slave to the blues

True. ran through Atlanta where Milton had made his recording. I got his word, got his …, got his word; Let’s catch it in the bend [if] we can’t catch it at the crossin’. In collaboration with my younger brother, Rex, and blues brothers, Alan White, Robin Andrews and Dai Thomas we intend to highlight the non-religious music of the African American before 1865; and at the end of the Civil War. Rev. As no piano is present it is highly likely that Day himself switched to guitar. It is quite likely therefore, that the above-quoted verse from Last Farewell Blues was included in the 1893 song by the Unique Quartette featuring the ‘crossing verse’. Dat’s at chure crossroad, dat yo’ kin’ do all yo’ devilment.” (97). Men sometimes mistake her for a lady of easy virtue, but beware: that can be a fatal error. In all the versions of the little black/funeral train that have been discussed and/or I have listened to, none make reference to a camel, or indeed to any other animal. The station/depot was named McAlester. (116)  Maybe the southern part of the town  Thomas referred to was where  the black section was located. Free MP3 download (public domain) It wasn’t until the closing decades of slavery prior to the Civil War, that the ‘separation line’ between the two became more strictly observed. Unpublished article. (80)   (Footnote 13), Footnote 12: The only recording in the old time/hillbilly catalogues that might have been another version of The Last Farewell from 1893 I have come across, is Lover’s Farewell [Victor 40277] made on 24th. Slave To The Blues - Coffles and the Auction Block - by Max Haymes Check out the associated website www.undergroundrailroad.org.uk - developed to give an insight into the Underground Railroad slave escape network during American slavery times. This article was transcribed from the original text and re-formatted for the earlyblues.com website by Alan White, March 2010, Copyright © 2014-2021 | Welcome to Earlyblues.org | Designed and managed by Alan White, Slave To The Blues (coffles and the auction block – slave roots of the blues). This includes an unidentified pianist – surely Texas Bill Day. But this in many instances needs to be greatly enlarged. These slaves were sold in the urban markets of Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, Natchez, and especially New Orleans”. J.M. Cannot annotate a non-flat selection. And the earliest written record (in the American colonies) alluding to patting juba. This is the crude base of all aspects of capitalism. Mostly, the only method of access across the country was by river or dirt roads and ‘Indian’ trails. Lord, she started to fly (69). J.M. Ma Rainey ad. (Footnote 2) From Independence, Missouri, the state border, the 850-mile trail was by the time of the Santa Fe railroad project a well-defined route. Several fragments of different well-known gospel songs all accompanied by the same accompaniment. The clue that she is not an ordinary lady of the evening lies in her feet. Blow the horn for the mothers, you know. McGhee (the less well-known one to collectors) in 1942 for the Library of Congress in Clarksdale, Mississippi, which has yet to be reissued. Mother has often told me of the heart-breaking scene. An’ you  know, at the:same time the cow [white woman: “uh-huh”] come to its calf at night. Footnote 4: This title in B. Gates gives a warning to all sinners; especially his own church members. (Mm) Ch. (Footnote 12) While Robert Johnson does not make any specific reference to meeting the Devil in his Crossroad Blues, it could well be argued that frightening if not Hellish things are closing in on him. Ah! “It was a crime of Europeans and Arabs and Africans and, in the truest sense, it was a crime of mankind.” (13)  not to forget the Americans! (4). & G.R. In the same year Blind Willie Johnson recorded his Take Your Stand (1929) the King of the Delta Blues-Charley Patton- cut a remarkable two-part gospel side Prayer of Death for Paramount Records. The majority of blues musicians had descendants from Africa who were transported to America in the slave trade. He included the phrase: When a ‘re-discovered bluesman (Son House?) “They was sellin’ slaves all the time, puttin’ ‘em on the block and sellin’ ‘em, accordin’ to how much work they could do in a day and how strong they was. In fact commencing not long after the arrival at the James River of the first boatload of African indentured