Bunk Johnson (*) told me, too,
These old Jim Crow-isms dead bad luck for me an' you.
I been trav-lin', i been trav-lin' from sho' to sho';
Ev-'ry where I have been I find some old Jim Crow.
One thing, people, I want ev'rybody to know,
You gonna find some Jim Crow ev'ry place you go.
Down in Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia's a mighty good place to go,
An' get together, break up this old Jim Crow.
I told everybody over the radio,
Make up their mind an' get together, break up this old Jim Crow.
I want to tell you people somethin' that you don't know,
It's a lotta Jim Crow in a movin' picture show.
I'm gonna sing this verse, I ain't gonna sing no more,
Please get together, break up this old Jim Crow.
These old Jim Crow-isms dead bad luck for me an' you.
I been trav-lin', i been trav-lin' from sho' to sho';
Ev-'ry where I have been I find some old Jim Crow.
One thing, people, I want ev'rybody to know,
You gonna find some Jim Crow ev'ry place you go.
Down in Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia's a mighty good place to go,
An' get together, break up this old Jim Crow.
I told everybody over the radio,
Make up their mind an' get together, break up this old Jim Crow.
I want to tell you people somethin' that you don't know,
It's a lotta Jim Crow in a movin' picture show.
I'm gonna sing this verse, I ain't gonna sing no more,
Please get together, break up this old Jim Crow.
Nota
(*) Willie Gary "Bunk" Johnson (1879 o 1889 –1949), importante trombettista della scuola di New Orleans, attivo dagli anni 20 e fino alla morte. Si accompagnò spesso in duetto tromba e chitarra con Leadbelly
(*) Willie Gary "Bunk" Johnson (1879 o 1889 –1949), importante trombettista della scuola di New Orleans, attivo dagli anni 20 e fino alla morte. Si accompagnò spesso in duetto tromba e chitarra con Leadbelly
inviata da Bartleby - 13/9/2011 - 11:13
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A pochi anni dalle illusioni che Cow Cow Davenport ancora si faceva nella sua Jim Crow Blues – che nei liberi Stati del nord scorressero fiumi di latte e miele (o, meglio, di whisky) e che i soldi crescessero sugli alberi – il grande Leadbelly cantava invece che le “Jim Crow Laws” erano dappertutto, che ovunque i neri erano discriminati e segregati, e che era ora di finirla.
Al proposito si vedano anche I Don't Want No Jim Crow Coffee, Jim Crow e Northbound Blues.