Black Eye Blues

Although Angela Davis presents the idea that “the most frequent recurring themes of women’s blues music revolve around male lovers” in her article “Mama’s Got the Blue’s,” the blues were about much more than simply being sad because your man got you down (Davis 45).  That’s not to say that the blues did not have their share of stories about love gone bad. However, blues divas such as Gertrude Malissa (“Ma”) Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday developed the blues into a network of sorts between women in order to provide empowering idea, emotional support, and advice on how to deal with said problems with these men. The blues took on the “missionary role of introducing ‘true womanhood’ to their less fortunate sisters” by “encouraging assertiveness and independence among black women” (Davis 65, 46). Ma Rainey’s song “Black Eye Blues,” is a prime example of what more the blues had to offer rather besides a bitter love story.

The song tells the story of the dynamics of relationships between men and women through the story of Miss Nancy Ann and the abusive relationship she has with her man. Despite their poor relationship, she sticks around, like most women often did during this time. The song follows a basic ABAB pattern followed by a chorus. The A sections remain steady until the end of each line when Ma Rainey raises her pitch a notch in order to emphasize the last few words at the end. The A sections seem to serve as a bit of a filler, providing background information about Miss Nancy and her man, but it is during the B sections where the real story takes place. During the B sections, her pitch goes down in the first line, creating a more somber tone, alluding to a more serious subject matter, and then goes up again in the second line to emphasize some sort of empowerment. For example, in the first line of the B section she sings: “then I hear Miss Nancy say,” followed by a shift up in pitch to the line: “Why do you treat your gal that way?”expressing a sense of empowerment since Miss Nancy is actually standing up to her man by asking the question. In the second B section she starts off singing, “He beat Miss Nancy ‘cross the head,” and the pitch goes down with the seriousness of the subject matter, but then when she switches to the next line: “When she rose to her feet, she said” the pitch goes up, again in relation to the empowering act of Miss Nancy standing up to her man. Despite Miss Nancy being beaten, the song goes into a chorus, accompanied by an upbeat melody, that supports Miss Nancy’s hopeful message that even though she has stuck around despite being beaten, mistreated, and cheated on, she ain’t no fool, and one of these day’s she’s going to catch her man when he least expects it, with his “britches down.”

Many of these women’s blues songs seemed to offer advice that accepted “male supremacy without overtly challenging it, but it also displays unmistakable oppositional attitudes in its rejection of sexual passivity as a defining characteristic of womanhood,” which might seem like a joke to liberated women nowadays, but to the women during this time period it was a big deal (Davis 54). Davis asserts that “one of the principal modes of community-building in women’s blues is that of sharing experiences for the purpose of instructing women how to conduct their lives,” and although the song “Black Eyed Blues” may seem like a meek attempt at empowerment, it offered something to women in the same situations (Davis 53).  It sent out the message that there were many other women in the same situation, and like Miss Nancy, although you may have lost something by letting him “take all my money, blacken both of my eyes, give it to another woman, come home and tell me lies,” you could still hold on to your dignity and have hope to regain your freedom because one day, sooner or later, you’re going to catch that “low down alligator” with his britches down.

"Prove It To Me Blues"

“Prove It On Me Blues” is the story of a woman who is in conflict with her spectators ovver what seems to be a controversial matter about her interest in women.  Various instances of the song imply us to the idea that queer relationships existed in the time period of 1923-1924 in which the song was recorded. This however maybe surprising to some considering that these are topics rarely discussed when it comes to “American History.” Sexual orientation between same sex beings has recently become “appropriate” to discuss openly over the dinner table. As argued by Davis, “the blues was a privileged site in which women were free to assert themselves publicly as sexual beings.” Not only did the blues provide a free space for African American women to speak about personal sexual encounters but it served as a platform to challenged ideas around gender roles.

Rainey’s lyrics are powerful in that she is not afraid to voice that she is a powerful woman that can tend to a female just as a male can and is unashamed about. She even boasts about the way she talks to females “just like any old man.” Her tone in this lyric is one of a “hahahaha bet you didn’t know I could do that?!”  Rainey is almost daring someone to say something to her about it or questions her actions in her decision to play the role of what is normally understood to be the role of the male species.  The comfort level that Rainey has with speaking on this topic is very present in her tone of voice while singing it as well as in her lyrics. What makes the song stronger however is the lack of male presence in the song. Not one time in the song are we introduced to male character that has any say so or welcomed opinion about the main woman’s involvement with someone of her same sex.

