Listen What I Gotta Say: Women in the Blues
6th grade–8th grade
Lesson Hub 8:
I Got Something to Say: Blues Lyrics and Storytelling
The question to consider in this lesson is . . .
What types of stories do blues musicians tell, and how do they tell them?
Blind Musician, by William H. Johnson. Smithsonian American Art Museum.
I Got Something to Say: Blues Lyrics and Storytelling
I Got Something to Say: Blues Lyrics and Storytelling
Country Store on Dirt Road, Gordontown, North Carolina, by Dorothea Lange. Library of Congress.
Path 1
Shifting Landscapes: Blues Lyrics from the Countryside to the City
30+ minutes
Memphis Minnie, by Duncan P. Schiedt. National Musuem of American History.
Blues Lyrics
Big Mama Thornton at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, CA, © Jim Marshall Photography LLC.
Possible Topics for Blues Songs
Love lost
Moving
Work
Anger
Jealousy
Can you think of possible topics for blues songs?
Storytelling in the blues ...
... has roots in West Africa.
Many West African cultural groups have long histories of musician-storytellers known as griots.
Through song and spoken word, griots preserve history, share family stories, and pass cultural traditions and values from one generation to the next.
African Griot, unknown photographer, {PD-old}, via Wikimedia Commons.
Historical Storytelling through Music
Listen to an excerpt from a song called "Toolongjong," performed by Alhaji Falbala Kanuteh, who is singing and accompanying himself on an instrument called balafon.
West African Balafon, Redmedea. CC-BY-SA-3.0-migrated, via Wikimedia Commons.
Political World Map, by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Changing Lyrics for Changing Conditions
This rich oral tradition was foundational to the development of blues music in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries.
How do you think blues lyrics changed as conditions changed for African Americans?
Africa Continent Sketch, by Danielle Nalangan. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. King and Anderson Plantation, Clarksdale, Mississippi Delta, by Marion Post Wolcott. Library of Congress.
The Country Blues
Solo performer
Acoustic instrumentation
Lyrics about rural life
"Low Down Rounder's Blues," by Peg Leg Howell
Listening for Meaning: "One Dime Blues"
In 1927, Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded this country blues tune, called "One Dime Blues."
Blind Lemon Jefferson, unknown photographer. PD US no notice, via Wikimedia Commons.
Solo performer
Acoustic instrumentation
Lyrics about rural life
"One Dime Blues" by Blind Lemon Jefferson
[Verse 1]
I'm broke and I ain't got a dime.
I'm broke and I ain't got a dime.
I'm broke and ain't got a dime.
Everybody gets in hard luck sometime.
[Verse 2]
I was standin' on East Cairo Street one day.
I was standin' on East Cairo Street one day.
Standing on East Cairo Street one day.
One dime was all I had.
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 3]
Mama, don't treat your daughter mean.
Mama, don't treat your daughter mean.
Mama, don't treat your daughter mean.
That's the meanest woman a man most ever seen.
[Verse 4]
You want your friend to be bad like Jesse James?
You want your friend to be bad like Jesse James?
You want your friend to be bad like Jesse James?
Just give'm a six shooter and highway some passenger train.
"One Dime Blues," by Etta Baker
Women in the Blues: Etta Baker
Etta Baker, a blues woman with African American, Native American, and European American heritage is credited with popularizing this song.
Etta's version of "One Dime Blues" is purely instrumental (no lyrics). She uses a style of blues that originated in the Appalachian mountain region, called the Piedmont Blues.
Etta Baker, by David Holt. The Etta Baker Project.
The Appalachian Region Map, by the Appalachian Regional Commision. PD-USGov, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Great Migration
During the early part of the 20th century, many Black southerners faced oppressive conditions and had very few economic opportunities.
People began to migrate to larger cities further north, searching for better paying jobs and fleeing the Black Codes and Jim Crow laws of the south.
Migratory Agricultural Workers on Route 27, by Jack Delano. Library of Congress.
Urban Blues
As the day-to-day situations of life changed, the blues changed too.
Some of these changes included:
-
More instruments and performers
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Different venues (clubs instead of informal gatherings)
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Amplification and electric instruments
-
Lyrical content
15 Down Home Urban Blues Classics, cover design by Wayne Pope and Dix Bruce. Arhoolie Records.
Generally Speaking .....
Memphis Minnie's "Hold Me Blues"
Listen to an excerpt from "Hold Me Blues," by Memphis Minnie.
How many / which instruments do you hear?
Are they acoustic or electric?
Listening for Meaning: "Hold Me Blues"
If he holds me in his arms, whisper darling, oh what a thrill;
If he holds me in his arms, whisper darling, oh what a thrill;
'cause I live the life I love and I love the life I live.
