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The Bourgeois Blues” is a blues song by Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly. It was written after Lead Belly went to Washington, D.C. at the request of Alan Lomax, to record a number of songs for the Library of Congress. After they had finished, they decided to go out with their wives to celebrate, but were thrown out of numerous establishments for being an interracial party. The song rails against racism, classism, and discrimination in general, with such verses as “The home of the Brave / The land of the Free / I don’t wanna be mistreated by no bourgeoisie”.
Lead Belly recorded the Bourgeois Blues numerous times, first on December 26, 1938, accompanied by himself on his 12-string guitar. It should be noted that in all but the earliest recording of the song, the original line “Some white folk in Washington / they know just how, call a colored man a nigger just to see him bow” was altered to “give a colored man a nickel just to see him bow”, presumably to avoid causing offense. The song has been recorded by many other artists, most notably Pete Seeger and Ry Cooder. It was reworked by Billy Bragg as “Bush War Blues”, and by Mark E. Smith as
Bourgeois Town on the The Fall’s Are You Are Missing Winner LP. It has also been sung by Odetta, most recently in her 2008 tour.
Lead Belly recorded the Bourgeois Blues numerous times, first on December 26, 1938, accompanied by himself on his 12-string guitar. It should be noted that in all but the earliest recording of the song, the original line “Some white folk in Washington / they know just how, call a colored man a nigger just to see him bow” was altered to “give a colored man a nickel just to see him bow”, presumably to avoid causing offense. The song has been recorded by many other artists, most notably Pete Seeger and Ry Cooder. It was reworked by Billy Bragg as “Bush War Blues”, and by Mark E. Smith as
Bourgeois Town on the The Fall’s Are You Are Missing Winner LP. It has also been sung by Odetta, most recently in her 2008 tour.
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The Roots of Ry Cooder
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Shouts
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den24pop wrote:
only my second listen, opps
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LondonLouis wrote:
It's remarkable how few Blues singers actually brought racism into their lyrics. Does anyone know the full history of this track? I sense he would have been singing this to primarily white blues afficianados towards the end of his career when he was "discovered" by Lomax. Does anyone know the fuller story?
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TheOnlyRoc wrote:
Im pretty sure I have the unedited one thankfully. Thats some bullshit.
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montanazgr wrote:
I love this song! <3
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almagal wrote:
great lyrics...
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abendrot2 wrote:
Das Lied macht klar, daß es immer noch Klassen gibt, in die wir uns einteilen. Auch wenn es schon ein wenig älter ist.
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sunrise62 wrote:
i feel the old south...
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luckylollyme wrote:
great... says alot about those times...
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PeterLangley wrote:
I'm bourgeois and blue
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miplou wrote:
great ! I love it
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jakobbrage wrote:
I love Leadbellys music
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davidriff wrote:
What a track! Unbelievable! Remember this the next time you feel the class hate. It's still around you know...
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Oppressotron wrote:
Great story and a true piece of history. Segregation from both the black and white clubs; that had to suck.
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Cozfunkel wrote:
gotta remember this one!
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jd66 wrote:
great stuff... takes you back to bad times for blacks.
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helaukoenig wrote:
Great! Endlich weiß ich, von wem dieser Song ist, sollten alle Menschen auf bookmarken!
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anagramsci wrote:
great!
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cheebamaster wrote:
I love leadbelly stuff. This is a great song. Perfect blues rhythem I was exposed to his music is savannah, GA. His music gives me a unique backwoods oldschool feeling. He also inspired alot of the art I like today
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earth_wind_etc wrote:
completes me too
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Caribjazz wrote:
this completes me.
Leadbelly
The Bourgeois Blues
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