Bad Luck Blues
Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 10:54 PM The song “Bad Luck Blues” sung by Ma Rainy represents a woman’s sadness of not having the man she loves. The song was filled with emotions and the “true blues” of heartache from love. Ma Rainey starts the song by informing her audience to listen to what she has to say, then move on with the meaning of “bad luck blues” is and lastly the cause to her blues. The lyrics emphasize how she feels from not have the man she loves to the audience. While listening, I could hear Ma Rainey’s change of voice to certain stanzas and words for example in the line, “I wanna tell you people all about my bad luck blues “, Rainey sings the word blues extremely low compared to the beginning of the line. The audience can hear her emotions through her performance. I also discovered the format of the song was in A, A, B format and the lyrics rhymed with each other. Along with the lyrics, the corresponding music of the piano and saxophone matched well with the lyrics. The saxophone is a popular instrument used in the blues. However, as I listened to the song I felt as if the piano was contradicting the sadness and the meaning of what Rainey is trying to convey to her audience. The piano gave an optimistic contribute to the song where as the saxophone emphasizes what Rainey is trying to express in her song.
Reader Comments (1)
The songs “Bad Luck Blues” and “Empty Bed Blues” both are in a AA’B verse form, and are accompanied by piano with one or two other instruments that “respond” to the singer. (In “Bad Luck Blues” there is a muted trumpet with a very faint clarinet in the background, and “Empty Bed Blues” has a trombone.) What is your reaction to the piano part? Does it it convey the same mood as the singer and instrument? How does the instrument (trumpet or trombone) respond to the singer? Lastly, you can talk about how the third line in each verse (the “knock-down” B line), works in the song. Is it effective or not? Here are two posts that address some of these questions well. Please comment on one of the two posts to add your thoughts to the discussion.
http://benleedscarson.com/ma-rainey-and-bessie-smith/bessie-smiths-empty-bed-blues.html
http://benleedscarson.com/ma-rainey-and-bessie-smith/ma-raineys-bad-luck-blues-1.html