With “Oh Daddy” on the one side and “Down Home Blues” on the other, this record was Black Swan’s first big hit and made Ethel Waters (1896-1977) Black Swan’s biggest star. Waters was one of the most successful African American performers of the 1920s, and in the 1930s and 1940s she performed on Broadway and in numerous films, winning an Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in the 1949 film Pinky.
Tom Delaney, “Down Home Blues,” performed by Ethel Waters and Cordy Williams’ Jazz Masters, Down Home Blues (phonograph record; Black Swan 2010; 1921).
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Lyrics: “Down Home Blues”
I never felt
So lonesome before;
My friend has quit me;
He’s gone for sure;
He broke my heart,
For I loved him true;
So now I’m worried,
Lonesome and blue.
I’ve got the blues on my mind,
I just feel like crying all the time.
Woke up this morning, the day was dawning,
And I was feeling all sad and blue,
I had nobody to tell my troubles to;
I felt so worried,
I didn’t know what to do.
But there’s no use in grievin’, because I’m leavin’,
I’m broken-hearted and Dixie-bound;
I been mistreated, ain’t got no time to lose.
My train is waiting,
And I got the down-home blues.
Woke up this morning, the day was dawning,
And I was feeling all sad and blue,
Lord, I had nobody to tell my troubles to;
I felt so worried,
I didn’t know what to do.
But there’s no use in grievin’, because I’m leavin’,
I’m broken-hearted and Dixie-bound;
Lord, I been mistreated, ain’t got no time to lose.
My train is leaving,
And I got the down-home blues.
