Talking blues is a form of
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and
country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
. It is characterised by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the
melodyA melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
is free, but the
rhythmRhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events.-Rhythm in linguistics:...
is strict.
Christopher Allen Bouchillon- Family :- Musical Achievements :-Discography:*She Doodle Dooed - 7 July 1926, Atlanta, Georgia - as The Bouchillon Trio*Talking Blues - 4 November 1926, Atlanta, Georgia*Hannah - 4 November 1926, Atlanta, Georgia...
(08/21/1893 - 09/1968), billed as "The Talking Comedian of the South," is believed to have created the "talking blues" form when he recorded the song "Talking Blues" for Columbia Records in Atlanta in 1926, from which the style gets its name.
His "Talking Blues" was released in 1927, followed by a sequel, "New Talking Blues" in 1928.
Talking blues is a form of
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and
country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
. It is characterised by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the
melodyA melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
is free, but the
rhythmRhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events.-Rhythm in linguistics:...
is strict.
Christopher Allen Bouchillon- Family :- Musical Achievements :-Discography:*She Doodle Dooed - 7 July 1926, Atlanta, Georgia - as The Bouchillon Trio*Talking Blues - 4 November 1926, Atlanta, Georgia*Hannah - 4 November 1926, Atlanta, Georgia...
(08/21/1893 - 09/1968), billed as "The Talking Comedian of the South," is believed to have created the "talking blues" form when he recorded the song "Talking Blues" for Columbia Records in Atlanta in 1926, from which the style gets its name.
His "Talking Blues" was released in 1927, followed by a sequel, "New Talking Blues" in 1928. His song "Born in Hard Luck" is similar in style.
The form
A talking blues typically consists of a repetitive guitar line utilizing a three chord progression which, although it is called a "blues", is not actually a
twelve bar bluesThe 12-bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music, including the blues. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics and phrase and chord structure and duration...
. The vocals are sung in a rhythmic, flat tone, very near to a speaking voice, and take the form of rhyming couplets. At the end of each verse, consisting of two couplets, the singer continues to talk, adding a fifth line consisting of an irregular, generally unrhymed, and unspecified number of bars, often with a pause in the middle of the line, before resuming the strict chordal structure. This example, from "Talking Blues" by
Woody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
, serves to explain the format:
Mama's in the kitchen fixin' the yeast
Papa's in the bedroom greasin' his feets
Sister's in the cellar squeezin' up the hops
Brother's at the window just a-watchin' for the cops
Drinkin' home brew ... makes you happy.
The lyrics to a talking blues are characterized by dry, rural humour, with the spoken codetta often adding a wry commentary on the subject of the verse. As a spoken form, it can be considered an early
country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
predecessor of
rapRapping is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes, wordplay, and poetry. Rapping is a primary ingredient in hip hop music, but the phenomenon predates hip hop culture by centuries. Rapping can be delivered over a beat or without accompaniment...
.
Development of the genre
Woody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
popularized the style after Bouchillon; his "Talking Hard Work" is a title-tribute to Bouchillon's "Talking Blues" and "Born in Hard Luck". Several sources of the 1940s - 1950s, including the
Almanac SingersThe Almanac Singers were a group of folk musicians who, as their name indicates, specialized in topical songs, especially songs connected with union organizing. Members Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie began playing together informally in 1940 or 1941...
, wrongly credited Guthrie as the creator of the talking blues; he was rather the innovator who explored the use of the form for political and topical subject matter. By the 1940s, what had started as a comedic
country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
genre became known as a form of wry politcal protect singing. This sample lyric, from "Talking Union" by
Pete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early '50s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's...
, Lee Hays, and
Millard LampellMillard Lampell was an American movie and television screenwriter who first became publicly known as a member of the Almanac Singers in the 1940s....
shows the development of the genre into a vehicle for political commentary:
Now, if you want higher wages, let me tell you what to do
You got to talk to the workers in the shop with you
You got to build you a union, got to make it strong
But if you all stick together, boys, it won't be long
You'll get shorter hours, better working conditions, vacations with pay ... take your kids to the seashore.
In 1958, the musician and folk music scholar John Greenway recorded an album collection called "Talking Blues" on the
FolkwaysFolkways can refer to:*Folkways —theory by the sociologist William Graham Sumner.*Folkways Records—a record label founded by Moe Asch....
label. His compendium included 15 talking blues songs by Guthrie,
Tom GlazerThomas Zachariah "Tom" Glazer was an American folk singer and songwriter known primarily as a composer of ballads, including: "Because All Men Are Brothers", recorded by The Weavers and Peter, Paul and Mary, "Talking Inflation Blues", recorded by Bob Dylan, and "A Dollar Ain't A Dollar Anymore"...
, and others, and was, according to the music historian Manfred Helfert, the "obvious source" for the many 1960s forays into the genre by
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet and painter who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was, at first, an informal chronicler and then an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest...
. The best known of Dylan's talking blues is "Talking World War III Blues" from 1963:
Well, I rung the fallout shelter bell
And I leaned my head and I gave a yell
"Give me a string bean, I'm a hungry man!"
A shotgun fired and away I ran
I don't blame them too much, though ... I know I look funny
Dylan's fame and his repeated use of the talking blues form contributed to the genre becoming a widely popular vehicle for the composition of songs with political content. When the country singer
Johnny CashJohnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
recorded a song that described his trip to
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
with his wife
June Carter CashValerie June Carter Cash was a singer, songwriter, actress, comedienne and author who was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. She played the guitar, banjo, harmonica, and autoharp; and acted in several films and television shows.-Early life:June Carter Cash was...