servants in 1619. Well it's too late now : the blues have made a slave of me You see me raving : you hear me crying Oh Lord : this wounded heart of mine Folks I'm a‑grieving : from my head to my shoes I'm a good‑hearted woman : but still I'm chained to the blues This throws another light on the crossroad (aka crossing) saga, in the Blues and in the early 20th. Gon’ get me a fairy; I replied, “Canst not tell me something new, Satan?” (110)   Although the Devil/devil appears in many blues lyrics Satan is very nearly totally absent. Stream ad-free or purchase CD's and MP3s now on Amazon.com. to her child in this tune. (Anymore) Inside dust flap. The little black train in sight. Max Haymes. Southern sounds in the rural landscape: bird calls, whistling in the Blues, role of the Gates Straining At A Gnat And Swallowing A Camel (see above). (Footnote 21) But no blues was recorded about this important social occasion, or at least I have not come across one in over 50 years. Well mama, well mama, J.M. In collaboration with my younger brother, Rex, and blues brothers, Alan White, Robin Andrews and Dai Thomas we intend to highlight the non-religious music of the African American before 1865; and at the end of the Civil War. (Alright!) And his fury at the ‘auction block scenario’ with the resulting aftermath in Patton’s own time, being even more explicit in what has to be unique to the Delta blues king: I done left old Hell, left old Hell, left old Hell; That is reason why you hear moanin’ like I do. (112)   The story is told by one J.L. an’ swept into the Judgement. He therefore “went to the ‘Cross Roads’ where he established a store and soon became the owner of a flourishing business. Work is in progress on not only tracing corn shucking songs (although thought to be a major factor) but a broader spectrum including  work songs, generally. This can be seen as a scenario in complete antithesis to death. As well as elsewhere: “Slaves were gathered in Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Norfolk, and St. Louis and sent south, either overland in chains, (the coffle) by sailing ships around the coast, or by steamboats down the Mississippi. If, in his Crossroad Blues, (see above) everybody did indeed pass him by and the old Hausa belief came true; then the closing lines of Me And The Devil Blues [Vocalion 04108] would seem to be a logical result. Milton knew how to hold the attention of  his black  congregation. Early this mornin’ when you knocked upon my door; Do Lord, do now, sho’ nuff do; (38). Milton sometimes calls it “Black Camel’s Death” or “Black Camel Death” I am convinced that this goes back to the infamous coffles once traversing the US in the 19th. Pub. If I never, never see you any… Certainly not an event requiring unfamiliar religious help from God. what [sic] heartbreaks there are in these crude and simple songs! Ch. Oh! Gates’ equally terrifying Hell Bound Express Train [OKeh 8532] from 1927. Robin is described in records as ‘Aethiopis’ or ‘negro’. father; father sold from mother an’ children. corruption of ‘faro’ which in Mississippi slang of the 1920s blues “just means a woman” . Listen at that bell. I hate to see you leave me, but I hope you will do well. H.R. March. Goin’ to Georgia too, boy. [I’m] Bound to suffer too. But the most prominent was the British establishment, the notorious Cape Coast Castle. Century and their centuries-old form of transportation on the African continent. Sinners and saints say goodbye as the trains reach the point where the railroad track forks in the form of a switch or point; one going left and the other going right. She’s a-strainin’ at every nerve. ‘A Woman in the Bloom Of her Beauty…Ex fair roebuck, a roebuck in its fifth year” . An’ the Black Camel’s Death meets him an’ others (Pick it up! ; prob. should be adjusted accordingly, with the bracketed appellation “sic’. Far from wishing his mother on that train, the duo sing of the uncertainty and fear that as she appears to be at the ‘last depot’ she maybe does not qualify to ride the gospel train and will in fact catch the one going down to Hell. Even more awesome is one of the most powerful spirits in Jewish folklore and one of the most popular in the world of 2009-Adam’s first wife known as LILITH. Certainly, the belief in hoodoo in the Southern states was rife in the early part of the 20th. sympathize with them. Century. They were chained six and six together. But he adds