Has data issue: false The despair is deep, is deeply personal, but it is also metaphorical and speaks to the despair of an entire community. The scene is set with the terrific storm by the female speaker, so depressed that she cant even get out of the door. [3] However, that flood was at its worst some two months after the song was written. For examples of innovative uses of these devices in poetry, visit Jericho Browns Duplex, Evie Shockleys Fukushima Blues, and Kevin Youngs Langston Hughes.. She lets the chords of the instruments dangle off of her words, resulting in a beautiful piece that focuses primarily on the lyrics. The vocalization stands out far more than the sound of the instruments, primarily due to Smiths incredible voice. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. The first two lines are of almost equal length. Chris Fisher-Lochhead. Instagram oder Facebook auf Songtexte.com geladen werden. Death. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. About a thousand people lost their lives. Over her ten year career, she created one hundred and sixty recordings. Datenschutzbestimmungen. 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) She earned her title by displaying her powerful voice to the public for everyone to hear. 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. The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. Smith continued on to become very successful with hits like St. Discover an intuitive and deep understanding of how music works. 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 . The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. Poet, writer, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. 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. Play the music you love without limits for just $9.99 $3.33/month. Since tab form can't express time interval, I hope you will figure "When it rains five days, and the skies turn dark as night (x2). Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. I do not believe in a fixed way to write blues poems or poetry with blues feeling. Billed annually at $39.99. Smith describes how down she is about her life and how she knows there is nothing she can do about it. 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. Harmonically, what is the piece based on? Entire black neighborhoods were wiped out. 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. 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. The narrator, who presents himself as a victim describes how . [1] Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. Smith is believed to be one of the highest paid black performers of her time. Jazz- Review Questions. 04 January 2007. Back Water Blues by Irma Thomas was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. And the rain begin to pour. The call and response between vocals and piano does what? Backwater Blues gefllt bisher niemandem. for this article. 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). 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. 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. AAB e.g. Adds to the blues feel as the music is seen to reflect the realities of her situation. Backwater Blues by Big Bill Broonzy was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. Bessie Smith recorded Backwater Blues in 1927, and it became an anthem for one of the most devastating national disasters in US history. . The first line sets the scene, the second line repeats the first for emphasis. What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? The poem moves to personal depression. The piece has a homophonic texture due to the supplementation of the instruments to the vocalization of Smith. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. When it's . The Cumberland River, which flows through the city, rose 56 feet (17m) above its normal level, still a record as of 2014[update].[4]. Train with real songs. While many latter-day . The melody is conjunct, making it easy to follow the lyrics of the song and the instrumental portions at the same time. Of course, I learn so much from the Bessie Smiths blues poems. Her powerful voice stands out so much in this song that the instrumental background may not even be needed as supplementation. 7 available keys. She manages to escape her flooding home, only to look back and see that she will never be able to go back to it. '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- Back Water Blues. Youtube, uploaded by TravelerIntoTheBlue, 9 Oct 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXShOJVwaM. She made almost 200 recordings, including duets with Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith. 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. The vocals to be the focus and the 'response' to be more complex, At times it can sounds almost 'half-spoken'. } Her voice is subversive, defiant despite all odds against her. 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. 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. 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). Although Smith is very pleasing to the ears, she seems to be slightly monotone in this piece. According to the Theorytab database, it is the 5th most popular key among Major keys and the 5th most popular among all keys. Writer (s): Smith Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. There was evidence of lynchings and unspeakable killings and terrible acts against the black community. In this blog post I am going to be looking at and analysing a track by famous New Orleans jazz musician, Louis Armstrong. 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. There aint no place for a poor old girl to go. She teaches in the MFA program at San Diego State University. The song has long been associated with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. 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 am majoring in biology and love helping my community! Bessie Smith (Down Hearted Blues, 1923) Jazz Legend. Youtube, uploaded by RagtimeDorianHenry, 3 Jun 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA. 