The song “Empty Bed Blues” by Bessie Smith shows a cultural change in the status of women in relationships with men.  Women are now expressing themselves fully in the relationship, rather than standing back and following the superiority of the man. This was a turning point in the blues history because now women were coming out and expressing themselves through their music. In “Mama’s Got the Blue,” Angela Davis states, “The blues provided a space where women could express themselves in new ways, a space in which they sometimes affirmed the dominant middle-class ideology but also could deviate from it (Davis pg 47).” Bessie Smith does express herself through her lyrics of the song, telling her audience about a man that she once loved and then left her. She sings about her heartbreak experience which was a popular topic along with jealousy for the woman’s blues.

 In her song “Empty Bed Blues”, she starts part one by describing how her new man treated her so right. He pleased her in the bedroom and even showered her with gifts. In return, she wanted to make sure that he would come back to her every night. She goes out of her way to even purchase a new bed that he could sleep comfortably on. This led her to believe that he would want to come back for more. She expresses that she is so content with her man that she even bragged about him to her friend Lou. In “Mama’s Got the Blue,” Angela Davis expresses, “Competition for the attentions of a man who each woman insists belongs to her (Davis pg 51).” In purchasing the bed and bragging to her friend, it sets an image to the public that this is her man. Bessie Smith wanted her man to know and the public to know that he was solely hers and to not compete with her. This love connection that she has for her new man is primarily expressed in the first half of the song. In part one of her song she carries a jolly and passionate pitch with cheerful instruments in the background as she describes her new man.  The lyrics are covered with her emotionally connection and the piano and trumpet carry the rhythm of the song.

In part two of the song the trumpet takes a low, dark, and angry approach. The audience is grabbed in by this turn in the pitch of the instruments. In this part of the song, it is clear that the instruments deepen and the pitch in her voice lowers. This is the part where she begins to tell her audience about the heartbreak that her man caused her when he left.  Bessie Smith’s voice deepens as she sings about how her bed is now empty and she feels awful and blue inside. The last line in part one of the song, introduces trouble in her relationship with her man. “From the way she’s raving, she must have gone and tried it too.” Bessie Smith implies that while she was telling her friend about her man, she realizes that her friend Lou has also had a sexual relationship with him. Angela Davis states in “Mama’s Got the Blues, “Blues portraits of women competition with each other for sexual partners (Davis pg 46).” Bessie Smith saw Lou as competition and becomes angry immediately about the situation. The instruments help portray that she is angry when she wakes up to any empty bed and is heartbroken. The song continues to describe how she took care of him and she feels a sense of regret. He then comes over to her place and makes love to her in the same way that makes her cry out.

“Empty Bed Blues” follows the format of AAB throughout the entire song. The first two lines of every verse are repeated and carry the same melody. The last line of each verse then carries a different melody then the first two. The verse blends together with a rhyming word at the end of each line. When she is extremely excited in the first part of the song, she also includes words such as “Oh” or “Lord.” This adds a sense of passion and pleasure Bessie Smith has when singing her song full of emotions.