The "blues" trace their history from the early 1900s, originating from the African-American slaves and plantation workers of the time. It often speaks of mourning, melancholy, pain, hardship, bad luck, and oppression, among others, but there are blues songs that also sing about overcoming adversities and trials in life. Generally, the lyrics are frequently sentimental and the music uplifting and speaks volumes about deep, authentic emotions (Kopp, 2005). Comprised of several blues genres, the songs may be categorized into traditional country blues, boogie-woogie, jump blues, cool blues, Chicago blues, and West Coast blues (Kopp, 2005).
One blues subject that often becomes a theme for this type of music is love lost. In traditional set up especially in the early 1900s, women were often depicted as victims of men as they suffered from jealousy, violence, abuse, and willful abandonment. There are hundreds of songs sang both by male and female blues singers that portray such situations, however, this paper explores the opposite side of the spectrum where men are at the receiving end of such desertion acts. With songs such as Love in Vain by Robert Johnson, The Sky is Crying by Elmore James, Worried Life Blues by Maceo Merriweather, and How Long Blues by Leroy Carr, men get to express their longing, regret, anger, frustration, and feelings of defeat in the realm of love.
Where divorce and abandonment are the norm rather than the exception in American living, the above songs typify that men, although typecast as the "bad guy" or instigators of pain in relationships, also suffer the same hurt, hardships, and feelings that women experience in the same situation. Love in Vain, for instance, shows how the guy brought the woman to the train station as she decided to leave him. He then realizes that his love has been for naught as he saw no love in the eyes of the woman as she looked back at him (Lyricsmode.com, n.d.). The next song, The Sky is Crying, is another poignant song of how much love a man has for a woman, but one that ended in abandonment. In this song, the man looks out in the streets as the woman leaves and uses the sky as a metaphor to represent himself. By saying that the "sky is crying", what the song was actually saying is that the "man is crying" and hurting for lost love as he felt sure that the woman did not love him anymore (Lyrics007.com, n.d.). In Worried Life Blues, the situation slightly differs in that the woman has already left the man and he acknowledges that thoughts of her accompanied him wherever he went. He further says that he has been lonely and anguished because of what happened, and therefore resolves upon him that it will change as someday, he will be fine and will no longer think about the woman (Lyricstime.com, n.d.). The last song, How Long Blues, illustrates a man's distress in knowing that the woman he loves left because she could not find the peace she was looking for. Thus, the man says he feels bad and down, but questions until when he should feel that way. In the same light, the man affirms that someday will come when he will be fine with all the pain and the woman will feel sorry for causing him the pain. When that happens, he would long be gone (Songlyrics.com, n.d.). In all the songs, the women were the instigators of the pain of abandonment instead of the other way around.
Despite the grim realism of divorce and separation even in the early 19th century, men and women fall in love and hurt the same way when love is gone. Women are just known to be more outspoken and open about their feelings of loneliness, but as the blues songs demonstrate, men share the same feelings and thoughts about separation and abandonment.
Regardless of the types of music genres present today, blues music is here to stay considering that a lot of people appreciate the style and how well it combines with jazz music. However, more than the sound, what appeals most is the truthfulness and honesty of the lyrics that sets the blues separate from other music genres now.
References
"How common is divorce and what are the reasons?". (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.divorce.usu.edu/files/uploads/Lesson3.pdf
Kopp, E. (2005). A brief history of the blues. Retrieved from http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=18724#.UR7YsWfJPiW
Lyrics007.com. (n.d.). "The sky is crying." Retrieved from http://www.lyrics007.com/Elmore%20James%20Lyrics/The%20Sky%20Is%20Crying%20Lyrics.html
Lyricsmode.com. (n.d.). "Love in vain". Retrieved from http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/r/robert_johnson/love_in_vain.html
Lyricstime.com. (n.d.). "Worried life blues." Retrieved from http://www.lyricstime.com/big-maceo-merriweather-worried-life-blues-lyrics.html
Songlyrics.com. (n.d.). "How long, how long blues." Retrieved from http://www.songlyrics.com/leroy-carr/how-long-how-long-blues-lyrics/
