The Blues have been a big influence in my life…my father a Jazz musician and writer…he wrote for Jazz Journal in the UK and a discography of Art Tatum with Arnold Laubich as well a a book called the Jazz Piano Players Handbook, which I would love to turn into a website (if this project interests you please get i touch). A good friend of mine now is an excellent Blues Guitarist and I love to listen to all styles of Blues.
In fact the way my father and I reconnected during those difficult adolescent years was through the blues , I remember pulling out a silver record sleeve from his collection which happened to be of Joe Turner the Blues singer, my Dada was out, so I put it on his stereo and was captured, I have never looked back.
When I am down there is one track I love to listen to by Champion Jack Dupree, called Door to Door Blues - http://youtu.be/k-NNcXEh3jI
The lyrics are superb and I have transcribed them here, but it is the melancholy piano phrasing that goes with them that gets me every time.
—-
Door to Door Blues by Champion Jack Dupree
I remember when I was a kid
And I had no place to go
I was going around beggin
I was beggin from Door to Door
I had no place to sleep
And I had no place to go
I was too young to have friends
Too young to have friends that I know
Well I didn’t know nuthin
I had nuthin but worries every place I go
I just kept on goin
Tryin to live the live i know
It looked awful lonesome
When you don’t have no friends around
When you don’t have nuthin to smoke
And you got to pick up tobacca off the ground
You say Lord have mercy
What wrong have I done
And then to myself
yeah I have got a pain
what wrong have I done
to be like I am
My mother shes gone
and my father too
My sisters and brothers
Don’t pay me no mind
Well nobody wants me
My time is all on my mind
But I say Lord have Mercy
Yeah…. on me
Say maybe some day
And it won’t be long
Well I’ll meet a friend
Will carry me along
Well if I tell that , yeah til that day
I’ll keep on now
oh oh yeah…oh oh yeah
Find it on Youtube here
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