something more in the way of specific advice to those being left behind, when he sings “preach the word” and “run the race” (132) covering both sacred and secular attitudes to life ahead. About thirty women, tied together at one hand, followed the caravan. It was indeed they who were the main part of the ‘demand’ factor which inspired the ‘supply’ by the Arabs in the global economic equation. PART 1 – The Coffle & the Black Camel of Death. As “an old crone or beautiful young woman. While back in 1938 an Estonian lady, Leonora Peets, wrote a book called Women of Marrakesh. Century, Lady Alice had a “maid-servant” Petronilla de Meath who “claimed that Lady Alice, the most powerful witch in the world, had taught her sorcery and witchcraft. Death has left its tracks dotted with graves an’ wet with tears. To “strike up lively”, which means that they must begin a song. She said she saw Lady Alice’s demon manifest as not one, but three black men, who each had sex with Lady Alice. J.M. If I live, don’t get killed. In this article I intend to focus on two of the foremost phenomena: the slave coffle and the auction block. biddin’ my rider goodbye; This involved preparing couscous (a favourite Moroccan dish) with the powdered bones of corpses! But none of you will find me. About 1625 at Cape Cod (later in the state of Massachusetts) Captain Woolaston “takes a great part of the servants and transports them to Virginia” (138)   His associate, one Thomas Morton, seeking to take over the new colony at Cape Cod and re-locate it, plied the inhabitants with drink and convinced them (when the Captain was away on one of his Virginian trips selling on servants): “ ‘You see,’ saith he, ‘that many of your fellows are carried to Virginia, and if you stay…you will also be carried away and sold for slaves with the rest.”. Texas blues man Little Hat Jones featured a variant of the song omitting the title phrase, which he called Bye Bye Baby Blues, [OKeh 8815] in 1930. Sometimes a blues was adapted from a ‘sacred’ song, as the Delta Boys illustrate; my claim for a secular origin notwithstanding! This includes a small group which featured some variants of the verse: Before I’d stand to see my baby to leave town; Back in slavery times when the slaves was bein’ sold, lotsa time the mother (x 2) Oh! An’ when dey get down dere with dis black cat, dey’ll have boilin’ watah, an’ dey take dis cat an’ chunk it down in dis boilin’ watah. During the 1850s the Sante Fe (Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. (Hallelujah!) ed. The chain was only second to the whip among the cruel icons of the peculiar institution of slavery. Folks i'm a‑grieving: from my head to my shoes The Arabs were not about to relinquish such a profitable trade. I agree at least the accompaniment sounds like the same artist. This association of the slave auction block and coffles with crossroads could well explain the dearth of references to them in the blues. Just call on Jesus’ name, he will always stop that train. fastened together.” (18), A Slave Coffle using wooden chains – unknown date. If I never, never see you any (Glory!)more. (Footnote 19)   A blues about her man’s love for riding the Texas, and New Orleans RR. An’ when you find your station, now; I’ll pray for you when resting; kazoo playing since Ben Ramey (of the Memphis Jug Band) in the 1920s, by Bonds himself. Paying particular attention to the ‘corn shucking’ songs. This song, and no doubt many variants, would be sung by the unfortunate slaves when leaving the auction block to be shipped south. plus-circle Add Review. Do remember me. Music gave Black people a voice. Reviews There are no reviews yet. I got three legged truck-on, boy, please don’t block the road; Good God, make me think about Itta Bena—get your shoes, boy, It seems to be from the period I have suggested (1840s and 1850s) that the attitude towards some secular songs expressed by many ex-slaves, in interview during the first half of the 20th. Then on into St. Louis where he “changed cars” once again as he headed up to Chicago, to cut another recording session for Vocalion Records. Those reckless ones weere [sic] not afraid of Aisha-Qandeesha, the ogre who roamed the cemeteries at night. let’s go. Inspired no doubt by Rev. A harrowing description of a coffle is quoted in Slave Testimony. Milton’s The Black Camel of Death. It was of course the latter which represented the reason for the slaves in the US in the