The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #4025   Message #21366
Posted By: Jon W.
13-Feb-98 - 02:09 PM
Thread Name: Origin: Sweet Home Chicago / Kokomo Blues
Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: KOKOMO BLUES and SWEET HOME CHICAGO
As promised, here are the music and lyrics to both songs.

X: 1
T:Kokomo Blues
M:12/8
L:1/8
Q:80
C:Scrapper Blackwell
R:Shuffle Blues
A:Indiana
P:Vocal Line
B:The Anthology of Blues Guitar, Woody Mann
K:D
Z2 D-D3-D6|Z AA A2 G (=F2 D-D2) =C| (A, F,2) Z3 Z6| Z12|
Z2 D-D6 Z3| AAA-A2 G (=F D-D2) =C| (A, F,2) Z3 Z6| Z12 |
Z AA AAG- -G A2-A3| Z A2 GAA (=F D-D2) =C| F,3 Z3 Z6| Z12

X: 2
T:Sweet Home Chicago
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:110
C:Robert Johnson
S:Blues tradition
R:Shuffle Blues
A:Delta
P:Vocal Line
B:The Complete Robert Johnson, Woody Mann
K:E
V:1
Z4 Z2 Z e-|e4 Z4| =gg gf (e2 =d)d | (=GE-E4) Z2|
Z4 Z2 Z e-|e4 Z4| =gg gf (e =d2) d| (=G E3) Z4|
Z4 Z G GGA-|A/2A/2A/2G/2 AB- B Z AB| e=G-G2 Z A ^GE-|E2 Z2 Z4| Z8

V:2
Z4 Z2 Z3/2 E/2|B/2>B/2 B/2^A/2 (BE2) Z Z2|B/2^A/2 B/2=c/2 ^c2 Z4|
Z c B/2B/2c/2=G/2 B/2B/2 Z B|.B3/2 B/2 B/2B/2 (c2=G) Z E/2E/2|
e3 E2 Z Z2| =g>g g>f (e =d2) d| (=G E3) Z4|
Z4 Z G GGA-|A/2A/2A/2G/2 AB- B Z AB| e=G-G2 Z A ^GE-|E2 Z2 Z4| Z8

KOKOMO BLUES
Scrapper Blackwell

Ummm, baby don't you want to go? (2x)
Pack your little suitcase, Papa's going to Kokomo.

Ummm, baby where you been so long? (2x)
I can tell Mama, that somethin' going on wrong.

Ummm, baby you don't know, you don't know. (2x)
I was all ready, going back to Kokomo.

And me 'n' my baby, had a falling out last night. (2x)
Somehow'r another, my baby won't treat me right.

Ummm, baby what's the matter now? (2x)
Trying to quit your Daddy, baby but you don't know how.

And I'll sing this verse, baby I can't sing no more (2x)
My train is ready, and I'm going to Kokomo.


SWEET HOME CHICAGO
Robert Johnson

Oh, baby don't you want to go? (2x)
Back to the land of California, to my sweet home, Chicago.

Oh, baby don't you want to go? (2x)
Back to the land of California, to my sweet home, Chicago.

Now, one and one is two, two and two is four,
I'm heavy loaded baby, I'm booked, I gotta go,
Cryin' baby, honey don't you want to go?
Back to the land of California, to my sweet home, Chicago.

Now two and two is four, four and two is six,
You gonna keep on monkeyin' 'round with your friends boy,
you gonna get your business thrown out in the streets.
Cryin' baby, honey don't you want to go?
Back to the land of California, to my sweet home, Chicago.

Now six and two is eight, eight and two is ten,
This wife (?), she trick you one time, she sure gonna do it again,
I'm cryin' hey--, baby don't you want to go?
Back to the land of California, to my sweet home, Chicago.

I'm going to Califoria, some passenger runs (?) my way,
Somebody will tell me that you need my help some day,
Cryin' hey hey, baby don't you want to go?
Back to the land of California, to my sweet home, Chicago.

As you'll notice, it's really just the first verse of Sweet Home Chicago that is adapted from Kokomo. The rest of the verses (not counting the repeat of the first verse) are quite different, at least for the first four bars. This may be Robert Johnson's innovation. All other later versions of the song I have heard use this innovation but not as well (IMHO) as Robert. I've never heard anyone but him sing the difficult third verse (2+2=4, 4+2=6, etc.) which is doubly double timed.

Caveat: These lyrics are as I hear and interpret them. Robert Johnson's version is somewhat difficult to understand and the places I have doubts are marked by (?)

Caveat 2: I got the vocal lines from Woody Mann's books except for the second part of Sweet Home Chicago, which I got by ear from the recording. Since my ear is far from perfect, it may not be all that accurate (besides the impossibility of accurately representing blues melodies in musical notation, not to mention ABC, in the first place).