Though Rainey’s attitude about may seem a bit bold, a few of today’s contemporary artist can be found speaking on the same exact topics however in a more or less welcoming setting. Female artist such as rapper Nicki Minaj openly speak about there sexuality just as Rainey did with lyrics like, “She so fuckin fine that I touched her up again, told her last time she can bring her other friend,” from “Girls Kissing Girls” by Nicki Minaj.  In contrast, however, lesbian relationships seem to be hyper sexualized, by male artist and other matriarchal controlled media. Many male perspective songs and other forms of media serve as a tool toward this hyper-sexualization by inviting themselves and creating what is called a ménage à trios, or threesome. For example, in Lil Wayne’s recent song “Every Girl” featuring Drake, the line “are any of ya’ll into girls, lesbiahonest (let’s be honest),” almost takes away the ownership lesbian women should have over their identity. In comparison however I like to think that despite time differences and generation gaps that both Minaj and Rainey were just requesting acceptance of loving whomever they desire to love. 

St. Louis Blues

          “Diva of Blues” was an expression for African American women who presented their emotions about relationships dealing with violence, faith, adultery, and etc through singing. The article, “Mamma Got the Blues” by Angela Davis and the song ‘St. Louis Blues’ by Billie Holiday provide an understanding of women who stated their emotions about their relationships through songs known as the “blues”. The article by Davis support emotional and spiritual being of how African American women presented themselves in the early 1900’s.

                The song, ‘St. Louis Blues’ by Billie Holiday has five verses in which the first two could have the format AA’B.  The last three verses however go into a different pitch and tune where the format could go from CC’C’D in a form of four lines then back to three lines in the format EE’F. From the looks of the format this could be the Delta blues which was more common. The first and last two verses were repetitive and rhymed with one another which could be a parlor song. The first two lines in the first verse is the same with “I hate to see the ev’nin’ sun go down”  and “Feelin’ tomorrow like I feel today “(Holiday). Although the lines are the same, Holiday contrasts the two lines by stressing a different word. She would sing a different tone in a line compared to the other to stress the importance of the verse.  Several lines in the lyrics rhymed and worked well with the rhythm and melody of the song.

                Holiday’s choice of music was possibly composed of the Saxophone, trumpet, and the piano. All together, the three instruments create a jazzy and upbeat melody which corresponds to the lyrics of the song. In the line “I’ll pack my grip, make my getaway”, the music is lowered as she sings “my getaway”. Holiday changes her tone at different parts of the song which then changes the melody and thus expresses her emotions into the song. In between the fourth and fifth verse there is a saxophone solo which signifies how common the instrument was used the blues. In the end, the saxophone was played the loudest, creating another “finale” solo to end the song.

                “St. Louis Blues” was solely about a woman who is conveying her love even though her man left her for another woman. The woman is emotionally drained by the lost of her lover and describes the other woman as someone who is a “St. Louis woman with her diamond rings”, hence she gets the St. Louis blues (Holiday). Obviously, Holiday believes the other woman is more “classy and sophisticated” then she is or else she would be in heartache. In the lyrics she reveals her man as someone who has a “heart like a rock cast in the sea” meaning he has a heart of a stone. Her lover was cruel and cold to her and she expresses her pained emotions through a song. Even with heartache and her man leaving her, she continues to love him because of love.

                Billie holiday’s song is an example of the several “blues music” African American woman have composed and sung in the early 1900’s. To express their emotions and how they feel, these “blue Divas” convey who they are through music.  Most lyrics and songs were based on their relationships that “revolve around male lovers and the plethora of problems posed by heterosexual relationships complicated by the expression of autonomous female sexuality” (45 Davis ). They sang anything where the “aspects of blue constructions of female jealousy and rivalry, sometimes to the point of violence” (44 Davis). Jealousy and heartache was common in the blues which was considered poignant to the audience. Singing and writing the lyrics to these blues may have been an emotional breakthrough to release the emotions African American woman were feeling. The blues provided a new way of expressing feelings to the world in which we come to love to this day.

 

Bad Luck Blues

Bessie Smith’s recording of Ma Rainey’s “Bad Luck Blues” is an example of the lives of women during the time of the “Blues Divas”.  In Angela Davis’s Mama’s Got the Blues, she writes that “the most frequently recurring themes of women’s blues music revolve around male lovers and the plethora of problems posed by heterosexual relationships… (Davis 45)”. Bad Luck Blues is no different where the male lover has done something and right after, there are problems that the woman goes through.

The song is told from first person and there are two instruments used: the piano and the saxophone. Apart from the beginning, the saxophone plays after every line of Smith. It is used in the beginning before the actual singing to build a mood of sadness as Smith relays the problems she has had; problems that would make others sad. After every line, the saxophone seems to emphasize softer tones to build-up on the sadness of the lyrics. For example with the lyric “With your arms around the pillow where your daddy used to lay” the saxophone never goes into a high pitch of noise but instead is played at a lower, softer pitch. The saxophone is playing at a softer tone because that line reveals the source of her news. The beginning lines were about announcing her news to the people who will listen and the source of her sadness is her daddy missing. Her lover (aka daddy) disappeared sometime at the break of dawn and is seemingly never coming back to her ever again. In contrast to the saxophone, the piano is played throughout the entire song and is played with a more upbeat melody. One might say the upbeat piano is giving Smith the strength to be able to talk about what has happened to her.

