The “I Got No Right to Sing the Blues” Blues

Many’s the songwriter who has fallen in love with the blues and attempted to write in that vein, only to be struck by the realisation that he/she was not born in a ditch.  Fascinating Aida have a case of the whites, Eddie Perfect has ‘Poor Little Middle Class Me’ , and this is my small addition to the genre.

I confess that my chief reason for posting this live, scratchy recording is that the audience is laughing and the piano solo isn’t dreadful.  Such are my deep, deep depths.

Well, I woke up this mornin’

With the feelin’ everything was gonna be OK

Said, I woke up this mornin’

With the feelin’ everything was gonna be OK

And by and large and on the whole

Nothing bad happened for the rest of the day.

 

I got a good woman who loves me,

And six or seven others waitin’ in line,

I got a good woman who loves me,

And six or seven others waitin’ in line,

I got the feelin’ if they all left me,

I’d be sad for a while and then I’d be just fine.

 

Now, all the people who matter like me,

And the ones who don’t ain’t worth a damn.

Said, all the people who matter really like me,

And the ones who don’t, well, they just ain’t worth a damn

So I’ve got the blues

Over just how unsuited to singing the blues I am.

 

1 and 1 is 2, 2 and 1 is 3

See, I’m even good at Maths, there ain’t no hope for me

I feel so bad and then I turn on the evening news,

And then I get those white, heterosexual, middle-class,

Statistically likely to die in my bed,

At a ripe old age blues.

 

Still, I got my piano – look out

Yeah, my butt still looks good,

And I got a great head of hair

So I play to ease the pain

Of the pain that ain’t there

 

So if you’re feelin’ bad

‘Bout feelin’ good down to your shoes,

Join with me and sing the “I got no right to sing the blues” blues

Join with me if you can, unless you’re from the Sudan

Or your grandparents were Jews.

Then the world will know that, like me,

You got the just so damn well off that you’re lucky to be alive

Blues ——–

 

Yeah, I can go on.