Southern Blues, The

DESCRIPTION: "When I got up this mornin', I heard the old Southern whistle blow (x2), Then I was thinkin' 'bout my baby, Lord, I sure did want to go." The singer watches "the Southern cross the Dog." The singer wonders which train his baby took; he will try Georgia
AUTHOR: Big Bill Broonzy (at least in part)
EARLIEST DATE: 1935 (recording, Big Bill Broonzy)
KEYWORDS: train separation
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Cohen-LongSteelRail, pp. 441-443, "The Southern Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Big Bill Broonzy, "The Southern Blues" (Bluebird B-5998/B-6964, 1935)
NOTES [88 words]: This is one of those who-knows-how-to-file-it blues. The recorded form is Broonzy's, but there are older elements, including especially the line "where the Southern crosses the Dog," the chief basis for Cohen's inclusion of the song. W. C. Handy encountered this line from a street singer around 1903, and it helped inspire his blues career.
There is a recording by W. T. Narmour and S. W. Smith, "Where The Southern Crosses The Dog" (OKeh 45480); I don't know what its relation is to either this song or the one Handy heard. - RBW
File: LSRai443

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