backwater blues texturebackwater blues texture

Borrowing from song to write about whats wrong. Smith performed for nearly a decade until Columbia Records signed her in 1923. Bessie actually wrote Backwater Blues for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. She believed that her truth needed to be told, so she told it. Total loading time: 0 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 tells the story of how the speaker is forced out of her home due to flooding waters. 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. Chris Fisher-Lochhead. 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. 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. 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. Entire black neighborhoods were wiped out. In "Backwater Blues", the writer retells the incidents surrounding the flooding of Nashville in 1927. Theres this rich toughness in her voice that tells us this girl and her people are going to get through this calamity. 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. 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. Harmonically, what is the piece based on? 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. Hi! 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. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 Backwater Blues became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. My name is Lex and I am a rising senior at the University of Georgia. Updated September 9, 2020. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. The flood was a devastating ordeal. The vocalization stands out far more than the sound of the instruments, primarily due to Smiths incredible voice. The third-sixth verses have the traditional AAB blues pattern, which helps emphasize what she is saying during each verse. Backwater Blues by Big Bill Broonzy was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. print music publishers. Create beats, songs, and musical ideas with built-in music theory and AI from over 30k songs. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. "When it rains five days, and the skies turn dark as night (x2). Third, Mamie Smith became the first Black blues singer to record a blues record in 1920. Big Bill Broonzy released it on the album Folk Blues in 1954. Smith . [2], The song has long been associated with the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. 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. I make it a point to learn the African American poetic tradition. The song is called "West End Blues" and was recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five in 1928. Published online by Cambridge University Press: The narrator, who presents himself as a victim describes how . 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. Back-Water Blues. It also deals with how said flood displaced several victims and led to the loss of hundreds of lives. It was originally composed by Joe "King" Oliver and is largely performed as an instrumental, although lyrics were . 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. 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. Dazu brauchen wir deine Einwillung*. 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. Play the music you love without limits for just $9.99 $3.33/month. To pack my things and go. Render date: 2023-05-02T09:42:40.381Z What is the structure of the lyrics? She is the author of three collections of poems, most recently Rhapsody in Plain Yellow (2002). Bessie Smith. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, courtesy of the Rock Hall Library and Archive, https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/bessie-smith. Cause my house fell down and I can't live there no more. I see myself as an activist Chinese American poet, and I want to show the multiple sides of my literary inheritance. 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. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. Smith is believed to be one of the highest paid black performers of her time. Datenschutzbestimmungen. Jazz- Review Questions. AAB e.g. Teach music and songwriting in ways that keep students engaged, excited, and inspired. Discover an intuitive and deep understanding of how music works. 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). 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. In order to interrogate said materials, six recordings by different musicians were chosen and meticulously transcribed. 04 January 2007. 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.'. Bessie Smith recorded Backwater Blues in 1927, and it became an anthem for one of the most devastating national disasters in US history. Discuss Bessie Smith's performance of "Back Water Blues" as an example of both. While many latter-day . View Official Scores licensed from. Mchtest du Inhalte von aktivieren? Brown, who alongside Langston Hughes was a pioneer of blues poetry in the 1920s. Writer(s): Smith Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. 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. Lets look at the blues poem as a form. Download and Print scores from huge community collection ( 1,426,528 and growing) Advanced tools to level up your playing skills. Bessie Smith (Down Hearted Blues, 1923) Jazz Legend. Youtube, uploaded by RagtimeDorianHenry, 3 Jun 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA. 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. And I can't live there no more. I cant do justice to this poem, to Backwater Blues, by just reciting it myself. 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. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. Today, I hear phrases such as the winter blues and Blue Monday and know that they are not considering this history. "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? 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. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begins to blow. Smith's voice not only had this quality, it also possessed a rich timbre and tremendous emotive power. For examples of innovative uses of these devices in poetry, visit Jericho Browns Duplex, Evie Shockleys Fukushima Blues, and Kevin Youngs Langston Hughes.. 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. "Backwater Blues" (1927) . 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. 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. 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. A modified 12 bar blues. "useRatesEcommerce": false The lyrics of the song are interpreted with respect to the events of that flood. Alle Informationen dazu findest du in unseren 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. Writer (s): Smith Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. Baraka attributes this knowledge to his mentor Sterling A. *Als Songtexte.com PUR User kannst du entscheiden, welche Inhalte von externen Anbietern wie Youtube, What is 12-bar-blues form? The flood from The Cumberland River that struck Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Day 1926, AAB e.g. 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 . I have sympathy towards Smith during her performance of this song because she conveys how lonesome she is. Adds to the blues feel as the music is seen to reflect the realities of her situation. 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. Smith describes how down she is about her life and how she knows there is nothing she can do about it. Leadbelly - Backwater BluesTaken from: 16 Greatest Songs (As Pictured)Track no. The scene is set with the terrific storm by the female speaker, so depressed that she cant even get out of the door. Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. The melody is conjunct, making it easy to follow the lyrics of the song and the instrumental portions at the same time. She made almost 200 recordings, including duets with Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. 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. 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. Back Water Blues by Irma Thomas was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. 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. Through an examination of Smith's touring itinerary, the testimony of fellow entertainers who toured . How does the music reflect the lyrical content of the piece? When it's . The opening choruses of each performance . There aint no place for a poor old girl to go. The first two verses are unique and do not have any repetition. Second, the first published blues composition is accredited to W.C. Handys Memphis Blues in 1912. She is considered by many as one of the most successful African-American females of all time. The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. Death. