1. Introduction:
For my dissertation on Blueswomen: An
Interpretation of Blues lyrics I intend to focus
on, through an interpretation of the lyrics, the
status and culture of black women. Starting
from the emergence of the Blues in the Deep
South in the 1920’s up to the death of the
vaudevillian and ending with the Blues revival
in the 1960’s. I wish to convey how Black
women during this time were not only
oppressed due to race but also gender.
Although this topic has been discussed
previously I intend to take a deeper look into
the lyrics by using both male and female artists
and derive from this an understanding of the
oppressions experienced by Black women.
BluesWomen: An interpretation of blues lyricsBlueswomen: An interpretation of blues lyricsBlueswomen: An interpretation of blues lyrics
Objectives:
The objectives of my research is to demonstrate, from
looking at blues lyrics from female and male artists, the
ways in which women were oppressed due to race and
gender during the blues era of the 1920’s and 30’s. I
will focus on artists such as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey,
Lucille Bogan and Robert Johnson
The purpose of my research is to gain a deeper
understanding of the ways in which black women were
oppressed not only by the white race but blacks also.
This is an aspect which I feel hasn’t been covered in
detail, when we think of black oppression we think of
the white race being the dominant oppressor but from
looking at the lyrics of female artists such as Mamie
Smith and Lucille Bogan, it is clear that black men and
their treatment of women were popular themes to sing
about during the Blues era. Through an analysis of key
artists and their lyrics, an insight into the relationships
between men and women during this era can be
Bessie Smith
‘Outside of That
‘He blackened my eye
I couldn't see, but
outside
Of that he’s alright with
me
I said for fun, I don’t
want you
No more. And when I
said that
I made sweet Papa
sore’
Robert Johnson
32-20 Blues
Sings the 32-20
blues, a
fictional story about
murdering
his woman because
she wouldn't come
home
By comparing the
lyrics between male
and female blues
artists we can
achieve an
understanding of the
type of relationships
they had with each
http://www.last.fm/music/Robert+Johnson
http://students.cis.uab.edu/k80is/BessieSmithLifeAndTimes.html