first place; to make money with the least financial outlay. fare[sic] ye well, my bonny love, His opening spoken introduction seems to be setting him in the right spirit or mood: Spoken:    The ‘Prayer of Death’. (126)  The Coffle Song is more than likely a direct precursor of a gospel number  which featured on many early recordings, especially in the 1920s, usually titled Do Lord, Remember Me. Well, de devil will be on one side an’ de pitchure of de Lord God on de othah one, an’ whichever bone dey cuss, if dey don’t git it, dey soul is sold to de devil; if dey does (“git it”) dey done sold deyself to de devil – but dey grab de bone, see. Taken from a popular express on the Lehigh Valley Railroad he called it  The Black Diamond Express To Hell. Indeed, the preceding procession (to the show)  started from this point wending its  majestic way into town. (131). But despite the raucous and infectious atmosphere, Black Gal Swing has that underlying current of horror, fear, and anger at the blacks’ past suffering in the slave coffles and on the demeaning auction block; which gave birth to The Coffle Song and ultimately contributed greatly to the Blues. Forced singing of slaves Sacha Huarmi is the Green Woman who protects and nurtures wild forest animals…Creature: All of them but especially anacondas.” (48)   I t is implied that this spirit’s ‘creatures’ are animals of the jungle and forest. You’ll seek me down by the old gum tree, Footnote 18:  On her only 2 issued sides Alberta Brown, a fine underrated singer, Chris Smith suggests the clarinet is by the well-respected New Orleans musician Sydney Arodin. The Delta Blues king being notorious for his mis-spoken asides. A rather peripheral connection with a famous early aircraft, the Sopwith Camel, seems to throw up more questions than answers. Indeed, as a ‘clincher’ to the scenario I have posited, the one and only cover (also in 1926) of Gates’ Death’s Black Train contains a short spoken introduction which paraphrases this Egyptian saying! Robert Johnson vo., gtr. Nix gave the Hell train a name. Of course these larger camel trains did not make the slave coffles redundant. They are the subject of the so-called ‘satanic verses’, …inspiration for Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 novel ‘The Satanic Verses’.” (42)   As well as being “a spirit of abundance with dominion over human reproduction…She may have had dominion over trade routes, protecting those who traveled them.” (43)   One wonders if this protection extended to the slaves that made up the Arabian coffles. Blues guitarist (corum_l, Flickr). It's that i'm a slave to the blues: even 'bout that man of mine Blues do tell me: do i have to die a slave Do you hear me screaming: you're going to take me to my grave If i could break these chains: and let my worried heart go free Well it's too late now: the blues have made a slave of … If I never, never see you any … (featured in blues by Charley Patton, Bessie Smith, Kokomo Arnold, Lizzie Miles, Big Bill Broonzy, amongst several others. Kwan Yin’s entry reveals all animals “are sacred…but especially horses.” (47)   A point could be stretched for the inclusion of a fifth: Sacha Huarmi. Even if once again, by definition, the camel could be included; the llama as an indigenous mammal of South America is generally found in the desert. DOCD-5575.] in his Crossroad Blues. children, a lotsa time they would try to deliver them a message. Early this mornin’. C. and even as late as the 1910s and ‘20s. Mm. Gates and the Charlie Chan mystery The Black Camel; rather than  any biblical reference. The fourth spirit, by definition, includes the camel. Tomlin, via Rev. Has all deeds an’ your wicked thoughts; recorded reference to slaves in the American colonies. Given that he had recorded all 14 sides about the black/funeral train in 1926; some three years before Biggers’ The Black Camel was published. Reproduced in revised form in the Frog Blues & Jazz Annual No.1. No information is available about the titles at any of these sessions.” (75)  B&GR then go on to list details, with titles, for a probable further five sessions between late 1893 and mid-1896. One of his biggest ‘hits’, Gates was to cut another 5 versions during the same year; one of which remains undiscovered. I done left old Hell, left old…, left old… ([Hyatt asks] Which bone do they grab?) Also the Rigoletto Quartet of Morris Brown University, who accompanied this preacher