Black Snake Moan - Blind Lemon Jefferson

[douginamerica]

Oh I know the blues man. I got bills! I got debt. I got to bang so white hoes and get some weed. So much shit you gots to do before you die. Get some bitches pregnant, run out and join a band, get in a bar fight, knife a man, steal some whiskey

[jarvis6781]

sorry bout that, i live in the town he's buried in. *fixed*

[jarvis6781]

he's is buried in my town, went out and payed respects the other day.

[bevil4aday]

Rumor has it that Blind Lemon Jefferson always had a large wad of cash on him and carried a 45. He died in eastern TX of "mysterious causes".

[dal4018]

@bevil4aday Yes its true as far as I'am concerned he could be the predessor to the late great Ray Charles

[ABW941]

@bevil4aday He carried a Gun?

Wasn't he blind, how would he be able to aim and hit his target?

[bevil4aday]

@ABW941 I' don't know. I assume being blind wasn't THAT big of a handicap for him. He was a musician that traveled extensively for that time period. I'm only assuming, but I'm sure he knew how to handle a gun and use his other senses to guide his hand, like he did his guitar.

[TheCornCobbers]

Beautiful Blues ... Good Life

[CharlesDavidPollock]

if you dig the blues check out my channel

[swampdodger33]

top o the pops

[heapbigtalk]

this is truly delightful ~ 

[daneslav]

Before Stevie Wonder, before Ray Charles, there was Blind Lemon.

[RUBY42366]

USA should be the proudest country in the world due to blues, the stem of all western music

[SoCalBettie]

@RUBY42366 So true :) 

[whatdoihavetotype]

so happy to hear this

[TheDonIrish]

Bam!



[Koschei24601]

If he was blind, why does he wear clear glasses instead of dark shades? Did he have any sight at all?

[laserluddite]

@Koschei24601 i read that he also earned money with wrestling before his musical success, and that he maybe hat rudimental eyesight, thats why he weared the classes. but who knows...

[dljc1979]

@Koschei24601 | well it's not like he could see what they looked like...

[jimwalsh2001]

In the opening riff, you can hear the roots of "Johnny B, Goode"...

[alexbruce9]

Lnoe Tinaja, Thank you! :-)

[LoneTinaja]

(Continuing) Over the years the Country Blues would emerge from Texas Blacks.To get an idea of what early Country Blues may have sounded like see Henry "Ragtime Texas" videos.Most of the Country Blues greats came from the Brazos River region,including Blind Lemon,who was the 1st Blues recording artist to become a big seller, before any of the Delta Blues artists did.See Henry Thomas' "Bull Doze Blues".Canned Heat turned it into the Hippie anthem "Going Up the Country". Ain't life good?

[LoneTinaja]

When Texas was part of Mexico the most common musical instrument of Hispanics was the guitar. When U.S Anglos moved to Mexican Texas they got far more exposure to guitars than the Anglos who stayed in the U.S. South which had the fiddle as the most common instrument.As such, when Texas became a nation,then a state,some slaveowners who wanted entertainment allowed some slaves to learn to play guitar.After being freed some Texas Blacks began making their own crude guitars, (Continued)

[jessegguitar]

where can i get a strap like that

[porterhall27]

right down in it

[shannonandsheila1]

yep if ya cant say nuthin nice shut up

[lilbethrocker]

this is amazing

[mogges1]

so many great old time singers left in the shadows.

[SexyFatKid]

everybody, shut your damn mouths and listen to the music this man is (or was) putting out. the world'll be a better place that way.

[Dallasthebeautiful]

fyyyfaeeeeen, sug deg sjøl

[Dallasthebeautiful]

get a life

[splitgardenz1]

We are transformers converters light becomes energy void becomes matter and dont need a hydron collider or what ever it is!

[Az1111000]

You really get it ebonics4everyone! I'm happy to know that you are out there! Blues music is an unappreciated, unknown origin of punk! The disenfranchised, the poor, these misanthropic jewels always find a way to shine! Oh but always in the darkest way. Accentuating that stress between light and dark! That pull, that gravity! Sooner or later everyone will find themselves in its' orbit. And the great journey begins again. I'm gonna listen to some more blues . . .

[forgotpzwrd1]

why is there a lot of blues singer that is blind?

[jc7997aj]

@forgotpzwrd1 cause they make bad carpenters lol

[lucripet]

@forgotpzwrd1stop sniffing the glue.

[boobers235able]

wonderful metaphors.

[ColonelFain]

Martha Copeland did a great version of this in the 20s, too. Makes more sense when a woman sings it - "Get this black snake out my room".

[PHLPMre]

Blues music has the best names.

