Backwater Blues - Piano - YouTube 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. What characterizes a blues performance? How does the music reflect the lyrical content of the piece? 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. The lyrics are in the often-used AAB blues format. 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.'. } The narrator, who presents himself as a victim describes how . Bessie Smith, "Backwater blues", 1927 - YouTube View all Google Scholar citations 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 Bessie Smith Chords and Lyrics for Guitar 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. 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. Bessie actually wrote "Backwater Blues" for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. Thematically, write about whatever you feel must be sung. Bessie Smith. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, courtesy of the Rock Hall Library and Archive, https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/bessie-smith. And I can't live there no more. The three most important chords, built off the 1st, 4th and 5th scale degrees are all major . It was written by Bessie Smith, and recorded (under the title ". The song is called "West End Blues" and was recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five in 1928. The call and response between vocals and piano does what? Lets look at the blues poem as a form. However, the blues utility in our everyday language signifies to me that the blues are ingrained into US culture. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begin to blow. Photo credit: Carl Van Vechten, Celebrating Contemporary Books & Writers at the Library, From the Catbird Seat: The official Poetry and Literature podcast, Receive notifications about events, activities, and online resources, Marilyn Chin reads and discusses Bessie Smith's "Backwater Blues", Rhapsody in plain yellow, by Marilyn Chin, Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature. Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. Chin is the recipient of the PEN/Josephine Miles Award, a Fullbright Fellowship, and the Paterson Prize, among numerous other honors. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. for this article. Hi! Dazu brauchen wir deine Einwillung*. 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). The song has long been associated with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. Download and Print scores from huge community collection ( 1,426,528 and growing) Advanced tools to level up your playing skills. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 "Backwater Blues" became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. 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. The best song poems, I believe, can live on the pages as well as in the ear. The backwater blues caused me. Irma Thomas released it on the album Our New Orleans 2005 - A Benefit Album in 2005. Feature Flags: { Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. Her lyrics aid the audience in understanding why she is down. 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. They relocated the white folks in an expedient manner but corralled the black folks into abysmal camps. I am majoring in biology and love helping my community! 3.2 Online-Unterricht - Backwater Blues - YouTube Mmm, I can't move no more. Bessie Smith - Songs, Death & Facts Backwater Blues Chris Fisher-Lochhead The despair is deep, is deeply personal, but it is also metaphorical and speaks to the despair of an entire community. Back-Water Blues 65th in 1927. 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. She made almost 200 recordings, including duets with Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith. The beat does not change because each verse follows the same AAB pattern, which results in the same rhythm continuing on. 7 available keys. The piece uses syncopation to allow variation between the instruments and the vocals. Bessie Smith Chords & Tabs : 24 Total @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com And the rain begin to pour. The melody is conjunct, making it easy to follow the lyrics of the song and the instrumental portions at the same time. Alle Informationen dazu findest du in unseren 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. While many latter-day . Bessie Smith, "Backwater blues", 1927The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard. Almost a million people became homeless for a time. Pro Credit Pack (3 Pro Credits) Included with first year, Your high-resolution PDF file will be ready to download in 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. 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. Jazz- Review Questions Flashcards | Quizlet 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. Bessie Smith "Backwater Blues" Sheet Music in C Major (transposable Backwater Blues by Bessie Smith Chords, Melody, and Music Theory 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 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. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. I love writing blues poems. 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 . Thank you. 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. Back-Water Blues. I make it a point to learn the African American poetic tradition. "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? Backwater Blues - Wikipedia Mchtest du Inhalte von aktivieren? LISTENING part 1 SEIGFRIED CHAP 5. richard wagner germany 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. Marilyn Chin (1955- ) was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Oregon, and received her MFA from the University of Iowa. About a thousand people lost their lives. Back Water Blues by Irma Thomas was written by Bessie Smith and was first recorded and released by Bessie Smith in 1927. This suggests to me that aspects of contemporary US poetry could be in lineage of African diasporic culture. Mmm, I cant move no more. The first line sets the scene, the second line repeats the first for emphasis. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Her powerful voice stands out so much in this song that the instrumental background may not even be needed as supplementation. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. Published online by Cambridge University Press: In this blog post I am going to be looking at and analysing a track by famous New Orleans jazz musician, Louis Armstrong. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Hooktheory requires WebAudio and this browser doesn't support it. "Backwater Blues" (Song) - Song Meanings and Facts The beat does . I do not believe in a fixed way to write blues poems or poetry with blues feeling. 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 . Cover versions of Back Water Blues by Irma Thomas | SecondHandSongs 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 flood was a devastating ordeal. :)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Title: Backwater BluesLevel: BeginnerCom. Teach music and songwriting in ways that keep students engaged, excited, and inspired. See the E Major Cheat Sheet for popular chords, chord progressions, downloadable midi files and more! 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. When it's . West End Blues - Louis Armstrong (Analysis) - bradpottermusic The flood from The Cumberland River that struck Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Day 1926, AAB e.g. Bessie Smith (Down Hearted Blues, 1923) Jazz Legend. Youtube, uploaded by RagtimeDorianHenry, 3 Jun 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA. The conjunct melody made me want to sing along with her! Dinah Washington - Back Water Blues - YouTube [Verse 5] And I went . 'Cause my house fell down. Chris Fisher-Lochhead. 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. 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. Great cover of blues classic Backwater blues on The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 2011. album How I Go Smith performed for nearly a decade until Columbia Records signed her in 1923. She performed in various minstrel and black vaudeville shows, and as her reputation and fame grew, she performed with many of the other leading early jazz musicians of her time: Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, and James P. Johnson, just to name a few. She is considered by many as one of the most successful African-American females of all time. Hostname: page-component-75b8448494-knlg2 What is 12-bar-blues form? In the Voice and in the Deep, Blues Poetry - Poetry Foundation The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written 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. