasContentIssue false. And I can't live there no more. Hier geht's zu meiner Musik auf Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/1EV1CjZHtzJGK5SZyEyKst?si=ya1BsYRcTpSlZeVFtMKekAMeine Musik auf Deezer:https://deezer. Brown, who alongside Langston Hughes was a pioneer of blues poetry in the 1920s. 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). The a rhyme glues the three-line stanza together. 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. In "Backwater Blues", the writer retells the incidents surrounding the flooding of Nashville in 1927. The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. West End Blues - Louis Armstrong (Analysis) - bradpottermusic Her voice is subversive, defiant despite all odds against her. 15Label: Route 16Year: 1990This CD is from my own collection. Death. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 Backwater Blues became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. 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. 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 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) Content may require purchase if you do not have access. Create beats, songs, and musical snippets with built-in music theory, melody guides, and intelligent chord suggestions. 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. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. Backwater Blues Bessie Smith Chords and Lyrics for Guitar Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 "Backwater Blues" became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. homophonic texture. There was evidence of lynchings and unspeakable killings and terrible acts against the black community. El disco e. When it's . What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? 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! music review for midterm Flashcards | Quizlet 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 vocals to be the focus and the 'response' to be more complex, At times it can sounds almost 'half-spoken'. [2], The song has long been associated with the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. Back Water Blues by Irma Thomas was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith 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. Teach music and songwriting in ways that keep students engaged, excited, and inspired. Bessie Smith recorded Backwater Blues in 1927, and it became an anthem for one of the most devastating national disasters in US history. I see myself as an activist Chinese American poet, and I want to show the multiple sides of my literary inheritance. 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. 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. Harmonically, what is the piece based on? Bessie Smith had a powerful impact on future blues and Rock and Roll singers, like Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. 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). :)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Title: Backwater BluesLevel: BeginnerCom. 04 January 2007. 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. Back-Water Blues. The three most important chords, built off the 1st, 4th and 5th scale degrees are all major . Her lyrics aid the audience in understanding why she is down. The consonant chords allow for a smooth harmony to flow continuously during the song. Total loading time: 0 The scene is set with the terrific storm by the female speaker, so depressed that she cant even get out of the door. "When it rains five days, and the skies turn dark as night (x2). Big Bill Broonzy released it on the album Folk Blues in 1954. 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. Of course, I learn so much from the Bessie Smiths blues poems. 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. Lets look at the blues poem as a form. Please use a recent version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, or Opera instead. The beat does . 7 available keys. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Bessie and Me). Bessie actually wrote "Backwater Blues" for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. Listening Guide to Backwater Blues by Bessie Smith - YouTube 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. "useRatesEcommerce": false Hi! There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. Writer(s): Smith 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. How does the music reflect the lyrical content of the piece? What is the structure of the lyrics? 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. La Bouche) [2023 Mix] [Extended Mix] Songtext. 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. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Bob Dylan - Backwater blues Lyrics | Genius Lyrics Chin is the recipient of the PEN/Josephine Miles Award, a Fullbright Fellowship, and the Paterson Prize, among numerous other honors. 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.'. I have sympathy towards Smith during her performance of this song because she conveys how lonesome she is. It was originally composed by Joe "King" Oliver and is largely performed as an instrumental, although lyrics were . The poem moves to personal depression. LISTENING part 1 SEIGFRIED CHAP 5. richard wagner germany "Backwater Blues" (Song) - Song Meanings and Facts Dinah Washington - Back Water Blues - YouTube (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. The first two verses are unique and do not have any repetition. [3] However, that flood was at its worst some two months after the song was written. 'Cause my house fell down. Cover versions of Back Water Blues by Irma Thomas | SecondHandSongs 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. 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. After discussing blues history, we went over Bessie Smith's "Backwater Blues," then Langston Hughes' "Too Blue," and concluded our study with Jericho Brown's . 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. Backwater Blues by Big Bill Broonzy was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. They relocated the white folks in an expedient manner but corralled the black folks into abysmal camps. Today, I hear phrases such as the winter blues and Blue Monday and know that they are not considering this history. Mmm, I can't move no more. Jazz- Review Questions. Create beats, songs, and musical ideas with built-in music theory and AI from over 30k songs. The flood from The Cumberland River that struck Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Day 1926, AAB e.g. 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. Poet, writer, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? Entire black neighborhoods were wiped out. Second, the first published blues composition is accredited to W.C. Handys Memphis Blues in 1912. } Billed annually at $39.99. The melody is conjunct, making it easy to follow the lyrics of the song and the instrumental portions at the same time. Bessie Smith, commonly referred to as the Empress of the Blues, was born in 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 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. Although Smith is very pleasing to the ears, she seems to be slightly monotone in this piece. 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. 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. Bessie Smith (1894-1937) began her professional career as a blues singer in cabarets in 1912. The call and response between vocals and piano does what? This incident gave birth to an important blues era, now known as the Delta Blues era. Yeah, when it's thunderin' and lightnin'. Download and Print scores from huge community collection ( 1,426,528 and growing) Advanced tools to level up your playing skills. Backwater Blues - The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - YouTube 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. Adds to the blues feel as the music is seen to reflect the realities of her situation. AAB e.g. Sheet music arranged for Piano/Vocal/Guitar in C Major (transposable). 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. Smith . The song is called "West End Blues" and was recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five in 1928. Smith is believed to be one of the highest paid black performers of her time. Blues on Yellow Marilyn Chin from Rhapsody in Plain Yellow. Irma Thomas released it on the album Our New Orleans 2005 - A Benefit Album in 2005. The song has long been associated with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Lets look at this poem closely. 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 - Piano - YouTube The vocalization stands out far more than the sound of the instruments, primarily due to Smiths incredible voice. The repetition of her lyrics depict just how saddening her situation is- she is in the middle of losing everything. Alle Informationen dazu findest du in unseren Not only did she sing, she was also an actress and comedian. View all Google Scholar citations 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. The first two lines are of almost equal length. The lyrics of the song are interpreted with respect to the events of that flood. Post 4- Blues Music: Bessie Smith | by Alexis Allen | Medium Bessie Smith- Back Water Blues. Youtube, uploaded by TravelerIntoTheBlue, 9 Oct 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXShOJVwaM. 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. What is 12-bar-blues form? 3.2 Online-Unterricht - Backwater Blues - YouTube Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. Songtext von Bessie Smith - Backwater Blues Lyrics This suggests to me that aspects of contemporary US poetry could be in lineage of African diasporic culture. Updated September 9, 2020. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. The third line either comments or reverses the first two lines. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. Back-Water Blues 65th in 1927. Bessie Smith, "Backwater blues", 1927The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard. Smith continued on to become very successful with hits like St. "Backwater Blues" (1927) . '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.
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