[Elkins2424]

Ericmadis53 is right, a lot of these old cats stayed in a chord in a progression a long time, lightnin hopkins even said "lightnin change, when lightnin won't' too."

[ericmadis53]

Someone commented that the song had little chord structure or rhythm. That is incorrect. If the person listens carefully, and better yet if he would chart out what is happening, he would find that it follows a very specific structure and rhythm. Because the structure spills out beyond the standard 12-bar structure that many groups use, he is having a hard time hearing the structure. It is best not to make comments about a type of music that one does not know very well!

[revkenordquist]

@ericmadis53 I know "shredder" type metal guitarists that listen to this and are dumbfounded. Especially "Matchbox"

[Vortigan07]

@ericmadis53 Always nice to read an articulate and educated response :-)

[Chipadychuck]

Something bluesy vintage that no other type of music has nowadays. It may have little rythm or chord structure, but it's music.

[LoneTinaja]

I love Country Blues more'n a hog loves slop

[ElizabethR1558]

This is AMAZING!! Jefferson lived from 1893 to 1929, and recorded this. Must be one of the first recorded blues songs. Although I am wondering what he's talking about when he says, "Some pretty mama better come and get this black snake soon." and "Sugar, what's the matter, don't like no black snake no how"

[mtyemti]

@beatmercker Well said. I am a poor white man from a small town in Western Illinois. I am willing to work hard but because i am not from a wealthy socialite family I can't find a decent job. I was engaged once but she left me on Thanksgiving, 2006. i know the blues.

[megaflex48]

@mtyemti yes you do brotha. it don't make no difference what color you are. the blues can fuk up a persons's day.

[38651]

@mtyemti The Blues speaks to all of us.

[dextermijit]

We're all blue inside, thats the only color that matters.

[evilthesaurus]

@dextermijit

well said, my friend.

[emsctemsct]

LMAO...Scots from African...Even if they were from Ancient Egypt, nothing to do with west africa black people...have a look at the world map...it's like saying jesus is a tibetan...

[pitstainz]

@Skeksisexy Settle down. What JAD says is completely true government isn't out there trying to repress black people music, have you turned on the radio lately? It's what sells, what the MAJORITY of people want to hear. Sorry, lots of people with bad musical taste but that doesn't make our government racist!

[bloodynoes]

There's a coyote in my neighborhood... when I put this song on, the coyote started howling and it fit into the music perfectly. :)

[duncanstpt]

There sure were a lot of blind black men back then.

[Skeksisexy]

you know what i despise.. the fact that the government still enslaves black people.

let me ask you, when was the last time you heard this type of music from a black man on mainstream tv ? only thing you see is hiphop, cheap music about cars, woman and useless shit... the system still has black people enslaved and they dont even realize it... i wish black people would be free some day (this is coming from a white man)... 

[JAD3889]

@Skeksisexy The government has nothing to do with it. This kind of music is no longer popular in a large scale. Times change. 100 years from now, no one will listen to rap, or at least the way rap is currently being portrayed.

[MrGeltabs]

@Skeksisexy The system has black people enslaved because they chose to keep the same course of life.... to me if daddy's in jail n mommy's smoking rock. the last thing I'm going to wanna do is put my kids through what I had to go through right??? It's a vicious cycle, but the last thing we need is to be placing the blame. the fact is, it's up to oneself to make something of themselves.

[sestsa]

@Skeksisexy What does television have to do with the government? It's corporate America. And corporate America is driven by one thing: money. If audiences were smarter and this kind of music sold well, you'd see it on TV more.

[dunmer2007]

@Skeksisexy

Ghetto Americans do it to themselves...There are plenty of Black people who are outstanding musicians, turn off the radio and MTV and you'll be able to find them...

BTW:

Ghetto Americans < Black People...

[Megalemondemon]

@TheAxeMutant Thankyou!



[yourluvinteddybear]

i am a southerner and proud of it......there is no room in this world for racism..blues has nothing to do with race..it is a way of life

[FearlessUnless]

@yourluvinteddybear ------- I agree, its a feeling inside of you. You either get it or you don't cut and dry.

[tripoticsoundscapes]

@yourluvinteddybear race doesn't matter we all bleed red blood, but it does seem that the best blues musicians are black people.

[revkenordquist]

@tripoticsoundscapes seems like it used to be that way. What the hell are they doing now?

[tripoticsoundscapes]

@revkenordquist probably dead a lot of them were one foot in the grave when i was born 29 years ago nevermind now lol.

