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Old 07-17-2016, 12:25 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lisnaholic View Post
I was once at a blues concert, with a crowd largely made up of enthusiastic youngsters. When the band finished a cover version of the Mississippi John Hurt song, Candy Man Blues, my friend indicated a bunch of cheering girls and said, “I wonder if they realise he was singing about his prick.”
If you are in any doubt about that interpretation, here’s the original song, and Exhibit A, the pertinent lyrics:




That set me wondering about other blues lyrics, for example, BB King’s line, "I’ve got a sweet little angel, I love the way she spreads her wings” or the following gem, originally by Memphis Minnie. Did she really have a paid driver about whom she felt possessive, or should we read between the lines, even if it means finding something less innocent?



So, have I become some dirty-minded perv, or is there more to these old blues songs than meets the eye? If anyone else has been troubled by suggestive lyrics, I’d be interested to hear other examples - if only to be reassured that I’m not alone.
Well,you got your answer and also schooled some of us in the process,
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Old 07-17-2016, 07:08 PM   #2 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by Psy-Fi View Post
Gotta get some Andre Williams into this thread. Like Wynonie Harris, he's more rhythm & blues than straight-up blues...



^ That song is so politically incorrect - it's great! In some liner notes I once saw a song described as "a slow-drag whorehouse number". Don't really know what it means, but I feel it might apply to the leisurely rhythm of Jail Bait.

Quote:
Originally Posted by whipsy48 View Post
Well,you got your answer and also schooled some of us in the process,
^ Many thanks for your positive feedback, whipsy, and welcome to MB!
Sometimes posting in these threads feels like chucking stones into a pond so it's really nice to hear that someone at least has got something out of it. Any contributions of your own to make?

Meanwhile, here's Dana Gillespie's better-than-the-original cover of a Clarence Williams song, from an album that she rather wittily called Blue Job :-


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