The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #163468 Message #3900724
Posted By: Big Al Whittle
20-Jan-18 - 12:59 PM
Thread Name: hard time killing floor blues
Subject: RE: hard time killing floor blues
With Bloomfield I always felt he was singing about Death Row.
Now I recollect, the second person I heard sing it was the late Joanne Kelly, whose version more resembled Skip James.
I wonder if Joanne ever discussed the meaning of the piece with Woody Mann or anyone else on that album.
With Skip James I'm not sure of the meaning.
Its an eerie sounding piece with that falsetto, against a modal guitar.
But what is the killing floor?
What is all the business of going round from door to door?
it sounds more like a plague diary than anything.
The abattoir theory I've heard - but Skip never lived in cities - he spent most of his time in rural communities