Now he give me a big fine car, a nice roll in the bank;
That will please me awhile, til I sat down and think.
Well, the judge said "Minnie - what make you mistreat your man?"
Judge - you know you ain't no woman, and you sure can't understand.
'Cause he holds me, whispers darling, oh what a thrill;
'Cause I live the life I love and I love the life I live.
Well, he served two years in the Army ... across the sea;
But he would knock me cold when he would write to me.
'Cause he holds me, whispers darling, oh what a thrill;
'Cause I live the life I love and I sure love the life I live.
What story do these lyrics tell?
Optional Activity: Compare and Contrast
Think about similarities and differences between these examples ...
- How many instruments / performers?
- What types of instruments?
- Lyrical content?
"One Dime Blues," by Blind Lemon Jefferson
"Hold Me Blues," by Memphis Minnie
Learning Checkpoint
- How is the history of storytelling in West Africa connected to blues music?
- How did the lyrical content of blues songs change as African Americans moved across the United States?
- What about blues lyrics that have remained the same, regardless of geography (e.g., rural vs. urban)?
End of Path 1: Where will you go next?
Path 2
The Blues Stanza
20+ minutes
Barbara Dane Performs at the Newport Folk Festival, by Diana Davies. Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Opening Discussion
When you're overwhelmed with emotion (good or bad) how do you usually express it?
Expressing Emotion, by Piqsels. CC0, via Medium.
The Blues Stanza and Repitition
The lyrical structure most associated with the blues uses repetition to help the singer emphasize the emotion or sentiment of the lyrical content.
This familiar structure is commonly known as the blues stanza.
Blues, by Robert Cottingham. Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Discover the Blues Stanza
Listen to the first verse of each example.
What is similar about the structure of the lyrics?
Memphis Minnie: “Hold Me Blues”
Big Mama Thornton:
“I'm Feelin' Alright”
Gladys Bentley:
“Worried Blues”
Barbara Dane:
“Working People's Blues”
Memphis Minnie: "Hold Me Blues"
What story might these lyrics tell?
If he holds me in his arms, whisper darling, oh what a thrill;
If he holds me in his arms, whisper darling, oh what a thrill;
'Cause I live the life I love and I love the life I live.
Memphis Minnie, by Duncan P. Schiedt. National Musuem of American History.
Big Mama Thornton: "I'm Feeling Alright"
What story might these lyrics tell?
I'm feeling alright this morning, because my baby's coming home.
Hey, I'm feeling alright this morning, because my baby's coming home.
I got a letter yesterday that he’ll be there this early morn.
Big Mama Thornton, Berkeley Folk Festival, photo by Kelly Hart; © Northwestern University. Courtesy of Berkeley Folk Music Festival Archive, Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections, Northwestern University Libraries.
Gladys Bentley: "Worried Blues"
What story might these lyrics tell?
What makes you men for treat us women like you do?
What makes you men for treat us women like you do?
I don't want no man that I got to give my money to.
Gladys Bentley, unknown artist. National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Barbara Dane: "Working People's Blues"
What story might these lyrics tell?
Working people get the blues, from morn till late at night.
Working people get the blues, from morn till late at night.
It's a cold-hearted feeling when there ain't no end in sight.
Blues Stanza Basics
Each song you just heard used the lyrical structure known as the blues stanza. You can think of it as AAB:
The "blues stanza" generally consists of three lines, each of which is set to four measures of music (12 "bars" in total).
"I'm Feeling Alright"
A
I'm feeling alright this morning, because my baby's coming home.
A
Hey - I'm feeling alright this morning, because my baby's coming home.
B
I got a letter yesterday that he’ll be there this early morn.
Artist Spotlight: Barbara Dane
Can you identify the blues stanza in each example?
"Working People's Blues"
"Victim to the Blues"
"King Salmon Blues"
"Way Behind the Sun"
Hot Jazz, Cool Blues & Hard Hitting Songs by Barbara Dane, by Krystyn MacGregor. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
Meet the Artist: Barbara Dane
Barbara Dane: On My Way [Preview Video], by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
Learning Checkpoint
-
What is the structure of the blues stanza and how does it help blues singers express their stories?
End of Path 2: Where will you go next?
Path 3
Write Your Own Blues Lyrics!
30+ minutes
Langston Hughes, by Winold Reiss. National Portrait Gallery.
Generally Speaking .....
Opening Discussion
Why do you think the spoken word has been such a powerful way for African Americans to express their experiences, ideas, and culture?
Watch this video...
...which provides insight on how and why the spoken word has been a powerful way to create and bring life to African American culture.
Giving Voice: The Power of Words in African American Culture, by The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution.
The Blues and Cultural Expression
The blues is one example of how African Americans have combined the power of words and music to express their culture.
