HK 18 Something Like The Blues

THE SONGS		6	Pull Up A Chair
1	Blue Shadows	7	Rational and Real
2	C C Rider	8	Right Hand Man
3	Corrina	9	Something Like The Blues
4	Molly In The City	10	Strange As It Seems
5	Nothing But a Blues	11	Too Old To Die Young

The Blues. There are many ways to define and think about the blues. I define “the blues” (h_blues) as some variant of the 12-bar chord progression. This set of songs is an exploration of that progression.

Varieties of the blues progression. This is hardly exhaustive, but it covers a lot.

The BASIC form				3 optional additions
I				I	1*	I
IV		I		IV		I
V		I		V	2**	I	3***
The STANDARD form (2,3)				The FULL form (1,2,3)
I				I	IV	I
IV		I		IV		I
V	IV	I	V	V	IV	I	V

1* add IV here (“quick-to-four”)

2** add IV here (I need a name for this one)

3** add V here (“a turn-around”)

Graphically one could designate the structure being used as (for example):

BASIC FORM	STANDARD FORM			FULL FORM
					*
		*	*		*	*

The middle row is actually unnecessary. None of the variants considered here alter the middle row.

Other Common Blues Conventions

1. The lyrics follow the AAB structure. Most of my songs avoid this convention (as does Dylan); several songs purposely invert the convention, some follow it.

vocal	call	inst.	response
vocal	call	inst.	response
vocal	call	inst.	response

2. There is a call/response pattern in which (very roughly) in each of the three lines, the vocal “call” is in the first two bars, and the instrumental “response” occupies the second two bars. Several of my songs toy with this structure.

3. The scales used are typically pentatonic. I am more prone to diatonic scales, which tends to make many of these songs not sound like blues.

The Blues Challenge. Playing anything like the blues has been a life-long challenge for me, fraught as it is with the potential for cultural stereotyping and appropriation. (The same issues appear in playing reggae, Irish and, to a lesser extent, white southern music, all of which I have done.) But ever since the Rolling Stones led so many of us on a journey back to the real thing, blues has been a force and a source too strong to ignore. I believe that it was Dylan who opened the way for me to sing the blues as a white guy (leading backwards to Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie who did the same thing), and allowed for the concentration on the structure of the blues, apart from the other conventions.

Notes On The Songs

Blue Shadows [A

| A Bm | A Bm | D Bm | A Bm | E Bm | D Bm |

To date, the only purely instrumental song I’ve done. This does not quite fit any of the above blues descriptions, deviating in the last two bars. But if you strip out the Bm chords you see a blues structure.

C C Rider. Use a full blues in C, with every chord followed by its relative minor. Then steal the finest blues lyrics and pervert the AAB lyric convention.

C	F	C
F		C
G	F	C	G

Corinna. This uses the full form. The vocal and guitar are placed in reverse positions from the usual voice/guitar call response positions. Again a standard set of lyrics is used to mess with AAB. It can also be seen as removing the first two bars and placing them at the end. That is:

Molly In The City. Use the full form. Take the first two measures and put them at the end. The vocal back-up is used instead of an instrumental response. The AAB form becomes ABA. This is structurally closely related to Corinna.

A		D
A		E	D
A	E	A	D

Nothing But a Blues This song is composed of two attempts to confront the three-line blues format with typical country/folk four-line lyric verses. The music is just repeated 12-bar sequences. I.e. it’s ‘nothing but a blues.” The lyrics verses are four lines long.

E	A	E		Verse
A		E
B	A	E	B
E	A	E
A		E		Inst.
B	A	E	B

The song is divided into two parts, with a one-verse instrumental between them.

In the first three verses each verse, being four lines long, starts one line later in the progression. In the second part of the song each verse is divided as shown. Imagine the lyrics as me trying to explain the song to the band.

G	D	G		Verse
D		G
C	D	G	C
G	D	G
D		G		Chorus
C	D	G	C

Pull Up A Chair. Start with the 12-bar full format in G. Switch all the IV and V chords. Now divide two 3-line sequences into a 4-line verse and a 2-line chorus (as in the second half of “Nothing But a Blues’)

Rational and Real. Start with a 3-form progression in A. Substitute a G for every D; substitute D for E. Add a non-blues bridge. Write about inscrutable mathematics.

