Song of the day:
Video of the day:
National Poetry Month
The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other night
By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light
He did a lazy sway . . .
He did a lazy sway . . .
To the tune o' those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man's soul.
O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan—
"Ain't got nobody in all this world,
Ain't got nobody but ma self.
I's gwine to quit ma frownin'
And put ma troubles on the shelf."Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more—
"I got the Weary Blues
And I can't be satisfied.
Got the Weary Blues
And can't be satisfied—
I ain't happy no mo'
And I wish that I had died."
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that's dead.
I read a great book this week, Windy City Blues by Renee Rosen. It came out a few years ago but I’d never made time to read it. Full disclosure, Renee is a friend of mine, but somehow I never picked up this book. When I saw it was part of the book club I pop in and out of I knew it was time. And I’m only sorry that I didn’t read it sooner.
This book is historical fiction that is primarily focused on the birth of the blues in Chicago. Many of the characters are real people, including the Chess brothers, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and more. But there are a handful of fictional characters who are central to the story.
The story is about the music, the musicians, how the records were made and how they were sold. It’s about a young Jewish girl falling for a young Black man and everything that meant back then - and still means now. Sigh. Set in the late 50s and early 60s it also dives deep into the social justice movement, and our fictional characters become Freedom Riders who cross paths with Dr. King.
This book made me feel a wide range of emotion, from joy to pain, anger to agony, heartbreak to hope. It’s well-written, incredibly well-researched, and a great read. I highly recommend it! Oh, and side note, the cover in no way does the book justice. Renee told us at the book club last night that it was not her vision at all, but sometimes an author doesn’t have a choice.