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said:
The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph. This is triumphant music.
Martin Luther King, Jr, photo by Yousuf Karsh. National Portrait Gallery.
Storytelling in the Blues
Blues artists are musical storytellers.
They tell relatable stories about life--usually from a first-person (autobiographical) point of view.
The stories blues artists tell often focus on everyday problems and struggles ...
... but sometimes, they tell stories about wins and the successes of everyday people.
A
A
A
B
The Blues Stanza
Blues artists often use a familiar structure called the blues stanza to tell their stories ... expressing the emotion and the meaning of their lyrics through repetition.
The blues stanza has an AAB pattern:
A
The first line is presented.
A
The first line is repeated for emphasis (sometimes slightly modified).
The first line is repeated for emphasis (sometimes slightly modified).
The third line completes the thought or adds a new idea.
Blues, by Robert Cottingham. Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Listening for the Blues Stanza
Each of the three lines in the blues stanza is set to four measures of music (12 "bars" in total).
"I'm Feeling Alright," by Big Mama Thornton
A
I'm feeling alright this morning, because my baby's coming home.
A
Hey - I'm feeling alright this morning, because my baby's coming home.
B
I got a letter yesterday that he’ll be there this early morn.
Artist Spotlight: Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes was a writer and poet who used his art and leadership skills during the Harlem Renaissance (1910s–1930s) to speak for those who were excluded.
Hughes deeply admired the blues, and often used the blues stanza to narrate the stories of Black American workers in a familiar, southern dialect.
"Night and Morn" by Langston Hughes
A
Sun's a settin', this is what I'm gonna sing.
A
Sun's a settin', this is what I'm gonna sing.
B
I feel the blues a-comin', wonder what the blues'll bring.
Creative Activity: Write Your Own Blues Lyrics!
Blues lyrics represent a powerful use of “words” in Black American culture and serve as a powerful form of storytelling.
Blues lyrics are primarily about life—the everyday troubles, wins, and successes of everyday people.
Next, it will be your turn to use your words and experiences to create your own blues lyrics!
Considerations as You Create:
Choose a topic. Just like blues musicians, make sure your topic and lyrics are about everyday life and true to your own experiences. (What is going on in your life, family, school, neighborhood, town, state, etc.?)
Keep the blues stanza (AAB) in mind as you compose. Will you use a rhyming scheme?
Practice speaking your text in rhythm. Add expression/emphasis to the second line. Does each line last about four measures (16 beats)?
Done? Write another verse, or perhaps, a chorus. What happens next in your story?
Optional: Add Music
Ideas for adding music to this activity:
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Add a rhythmic ostinato pattern on percussion instruments as you recite your lyrics.
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Speak your lyrics in rhythm, using a 12-Bar Blues backing track. There are many tracks available on YouTube . . . here is one example.
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You could also use Etta Baker's "One Dime Blues" as an instrumental backing track. Find this on Slide 11.3 or on YouTube HERE.
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Create a melody for your lyrics . . . consider using the notes in the blues scale.
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Sing your melody along with a 12-bar blues backing track.
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Play the chord structure of the 12 Bar Blues (on a chordal instrument such as guitar, ukulele, or piano) as you accompany yourself.
Musical Melting Pot Sketch, by Danielle Nalangan. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
Optional: Present Your Work
Present your completed blues lyrics to the class.
Ask your peers if they understand the meaning of your lyrics and their relevance to your life.
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Were the lyrics about real life experiences?
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Was your story relatable?
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Was the blues stanza structure used appropriately and effectively?
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Would someone listening think that you lived in an urban or rural area?
Open Mic Night, by Kellywritershouse, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
Learning Checkpoint
- Why has the spoken word been such an important and powerful way to express culture in African American communities?
- Why do many blues artists use the blues stanza to tell their stories?
- What did you consider when writing your own blues lyrics?
End of Path 3 and Lesson Hub 8: Where will you go next?
Continue to Lesson Hub 9:
Blues Women Who Broke the Rules
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Lesson 8 Media Credits
Audio courtesy of
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Video courtesy of
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Images courtesy of
The Arhoolie Foundation
The Etta Baker Project / David Holt
Jim Marshall Photography LLC
Library of Congress
National Museum of African American History and Culture
National Museum of American History
National Portrait Gallery
Northwestern University Libraries
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
© 2026 Smithsonian Institution. Personal, educational, and non-commercial uses allowed; commercial rights reserved. See Smithsonian terms of use for more information.
This Pathway was funded in part by the Smithsonian Youth Access Grants program and received Federal support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum. It also received in-kind, collaborative support from the Society for Ethnomusicology and the National Association for Music Education.
For full bibliography and media credits, see Lesson 8 landing page.