It’s Black History Month. Here at Blind Skeleton we’re celebrating with a discussion about three early female blues trailblazers, including the first ever recording of a blues song by not just a woman, but a black woman!

 

Lyrics

Crazy Blues

I can’t sleep at night
I can’t eat a bite
‘Cause the man I love
He don’t treat me right

He makes me feel so blue
I don’t know what to do
Sometime I sit and sigh
And then begin to cry
‘Cause my best friend
Said his last goodbye

There’s a change in the ocean
Change in the deep blue sea, my baby
I’ll tell you folks, there ain’t no change in me
My love for that man will always be

Now I can read his letters
I sure can’t read his mind
I thought he’s lovin’ me
He’s leavin’ all the time
Now I see my poor love was blind

Now I got the crazy blues
Since my baby went away
I ain’t got no time to lose
I must find him today

Now the doctor’s gonna do all that he can
But what you’re gonna need is an undertaker man
I ain’t had nothin’ but bad news
Now I got the crazy blues

Now I can read his letters
I sure can’t read his mind
I thought he’s lovin’ me
He’s leavin’ all the time
Now I see my poor love was blind

I went to the railroad
Hang my head on the track
Thought about my daddy
I gladly snatched it back
Now my babe’s gone
And gave me the sack

Now I’ve got the crazy blues
Since my baby went away
I ain’t had no time to lose
I must find him today

I’m gonna do like a Chinaman
Go and get some hop
Get myself a gun, and shoot myself a cop
I ain’t had nothin’ but bad news
Now I’ve got the crazy blues

Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues

I hear these women ravin’ ‘bout their monkey men
About their triflin’ husbands and their no-good friends
These poor women sit around all day and moan
Wondering why their wandering papas don’t come home
But wild women don’t worry, wild women don’t have no blues

Now when you’ve got a man, don’t never be on the square
‘Cause if you do, he’ll have a woman everywhere
I never was known to treat no one man right
I keep ’em working hard both day and night
‘Cause wild women don’t worry, wild women don’t have the blues

I’ve got a disposition and a way of my own
When my man starts kicking, I let him find another home
I get full of good liquor, walk the streets all night
Go home and put my man out if he don’t act right
Wild women don’t worry, wild women don’t have the blues

You never get nothing by bein’ an angel child
You’d better change your ways and get real wild
I’m gonna tell you something, I wouldn’t tell you a lie
Wild women are the only kind that really get by
‘Cause wild women don’t worry, wild women don’t have the blues

My Man Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll)

I feel so happy
I have a smile most all the while
Since my baby came back home to stay
Night and day
He’s made life snappy
He has my frown just fallin’ down
It all happened in this simple way
[I humor him, don’t?] let him pout
Say mum’s the word, don’t let it out
He put on me his magic power
And every single hour

My man rocks me with one steady roll
There’s no slippin’ when he once takes hold
I looked at the clock and the clock struck one
I said “Now daddy, ain’t we got fun”
Oh, he was rockin’ me with one steady roll

My man rocks me with onе steady roll
There’s no slippin’ whеn he once takes hold
I looked at the clock and the clock struck six
I said “Daddy, you know lots of tricks”
Oh, he was rockin’ me with one steady roll

My man rocks me with one steady roll
There’s no slippin’ when he once takes hold
I looked at the clock and the clock struck ten
I said “Glory, amen”
My man was rockin’ me with one steady roll