Snowflake Posted October 17, 2003 Posted October 17, 2003 If you are new to Blues music, or like it but never really understood the whys and wherefores, or even if you don't like it, here are some very fundamental rules. Love, Blind Hope Jackson 1. Most Blues begin with: "Woke up this morning..." 2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town." 3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes - sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher and she weigh 500 pound." 4. The Blues is not about choice. You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch...ain't no way out. 5. Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Blues don't travel in Volvos, SAABs, Mercedes, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft and state-sponsored motor pools ain't even in the running. Walkin' plays a major part in the Blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die. 6. Teenagers can't sing the Blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, "adulthood" means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis. 7. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or anywhere in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, and Nawlins are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the Blues in anyplace that don't get rain. 8. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the Blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg 'cause you were skiing is not the Blues. Breaking your leg 'cause an alligator be chomping on it is. 9. You can't have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster. 10. Good places for the Blues a. highway b. jailhouse c. empty bed d. bottom of a whiskey glass 11. Bad places for the Blues a. Nordstrom's b. gallery openings c. Ivy League institutions d. golf courses 12. No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you happen to be an old person, and you slept in it. 13. Do you have the right to sing the Blues? Yes, if: a. you're older than dirt b. you're blind c. you shot a man in Memphis d. you can't be satisfied No, if: a. you have all your teeth b. you were once blind but now can see c. the man in Memphis lived d. you have a 401K or trust fund 14. Blues is not a matter of color. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the Blues. Sonny Liston could have. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the Blues. 15. If you ask for water and your darlin' gives you gasoline, it's the blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are: a. cheap wine b. whiskey or bourbon c. muddy water d. black coffee The following are NOT Blues beverages: a. Perrier b. Chardonnay c. Snapple d. Slim Fast 16. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So are the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broken-down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction. 17. Some Blues names for women: a. Sadie b. Big Mama c. Bessie d. Fat River Dumpling 18. Some Blues names for men: a. Joe b. Willie c. Little or Big Willie d. Sam Cooke 19. Persons with names like Michelle, Jessica, Jennifer, Debbie, and Heather can't sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis. 20. Blues Name Starter Kit a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.) b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi, etc.) c. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) For example: Blind Lime Jefferson, Pegleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.") 21. I don't care how tragic your life is: if you own a computer, you cannot sing the blues, period. Quote
Debaroo Posted October 18, 2003 Posted October 18, 2003 I LOVE THE BLUES!!! But, my name is Debi and i have a computer, so I guess I can't sing them. Hopefully I will never be in the need to shoot a man in Memphis-if I do, I guess I'll just have to change my name so that I CAN sing the blues (what do you think about 'short toursoed Dee'? I have always hated that feature about myself. Oh, well... In the meantime, I guess I'll have to settle for listening to the blues. Take care, Deb Quote
teresag Posted October 18, 2003 Posted October 18, 2003 I dont' qualify either, Deb, but I like the Blues too. I'd like to add to the list that people of certain occupations can get the Blues, and others just can't. If you work in a coal mine, a sleazy bar, petty crime, or on the railroad, you can get the Blues. If you are a lawyer, accountant, insurance adjuster, or interior designer you can't, no matter how many men you shoot in Memphis. Quote
David A Posted October 19, 2003 Posted October 19, 2003 The Blues ain't where you're going its where you've been. I qualify except for the computer thing. Quote
ginnyde Posted October 20, 2003 Posted October 20, 2003 Becky, You absolutely crack me up. You are so bright and so funny. No matter what the subject you are posting on, (ended phrase with a preposition, Yuk), you make me laugh and feel better. I never felt more like singing the blues, but I can't when I am reading your posts. Keep it up, dear Becky. Ginny Quote
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