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. What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? The opening choruses of each performance . Third, Mamie Smith became the first Black blues singer to record a blues record in 1920. The third-sixth verses have the traditional AAB blues pattern, which helps emphasize what she is saying during each verse. 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. Brown, who alongside Langston Hughes was a pioneer of blues poetry in the 1920s. Hostname: page-component-75b8448494-knlg2 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. 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. Following her death, Smiths legacy continued on as she inspired new artists to display who they truly were. 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 best song poems, I believe, can live on the pages as well as in the ear. *Als Songtexte.com PUR User kannst du entscheiden, welche Inhalte von externen Anbietern wie Youtube, Bessie actually wrote "Backwater Blues" for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. It also deals with how said flood displaced several victims and led to the loss of hundreds of lives. Each verse in the song follows an AAB pattern from beginning to end. 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. Pro Credit Pack (3 Pro Credits) Included with first year, Your high-resolution PDF file will be ready to download in (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Back-Water Blues 65th in 1927. Smith . Blues on Yellow Marilyn Chin from Rhapsody in Plain Yellow. [Verse 5] And I went . I see myself as an activist Chinese American poet, and I want to show the multiple sides of my literary inheritance. Hooktheory requires WebAudio and this browser doesn't support it. One more piece. Her lyrics aid the audience in understanding why she is down. 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. LISTENING part 1 SEIGFRIED CHAP 5. richard wagner germany It was originally composed by Joe "King" Oliver and is largely performed as an instrumental, although lyrics were . 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. 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. The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. As musicologist Dr. David Evans has noted, Back-Water Blues was recorded in February 1927, before the great disaster of April. Includes 1 print + interactive copy with lifetime access in our free apps. 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 . [2], The song has long been associated with the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. What is 12-bar-blues form? 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. 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 One subscription across all of your devices. Hier geht's zu meiner Musik auf Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/1EV1CjZHtzJGK5SZyEyKst?si=ya1BsYRcTpSlZeVFtMKekAMeine Musik auf Deezer:https://deezer. 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. Smith did not cut any corners in her songs- she told everyone how the world really was and how she felt about it. 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. In order to interrogate said materials, six recordings by different musicians were chosen and meticulously transcribed. The piece uses syncopation to allow variation between the instruments and the vocals. 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. Create beats, songs, and musical snippets with built-in music theory, melody guides, and intelligent chord suggestions. How does the music reflect the lyrical content of the piece? Published online by Cambridge University Press: 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. Baraka attributes this knowledge to his mentor Sterling A. The flood from The Cumberland River that struck Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Day 1926, AAB e.g. Bessie Smith. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, courtesy of the Rock Hall Library and Archive, https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/bessie-smith. The consonant chords allow for a smooth harmony to flow continuously during the song. Today, I hear phrases such as the winter blues and Blue Monday and know that they are not considering this history. Please download this song, preferably the original 1927 recording by Bessie Smith, and listen to her amazing singing. 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. 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. "useRatesEcommerce": false Almost half a million homes were destroyed. Back-Water Blues. However, the blues utility in our everyday language signifies to me that the blues are ingrained into US culture. There is one integral line throughout the stanza. The conjunct melody made me want to sing along with her! Not only did she sing, she was also an actress and comedian. The lyrics of the song are interpreted with respect to the events of that flood. The flood was a devastating ordeal. Discuss Bessie Smith's performance of "Back Water Blues" as an example of both. 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. I cant do justice to this poem, to Backwater Blues, by just reciting it myself. There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. Create beats, songs, and musical ideas with built-in music theory and AI from over 30k songs. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. 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. Log dich ein um diese Funktion zu nutzen. A modified 12 bar blues. Theres this rich toughness in her voice that tells us this girl and her people are going to get through this calamity. 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. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. 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. She is considered by many as one of the most successful African-American females of all time. This incident gave birth to an important blues era, now known as the Delta Blues era. I think in the best identity poems that the self represents something much larger than the self. Backwater Blues tells the story of how the speaker is forced out of her home due to flooding waters. Yeah, when it's thunderin' and lightnin'. 