Right Hand Man. Full progression in E. A 4-line verse + 2-line chorus, as in Pull Up A Chair. Write about being a sideman on someone else’s gig.

Something Like The Blues. A basic blues in C. When it’s time for the bridge, do the first line as instrumental and the last two lines as the bridge. Be determinedly diatonic, by using an FM7. Once the music has decided that the song will be called “Something Like the Blues,” make up an appropriate story. Be sure to include the word ‘basic,’ as an inside joke.

E F#m
A F#m		E F#m
B	F#m	B A	G#m B
E F#m

Strange As It Seems. Start with a 3-form in E, with an F#m added after every chord. Then mess around with the last lines. Add a 1-chord bridge.

Try to remember what dreaming feels like.

IV	I	I	IV
IV	I	I	V
V	I	IV	V
IV	I		xxx

Too Old To Die Young Start with a 1-form blues in G. Use the first two bars as intro, start the verse on the first change (to C). Toss in three inscrutable bars to get a 15-bar verse and garnish with a non-blues bridge. That is:

LYRICS FOLLOW

BLUE SHADOWS is an instrumental

CORRINA, CORRINA,

CORINNA, WHERE YOU BEEN SO LONG?

I HAD NO LOVIN' SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE
GOT ME WORRIED DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE

I GOT A BIRD THAT WHISTLES AND SINGS.

I GOT A BIRD THAT WHISTLES AND SINGS.

AIN'T GOT HER IT DON’T MEAN A THING

OH, CORRINA, YOU'RE ON MY MIND.
THINK ABOUT YOU BABY, CAN'T KEEP FROM CRYING.

PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME, DON’T LEAVE ME BEHIND

HEY WHERE WHERE' DID YOU STAY LAST NIGHT?

COME HOME IN THE MORNING WHEN THE SUN SHINES BRIGHT
CLOTHES YOU GOT DON'T FITTIN' YOU RIGHT

LOVE CORRINA, WAY ACROSS THE SEA
I WONDER DOES SHE THINK OF ME

HER MEMORY WON’T LET ME BE

WELL I LOVE CORRINA, TELL THE WORLD I DO
AIN'T ONE THING I WOULDN’T DO FOR YOU
GIMME LITTLE LOVING LET YOUR HEART BE TRUE

CORINNA, WHERE YOU BEEN SO LONG?

I HAD NO LOVIN' SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE
I WORRY ABOUT YOU, DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE

MOLLY IN THE CITY

MOLLY’S SHE’S BEEN LIVING, LIVING THE CITY LIFE

WORKING IN THE CITY, WORKING FOR A RICH MAN’S WIFE

MOLLY’S SHE’S BEEN LIVING, LIVING THE CITY LIFE

MOLLY SHE AIN'T THE SAME SINCE SHE WENT THERE

MOLLY SHE’S LOOKING LIKE SHE AIN'T GOT A CARE

MOLLY SHE AIN'T THE SAME SINCE SHE WENT THERE

OLD FOLKS WISHING THAT MOLLY WOULD STAY HOME

SETTLE DOWN AND LOSE THE URGE TO ROAM

OLD FOLKS NOW, WISHING THAT SHE’D STAY HOME

THEY SAY CITY LIFE’S BAD FOR A YOUNG GIRL’S SOUL

THEY SAY CITY LIFE IS BOUND TO TAKE ITS TOLL

CITY LIFE’S NOT GOOD FOR A YOUNG GIRL’S SOUL

POOR OLD BERT WELL HE MISSES HIS MOLLY SO

WONDERING WHY IT WAS THAT SHE HAD TO GO

POOR OLD BERT HE SURE MISSES HIS MOLLY SO

I DON’T BELIEVE THAT MOLLY’S GONNA CHANGE HER MIND

SHE BEEN LOOKING GOOD SINCE SHE LEFT US ALL BEHIND

I DON’T BELIEVE THAT MOLLY’S GONNA CHANGE HER MIND

NOTHING BUT A BLUES

PART I

NO, DON’T ASK ME TO TELL YOU HOW IT GOES

YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND IF I TOLD YOU IF YOU DON’T ALREADY KNOW