on his Death’s Black Train Is Coming [OKeh 8375] were resident in Atlanta where the Morris Brown University (Footnote 6) is situated. Muskoga! (121). Indeed, for taking coffles of blacks across country, it was essential. J.M. I’m gonna get me a sweet fairy, It’s just been changed around a little bit. their wife, they got a whippin’. Robert M.W. Also check early blues.com. Johnson’s usage in Me And The Devil Blues seems to be pre-empted by a 1934 recording from guitarist Bob Campbell Worried All The Time [Vocalion 02798]. I have pains in my heart, they have taken my appetite. Bob Campbell reflects a more casual religious reference  with the exclamation ‘Lord’ akin to Robert Johnson’s appeal to God in Crossroad Blues. From Spain “A Basque spell suggests,…that should illness arise without obvious reason or cause, someone should bring a cauldron to a crossroads, place a comb inside the pot together with some stones, and turn the cauldron upside down. Subject of this song is Funeral Train’s A-Comin’. (108). This is just a preview! It’s comin’, too. The way is long before me, love, Although in c. November, 1926, Blind Joe Taggart laid aside his trusty guitar and along with his wife Emma recorded an impressive duet a cappella:  I Wish My Mother Was  On  That Train [Supertone S2243]. If I never see you anymore. Ex-slave Laura Smalley (probably born c. late 1840s) was interviewed at length in 1941 down in East Texas. Mainstream Publishing. This was by the Carter Family and while being even more sentimental is clearly a different song. Significantly, Charley Patton’s anger at the situation originally depicted in The Coffle Song might have led him to include two less common verses: I have a right, have a …have a right; An’ dey’ll grab de one goin’ to de left, an’ it’s got three prongs to it. Century! Hello, Wagner! I got his word, got his …, got his word; She is a ‘great’ spirit venerated by Algeria’s Ouled Nail, a Berber tribe who are famed for their beautiful and independent dancers,” (49)    The Berbers in North Africa would have been involved in the sub-Saharan slave trade and their countless coffles. A long row of men chained two-and-two together, called the “coffle”, and numbering about thirty persons, was the first to march forth from the “ pen”; then came the quiet slaves—that is, those who were tame in spirit and degraded; then came the unmarried women, or those without children; after these came the children who were able to walk; and following them came mothers with their infants and young children in their arms. Century, published in 1929 (the year of Milton’s recording) as The Black Camel by Earl Derr Biggers. Tunes and song structures freely crossed the line between secular and sacred song performances. This “gang” of slaves was arranged in travelling order, all being on foot except the children that were too young to walk and too old to be carried in arms. In fact, only the C.A. was tryin’ to tell them, how to take care of themselves throughout life. The untold numbers of men, women, and children, who literally fell by the wayside of the horrendously arduous transcontinental journeys and left for dead was surely transfixed in the psyche of surviving slaves. Notes to Field Recordings Vol.11: Virginia. You belong to that funeral train, It features a particularly grisly practice in this famous Moroccan city. This in effect gave the loco an extra cab giving a vague similarity to the hump of a camel (see pic.). There has been no reason given as to what this actually is or where the phrase came from. (17)   Indeed, the word ‘coffle’ comes from the Arabic ‘kafila’ referring to a caravan of camels, etc. John Godrich. I'm a good‑hearted woman: but still i'm chained to the blues, Ma Rainey Lyrics provided by SongLyrics.com. Mother would talk 1840s?) Goin’ in Alabama now, Take a stand, take a stand, take a stand; (Oh yes!) At Springfield, Lincoln states: “We got on board the Steam Boat Lebanon, in the locks of the Canal about 12. o’clock. I’ll think of you in the cotton fields; J.M. Annihilated Rhythm Apparently the 12 inchers of this single were mislabeled stating that the B-side was Jones the Rhythm. The little black train an’ its engine; Take a stand, take a  …, take a stand; All these locations had slave or ‘holding pens’ for Africans about to be sold to ships’ captains from the home countries (and elsewhere) to transport across the Atlantic Ocean. She may appear as a woman from head