"Statesboro Blues”
Written by Blind Willie McTell
Performed by Blind Willie McTell, vocals and guitar
Recorded Oct. 17, 1928
2:32
You have heard this song before, just not in its original version.
Anyone exposed to rock and roll will know the iconic 1971 performance of this song by the Allman Brothers on their first live album, raucous and slashing, full of bluesy guitar squeals and whines.
The Allman version, however, is based directed on a slide-inflected, upbeat version recorded by Taj Mahal in 1967. The Brothers heard this in concert and determined to cover it themselves.
Taj Mahal reached far back into the history of the blues to revive this song. Blind Willie McTell, the song’s creator and first performer, played it into the microphone in 1928.
Now, I could not do better than the comprehensive essay onthis song by Bruce Bader on the National Recording Registry website. It is beyond comprehensive. However, I can say that McTell (originally McTier, but people couldn’t understand his slurring) was a quiet genius, one whose musicianship is expressed modestly, and with understated wit.
McTell accompanies himself on the 12-string guitar, and unusual choice at the time. The com-plex rhythms that underlie his verses propel the song forward, gently. His chiming tenor floats over the arrangement, chanting out a series of vaguely related blues verses, a kind of portmanteau song.
Wake up, mama,
turn your lamp down low
Have you got the
nerve to drive Papa McTell from your door?
My mother died
and left me reckless
My daddy died and
left me wild, wild, wild
Mother died and
left me reckless
Daddy died and
left me wild, wild, wild
No, I'm not good
lookin' but I'm some sweet woman's angel child
She's a mighty
mean woman, do me this a-way
She's a mighty
mean woman, do me this a-way
When I leave this
town, pretty mama, I'm goin' away to stay
I once loved a
woman, better than any I'd ever seen
I once loved a
woman, better than any I'd ever seen
Treated me like I
was a king and she was a doggone queen
Sister, tell your
brother, brother tell your auntie
Now auntie, tell
your uncle, uncle tell my cousin
Now cousin, tell
my friend
Goin' up the
country, mama, don't you want to go?
May take me
a fair brown, may take one or two more
The National Recording
Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in
the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: Rosa Ponselle
sings ‘Casta Diva’ from Bellini’s ‘Norma.’