AND ANYTHING MORE I SAY NOW WILL PROBABLY JUST CONFUSE

SO JUST REMEMBER THAT IT’S NOTHING BUT A BLUES

WITH THAT BEING SAID, I DO BELIEVE IT’S GONNA FEEL A LITTLE STRANGE

JUST KEEP AN EAR TO THE RHYTHM AND YOUR EYE ON THE CHANGE

BUT DON’T THINK TOO MUCH, IT WAS ONLY MADE TO AMUSE

AND DON’T FORGET; IT’S NOTHING BUT A BLUES

THERE’S NOTHING COMPLICATED TO IT ONCE YOU GET THE JOKE

JUST A CASE OF TRYING TO FIX WHAT AIN’T BROKE

NOBODY NEEDS TO KNOW WHOSE LINE IS WHOSE

AS LONG AS YOU REMEMBER IT’S NOTHING BUT A BLUES

PART II

MR. GUITAR MAN, ME AND YOU

GONNA SPLIT THIS SPACE UP, MAKE IT 4 TO 2

SO FOR THE MOMENT THAT’S ALL THE NEWS

DON’T FORGET, IT’S STILL NOTHING BUT A BLUES

WHEN I HEARD IT IN MY HEAD IT SOUNDED GREAT TO ME

WHETHER THAT’S THE CASE OR NOT IS JUST GONNA WAIT AND SEE

LATER ON TONIGHT WE CAN PASS AROUND THE REVIEWS

BUT FOR NOW IT’S NOTHING BUT A BLUES

PULL UP A CHAIR

COME ON IN, EVERYBODY’S GLAD YOU CAME

WE DON’T NEED KNOW YOUR BUSINESS JUST YOUR NAME

COME ON AND JOIN THE CROWD

FIRE MARSHAL SAYS ONE MORE’S ALLOWED

IT’S ALL A FRIENDLY AFFAIR, PULL UP A CHAIR

MOVE AWAY FROM THE DOORWAY

STEP ON UP TO THE BAR

DON’T BE WAITING WAY OVER THERE

PULL UP A CHAIR , PULL UP A CHAIR

YOU MIGHT BE A STRANGER, BUT HAVE NO FEAR

CAUSE THERE AIN'T NOBODY STRANGER

THAN THE FOLKS YOU’LL BE MEETING HERE

ORDER UP A BREW

NOBODY’S COUNTING SO MAKE IT TWO

IT’S NOT LIKE SOMEONE WILL CARE, PULL UP A CHAIR

CH.

MAYBE IT’S BEEN A HARD DAY DOWN AT THE MILL

MAYBE YOU NEED TO FORGET, WELL MAYBE YOU WILL

HERE’S WHAT THAT YOU GOT TO DO

YOU NEED TO HEAR SOME MUSIC AND LAUGHTER TOO

THERE’S NO BETTER PLACE ANYWHERE, PULL UP A CHAIR

CH.