There are many different reasons why someone would be motivated to express themselves in this song. Given the lyrics “Hey people, listen while I spread my news/ I wanna tell you people all about my bad luck blues” she wants someone to listen to what has happened to her. She even wishes to make God part of her audience requesting him to find the whereabouts of her man and to find what she has done in all the time she has spent with her man. Smith could also be cautioning women to keep an eye on their male lovers in case he decides to leave just like Smith’s man. No one knows when a man might leave: “Did you ever wake up just at the break of day” showing that a man will wait until you have fallen well into slumber before leaving you. You won’t even find out when even when you get awoken at daybreak. The last three lines of the song gives an interesting notion of the power in heterosexual relationships.

The last three lines of the song are “What’s the use of living if you can’t get the man you love/ The use of living if you can’t get the man you love/ You might as well go die, give your soul to the Maker above” showing that without a man, the singer doesn’t want to live anymore. It seems as though her life is incomplete without her man by her side; and death is the only solution to this problem. The Blues Divas have plenty of songs with the main subject concerning that men are the important things in their lives. In Davis’s article, she describes the song “My Man Blues”, where both Bessie Smith and Clara Smith sing about “competition for the attention of a man who each woman insists belongs to her (Davis 51)”. She writes that the song also has resonances about “the rivalry in general between women (Davis 51)”. Possibly back in the day, a good man was really hard to find and that is why women fight over having the power to possess the man all to themselves.

The song is full of sadness given the way Smith stresses words such as blues and love and even Lord where at that point it’s like she is crying to the heavens. It does give an underlying tone of personal strength and perseverance with the upbeat piano and even the lines about preferable death instead of living. The line states “might as well go die” but the might restrains death and instead tells one to keep on living.

Black Eye Blues

Ma Rainey’s Black Eye Blues does more than tell a story, it projects womanly strength and emotion.  It not only projects strength and emotion through its lyrics, but also the notes that the lyrics are sang in.  Black Eye Blues is a story told from the third person. Ma Rainey witnesses a Miss Nancy Ann, who argues with her lover frequently, get beaten.  Miss Nancy Ann retaliates and says, “just watch me sooner or later, 
Gonna catch you with your britches down”, implying her eventual revenge.  The lyrics then explain that Nancy Ann’s lover steals from her, cheats on her, and lies about everything. The lyrics then go back to the line where she states her plot of revenge. 

            While listening to “Black Eye Blues” one can hear the power of the lyrics projected by Ma Rainey.  According to Angela Davis’s Mama’s Got the Blues, early women’s blues singers displayed their emotions and sexuality through their music, as one of the few ways a black woman, or any woman for that matter, could express their emotions during the 1920’s and 1930’s.  Angela Davis states that, “Ma Rainey, presents a powerful, fighting, rough-and-tumble woman, who boasts about her assertiveness and power”(47).  In “Black Eye Blues”, the previous statement can be proven through the line, “just watch me sooner or later, 
Gonna catch you with your britches down”.  Ma Rainey, though she sang this line, did not actually “say” it.  But even though they weren’t “her” exact words, through her voice they become hers and we can feel it in our hearts, the true intent of those select words, that she really will catch her man with his britches down.  Further in Angela Davis’s paper, she mentions a song called “Wringing and Twisting Blues”.  Where in the lyrics, Ma Rainey says she wants to poison the woman who caused her lover to leave her (47).  As one can see, Ma Rainey is not afraid to show her listener or audience what she is feeling and thinking.  She really shows how assertive and powerful she is.

            The song itself does have a tragic and yet aggressive tone to it, but the lyrics are not the only thing that makes this song full of emotion. The lyrics of this sound are assisted by the notes to really tell the story.  Throughout the song, notes are high and low on certain words to stress the meaning of that specific word.  For example the line, “Why do you treat your gal that way?”, “way” ends in a low note, indicating sorrow that Miss Nancy Ann has because of her treatment by her lover.  The next line, “Nancy and her man just has a fight”, “fight” ends in a high note, suggesting the intensity of the quarrel.   This high note, low note additions to the lyrics continue throughout the rest of the song.  When Ma Rainey sings, “You ‘buse me and mistreat, you dog around and beat me”, it also goes up to show how badly her lover does these things.  The final thing that I would like to mention is the final “I mean it”.  The last time those words are mentioned, they are higher than before, really indicating that she will have revenge after all the things her man has done to her. After really listening to the whole song, and then its parts, one can really hear that it’s not just the lyrics that create the emotion of the song; it is also the notes it is sang or played in.

            In all, there is more to a song than just its lyrics.  The singer’s voice and notes that the song is played/sang in make the song more dramatic and emotional. Lastly, Ma Rainey, as described by Angela Davis, has really shown her authority, through her music and her voice, leaving no emotion to spare.