Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases a 1936 sound file of Jimmie Strothers singing the Blues song "Going To Richmond".
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
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INFORMATION ABOUT JIMMIE SOUTHERS
From http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jimmie-strothers-mn0000850010 by Steve Leggett
"Jimmie Strothers was a blind banjo and guitar player from Virginia who recorded 15 tracks for Alan Lomax and Harold Spivacke in 1936. Biographical details are sketchy, but Strothers was apparently a medicine show entertainer for a time before going to work in the mines, where an explosion took his eyesight, forcing him to earn a living as a street singer. Things changed even more drastically when he was convicted of murdering his wife with an axe and was sent to the state penitentiary in Lynn, VA, which was where Lomax and Spivacke, working on a field recording project for the Library of Congress, found him. Strothers recorded a total of 13 songs (plus alternate takes of "Jaybird" and "Poontang Little, Poontang Small") over the course of two days on June 13 and June 14, 1936, often with fellow inmate Joe Lee sharing vocal and guitar duties...
In two days of recording, Jimmie Strothers managed to leave behind an edgy, singular, and fascinating group of songs that explore the boundaries between the sacred and the profane."
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FEATURED SOUND FILE
Jimmie Strothers - Going to Richmond
mgstill, Published on Mar 17, 2013
Recorded by John A. Lomax and Harold Spivacke 1936
at the State Farm,
Lynn, Virginia
-snip-
"State Farm" is a referent for a prison.
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NOTES ABOUT THIS TRANSCRIPTION
I made this transcription from repeatedly listening to this sound file. Words that I'm unsure of are in italics.
Notes about some of these lyrics are posted below this transcription.
Additions and corrections to this transcription are welcome.
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LYRICS - GOING TO RICHMOND
(as sung by Jimmie Stouthers, 1936)
1.Yes, I’m goin to Richmond
Baby,leavin for paradise
Gonna see that woman
That sure gonna rag my life.
2.Yes, I’m goin to Richmond
And I’m leavin for paradise
Gonna see that woman
That sure don’t rag my life.
3.Yes, I’m leavin old Clarice
And I’m headed for Tennessee.
Gonna see that brownskin
That sure made a fool of me.
4.Yes, I’m leavin that Clarice
Baby, I’m headed for Tennessee.
Gonna see that fast brown
That sure made a fool of me.
5. Yes, [I’m] an old old teacher
And I feed my salty soul, yes, old boy
Sure know not to trust no young woman
No where on earth you go.
6. Yes, it’s an old old teaching
And I feed my salty soul, son
Don’t you trust no young woman
No where on earth you go.
7. Yes, your fast brown will tell you
That she love you all her life, oh boy
Meet another dude around the corner
And re-tell that same lie twice.
8.Yes, your fast brown will tell you
That she love you all her life, oh boy
Meet another dude around the corner
And re-tell that same lie twice.
9.Well I stand duh women
I sure gonna do this fine.
Have ah hand full of gimmie
And a mouth full of much supplies
10. Well I stand duh women
I sure gonna do this fine.
Gotta hand full of gimmie
And a mouth full of much supplies
11. I got one good ole poodle
And ah baby that a long legged hound.
I got one high yella
And two, three brown.
12. I got one high yella
Yeah, And two three browns
I got one high yella
Really and two three browns.
13. Train come round the mountain
This mornin in a solid> moan
If I live to see tomorrow
Gonna roll in my bad brown’s arms.
14. Train come round the mountain
In a solid moan
If I live to see tomorrow
Gonna roll in my bad brown’s arms.
15. (for the first two lines - Strothers hums and plays the guitar)
I got the Blues and I can’t be satisfied.
Well, I got the Blues, babe.
And I can’t be satisfied.
16. Goin down by the river
And hang down my head and cry
Well I been mistreated
And I can’t be satisfied.
17. Yes, I’m goin to away to leave
To get you off of my mind.
Baby, I’m goin away to leave you.
To get you off my mind.
18. Yes, I’m goin away to leave you.
Get the worry of you off my mind
And I won’t be worried,
Honey, ‘bout you all the time.
19. I done played this piece babe
Till my fingers got sore
Now ain’t nothing doin
I ain’t gonna play no more.
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NOTES ON THIS TRANSCRIPTION
1. "gonna rag for the rest of my life" = gonna make me poor, gonna mess me up for the rest of my life [These are only guesses.]
2. "brownskin" - A brown skinned Black woman
4. I'm unsure of this transcription. "Fast brown" could be "fair brown". The word "fast" here and elsewhere in this song means a person who has many sexual interactions, a promiscuous person.
5. "I feed my salty soul" - A salty man was a term for a man that was "randy", a man who is always interested in sex and also is very good at sex. An equivalent term is "Candy man".
9."Well I stand duh women" = I think this is "Well, I understand the women" with "duh" meaning "the"
"A hand full of gimme" - she's always asking me to give her something [such as store bought items, clothes, shoes etc] goods]
"And a mouth full of much supplies - she's always demanding many things of me. [Or is this word "must" instead of "much"]
11. The singer is describing one woman as a poddle dog, and another as a long long legged hound [One is short and one is tall?]
High yella - a very light skin Black woman
13. bad brown - a brown skin woman who is a "nice girl" [?]
19. This verse is representative of other Blues songs, African American, Caribbean, and African folk songs and folktales that have "in conclusion" type rhyming endings. One such ending is found in versions of the "Frog Went A Courtin" songs:
"Frog's bridle and saddle are on the shelf.
If you want any more you must sing it yourself."
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to Jimmie Strothers for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the YouTube publisher of this sound file.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
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