‘I don’t like no blues,’ but when you ain’t got no money, and can’t pay your house rent and can’t buy you no food, you damn sure got the blues. If you ain’t got no money you got the blues, because you’re thinking evil. That’s right. Any time you’re thinking evil, you’re thinking about the blues.” (Music to die for, 2009)
Every song has something special the narrator wants to tell us about. Blues music is about some blue feelings and experiences we gain after our tests of life. The song that is kind of warning for us is “Put your lights on” by Santana band. It contains the guiding principle for the humanity to become better and stay away from all the temptations that make us sin. The narrator is forewarning us, that he will come for those who cannot resist their passions. As all we know, contemporary America is full of immorality; people are erring and commiting acts of evil and wickedness so often in our daily life. That is why we should try our best to make the community more sympathetic and thoughtful.
When we are speaking about the Blues, Ella Fitzgerald is always first who is coming to my mind. She is the wonderful chanter whose repertoire contains well-known song to both young and adults - “Summertime”. This song has two different interpretations. It is considered to be the lullaby that a mother can sing for her children or a slave or nanny to a white baby, because slavery was very widespread phenomenon in America at those times. As a mother, she gives her kids to understand “that this is the only time in their lives that they will live as equal to a baby from wealthy parents, at least until they grow older and realize the harsh reality of the south.” (SongMeanings, 2011) If to speak about the nanny, it may be the song that implies to the clild, that perents are always trying to do their best to take care about everything, so that you have nothing to worry about.
Another significant singer who had a great impact on a history of Blues is Bob Dylan. His outstanding ballad “Knockin' on Heaven's Door” is one of his most covered songs. This melancholic chef d’oeuvre “was written for the movie “Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid” and profiles an effete deputy who is dying. The song is more about ineptitude and old age.” (Coleman, 2011). America came through many probations and unfortunately one of them is war. So, no wonders, that this topic bothers many people and is present in their workmanship.
One of the most common addiction people suffer from are drugs. Each year drug abuse results in millions of severe sicknesses or traumas among Americans. It also affects people’s behaviour that causes social problems and leads to violence, stress and crimes. Johnny Cash in his song “Cocaine Blues” is telling us the story about the man, who “took a shot of cocaine and shot my woman down.” (Azlyrics.com, 2015) People, who are using drugs, may get irritated, paranoic with no rational reasons for that. That is why they may not understand and control actions. Though, it is much worse when they commit crime with no remourse. This is what Johny Cash is telling us about and making us thing about the consequences of our activity.
The most common and glorious topic in all the songs is love. We are struggling hard to feel this feeling at least for a moment. We are taking all pains to surround ourselves with it, but there is always one “But”: we all are people and we are hesitating and cannot trust fully. This generates our “suspicious minds’ as Elvis Presley sang. This man, a cultural icon of all ages, in the song “Suspicious minds” is telling us that “we can't go on together with suspicious minds and we can't build our dreams on suspicious minds”. (Lyricsfreak.com, 2015) The song’s lyrics represent the annoyance of person in a dysfunctional relationship that lacks certainty.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize on the feelings and emotions that Blues is bringing about: consolation, compassion, sympathy and sometimes we can even find similar situations which took place in our lives. Some people find solutions to their problems, some of them are poring on the history that each song is telling us. Jimmy Hendrix once told: “Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel”. This is the statement that depict the whole concept of Blues music.
"The blues is like a planet. It's an enormous topic. You can't ignore the impact that it has had and continues to have on the whole musical culture. It's a tree that everyone is swinging from. Without it, I don't know where I would be. It's indelible and indispensable." (International Blues Music Day, 2015)
References:
Azlyrics.com,. (2015). Johny Cash Lyrics - Cocaine Blues. Retrieved 22 June 2015, from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnnycash/cocaineblues.html
Coleman, M. (2011). Bad Moments in Cover History: The Story of Knockin' on Heaven's Door. The Music Court. Retrieved 22 June 2015, from http://musiccourtblog.com/2011/02/01/bad-moments-in-cover-history-the-story-of-knockin-on-heavens-door/
International Blues Music Day,. (2015). Blues History. Retrieved 22 June 2015, from http://www.internationalbluesmusicday.com/blues-history.html
Lyricsfreak.com,. (2015). Suspicious Minds Lyrics - Elvis Presley. Retrieved 22 June 2015, from http://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/elvis+presley/suspicious+minds_20049671.html
Music to die for,. (2009). 50 greatest traditional blues songs. Retrieved 22 June 2015, from https://musictodiefor.wordpress.com/50-greatest-traditional-blues-songs/
SongMeanings,. (2011). Ella Fitzgerald - Summertime Lyrics | SongMeanings. Retrieved 22 June 2015, from http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858602547/