[Megalemondemon]

Ok...now for my 'two cents'...the racist jackasses (of all colors and creeds)are ignorant (look it up sweetie)

the 'im a victim' s are ignorant (again, look it up)

who cares where techno started

who cares where sampling started, it's a form of flattery for the sampled artist

I love all music, ALL of it

and finally

THE BEATLES ROCK

btw the movie named fr this song is very good...js

[peachkey]

I wonder if Blind Melon got their name idea from this.

[mentalsupernova]

@peachkey Actually, I think they did.

[kurt72]

@peachkey more than likely, they got it from "Blind Melon Chitlin" from Cheech and Chong. THEY probably were spoofin Blind Lemon

[cokerg2003]

@kurt72 Blind Lemon Simpson!!

[stumoo190]

What's black and bumps into pianos ?

Stevie Wonder .

[kalimaganeshshivan]

@stumoo190  What's a white racist fuck that gets his head decapitated and shoved up his ass?

stumoo190

[mtyemti]

@BamaBoy205SR Your mom sucks cocks in hell!!!!!!!!!!!!

[edcerc]

whoever disliked this...what the fuck is wrong with you? are you dumb?

[ThatGuyJenny]

I dont give a flying fuck what color this man's skin is. All i know is, he can play some awesome blues

[weakenedvampire]

@ThatGuyJenny Pretty sad you still feel the need to qualify a your statement.

[EadsKath]

@ThatGuyJenny If you don't give a ff then why bring it up? Just sayin'.

[jessegguitar]

@ThatGuyJenny his skin?? lol this is 2011... dont even mention skin...

[ThatGuyJenny]

@jessegguitar my comment was to someone else being racist, and i should've hit reply to his comment. so to all of you trying to bash me and shit for being racist. that should clear it up. because 3 months ago, i was referring to the dumb redneck bashing on a dead man.

[myguitardidyermom12]

The spelling and grammar is really going downhill in the comments.

[Freyja1133]

Blind  Lwmon is more of a blues traditionalist

[Freyja1133]

Wasn't Blind Lemon Jefferson riends with Leadbelly?

[TheDeltaBluesAlarm]

Yeah!!!!!!

[CalypieAndroid]

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah American Blacks, are the Blessed Seed, Deal with it.

And fool yourselves that Thieves, will Not Be Burned under the Sun, and Come down with the plagues of Egypt. What God has given none can take away, fool yourselves in delusion.

[hylton7]

@CalypieAndroid

god is not real :)

[Zimnyification]

@hylton7 Since when? Shit.

[raider77nw]

@CalypieAndroid what does that mean?

[bobegan104]

This guy was a musical genious.  I wish I had his guitar skills. That would be a lifetime achiemement.

[emriederek]

Leadbelly (Huddie Leadbetter) was the Folk/Blues SH**!

[janeybob55]

20 people don't know music if it runs up and bites them in the kneecaps - and if you think being a black blind man from Marlin Texas wasn't a factor in his music then you've never been there and you think Dr King's dream has been acheived - been loving blues all my life and if you don't think race is a facter, you aren't really listening - our greatest American composers are black and mostly forgotten

[mkmphotog]

friggin delta!

[TheEpisteme]

@mkmphotog Blind Lemon Jefferson was from Texas.

[BDIZZLE570]

Anyybody know the female blus artist that sings a song go like this " if you want a fight you can get it tonight, you know where to find me"

[ebonics4everyone]

Black snake? He's talking about his dick. How punk rock is this shit?

[Ridgway55]

@ebonics4everyone

You are thinking of his other hit. Black Tar Paper Moan.

[Crzyrocker11]

@ebonics4everyone The black snake is another mans dick in his home taking his woman away.

[jiduprett]

ignorante...



[zaldivarjohn]

@ebonics4everyone ...Punk to the Max, no doubt!

[4amninja]

@ebonics4everyone The term Black snake moan, is a metaphor for him going blind, the black snake is his blindness.

Look it up, thats what he wrote the song about.

[LilReaper608]

@4amninja well thank you for ruining that.

[SeagullTheFreegull]

@4amninja sure thing dude. definitely not what the growedups decided to tell their kids about it. don't believe things so easily, roodypoo

[AbnormalImagery]

@4amninja

"Mmm, mmm, black snake crawlin' in my room, Some pretty mama better come and get this black snake soon"

"Sugar, what's the matter, don't like no black snake no how" He's singing about his dick, bro.

[AbnormalImagery]

@21badmojo

You must never heard the lyrics then.

[mrstanbmw]

@4amninja son if you beleive that Santa will drop down your chimney this X-mas

[michael1922100]

@ebonics4everyone Thats exactly what he's not talking about.

[AgentCarter]

@ebonics4everyone um, not at all?

