Singin' n' writin' 'em Blue's

It seems that blues is a type of music that utilizes an entire unique array of instruments not normally seen used together in such harmony. I find that many blues lyrics are quite offbeat (some instruments may be on a different beat than others), while others can be quite calm or use plain singing solo with a piano.. The blues music seems to be able to set a tone and mood with the beat. Because of the many uses of many instruments, it seems as if the style of blues can be pretty much any type of instrument. Some of the main instruments that I heard were the trumpet, piano, drums, and guitar. Not all the singing was up to par, which leads me to assume that anyone could play the blues. I have heard of the blue’s culture, where it always seems to be an exciting time.

In the song “Everybody’s Down on Me”, it seems to be more talking and singing rather than instrumental music. He talks about some of the events in his life; in this case, the singer complains of the burden to God and how everybody is “down on him”. From this song, I can somewhat assume that the blue’s is a type of music where people would put a beat to telling stories. These stories could be personal, emotional, or just about life in general. It’s quite a different type of music.

St. Louis Blues
By W.C. Handy

I hate to see the evening sun go down
I hate to see the evening sun go down
‘Cause, my baby, he’s gone left this town

Feeling tomorrow like I feel today
Feeling tomorrow like I feel today
I’ll pack my truck and make my getaway.

St. Louis woman, with her diamond ring
Pulls that man around, by her apron strings
If it weren’t for powder, and for store bought hair
That man I love would, have gone nowhere, nowhere

I got the St. Louis Blues, just as blue as I can be
That man’s got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
Or else, he wouldn’t have gone so far from me

I love my baby, like a school boy loves his pie
Like a Kentucky colonel, loves his mint’n rye
I love my man, ‘til the day I die

One other thing that I had not noticed (which I should have, really) is the fact that the blue’s uses slang (e.g. ‘cause, ‘til, etc). Could the blues be about being blue? I would not be too sure about that, but this particular poem confirms the observation that the blue’s also utilizes repition. This five stanza poem with three lines each, with the exception of the third stanza, seems to be one of many types of blue’s poems. Looking at the other poems in the packet, the others seem to be stories that any person would tell to friends and family.