Trouble in Mind (song)
"Trouble in Mind" | |
---|---|
Single by Thelma La Vizzo with Richard M. Jones | |
A-side | "Fire in the Mountain" |
Released | 1924 |
Recorded | May 15, 1924 |
Genre | Classic female blues |
Length | 2:56 |
Label | Paramount |
Songwriter(s) | Richard M. Jones |
"Trouble in Mind" is a
Lyrics and composition
"Trouble in Mind" has been called "one of the enduring anthems of the blues as hope for the future even in the darkest of times".[2] In many versions, new lyrics are added. However, most usually include the well-known verse:
Trouble in mind, I'm blue
But I won't be blue always
'Cause I know the sun's gonna shine in my back door someday[3]
The song has roots that pre-date blues. Two
Jones' lyrics deal with thoughts of suicide.[4] Early recordings include the verses:
Sometimes I feel like livin'
Sometimes I feel like dyin' ...
I'm gonna lay my head
On the lonesome railroad line
Let the 2:19
Satisfy my mind
Despite the sense of pain and despair, music writers such as Adam Gussow and Paul Ackerman point to the hope engendered by the refrain "I won't be blue always ... For the sun will shine in my back door some day".[6][7] Blues historian William Barlow calls the song "the anthem of the classic blues genre"[4] and writer Steve Sullivan describes it as "one of the most indelible blues compositions of the 1920s.[5]
Musically, the song is an eight-bar blues, used with variations in other early classic female blues songs, such as "Ain't Nobody's Business" (written by Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins in 1922) and "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" (Jimmy Cox, 1923).[8] One music transcription shows an eight-bar chord progression in the key of G major in common or 4/4 time at a slow tempo:[9]
I | V7 | I7 | IV–♯IVo | I | ii7–V7 | I–I7 | ii7–V7 |
Another has a simplified version with the lyrics: "Trouble in [I] mind. I'm [V] blue. But I [I] won't be blue al- [IV] ways, 'cause the [I] sun's gonna shine in [V] my backdoor some- [I] day".[10]
Recordings
Blues historian Gerard Herzhaft identifies "Trouble in Mind" as a
When Georgia White recorded the song in 1936, she also was accompanied by Jones on piano, and by a guitarist and bassist.[1] According to Big Bill Broonzy, her performances beginning in 1929 with Jimmie Noone helped to popularize the piece long before she recorded it.[5][a]
In 1952, Dinah Washington recorded "Trouble in Mind", which was released shortly after her rendition of "Wheel of Fortune".[12] Hers was the first recording of the song to reach the record charts, peaking at number four on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart.[13] Reviews from 1952 welcomed her return to a blues singing-style after pop-oriented songs, such as "Wheel of Fortune".[14]
A 2011 live recording from
In 2020, the Blues Foundation inducted Hill's rendition of "Trouble in Mind" into the Blues Hall of Fame as a "Classic of Blues Recording".[2]
See also
References
Footnotes
- ^ Broonzy recorded the song several times and a solo performance with vocal and guitar is included on Trouble in Mind (2000), a collection of some of his 1956–1957 recordings by Smithsonian Folkways.[11]
Citations
- ^ a b c Herzhaft 1992, p. 476.
- ^ a b "2020 Hall of Fame Inductees: "Trouble in Mind" – Bertha "Chippie" Hill (OKeh, 1926)". The Blues Foundation. December 9, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ a b Doll 2017, p. 178.
- ^ a b c Gussow 2010, p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f Sullivan 2017, p. 60.
- ^ Gussow 2010, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Ackerman 1959, p. 26.
- ^ Hal Leonard 1995, pp. 160–161, 210–212.
- ^ Hal Leonard 1995, pp. 224–225.
- ^ Doll 2017, p. 60.
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Big Bill Broonzy: Trouble in Mind – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ Whitburn 1988, p. 433.
- ^ Whitburn 1988, pp. 563, 433.
- ^ Cohodas 2004, p. 135.
- ^ Whitburn 1988, p. 375.
- ^ Light 2016, eBook.
- ^ Billboard 1965, p. 24.
Sources
- ISSN 0006-2510.
- Billboard (August 14, 1965). "Gospel Singer the Rage at Antibes". ISSN 0006-2510.
- Cohodas, Nadine (2004). Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington. New York City: ISBN 0-375-42148-3.
- Doll, Christopher (2017). Hearing Harmony: Toward a Tonal Theory for the Rock Era. Ann Arbor, Michigan: ISBN 978-0472053520.
- ISBN 978-0226311005.
- Hal Leonard (1995). "Trouble in Mind". The Blues. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: ISBN 0-79355-259-1.
- Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Trouble in Mind". Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville, Arkansas: ISBN 1-55728-252-8.
- ISBN 978-1101904886.
- Rye, Howard (2006). "Georgia White". In Komara, Edward (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Blues. New York City: ISBN 978-0-415-92699-7.
- Sullivan, Steve (2017). "Trouble in Mind (1926)—Bertha "Chippie" Hill". Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings. Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volume 3. Lanham, Maryland: ISBN 978-1442254497.
- ISBN 0-89820-068-7.