Ma Rainey - Dream Blues
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 6:37 PM Ma Rainey’s “Dream Blues” begins with a quick and simple banjo riff that continues throughout the song by itself. Ma Rainey comes into the song with a delicate yet desperate tone. Her lyrics depict a recurring dream that she has been experiencing night after night. She explains how the men in her life treat her badly and she can’t take it anymore. She cries out to God asking him how to handle her situation but she eventually states that she has given up by saying “mama don’t mind dying”.
The first verse where she sings “Had a dream last night…and the night before” is slightly higher pitch the first time around. This change in pitch enhances the feeling of sadness that she is experiencing being mistreated. The song form is A A B because the second verse is repeated and then the 3rd verse acts as the “punchline”. In addition the feeling of the song begins a little unstable but gradually intensifies with Ma Rainey’s increased emotion.
Reader Comments (1)
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