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 lyrics are in the often-used AAB blues format. There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. The beginning of Down Hearted Blues actually reminded me of Ragtime music slightly. The three most important chords, built off the 1st, 4th and 5th scale degrees are all major . Sheet music arranged for Piano/Vocal/Guitar in C Major (transposable). She believed that her truth needed to be told, so she told it. To pack my things and go. "Backwater Blues" (1927) . Thank you. Hi! The beat is easy to tap along to, making it easier to focus on her lyrics. It was written by Bessie Smith, and recorded (under the title ". 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. 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. 15Label: Route 16Year: 1990This CD is from my own collection. 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. Download and Print scores from huge community collection ( 1,426,528 and growing) Advanced tools to level up your playing skills. I have her strong voice in my ear at all times. The beat does . The backwater blues caused me. In our workshop, In the Voice and in the Deep, Blues Poetry, participants and I studied blues music, history, aesthetics, and ultimately blues poetry. 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. Cause my house fell down and I can't live there no more. Borrowing from song to write about whats wrong. Another way of reading classic blues lyric structure is as weighted-sonic couplets. 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. 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. The beat does not change because each verse follows the same AAB pattern, which results in the same rhythm continuing on. Thematically, write about whatever you feel must be sung. Become a Musicnotes Pro - Premium member today and receive 24 titles per year plus take 15% off all digital sheet music purchases and get PDFs included with every song! The third line either comments or reverses the first two lines. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begin to blow. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 "Backwater Blues" became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. See the E Major Cheat Sheet for popular chords, chord progressions, downloadable midi files and more! "it rained five days and the sky turned dark as night". Mmm, I can't move no more. Second, the first published blues composition is accredited to W.C. Handys Memphis Blues in 1912. 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. Great cover of blues classic Backwater blues on The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 2011. album How I Go Writer(s): Smith Updated September 9, 2020. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begins to blow. Bessie Smith, "Backwater blues", 1927The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard. 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. La Bouche) [2023 Mix] [Extended Mix] Songtext. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. SKU: MN0121681 Smith performed for nearly a decade until Columbia Records signed her in 1923. Kevin Young was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. Bessie Smith had a powerful impact on future blues and Rock and Roll singers, like Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. Bessie Smith, commonly referred to as the Empress of the Blues, was born in 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 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 love writing blues poems. Learn to hear chords by ear. :)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Title: Backwater BluesLevel: BeginnerCom. Designed and built by Hooktheory in California. Print and download Backwater Blues sheet music by Bessie Smith. 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. Irma Thomas released it on the album Our New Orleans 2005 - A Benefit Album in 2005. They relocated the white folks in an expedient manner but corralled the black folks into abysmal camps. Please use a recent version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, or Opera instead. 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). Down Hearted Blues, her first recording, sold nearly 800,000 copies, firmly establishing her as a new singer in the blues genre. Almost a million people became homeless for a time. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. 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. 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. Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. Through an examination of Smith's touring itinerary, the testimony of fellow entertainers who toured . Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. 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. Alle Informationen dazu findest du in unseren What characterizes a blues performance? My name is Lex and I am a rising senior at the University of Georgia. View all Google Scholar citations 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. 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. 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. Bessie Smith (1894-1937) began her professional career as a blues singer in cabarets in 1912. Lets look at the blues poem as a form. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. The a rhyme glues the three-line stanza together. 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. The rhythm remains constant throughout the song, allowing the melody to flow peacefully during the piece. Dazu brauchen wir deine Einwillung*. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith . Lets look at this poem closely. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. Of course, we Americans have historical amnesia. "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? 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. ava wilson obituary, magic circle law firms' preferred universities, duromax xp13000eh battery replacement,