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. Backwater Blues tells the story of how the speaker is forced out of her home due to flooding waters. hasContentIssue false. Big Bill Broonzy released it on the album Folk Blues in 1954. As musicologist Dr. David Evans has noted, Back-Water Blues was recorded in February 1927, before the great disaster of April. The opening choruses of each performance . What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? 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. Today, I hear phrases such as the winter blues and Blue Monday and know that they are not considering this history. 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). The poem moves to personal depression. According to the Theorytab database, it is the 5th most popular key among Major keys and the 5th most popular among all keys. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. Designed and built by Hooktheory in California. What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? 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. Bessie Smith's 'Back-Water Blues': the story behind the song 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) A modified 12 bar blues. Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. Smith describes how down she is about her life and how she knows there is nothing she can do about it. Includes 1 print + interactive copy with lifetime access in our free apps. The first two lines are of almost equal length. Poet, writer, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begins to blow. For examples of innovative uses of these devices in poetry, visit Jericho Browns Duplex, Evie Shockleys Fukushima Blues, and Kevin Youngs Langston Hughes.. The third-sixth verses have the traditional AAB blues pattern, which helps emphasize what she is saying during each verse. 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. Songtext von Bessie Smith - Backwater Blues Lyrics "useRatesEcommerce": false One subscription across all of your devices. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 Backwater Blues became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. Has data issue: false 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. '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. 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. There were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. Johnson was instrumental in the development of the piano style that emerged from Harlem in the 1920s known as \"stride.\" \r\rIn the age before sound amplification and microphones, a successful singer needed to be able to project. She teaches in the MFA program at San Diego State University. 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. . Train with real songs. She believed that her truth needed to be told, so she told it. In order to interrogate said materials, six recordings by different musicians were chosen and meticulously transcribed. 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. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. Instagram oder Facebook auf Songtexte.com geladen werden. There's thousands of people ain't got no place to go. [3] However, that flood was at its worst some two months after the song was written. Baraka attributes this knowledge to his mentor Sterling A. 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. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Bessie and Me). Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. AAB e.g. Following her death, Smiths legacy continued on as she inspired new artists to display who they truly were. Create beats, songs, and musical snippets with built-in music theory, melody guides, and intelligent chord suggestions. homophonic texture. She lets the chords of the instruments dangle off of her words, resulting in a beautiful piece that focuses primarily on the lyrics. I have her strong voice in my ear at all times. 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. It also deals with how said flood displaced several victims and led to the loss of hundreds of lives. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith . Bessie Smith, commonly referred to as the Empress of the Blues, was born in 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. "it rained five days and the sky 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. Render date: 2023-05-02T09:42:40.381Z One more piece. print music publishers. Almost half a million homes were destroyed. Her voice is subversive, defiant despite all odds against her. Of course, we Americans have historical amnesia. 15Label: Route 16Year: 1990This CD is from my own collection. There aint no place for a poor old girl to go. In "Backwater Blues", the writer retells the incidents surrounding the flooding of Nashville in 1927. 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 . Since tab form can't express time interval, I hope you will figure 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. 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. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. The rhythm remains constant throughout the song, allowing the melody to flow peacefully during the piece. Smith . 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. Each verse in the song follows an AAB pattern from beginning to end. Updated September 9, 2020. The repetition of her lyrics depict just how saddening her situation is- she is in the middle of losing everything. Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. Writer (s): Smith Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. I cant do justice to this poem, to Backwater Blues, by just reciting it myself. [1] Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. I see myself as an activist Chinese American poet, and I want to show the multiple sides of my literary inheritance. 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. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. I have sympathy towards Smith during her performance of this song because she conveys how lonesome she is. There was evidence of lynchings and unspeakable killings and terrible acts against the black community. The lyrics of the song are interpreted with respect to the events of that flood. [2], The song has long been associated with the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. There is one integral line throughout the stanza. To pack my things and go. 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. Adds to the blues feel as the music is seen to reflect the realities of her situation. Lets look at this poem closely. The consonant chords allow for a smooth harmony to flow continuously during the song. What is the structure of the lyrics? 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 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. 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. Song: Back-Water Blues written by Bessie Smith | SecondHandSongs Play the music you love without limits for just $9.99 $3.33/month. Learn to hear chords by ear. The vocalization stands out far more than the sound of the instruments, primarily due to Smiths incredible voice. Backwater Blues gefllt bisher niemandem. Total loading time: 0 View Official Scores licensed from. Create beats, songs, and musical ideas with built-in music theory and AI from over 30k songs. Listening Guide to Backwater Blues by Bessie Smith - YouTube Smith is believed to be one of the highest paid black performers of her time. Nose To Tail - Dragon Ball Z Raging Blast 2, Mushihimesama Futari - Sea of Frozen Crystals. Hier geht's zu meiner Musik auf Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/1EV1CjZHtzJGK5SZyEyKst?si=ya1BsYRcTpSlZeVFtMKekAMeine Musik auf Deezer:https://deezer. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. Brown, who alongside Langston Hughes was a pioneer of blues poetry in the 1920s. Smith continued on to become very successful with hits like St. Marilyn Chin reads and discusses Bessie Smith's "Backwater Blues Leadbelly - Backwater BluesTaken from: 16 Greatest Songs (As Pictured)Track no. Writer(s): Smith 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 were reports that officials behaved in a discriminatory fashion. She is the author of three collections of poems, most recently Rhapsody in Plain Yellow (2002). Backwater Blues - The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - YouTube Smith's voice not only had this quality, it also possessed a rich timbre and tremendous emotive power. 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). The flood was a devastating ordeal. 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.
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