St Louis Blues: unabridged recording?

Subject: St Louis Blues: unabridged recording?
From: Joe_F
Date: 24 Sep 04 - 04:34 PM

"St Louis Blues" has often been recorded, but, it seems, almost always abridged. I would like to have a recording of a performance (preferably an early one) of the song as Handy wrote it, crap game & all. Is such a thing available?

Subject: RE: St Louis Blues: unabridged recording?
From: GLoux
Date: 24 Sep 04 - 05:13 PM

Check out Lonnie Johnson's St. Louis Blues. There is a reissue on Blues Magnet: The Unsung Blues Legend -- The Living Room Session. It's an early one.

-Greg

Subject: RE: St Louis Blues: unabridged recording?
From: masato sakurai
Date: 24 Sep 04 - 08:56 PM

A hundred recordings are at The Red Hot Jazz Archive. I hope there're some. Handy's Memphis Blues Band's, though abridged, sounds like a tango rather than a blues.

Subject: RE: St Louis Blues: unabridged recording?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 24 Sep 04 - 11:16 PM

The Red Hot Jazz list is misleading. Put the title in quotes, and 57 show up- but on that list, only a few are the St. Louis Blues. Lonnie Johnson shows up with St. Louis Cyclone Blues, but not the Handy song. The best I found were Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong; did not check them all.

Joe F, do you have Handy's lyrics as he wrote them? If so, you should post them here.

Subject: Lyr Add: ST LOUIS BLUES (W C Handy)
From: Joe_F
Date: 25 Sep 04 - 06:05 PM

Thanks very much for your advice & encouragement. I have performances by Bessie Smith & Louis Armstrong on CDs, but both are abridged.

The following words are in the _Fireside Books of Favorite American Songs_: "This arrangement copyright 1952 by W. C. Handy. Used by permission. So I guess its for real. I have preserved the (somewhat inconsistent) spelling.


ST. LOUIS BLUES
W. C. Handy
New York: Handy Bros. Music Co., Inc., 1914.

1. I hate to see de evenin' sun go down,
Hate to see de evenin' sun go down,
'Cause my baby, he done lef' dis town.
Feelin' tomorrow lak Ah feel today,
Feel tomorrow lak Ah feel today,
I'll pack my trunk, make ma get away.
St. Louis woman wid her diamon' rings
Pulls dat man roun' by her apron strings.
'Twant for powder an' for store bought hair,
De man I love would not gone nowhere.

CHORUS 1: Got de St. Louis blues jes' as blue as Ah can be,
Dat man got a heart lak a rock cast in the sea.
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me.
Doggone it!

2. Been to de Gypsy to get ma fortune tole,
To de Gypsy done got ma fortune tole,
'Cause I'm 'most wile 'bout ma Jelly Roll.
Gypsy done tole me, "Don't you wear no black."
Yes, she done tole me, "Don't you wear no black."
Go to St. Louis, you can win him back.
Help me to Cairo, make St. Louis by maself.
Git to Cairo, find ma ole friend Jeff.
Gwine to pin maself close to his side.
If Ah flag his train, I sho' can ride.

CHORUS 2: I loves dat man lak a schoolboy loves his pie,
Lak a Kentucky Col'nel loves his mint an' rye.
I'll love ma baby till the day Ah die.

3. You ought to see dat stovepipe brown of mine,
Lak he owns de Dimon' Joseph line.
He'd make a cross-eyed o' man go stone blind.
Blacker than midnight, teeth lak flags of truce,
Blackest man in de whole St. Louis.
Blacker de berry, sweeter is the juice.
About a crap game he knows a pow'ful lot,
But when work-time comes he's on de dot.
Gwine to ask him for a cold ten-spot.
What it takes to git it, he's cert'nly got.

CHORUS 3: A black-headed gal make a freight train jump the track.
Said, a black-headed gal make a freight train jump the track,
But a long tall gal makes a preacher ball the Jack.

CHORUS 4: Lawd, a blonde-headed woman make a good man leave the town,
I said, blonde-headed woman makes a good man leave the town,
But a red-head woman makes a boy slap his papa down.

CHORUS 5: Oh, ashes to ashes and dust to dust,
I said, ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
If my blues don't get you, my jazzing must.

Subject: RE: St Louis Blues: unabridged recording?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 26 Sep 04 - 02:14 PM

I doubt that the 'unabridged' version in the "Fireside" book was ever recorded by Handy, and perhaps not by anyone until LP records appeared.
It would be impossible for the three-verse version to fit on the recordings of the time.
He did copyright all three verses and choruses in 1914. The sheet music is at American Memory.

An early recording, according to revised sheet music published in 1920(?), was made by Marion Harris, Col. 2944- but the song is too long for a single side. Almost three would be needed. Her version, I think, was remastered for the cd Naxos Nostalgia 1920, 8.120635ADD (out of print).

Subject: RE: St Louis Blues: unabridged recording?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 26 Sep 04 - 02:20 PM

The Marion Harris recording is at Red Hot Jazz. Again, a short version.

Subject: RE: St Louis Blues: unabridged recording?
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Sep 04 - 02:30 PM

looking for audio...I guess these are the words you want.

St. Louis Blues

soundclip

by W.C. Handy
recording of 1924-1925
from The Complete Recordings, Vol. 2 (1924-1925) (Columbia/Legacy C2K-47471), copyright notice

I hate to see the ev'nin' sun go down
Hate to see the ev'nin' sun go down,
'cause my baby, he done left this town

Feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
Feel tomorrow like I feel today,
I'll pack my trunk, make my getaway

St. Louis woman with her diamond rings
Pulls that man 'round by her apron strings,
't'want for powder and for store-bought hair

The man I love, would not gone nowhere,
got the St. Louis blues just as blue as I can be
That man got a heart like a rock cast in the sea,
or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me

Been to the gypsy to get my fortune told
To the gypsy, to get my fortune told,
'cause I'm most wild about my jelly roll

Gypsy done told me, "Don't you wear no black"
Yes, she done told me, "Don't you wear no black,
go to St. Louis, you can win him back"

Help me to Cairo, make St. Louis by myself
Gone to Cairo, find my old friend Jeff
Goin' to pin myself close to his side,
if I flag his train, I sure can ride

I love that man like a schoolboy loves his pie
Like a Kentucky Colonel loves his mint and rye1
I'll love my baby till the day I die

You ought to see that stovepipe brown of mine,
like he owns the diamond Joseph line
He'd make across-eyed old man go stone blind

Blacker than midnight, teeth like flags of truce
Blackest man in the whole St. Louis
Blacker the berry, sweeter is the juice

About a crap game, he knows a powerful lot,
but when work time comes, he's on the dot
Goin' to ask him for a cold ten spot,
what it takes to get it, he's certainly got

A black-headed gal make a freight train jump the track
Said a black-headed gal make a freight train jump the track
But a redheaded woman makes a preacher ball the jack

Subject: RE: St Louis Blues: unabridged recording?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 26 Sep 04 - 02:45 PM

The words Bill D has posted are those of the sheet music published by Handy Bros. Music Co., Inc.

Finally found it in the DT as Saint Louis Blues (which is how it appears on the sheet music).

Subject: RE: St Louis Blues: unabridged recording?
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Sep 04 - 05:02 PM

...but apart from LOTS of short clips, no audio. It seems everyone and his 2nd cousin Charlie has Louis Armstrond, Bessie Smith, etc. for sale, but no indication how complete the recordings are.