to waist; flame underneath.” (105)   She also adapts to animal shapes “typically as a large black cat, black dog or owl. This was true for nearly all blacks and half the whites south of the Mason/Dixon line. whippoorwill, steamboat and train whistles, plantation, auction and church bells, street cries In Green Diamond No.71. toward the auction block at the next crossroads. “Such tribes as could not be enslaved successfully, as the Manyema of the upper Congo, were adopted as allies by Arab traders, and became themselves slave traders and raiders of the most inveterate and relentless character. The four-way crossroads referred to above are usually associated with male spirits while “In general, three-way crossroads are associated with female spirits.” (90)    As Illes says: “The most common variety are three and four-way crossroads.” (91)    Crossroads are the most powerful location for spirits generally speaking and some are crossroad specialists such as Hermes and Eshu-Elegbara (Papa Legba). Song information for Slave to the Blues - Ma Rainey on AllMusic “The last one seen alive was in Arizona between 1885 and 1890.” (26)  The pic. They warn’t big enough to eat, you know. “Dey go down dere to de fo’ks of de road to break up people, an’ dey go dere fo’ de ninth mawnin’ an’ de ninth mawnin’ dey go dere an’ carry a black cat. list the accompanist as unknown clarinet (Footnote 18) and guitar (see above). It would seem that on his other take of Crossroad Blues Johnson is alluding to the ’T’ variety. The implication being that the other 33 sides featured either unknown accompaniment or were performed a cappella. PART 4 – The Auction Block Blues-Roots of Do Lord Remember Me. Hoodoo doctors and the chanting preachers when they was bein’ on the block; they wuz on the block to be sold. An’ uh, most times, they Fast forward some 34 years and one of only two titles by Ruby Paul is listed as Last Farewell Blues [Paramount 12592]. A long farewell for ever love, (ch. An’ you’ve got to ride. From the New Testament (Matthew 23:24). Patton was to adapt this verse in another blues from the same session: Heart Like Railroad Steel [Paramount 12953], omitting ‘Clack’s Crossroads’. Footnote 7: These women used skeleton parts for spells in vodou and witchcraft. Milton could take his recording from a Charlie Chan book, where did Rev. (40)   Thirdly, there is Allat “Origin: Arabia…the feminine version of the name ‘Allah’. This scenario is made quite clear in another of Gates’ recordings around the same time. Do you hear me screaming: you're going to take me to my grave Admittedly, Milton preaches about fast travelers in a plane but this must be seen in the context of his other references to passengers on a fast train and speeding drivers in automobiles (aka ‘auto car’). She has landed you in heaven or hell. Down by the highway side. Well it's too late now: the blues have made a slave of me They just come, just like cows, you now, comin’ to the children.” .(65). More of a chanting preacher, Rev. Thereby joining the ranks of piano/guitar men in the Blues such as Walter Roland, Peetie Wheatstraw, Lonnie Johnson, Clifford Gibson, Tampa Red, et al. I said, when I’m on my journey through; Take a stand, take a stand, take a stand; (Oh yes!) An’ vice-verserin’. continued on to plantations that the slaves were sold to. Gates’ Straining At A Gnat And Swallowing A Camel [OKeh  8699] recorded some 8 months earlier;  recorded in March, 1929. Walter Johnson, again, noted that cities which had slaves in holding pens before dispensing them further south included St. Louis in Missouri. (1875) shows a ‘camel express’ which included black animals. His lengthy spoken introduction with occasional guitar to his version of Do Lord Remember Me (called Goodbye) is an invaluable insight into not only this particular song but also the often stark reality of slavery from the sharp end, in the southern states – the Peculiar Institution. For I won’t be back tomorrow. Preach it good!) Blues in 1933, she was recording as ‘Bessie Jackson’’ and had teamed up with the awesome pianist, Walter Roland; also from Alabama. A roebuck being a young adult female deer. Containing details of ‘over a thousand spirits’ (according to a comment on the back cover) and their animals symbols/preferences/familiars, only six have connection with the ‘ship of the desert’ as the camel is sometimes called.

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