RATIONAL AND REAL

WHITE LINES AND BRIGHT LINES NOW WOULDN’T THAT BE EASY

IF THE LIFE YOU LIVED COULD BE SIMPLE AND BREEZY

LET THERE BE BLACK AND WHITE, NO SHADES OF GRAY

LET THE ANSWERS YES OR NO BE ENOUGH TO SAY

BUT LIFE DOESN’T CARE HOW YOU FEEL

CAUSE LIFE ISN’T RATIONAL; IT’S REAL

WHEN YOU LOOK CLOSELY, THE EDGES THEY GET WEIRD

THE BOUNDARIES ALL ARE SMUDGED AND THE BORDERS SMEARED

ALL OF THOSE BRIGHT LINES HAVE SIMPLY DISAPPEARED,

AND SPACE IS EXACTLY AS YOU FEARED

AND ALL THOSE LINES SHOW LESS THAN THEY CONCEAL

OH, NO SPACE ISN’T RATIONAL IT’S REAL

LINE ‘EM UP, AND COUNT ‘EM DOWN,

GIVE A NAME TO EVERYONE

TELL YOURSELF THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU SAY

THEN THEY WILL BE NICELY AND PRECISELY WHAT THEY ARE ANYWAY

IF YOU THINK REALITY IS SIMPLE LIKE ONE, TWO, THREE

TIED IN TIDY BOXES, AND ALL FREE FROM PARADOXES

THAT INTEGERS AND FRACTIONS CAN DESCRIBE EVERY ACTION

I’M AFRAID I’VE GOT TO SAY, REALITY IS NOT THAT WAY

JUST GO AHEAD ASK IT, “WHAT’S THE DEAL?”

(IT WILL SAY).‘ REALITY’S NOT RATIONAL; IT’S REAL”

DON’T YOU WISH THAT THIS LIFE COULD BE A MODEL OF DICHOTOMY

WHERE FALSE AND TRUE IS NEVER UP TO ME AND YOU

BUT THE TRUTH YOU WERE HOPING WOULD BE SEEN

IT IS NEITHER HERE NOR THERE, IT’S IN BETWEEN

AND THE TRUTH IS JUST A TURNING OF THE WHEEL

BECAUSE THE TRUTH ISN’T RATIONAL IT’S REAL

CH.

AND YOU WILL KEEP ON FIGHTING WITH THE WAY YOU FEEL

UNTIL YOU STOP BEING RATIONAL AND START BEING REAL

.RIGHT HAND MAN

I GOT LINES ON MY PAGES, I GOT LINES ON MY FACE

SOMEWHERE ON THESE STAGES, I FOUND MY PLACE

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS, THERE TO PLAY MY PART

MAKING SOMEONE ELSE LOOK GOOD … THAT’S THE ART

SO SIT ME SOMEWHERE I CAN SEE YOUR HANDS

AND I WILL TRY MY BEST TO BE YOUR RIGHT HAND MAN

IT’S THE SONG, IT’S NOT THE PLAYING, WE CAME HERE TO SERVE

I DON’T FORGET WHO’S PAYING, AND WHAT THEY DESERVE

SO, TONIGHT IS NOT GOING TO BE MY TIME TO SHINE

THE FACE IN THE SPOTLIGHT WILL NOT BE MINE

CH.

IT’S IN HEARTS, NOT IN HANDS, THE MUSIC MUST BE MADE

BY THOSE THAT UNDERSTAND, THE MUSIC MUST BE PLAYED

TRY TO DO NO HARM, THAT MEANS LESS IS USUALLY MORE

AND I’LL TRY NOT TO FORGET WHAT WE CAME HERE FOR

CH.

extras

EXERCISE RESTRAINT WHEN YOU’RE WORKING ON THE TRADE

EXORCISE YOUR DEMONS WHEN YOU’RE NOT BEING PAID

SOMETHING LIKE THE BLUES

SO YOU WOKE UP THIS MORNING WITH AN ACHING HEAD

TRYING TO REMEMBER, ALL THE THINGS YOU SAID

THAT GHOST OF A MEMORY THAT YOU’RE TRYING TO LOSE

THAT’S SOMETHING LIKE THE BLUES

ALL THE WORDS YOU HAD FOR HER LAST NIGHT

WHAT IN THE WORLD MADE YOU THINK THAT WOULD MAKE THINGS RIGHT

THAT BROKEN FEELING THAT YOU WISH YOU COULD LOSE

THAT’S SOMETHING LIKE THE BLUES

WHEN YOU’RE DOWN THE BASICS AND YOU’RE DOWN TO THE BONE

AND ALL THAT’S LEFT BETWEEN YOU AND ALONE

IS A SONG THAT SAYS YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE

WITH SOMETHING LIKE THE BLUES

LEAVE HER MESSAGES, BUT SHE DON’T REPLY

YOU SAY YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND, BUT YOU KNOW WHY

WHEN YOU FACE THE FACT THAT IT’S YOUR TURN/TIME TO LOSE

THAT’S SOMETHING LIKE THE BLUES

CH.

