Count the
blues cliches!
Well blues cliches are way better than bubblegum-pop cliches. I recently "discovered"
Rory Block. This one is called
Hawkins Blues off of
Mama's Blues:
Well I lost all my money
Ain't got no where to go.
Said I lost all my money
Ain't got no where to go.
Well I believe to my soul
Ain't never been this low.
I'm gonna lay my head, daddy,
On some lonesome railroad track.
I'm gonna lay my head
On some lonesome railroad track.
And when the train comes along
I ain't never coming back.
You're a mean mean daddy
Where did you stay last night?
Your're a mean mean daddy
Where did you stay last night?
You got your hair all tangled and
Your face ain't looking right.
(scat)
Well I love you pretty baby
I can't stand the way you do.
Said I love you pretty baby
I can't stand the way you do.
You're gonna go back to your woman
I'll go to my man too.
Well I don't need no man
If he's got a heart of stone.
Well I don't need no man
Who's got a heart of stone.
'Cause you're a mean mean daddy
You drove me from my happy home.
In case you think she didn't know what she was doing, here's a bit from the liner notes:
"If I can't understand the words of an old recording, I fill them in to the best of my ability. Not only is this sometimes necessary, but I feel like it adds a touch of connectedness between me and the song in the present day. This is one of those songs. I used so many different verses from so many different Buddy Boy Hawkins songs of which I often understood only about half the verse, that I had to simply title the song 'Hawkins Blues,' and have it be a general tribute to him."