Black Eye Blues

            I found Ma Rainey’s Black Eyed Blues interesting, and expressive of what I have been told and read about Ma Rainey.  The song specifically tells the story of a ‘Miss Nancy’ and her repetitively abusive husband, and explains how she is waiting for the chance to get her revenge when she catches her man “with his britches down.”  I think Ma Rainey is stressing the fact that women should not stand down to men, and should use violence if necessary, as the reading said she believed.  I also find it interesting that in the song the line is included that Miss Nancy says “Still I’m gonna hang around” even after she describes the beatings Miss Nancy is receiving.  I believe that this line may be a protest of the social structure for black women of the early 20^th century, who were expected to “hang around” even if beaten because that was tolerated at the time.

            Ma Rainey sings the song in the typical folk fashion of having an upbeat style although the song is a bout a very serious subject (spousal abuse).  She does not fluctuate much in her telling of the story of Miss Nancy, and tells it in the style of a narrator exploring the events she witnessed, expressing what Miss Nancy says in quotes so as to not have it be protesting her own life experience, but simply point out the wrong in society.  The song is split in form every two lines and follows the structure of A B A B and then a chorus, with the next half of the song having only 2 lines before the chorus instead of 8, and finishing with a long variation of the chorus.

 

Comments

[BethRatay]

Many of you that wrote about “Dream Blues” and “Black Eye Blues” mentioned the portrayal of women in abusive relationships. Do you think the women in these songs are strong or weak? What part of the music makes you feel that way? (the lyrics, the singer’s expression, the instruments, etc.) Are these songs meant as a warning to the listener or are they meant for commiseration between women in the same situation? or both? Here are three posts that address some of these questions well. Please comment on one of the posts to add your thoughts to the discussion.

http://benleedscarson.com/ma-rainey-and-bessie-smith/2009/10/10/dream-blues.html
http://benleedscarson.com/ma-rainey-and-bessie-smith/ma-rainey-dream-blues.html
http://benleedscarson.com/ma-rainey-and-bessie-smith/what-it-means-to-have-the-black-eye-blues.html