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. 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. Yeah, when it's thunderin' and lightnin'. 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. for this article. Thematically, write about whatever you feel must be sung. There is one integral line throughout the stanza. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Bessie and Me). (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. According to the Theorytab database, it is the 5th most popular key among Major keys and the 5th most popular among all keys. See the E Major Cheat Sheet for popular chords, chord progressions, downloadable midi files and more! Following her death, Smiths legacy continued on as she inspired new artists to display who they truly were. Pro Credit Pack (3 Pro Credits) Included with first year, Your high-resolution PDF file will be ready to download in Bessie Smith, commonly referred to as the Empress of the Blues, was born in 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. About a thousand people lost their lives. 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. 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 . We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Blues on Yellow Marilyn Chin from Rhapsody in Plain Yellow. However, the blues utility in our everyday language signifies to me that the blues are ingrained into US culture. The a rhyme glues the three-line stanza together. She manages to escape her flooding home, only to look back and see that she will never be able to go back to it. She teaches in the MFA program at San Diego State University. Chin is the recipient of the PEN/Josephine Miles Award, a Fullbright Fellowship, and the Paterson Prize, among numerous other honors. The call and response between vocals and piano does what? The Cumberland River, which flows through the city, rose 56 feet (17m) above its normal level, still a record as of 2014[update].[4]. I have her strong voice in my ear at all times. 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. C, F7, C, C7, F7, C. [3] However, that flood was at its worst some two months after the song was written. Feature Flags: { Create beats, songs, and musical snippets with built-in music theory, melody guides, and intelligent chord suggestions. Nose To Tail - Dragon Ball Z Raging Blast 2, Mushihimesama Futari - Sea of Frozen Crystals. 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 backwater blues caused me. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. In our workshop, In the Voice and in the Deep, Blues Poetry, participants and I studied blues music, history, aesthetics, and ultimately blues poetry. 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). "it rained five days and the sky turned dark as night". And the rain begin to pour. Poet, writer, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. Bessie Smith (1894-1937) began her professional career as a blues singer in cabarets in 1912. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. Her powerful voice stands out so much in this song that the instrumental background may not even be needed as supplementation. 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. The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. 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). Each verse in the song follows an AAB pattern from beginning to end. The piece has a homophonic texture due to the supplementation of the instruments to the vocalization of Smith. Irma Thomas released it on the album Our New Orleans 2005 - A Benefit Album in 2005. 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. 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. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. The beat is easy to tap along to, making it easier to focus on her lyrics. Instagram oder Facebook auf Songtexte.com geladen werden. 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. Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. I think in the best identity poems that the self represents something much larger than the self. 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. Although Smith is very pleasing to the ears, she seems to be slightly monotone in this piece. The conjunct melody made me want to sing along with her! 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. 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. What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? Smith continued on to become very successful with hits like St. 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. I am majoring in biology and love helping my community! '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. . Log dich ein um diese Funktion zu nutzen. Designed and built by Hooktheory in California. Great cover of blues classic Backwater blues on The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 2011. album How I Go It was written by Bessie Smith, and recorded (under the title ". Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. Almost a million people became homeless for a time. Not only did she sing, she was also an actress and comedian. The flood was a devastating ordeal. In this blog post I am going to be looking at and analysing a track by famous New Orleans jazz musician, Louis Armstrong. Bessie Smith had a powerful impact on future blues and Rock and Roll singers, like Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. As musicologist Dr. David Evans has noted, Back-Water Blues was recorded in February 1927, before the great disaster of April. Has data issue: false Bessie actually wrote "Backwater Blues" for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. 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. Learn to hear chords by ear. Train with real songs. Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. Bessie Smith- Back Water Blues. Youtube, uploaded by TravelerIntoTheBlue, 9 Oct 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXShOJVwaM. Another way of reading classic blues lyric structure is as weighted-sonic couplets. SKU: MN0121681 Mmm, I cant move no more. 7 available keys. They relocated the white folks in an expedient manner but corralled the black folks into abysmal camps. The first two lines are of almost equal length. 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! Over her ten year career, she created one hundred and sixty recordings. The best song poems, I believe, can live on the pages as well as in the ear. Billed annually at $39.99. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. hasContentIssue false. Includes 1 print + interactive copy with lifetime access in our free apps. The repetition of her lyrics depict just how saddening her situation is- she is in the middle of losing everything. 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. One more piece. homophonic texture. 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. Of course, I learn so much from the Bessie Smiths blues poems. I do not believe in a fixed way to write blues poems or poetry with blues feeling. Almost half a million homes were destroyed. [Verse 5] And I went . The poem moves to personal depression. Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. This suggests to me that aspects of contemporary US poetry could be in lineage of African diasporic culture. The Mississippi River flood of 1927 was horrific. 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 three most important chords, built off the 1st, 4th and 5th scale degrees are all major . Since tab form can't express time interval, I hope you will figure Hier geht's zu meiner Musik auf Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/1EV1CjZHtzJGK5SZyEyKst?si=ya1BsYRcTpSlZeVFtMKekAMeine Musik auf Deezer:https://deezer. The song has long been associated with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith . The first line sets the scene, the second line repeats the first for emphasis. This incident gave birth to an important blues era, now known as the Delta Blues era. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. 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. Hooktheory requires WebAudio and this browser doesn't support it. 15Label: Route 16Year: 1990This CD is from my own collection. Print and download Backwater Blues sheet music by Bessie Smith. Lets look at this poem closely. 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. 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). Smith did not cut any corners in her songs- she told everyone how the world really was and how she felt about it. Sheet music arranged for Piano/Vocal/Guitar in C Major (transposable). 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'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.