[callitacomeb10106]

@ebonics4everyone punk fucking rock

[lucripet]

@ebonics4everyone Hey Peanut. This is where all of the music you listen to has it's roots. Back in the day we were not as ignorant as you folks are today

[robertmck12]

that was actually toblackness and  dan

[darrouken]

Beautiful... :'-)

This man had no idea his music would become published.

[RealRockandRoll]

Blind Lemon was well known in his town for being able to stay up all night and rock private parties....all he needed was a guitar, a pale of liquor, and a comfortable chair and he could rock a party from 8pm to 8am!

[robertmck12]

@RealRockandRoll pale ale rocks

[chrislliatsos]

so what is the song actually referring to??

[DJNunzi]

@chrislliatsos I ain't got no mama now

I ain't got no mama now

She told me late last night, "You don't need no mama no how"

Mmm, mmm, black snake crawlin' in my room

Mmm, mmm, black snake crawlin' in my room

Some pretty mama better come and get this black snake soon

He's talking about his dick and the need for some "pretty mama" to come over and empty his pipes...hence, get this black snake

[epaRraW]

The blues add a touch to life that nothing else can.

[davebear1316]

look out nigger the clans getting bigger. woogie boogie

[timberbeast420]

@davebear1316 Bear season is open in september,

[robertmck12]

@davebear1316 your scaring me

[colinm213]

@BlacknesUnforgivable

dan32113 knows what he's talking about, everything he's said is 100% correct. I'm not having a go, this is just a friendly suggestion that instead of being blinded by xenophobia, just listen to Kraftwerk, check when it was recorded, and your ears will confirm everything. Who cares what country its from, as long as the music is good

[robertmck12]

@colinm213 youre both looking back at history from your own point of view this is how wars procreate.

[BloozeDaddy76]

Taking it back to the 1920's baby, with the first blues superstar, the man that started it all....BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON

[philjit1]

well said , in its day it would be great. its like all history we never learn, if we did there would be no wars or predudice. bring on the blues.

[ihavehaze]

I bet there isn't a single music video on youtube were people aren't arguing in the comments

[nez2008]

Blind Mellow Jelly!

[kickassteen]

if you still have a problem with colour or race the 1800s phoned and said they want there racism back... fuckin noobs

[plasticdrag]

all these blues guys shows how music and money is connected... they didnt have money, they all were poor people from the plantation, many of them criminals and even murderers... money was never an intention to make this music when? it was created, so the blues became the deepest and most soulful music in human history. luckily they could record and we have youtube. Todays music like Pop and all this MTV stuff is made almost ONLY for money and it became the worst musical shit in human history...

[somethingrandooom]

@plasticdrag cant disagree with that

[MarcIsPaco]

Good song. Like his guitar playing.

[lokimojo80]

Guys, music supposed to unite us not cause fights.. Settle down and enjoy the tunes!

Seriously!

[mtyemti]

@lokimojo80 Amen Brother.

[schclum]

@BlacknesUnforgivable you know it's disrespectful to the African Americans who actually did suffer when you pretend you have it as bad as they did, have some respect cunt

[schclum]

@BlacknesUnforgivable you make me sick you racist self-pitying little fuck, you couldn't relate to it either, when where you enslaved? Huh? You think because you're the same color as the people who were treated with prejudice in America it gives you the right to say you can relate to them? You weren't fucking there mr. I'm so mistreated, so shut the fuck up. By the way white people make better jazz

[kevfulchester]

I don't give a fuck if you're black, white, rich, poor, smart, dumb, high, sober, short, tall, bald, hairy, or just plain strange, there's something unifying about great Blues music. The sincerity of the artists of this era is just overwhelming... how can you not get chills listening to this?

[BlacknesUnforgivable]

@kevfulchester Actually, there's nothing "unifying" about this music.Whites just look up old black music like blues,jazz,doo wop , etc and play up the whole "lets hold hands together" multicultural mumbo jumbo bullshit trying to relate to something that they never could or can relate to.

[kevfulchester]

@BlacknesUnforgivable Yeh cos Black Americans are the only people in the history of the fucking world who've ever dealth with poverty and oppression... give me a break. The Blues is NOTHING to do with race.

[dan32113]

@BlacknesUnforgivable alot of dance & hip hop owes a great deal to german music from the 1970"s. But do you here Kraftwerk saying oh blacks can"t sample our music that we invented. stop talking shit boy..

[BlacknesUnforgivable]

@dan32113 dance music maybe , hiphop definitely not

most hiphop artist sample music from Black soul/r&b artist of the 70's

dont know where you got the whole German thing from.

