Lyr Req: Graveyard Blues (John Jackson)

Subject: Lyr Req: Graveyard blues
From: Jeep man
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 10:57 PM

Can anyone help me with the lyrics to Graveyard Blues"
I have heard just a snatch of it by John Jackson. Help.Jim

Subject: Lyr Add: GRAVEYARD BLUES
From:
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 12:30 AM

The song has mentioned here before. Hope this is the one:
From http://www.smsu.edu/folksong/maxhunter/1133/

GRAVEYARD BLUES

Verse 1
Well, I went to th' graveyard to look down on her face
Went to th' graveyard, looked down on her face
Said, I'm sorry, woman, but I jest can't take your place.
A woman made a fool outa me.

Verse 2
Where was you, woman, when th' train left th' shed?
Where was you, woman, when th' train left th' shed?
I was standing in my backroom door wishing to God I was dead.
A woman made a fool outa me.

Verse 3
Oh, I hate to see that evenin' sun go down.
Hate to see that evenin' sun go down.
I've got nobody and I'm so lone, lonesome man.
Woman made a fool outa me.

Verse 4
Come here, woman, an' see what you have done.
Come here, woman. See what you have done.
You caused me to love you, an' now, you're left an' gone.
Woman made a fool outa me.

Verse 5
Well, take me to th' graveyard 'n' throw sod over me.
Take me to th' graveyard. Throw sod over me.
I want to tell th' whole wide world how you mistreated me.
A woman made a fool out'a me.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard blues
From: masato sakurai
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 07:56 AM

Entry at Folk Music Index to Recordings:

Graveyard Blues

Rt [Related title] - Bessie's Graveyard Blues
1. Davis, Walt (Walter). Appalachia, The Old Traditions, Home Made Music LP-001, LP (1982), cut# 26
2. Dunn, Bob;'s Vagabonds. Rolling Along, An Anthology of Western Swing, Tishomingo TSHO 2229, LP (1976), cut# 4
3. Holcomb, Roscoe. Roscoe Holcomb and Wade Ward, Folkways FA 2363, LP (1962), cut#A.05
4. Holcomb, Roscoe. Mountain Music of Kentucky, Smithsonian/Folkways SF 40077, CD (1996), cut#1.12
5. Jackson, John. John Jackson in Europe, Arhoolie 19005, LP (1970), cut# 11
6. Smith, Hobart. Banjo Songs, Ballads and Reels from the Southern Mountains, Prestige International INT 25004, LP (196?), cut# 1
7. Smith, Hobart. Southern Journey. Vol. 2: Ballads and Breakdowns, Rounder 1702, CD (1997), cut#14

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard blues
From: Jeep man
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 01:02 PM

George, I like this version but its not the one. Musato, the first line is "I'm gonna make a graveyard all my own." This is on a clip from John Jackson. Thanks, guys. I'm still looking. Jim

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard blues
From: Jeep man
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 01:04 PM

http://www.arhoolie.com/titles/378.shtml
This is the web site. Jim

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard blues
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 10:27 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard blues
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Aug 03 - 11:28 PM

Here's what I transcribed from a sound sample:

I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own
If that man don't leave my gal alone.
My razor's got a rusty blade.
Gonna lay that man right in the shade.
I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own.

SPOKEN: So I went back downtown feelin' victorious (?)
I met that ugly scandal down there messin' with my wife, hear?
I upped with my razor, hit him a crack...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard blues
From: Jeep man
Date: 03 Aug 03 - 12:02 AM

Thanks, Jim. Maybe we can find some more. Jim

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard blues
From: ddw
Date: 03 Aug 03 - 01:44 AM

Jim,

I found this after I posted lyrics in the Red River Blues thread. I see Jim has a different take on that second line, second verse and it makes a lot more sense than mine. Id still appreciate it if you can figure it out for sure.

cheers

david

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard blues
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Aug 03 - 07:29 AM

On second thought, "scoundrel" makes a lot more sense than "scandal."

"Victorious" is really a wild guess of mine. What Jackson says sounds like "boquarious" - if you can make any sense of that. Maybe it's a word he made up.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard blues
From: ddw
Date: 03 Aug 03 - 10:21 AM

Here is the song again -- just a copy and paste from the other thread.

