Friday, November 25, 2016

Lerning the Blues by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

The tables are empty the dance floor's deserted
You play the same love song it's the tenth time you've heard it
That's the beginning just one of the clues
You've had your first lesson in learnin' the blues
The cigarettes you light one after another
Won't help you forget her and the way that you love her
You're only burning a torch you can't lose
But you're on the right track for learnin' the blues
When you're at home alone, the blues will taunt you - constantly
When you're out in a crowd, the blues will haunt your memory
The nights when you don't sleep the whole night you're crying
You just can't forget her soon you even stop trying
You'll walk the floor and wear out your shoes
When you feel your heart break you're learnin' the blues

5 comments:

Aaron said...

Strange that a feeling of misery and suffering had been so celebrated. I suppose it helps to know when you are in pain that at least you now qualify to be cool enough to be included in the club if misery. My dad once saw Louie Armstrong play live in New York. He said he was amazing. shit.

Dan Tschirhart said...

I've heard the blues are easier to play, because you have so much material to work with

They also say that audiences like their singers to be miserable

So it's an odd fit

"The Blues is like losing someone you love and not having enough money to immerse yourself in drink" Henry Rollins

or

"Some of the greatest blues music is some of the darkest music you've ever heard" - Bruce Springsteen

I've always had tremendous respect for Ella and Louis, so this song is a treat

And as Johnny Winter put it, "I think the blues will always be around. People need it."

Aaron said...

When we were in high school we were all pissed about some shit that was going on at school and me and we all went out to some park and sang the blues. Good times. Henry Rollins is lame

Dan Tschirhart said...

Yeah, I believe that helped inspire "You Treat Me Like Shit"

One thing I've found is that it's rather difficult to play the blues on a ukulele

Even the minor chords sound somewhat happy

Pirate Aggro said...

Well... pretty much ALL good art is in some way about suffering or is somehow the product of suffering or connected to suffering. Even good comedy is about suffering. This is why most Mormon fiction is crap. Because the culture is all about sunshine and pat answers and any depiction of suffering is sanitized. Life contains suffering. This is fact. If you accept it and then commit to life, life becomes much more manageable and joy more frequent.