262 PART 3 | FROM WORLD WAR I THROUGH WORLD WAR II
timing section text comments
0:00 strain 1
(A)I hate to see the evening sun go down,
I hate to see the evening sun go down,
It makes me think I’m on my last go round.Introduction is a single one-bar V chord.
First strain uses a variant of Handy’s
melody emphasizing the blue third.
Basic blues progression uses added
chords in the second bar of each phrase;
the last two bars feature descending
chromatic chords ending on the
dominant turnaround.
0:48 strain 2
(A')Feeling tomorrow like I feel today,
Feeling tomorrow like I feel today,
I’ll pack my grip and make my getaway.Melodically and harmonically similar to
strain 1.1:32 strain 3
(B)St. Louis woman wears a diamond ring,
Pulls her man around by her apron string.
Wasn’t for powder and this store-bought hair,
The man I love wouldn’t go nowhere,
nowhere.Minor-key 16-bar strain contrasts
with the surrounding blues choruses.
Harmonium becomes more active but
does not use Handy’s tango rhythm.2:26 strain 4
(A'')I got them St. Louis blues, just as blue as
I can be.
He’s got a heart like a rock cast in the sea,
Or else he would not go so far from me.Increased raspiness in voice, rhapsodic
cornet fi lls, and rhythmic energy in
harmonium.note The lyrics are reproduced here as Smith sings them, with many small deviations from
the sheet music version.date: 1914; recorded 1925
performers: Bessie Smith, vocal; Louis
Armstrong, cornet; Fred Longshaw,
harmonium
genre: classic blues
meter: duple
form: AA'BA"WHAT TO LISTEN FOR- Smith’s voice: rough timbre, bent notes,
slides - Armstrong’s cornet: in call and response
with Smith’s vocals - 12-bar blues choruses, with one 16-bar
minor-key strain
CD 2.5 Listening Guide 11.1 “St. Louis Blues” W. C. H A N DY
Listen & Refl ect
- Each of the three performers has a distinct function within the overall texture. Describe
those functions and how they interact in performance.
172028_11_254-279_r3_ko.indd 262 23/01/13 8:42 PM