[dan32113]

@BlacknesUnforgivable hip hop definitely so, pioneer Grandmaster flash has said how influenced he was by Kraftwerk. You don"t know the history of Dance music how it was the Germans who started it along with Tangerine Dream. As they influenced dance, they influenced hip hop. FACT. Grandmaster Flash has even said Kraftwerk were like hip hop with the beats in there music... its undeniable

[BlacknesUnforgivable]

@dan32113 You want to give an example of some german so called "influences" in hiphop?

And "dance music" is too broad of a term.What kind of dance music do you mean?

and as ive said before, most hiphop artist sample old tunes from BLACKS 

[dan32113]

@BlacknesUnforgivable were do you think the idea for sampling comes from, sgt Pepper album by the Beatles. Don"t forget also the beat of hip hop comes from the German techno bands (Krafwerk) damn the Brits/Germans shaped modern popular music...

[BlacknesUnforgivable]

@dan32113 Germans did not invent sampling.'Sampling" goes back as far as the 1960's and the earliest documented case was here in America, not Germany.

The beat of hiphop? There are numerous of beats of hiphop , what are you talking about?

The Brits may have played a role in shaping modern pop music but certainty not the Germans.

[dan32113]

@BlacknesUnforgivable The Beatles are from Liverpool England, they started sampling, duh. The genesis of the beats comes from the German sound, they started Techno idiot.  I repeat sampling was 1st used on the Beatles album Sgt Pepper. got that finally...

[BlacknesUnforgivable]

@dan32113 The earliest example of sampling involved elvis , not the beatles.Look it up

and the germans didnt start techno music dumbass , techno originates in Detroit by the bellville 3 ( 3 black dj's)

[dan32113]

@BlacknesUnforgivable how silly you are, listen to trans europe express by kraftwerk which was made well before techno started you can here how it sounds like techno, they hail Kraftwerk & also Tangerine dream as great influences. Techno is electronic music & the first electronic music comes from germany. FACT. Also sgt Pepper was the first concept album using sampilng, there was no album that sounded like it before it came out! The germans started the beats of electronic, that is the truth!!!

[BlacknesUnforgivable]

@dan32113 Hahahaha look up the "bellville 3" three black dj's from detroit who are credited for creating techno

sorry dude

and fuck the beatles they sucked anyway

[dan32113]

@BlacknesUnforgivable sorry dude, Derrick May one of the "belville 3" has admitted the influence of Kraftwerk. Techno is electronic music, & Kraftwerk lay the template down baby. Using synthesizers, drum beat rhythms & heavily effected vocals can be heard on early techno, sadly for you Kraftwerk had already done it!

[BlacknesUnforgivable]

@dan32113 There may be an influence there but who put together all of the components that make techno , "techno"? The Bellville 3

[dan32113]

@BlacknesUnforgivable thats rubbish, its like 1 chef cooking a meal, then the next putting a few herbs on & claiming he did it! Kraftwerk had already made electronic music, in Detroit they just changed it slightly. But it was already there!!! Also African Bambaataa used Kraftwerk in early hip hop "planet rock" the backbone of the song is Trans Europe Express, again Kraftwerk. They are rightly called the Godfathers of Electronic music...

[dan32113]

@BlacknesUnforgivable ps yes there are numerous beats now! but at the start there wasn"t , thats why Kraftwerk started it! before them there was nothing, youre not the sharpest tool are you!!!

[BlacknesUnforgivable]

@dan32113 Dvorak was influenced by Black american spirituals

i guess we can lay claim to his "New World Symphony" piece now

[dan32113]

@BlacknesUnforgivable yeah why not, i know Led Zeppelin were influenced by the Blues singers. Just as The Bealtes are the godfathers of sampling.. so can we lay claim to any hip hop that uses sampling, lol...

[BlacknesUnforgivable]

@dan32113 Btw i never denied that dance music wasnt influenced by germans. Like ive said be more specific, what kind of dance music?

[mtyemti]

@BlacknesUnforgivable The Sugar Hill Gang sampled Chic's "Good Times" for "Rappers Delight."

[JeanCocteau777]

At last, some real music!

[cidedwards31a]

BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON!

[hulud99]

the earlier version is WAY better

[Chandlorexia]

why does everyone have to say something about race/color/ethnic backgrounds in your fucking comment...SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN TO THE DAMN SONG.

[nomiclas]

@Chandlorexia i guess i'm proud of our black/blues history.if you think this is crap then its better for you to look up the charleston from this time frame

[gregswife84]

@Chandlorexia Bravo!! Well said, just listen and appreciate!

@Chandlorexia Breathe~~~~(-_-)