, he chose the talking blues format to describe his dissent against the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
.
The early 21st century has seen the talking blues continue as a vehicle for ironic and sly commentary on current political events, as evidenced by such titles as "Talkin' Orange Alert Blues" by John Craigie, a wry 2006 protest on the use of
terrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.At present, there is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism...
alerts by President George W. Bush. In addition, over the years the political protest content of the form has occasionally eclipsed the rural humour component, as can be seen in "Singing in Viet Nam Talking Blues" by
Johnny CashJohnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
and in "Talking Post-Trauma Blues (PTSD)" by Tom Smith, a 2007 indictment of President Bush's treatment of veterans of the Iraq War who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome:
I'm sitting here on this front porch swing
My chest vibrates and my ears ring
Wondering what the hell's the matter with me
Inside of my head is like World War Three
Not just a little hazy ... I think I'm going crazy ... others call me lazy ... loser, wimp, coward ... I've heard it all
Notable examples
- "Talking Blues" (1927) and "New Talking Blues" (1928) by Christopher Allen Bouchillon
- "Talking Dust Bowl Blues" (1940), "Talking Fishing Blues", "Talking Centralia", "Talking Columbia", "Talking Hard Work", "Talking Sailor", and "Talking Subway" by Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
.
- "Ain't No Fun (Waiting Round to Be a Millionaire)" by AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Although the band are commonly classified as hard rock and are considered pioneers of heavy metal, they have always classified their music as "rock and roll".AC/DC underwent several line-up...
- "Talking Union," by Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early '50s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's...
, Lee Hays, and Millard LampellMillard Lampell was an American movie and television screenwriter who first became publicly known as a member of the Almanac Singers in the 1940s....
.
- "Atomic Talking Blues" (a.k.a. "Talking Atom", "Old Man Atom") by Vern Partlow
- "'Talking Inflation Blues" by Tom Glazer
Thomas Zachariah "Tom" Glazer was an American folk singer and songwriter known primarily as a composer of ballads, including: "Because All Men Are Brothers", recorded by The Weavers and Peter, Paul and Mary, "Talking Inflation Blues", recorded by Bob Dylan, and "A Dollar Ain't A Dollar Anymore"...
- Talking Blues (1958), an LP collection of 15 songs in the talking blues genre by various song-writers, recorded and annotated by John Greenway
- "Talking World War III Blues" (1963), "Talking New York". "Talking Hava Negiliah Blues", "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues", and "Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues" by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet and painter who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was, at first, an informal chronicler and then an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest...
, all recorded during the 1960s
- "Singing in Viet Nam Talking Blues" by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
- "Talking Big Apple '75" by Loudon Wainwright III' (on his 1976 album T Shirt (album)
T Shirt is a 1976 album by Loudon Wainwright III. Unlike his earlier records, this saw Wainwright adopt a full blown rock band - though there are acoustic songs on T-Shirt, including a talking blues...
)
- "Talkin' Blues (What's in a Name)" by Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly, CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
- "Talking Mysterious Prostate" by Don Freed
Don Freed , is a Canadian singer and songwriter best known for his works about life on the Western Canadian prairies and the province of Saskatchewan in particular...
.
- "Talkin' Seattle Grunge Blues" by Todd Snider
- "Talkin' Orange Alert Blues
Talkin' Orange Alert Blues is a song by folk-singer John Craigie, from his fourth album, A Picnic on the 405. It is one of his most popular songs, and a staple of his live shows. It is done in the standard Talking blues style popularized by Woody Guthrie, and later Bob Dylan, such as in Talkin'...
" by John CraigieJohn Craigie is an American singer-songwriterwho currently resides in San Francisco, CA. Hailed as a "Modern-Day Troubadour" in the style of Woody Guthrie and Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Craigie has been touring the United States for the past 6 years, playing in a diverse style of venues including...
(2006)
- "Talking Post-Trauma Blues (PTSD)" by Tom Smith (2007)
Similar forms and similar titles
- "Alice's Restaurant
"Alice's Restaurant Massacree" is one of singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie's most prominent works, a musical monologue based on a true story that began on Thanksgiving Day 1965, and which inspired a 1969 movie of the same name...
Massacree" by Arlo GuthrieArlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
, the son of Woody Guthrie, is considered a talking blues, though it follows a different melodic structure, one more reminiscent of Chris Bouchillon's "Born in Hard Luck" than his original "Talking Blues," with a repeated chorus based on a circle of fifthsIn music theory, the circle of fifths shows the relationships among the twelve tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys. More specifically, it is a geometrical representation of relationships among the 12 pitch classes of the...
melody, similar to "Take It Slow and Easy" by Jesse FullerJesse Fuller was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues". -Early life:...
or "Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden" by Tommy Bradley (1930).
- The Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band, active between 1977 and 1995. The band was formed by Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers , and managed by Ed Bicknell...
song "Walk of Life"Walk of Life" is a 1985 song by the British rock band Dire Straits. It appeared on their best-selling album Brothers in Arms. It subsequently appeared on their live album On the Night. It was released as a single in 1986 but had first been available as the b-side of "So Far Away" released in...
" refers to "the talkin blues", but is itself not a talking blues in format.
- "Talking Blues" by Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands The Wailers and Bob Marley & The Wailers...
is a reference to gospelA gospel is a writing that describes the life of Jesus. The word is primarily used to refer to the four canonical texts: the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John, probably written between AD 65 and 80...
music and, despite the title, is neither a blues nor a talking blues in form.