(Late addition)

ONE MORE LESSON THAT IT’S TIME YOU LEARNED

ONE MORE TIME, BUT THIS TIME IT’S YOUR TURN

AND IF YOU’RE GONNA GET IT , I GUESS YOU’VE GOT TO LOSE

THAT’S SOMETHING LIKE THE BLUES

STRANGE AS IT SEEMS

STRANGE AS IT SEEMS, I DO HAVE THE STRANGEST DREAMS

NO IT’S NOT A NIGHTMARE, IT’S MUCH MORE LIKE A NIGHT PRAYER

STORIES I COMPOSE, WHEN THE WINDOWS ALL ARE CLOSED

UNDERNEATH THE COVER OF THE NIGHT

WHEN THE MORNING COMES AROUND IT SEEMS

IT’S THE WAKING WORLD THAT FEELS LIKE A DREAM

WHEN DO I GET TO SEE THAT KIND OF CREATIVITY

FEELS LIKE THERE’S A STORY-TELLER, SOMEONE ELSE NOT ME

CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS, THAT I KEEP ON FORGETTING

FACED WITH THE COMING OF THE LIGHT

COME THE MORNING, STRANGE AS IT SEEMS

IT’S THE WAKING WORLD THAT FEELS LIKE A DREAM

BRIDGE:

WISH THAT I COULD DREAM ALL DAY

DREAM MY WAKING WORLD AWAY

WONDER NOW WHAT’S IT GONNA TAKE

TO LEARN TO DREAM WHILE I’M AWAKE

IF I COULD TELL STORIES

AS GOOD AS THOSE I DREAM

THAT COULD BE REALITY – STRANGE AS IT SEEMS

DAYLIGHT SAYS I’M LEAVING

FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN

BAKING BRICKS FOR THE TOWER

SPILLING MY LIFE BY THE HOUR

WAITING TIL THE DARKNESS COMES AROUND AGAIN

TO MAKE IT RIGHT

WHEN THE DAYLIGHT BRINGS ME ROUND AGAIN

IT’S THE WAKING WORLD THAT FEELS LIKE THE DREAM.

TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG

THEY TOLD THE BEST THING A MAN CAN DO THESE DAYS

IS LEAVE A GOOD LOOKING CORPSE

AND A LOVELY WIDOW WEEPING AT YOUR GRAVE

AND I BELIEVED ‘EM AND OH, THE TRAP WAS SPRUNG

‘TIL I WOKE UP AND I REALIZED I’M TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG

I HOPE I NEVER FALL FOR THE TRAP; HOPE I NEVER PLAY THAT GAME

OF WISHING THAT ALL THESE CHANGES HAD JUST LEFT THINGS THE SAME

CAUSE ALL IN ALL, I’M FINE, WITH WHAT I’VE BECOME

YOU KNOW IT’S NOT A BAD THING BEING TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG

I WON’T TRY EXPLAINING, BUT I HOPE I NEVER WILL

FIND MYSELF COMPLAINING ABOUT MAKING IT OVER THE HILL

I’M GONNA COUNT MY ACHES AND COUNT MY MISTAKES

AND WRITE IT ALL OFF TO THE GOOD TIMES

AND WATCH THAT TRAIN PULLING OUT OF THE STATION

LEAVING ON DOWN THE LINE [RIGHT ON TIME]

IF I START TELLING STORIES OF THE WAY THINGS USED BE

I HOPE YOU WILL BE PATIENT, AND JUST TRY TO HUMOR ME

CAUSE ONE DAY YOU’LL BE STANDING ON THE VERY SAME RUNG

LOOKING BACK AND SAYING I’M TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG

I’M NOT HERE TO PROMISE YOU, THAT WISDOM COMES WITH AGE

BUT I DO BELIEVE THERE’S SOMETHING TO BE LEARNED

FROM LIFE IN EVERY STAGE

NOW I’VE GOT THOSE MELODIES TO BE SUNG

JUST ANOTHER PERK OF BEING TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG

CH.

I think we better hold our judgment

Cause I’ve seen the kids these days

We’ve no business blaming them

For the little bit of hell they’ve raised

Heaven knows we left a lot of work undone

Shame on the ones now too old to die young