Lyr Req: Canned Heat Blues (Tommy Johnson)

Subject: Tommy Johnson's 'Canned Heat Blues'
From: GUEST,Jon Eberhardt
Date: 12 Apr 02 - 10:36 AM

I've searched all over for Tommy Johnson's "Canned Heat Blues". Any help would be greatly appreciated... Jon Eberhardt [e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tommy Johnson's 'Canned Heat Blues'
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Apr 02 - 11:24 AM

At Canned Heat

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tommy Johnson's 'Canned Heat Blues'
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Apr 02 - 11:41 AM

Email sent.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tommy Johnson's 'Canned Heat Blues'
From: okthen
Date: 12 Apr 02 - 03:44 PM

I had a Folkways Roots of the blues L.P. in the 60's and canned heat was the first track on side one, then came a band called Canned Heat, what a coincidence I thought, when I saw their album I noticed that the track titles were the same and in the same order,how odd I thought.

I still have not got the faintest notion what canned heat is, I'd be really gratefull if someone could enlighten me.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tommy Johnson's 'Canned Heat Blues'
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Apr 02 - 04:18 PM

Trade name of one brand of "canned heat" is Sterno. It was a flamable jelly in a can, which could be lit to give off heat. Bums would eat (drink?) it to get high and end up with the blind staggers and eventual death. I believe it is no longer available.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tommy Johnson's 'Canned Heat Blues'
From: Tweed
Date: 12 Apr 02 - 10:48 PM

Sure it's still available. That's what they use under those fancy chafing dishes at the buffets, etc... I read that they strained the jelly and drank the rest. Not a good thing to do at all and hell on the liver I'd imagine. Here's a tune from the Bad Recordings archive about our own Sterno Gal at Tweed's Blues.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tommy Johnson's 'Canned Heat Blues'
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Apr 02 - 11:59 AM

Chemistry Comes Alive! gives a formula and procedure for making "canned heat."

The little "®" symbol at this site indicates that Sterno Brand® Canned Heat® is a registered trademark. It also says the product is 67% ethanol, and 3.3% methanol. (Of course, we don't know that it was always made in these proportions.) Ethanol is the type of alcohol that occurs in normal alcoholic beverages. Methanol causes blindness, is supposed to make the mixture unpalatable, and keeps it from being taxed as liquor, but desperate, reckless, or ignorant people will drink it anyway.

I found this statement at http://64.29.24.139/ep119/Methanol.htm
"Although the alcohol itself is relatively innocuous, it is metabolized to the toxic byproducts formaldehyde and formic acid, which are responsible for its ocular and CNS toxicity."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tommy Johnson's 'Canned Heat Blues'
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Apr 02 - 12:24 PM

Methanol is "innocuous" only if not taken internally.
The Prohibition laws were largely responsible for the use of canned heat, rubbing alcohol, vanilla and other materials solvent in alcohol being used by alcoholics. Repeal largely disposed of the problem, but complete "rubadubs" wihout access to liquor still resorted to these substitutes. There are still districts where merchants keep these products out of sight to prevent pilferage and produce them only when asked for.

Subject: Lyr Add: CANNED HEAT BLUES (Tommy Johnson)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Apr 02 - 01:39 PM

Here is my transcription of Tommy Johnson's "Canned Heat Blues" as it appears on the compilation CD "My Rough and Rowdy Ways, Vol. 1," Yazoo #2039, 1998. Some of the words are very hard to understand. I have diligently compared my transcription with others I have found on the web (including the ones found here and here in the Forum), and played the CD over and over until I am satisfied that mine is better—but see the footnote.

CANNED HEAT BLUES

Crying, Canned, Canned Heat, mama, crying, sure, Lord, killing me.
Crying, Canned Heat, mama, sure, Lord, killing me.
Take Alcorub to take these Canned Heat blues.

Crying mam', mama, mama, you know, Canned Heat killing me.
Crying mama, mama, mama, crying, Canned Heat is killing me.
Canned Heat don't kill me, crying, babe, I'll never die.

I woke up, up this morning with Canned Heat on my mind.
Woke up this morning, Canned Heat was on my mind.
Woke up this morning with Canned Heat on, on my mind.

Crying, Lord, Lord, I wonder, Canned Heat, Lord, killing me.
Take Alcorub, baby, to ... my soul*
Take a brown-skinned woman to do the easy roll.

I woke up, up this morning crying, Canned Heat round my bed.
Run here, somebody. Take these Canned Heat blues.
Run here, somebody and take these Canned Heat blues

Crying mama, mama, mama, crying, Canned Heat killing me
B'lieve to my soul, Lord, it gon' kill me dead.
[Third "line" is guitar only.]

*Other web sites transcribe these words as "to satisfy my soul." That line has the advantage of making a sort of sense, so if I had to sing something in public, I'd probably sing "to satisfy my soul." However, I'm sure that's NOT what Tommy Johnson sang.

Phonetically, it sounds like "to read 'bout my soul" but that makes no sense, to me at least.

Logically, he seems to be saying, in verse 1, that he uses Alcorub [another brand name] as a hangover cure, but Canned Heat is still his "drug of choice." Therefore it seems unlikely that he would say that Alcorub "satisfies his soul."

I am open to suggestions about what he did say.