Graveyard Blues
By John Jackson

CHORUS: Im gonna start a graveyard of my own
                If that man dont leave my gal alone
                My razors got a rusty blade
                Lay that man right in the shade
                Im gonna start a graveyard of my own

SPOKEN:
I went down to my gals house, Sue
And I knocked on the door
And there was Sam Henry down there
And he asked me what Im doing down here
And I said im here to see my gal Sue
And he said, Your gal --
Why you see whos playing the cards here

CHORUS:

So I went back downtown
Feeling about twice
And I met that ugly scoundrel
Down there messing with my wife
So I hit him a crack with my razor
His shoes made a noise
They said You can have the coat
But I got to go

CHORUS:

So I goes back downtown
And I met that dude Henry
Coming up Fifth Avenue
So I crossed over at Henry Street
And thats where we cornered
So I hit him a crack with my razor
And he went straight up four stories high
And began to fly.
Well his feet flew out from under him
And then I seen his britches started to wiggling
And the next thing Sam Henry was gone.

CHORUS:

CHORUS

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard blues
From: Jeep man
Date: 03 Aug 03 - 07:04 PM

DDW that is really close. I do appreciate all the work done to find this. Be Well, Jim

Subject: Lyr Add: I'M GONNA START ME A GRAVEYARD OF MY OWN
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 10:21 AM

Here's an older version. You can hear it at YouTube. I wonder if Jim Jackson and John Jackson were related?


I'M GONNA START ME A GRAVEYARD OF MY OWN
Jim Jackson, Vocalion 1164, 1928.

I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own
If that man don't leave my gal alone.
Oh, my razor certain am a trusty blade.
Lay that man right in the shade.
I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own.

Oh, she bundled up my clothes and throwed 'em out o' doors.
I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own.
Well, she give me the sack, but I'll never come back,
And I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own.

Yeah, I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own
If that man don't leave my girl alone.
Oh, my razor certain am a trusty blade.
Lay that man right in the shade.
I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own.

'Cause I'm round here, down here, I ain't good lookin' but found here.
I don't b'lieve nobody'll drive me 'way.
Yes, I'm round here, down here, I ain't good lookin' but found here
I don't b'lieve nobody'll drive me 'way.

She bundled up my clothes and throwed 'em out o' doors.
I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own.
She give me the sack, but I'll never come back,
And I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own.

SPOKEN: Folks, I was down to a girl's house the other night. She told me she didn't have no one to come to see her. I went down there, knocked on the door, she told me to come in. Whilst I was sittin' down there, another man come down there larger than I was. He come in and I spoke to him, and he spoke awful dry. And to let me know he owned everything down there, he went on through in the back room. Whilst he was in there, this girl say, "Don't pay that man no mind." Say, "He used to be something here, but he ain't nothing here now." I say, "I ain't studyin' 'bout that man, 'cause I'm just—

'Round here, down here, I ain't good lookin' but found here.
I don't b'lieve nobody'll drive me 'way.

'Cause I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own
If that man don't leave my girl alone
Oh, my razor certain am a trusty blade.
Lay that man right in the shade.
I'm gonna start a graveyard of my own.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard Blues (John Jackson)
From: Dan Schatz
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 11:42 AM

John Jackson would have connected with this song very personally - he worked for most of his life - even after being "discovered" - as a gravedigger in Virginia. It was, perhaps, the most appropriate job for a bluesman I have ever heard. I can imagine him humming this chorus while he was working.

John's Piedmont accent was very unusual and could be a little difficult to understand at times - it was a linguist's dream, with sounds rooted not only in more common Southern African American dialects, but also in very old mountain dialects closer to Elizabethan English than anything else. The upshot is that it's sometimes a challenge to figure out the words. But it is a joy to listen to.

Dan

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Graveyard Blues (John Jackson)
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Oct 14 - 09:52 AM

I taped that song off Mary Cliff's show, long ago, and I played that tape a _bunch_ of times trying to figure out those lines. My opinion settled as follows: he is, in some places, just singing almost-sentences as a way of having fun. My transliteration of (from above)

"So I went back downtown feelin' victorious (?)
I met that ugly scandal down there messin' with my wife, hear?"

was and is ...

So ah wen' back downtown feelin boh-kwize. (<-- rhymes with "pies")
Ah met tha' offa scan'ln down on messizh wi my wye, ah hup!