How to Sing the Blues - Guidelines

ladytexan

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HOW TO SING THE BLUES

Most blues begin "woke up this morning."

"I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line:
• I got a good woman-- "with the meanest dog in town".

Blues are simple. After you have the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes. Sort of:
• Got a good woman with the meanest dog in town. He got teeth like Margaret Thatcher and he weighs about 500 pounds.

The blues are not about limitless choice.

Blues cars are Chevies and Cadillacs and blue 2CVs. Other acceptable blues transportation is Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Walkin' plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die.

Teenagers can't sing the blues. Adults sing the blues. Blues adulthood means old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.

You can have the blues in New York City, but not in Brooklyn or Queens. Hard times in Vermont or North Dakota are just a depression. Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City are still the best places to have the blues.

The following colors do not belong in the blues:
• violet
• beige
• mauvre

You can't have the blues in an office or a shopping mall, the lighting is wrong.

Good places for the Blues:
• the highway
• the jailhouse
• the empty bed

Bad places:
• Ashrams
• Gallery openings
• weekend in the Hamptons

No one will believe it's the blues if you wear a suit, unless you happen to be an old black man.

Do you have the right to sing the blues?
Yes, if:
• your first name is a southern state--like Georgia
• you're blind
• you shot a man in Memphis.
• you can't be satisfied.

No, if:
• you were once blind but now can see.
• you're deaf
• you have a trust fund.

Neither Julio Iglesias nor Barbra Streisand can sing the blues.

If you ask for water and baby gives you gasoline, it's the blues.

Other blues beverages are:
• wine
• Irish whiskey
• muddy water

Blues beverages are NOT:
• Any mixed drink
• Sparkling water
• Yoo Hoo (all flavors)
Snapple (all flavors)

If it occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is a blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse, or being denied treatment in an emergency room. It is not a blues death, if you die during a liposuction treatment.

Some Blues names for Women
• Sadie
• Big Mama
• Bessie

Some Blues Names for Men
• Joe
• Willie
• Little Willie
• Lightning

Persons with names like Sierra or Sequoia will not be permitted to sing the blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.

Other Blues Names (Starter Kit)
• Name of Physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Asthmatic)
• First name (see above) or name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi)
• Last Name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.)
• Mix and Match
 

dapmdave

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:lol: :lol: :lol:

Most excellent post, Toni.

To the list of blues cars, may we add the 2CV?

pascal2cv.jpg


Dave :D
 

fronobulax

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So I seem to recall a blues parody that was written from the perspective of an upper middle class white male. It broke most of the above rules but had a lot of humor precisely because the "author" really had nothing to complain about.

I seem to recall "Well I woke up this mornin' and the Mercedes wouldn't start" but that might be wrong. Any one else recall that? Not sure whether it was just a set of lyrics or whether someone recorded it and posted it on YouTube.
 

bluesypicky

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:lol: :lol:
Thanks for the thought Dave!

But you can scratch the 2cv: I like to consider myself a blues guitar player, but certainly won't pretend being a blues singer (or a singer, period) by any stretch of the imagination!.. I'm missing just a tiny bitty detail: The voice. :lol:

Thanks for the funny post Toni! :mrgreen:
 

kitniyatran

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fronobulax said:
So I seem to recall a blues parody that was written from the perspective of an upper middle class white male. It broke most of the above rules but had a lot of humor precisely because the "author" really had nothing to complain about.

I seem to recall "Well I woke up this mornin' and the Mercedes wouldn't start" but that might be wrong. Any one else recall that? Not sure whether it was just a set of lyrics or whether someone recorded it and posted it on YouTube.
Martin Mull?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqhKxUDSaes
 

fronobulax

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MandoSquirrel said:
fronobulax said:
So I seem to recall a blues parody that was written from the perspective of an upper middle class white male. It broke most of the above rules but had a lot of humor precisely because the "author" really had nothing to complain about.

I seem to recall "Well I woke up this mornin' and the Mercedes wouldn't start" but that might be wrong. Any one else recall that? Not sure whether it was just a set of lyrics or whether someone recorded it and posted it on YouTube.
Martin Mull?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqhKxUDSaes

That clip is pretty funny. I don't recall seeing it before but it could have been the inspiration for what I am forgetting. Thanks!
 

ladytexan

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MS & frono, thanks for adding some really kewl (kewl man, kewl 8) ) info. Martin Mull playing the blues on a ukulele is too funny! :lol: :lol:
 
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