What exactly is blues?

[Paul F]

Ive been reading posts about blues music and 'somehow' i have believed i have been doing some blues moves :confused: maybe from watching people but it brings me to the question.

What is it?

That is, is it a style of dance that is taught for example, or is it something that was just conceived as a workshop idea?
I know blues music is a genre by itself but is 'blue dance' a known style.

I would love to learn more about it you see but can't find any reference or any classes to speak of.

Could it be that its just MJ but slower!!

[Divissima]

I have always thought like you, Paul, and would welcome a bit of education on this.

Like you, I always thought it was modern jive moves danced to slow tempo blues music - incorporating a lot of UCP moves. But then, the only Blues class I have attended was the Tramp at Bognor, so I don't have a whole lot of blues experience.

There must be some forumites who can tell us more.

[Paul F]

Hope so!

The nearest i have come so far to defining a dance style that involves 'slow dancing' is "Nightclub two-step" but i have more chance of finding a class on 'the art of toast' than i do in finding one of these classes :tears: :tears:

I thought for a minute hustle was the answer until i watched some people doing it. looked just the same as MJ.

This 'blues' continues to be a mystery!

[bigdjiver]

What is it?

http://www.stlbx.com/moreblues.html

[Divissima]

Cut and paste job from Bigdjiver's link:
Contrary to popular belief, Blues Dance is not automatically about sex. It is automatically about emotion, Intense Emotion. It is very personal and intimate in ways that other improvisational dances like Lindy Hop cannot be simply because in blues there is so much less complexity in the music. What is left is raw, unpolished, human vulnerability. Blues dancing is an intimate expression or conversation between dancers that can be personal, spiritual, and emotional in ways that verbal communication fails. When done correctly, Blues Dancing can be one of the most rewarding and indescribable experiences any level of dancer can have.


What Nigel Andersen says on the subject:
I’m often asked - “What is Blues?”

As a Musician I would answer that “Blues is a set of chord changes in a 12 or 16 bar pattern, differentiated with flattened 3rd’s, 5th’s & 7th’s often used by players as a basis for improvisation”

The Dancer’s answer is more complex. “Blues is an elaborate fusion of ideas from every dance style, from the mambo of Dirty Dancing to the romanticism of Ballet. The tempo and space given by the music allows a freedom of interpretation and improvisation that is seldom found in partner dances” This one I understand the best.

[Paul F]

Wow!

I was somewhat blown away with those descriptions.
In essence this was the answer i was hoping for. Running the risk of sounding corny it seems that the whole sphere of blues is 'what is inside'. I know dancing is an expression of emotion through conversation but more often than not people see it as a stecato sequence of set moves. It sounds like the best way to learn blues is to use feeling instead of steps. I could be wrong but i hope im not. Just means lots of hard work :sick:

Thanks everyone.

[Chris]

Originally posted by bigdjiver
What is it?
http://www.stlbx.com/moreblues.html

Thanx bigdjiver for this link - one of the most articulate descriptions I've seen! (I'll add it straight away to my humble blues page (http://www.docker.demon.co.uk/dance/bluesmusic.html). - my limited web skills didn't enable me to create anything so atmospheric much less content!) It's also nice to see it addressed from outside the UK, as Blues here has largely been defined by N&N's classes (though they originally sold it more on their own dance style than anything recognisable as blues), and subsequently enlarged by the UK dancers who taught it afterwards.

The St Louis website is also one of the few descriptions I've seen that expresses the vibrant integrity of blues dancing. Picking up on the last sentence, 'blues dancing will help your lindy hop', I'd add IMO it can help your modern jive. It expresses essential ideas - like dancing from the inside out and dancing and interpreting every nuance of the magic of the music. When I'm dancing jive I 'think' blues, whether I'm dancing fast or slow, whether I'm dancing up close or open, whether I'm dancing very tentatively or with confidence.

There is so much more to blues than sexy dancing, though some people will specialise in certain 'styles'. One of my personal ambitions is to expand my range of blues styles.

[Sheepman]

Originally posted by Divissima
This one I understand the best. Can you say where Nigel's quote came from?
Greg

[Gus]

To my simple mind, Blues is what Nigel and Nina have taught as such:nice: I'm not aware of any Blues being commonly danced until they introduced their workshops from about 1998(?). I've seen many imitators, but never seen their Blues workshops matched.

As for UCP, I believe that can incorprate Blues type moves ... but can be exapanded to incorprate other styles of close moves, e.g. Sals etc. Personal view only.

[Divissima]

Originally asked by Greg:
Can you say where Nigel's quote came from?Sorry, Greg, although my post doesn't make it at all clear, both quotes are cut and pasted from Bigdjiver's linked page. That page doesn't indicate where it got the quote from in the first place though.

[ChrisA]

Originally posted by Divissima
Sorry, Greg, although my post doesn't make it at all clear, both quotes are cut and pasted from Bigdjiver's linked page. That page doesn't indicate where it got the quote from in the first place though.
Since it's attributed to Nigel, it probably came from jumpnjive.co.uk (http://www.jumpnjive.co.uk/FramePage.htm)

Go there, click on "blues".

HTH,
Chris

[Bill]

There have been several threads on this subject - and currently one elsewhere on 'too much blues' ?


In my mind 'Blues', as Gus says is how Nigel and Nina dance - or at least one form of the dancing they do. I've seen several folk do UCP moves and workshops but as Nigel says in the quote I really believe it's about slowing the tempo and playing/reacting to the music - something they are really wonderful at.

It doesn't just mean dancing to 'blues' tracks ( what is a 'real' blues song etc....) but slowing down, speeding up, playing as the music dictates - in a way more like the feel from salsa or tango I suppose.

As soon as I saw N&N I was enthralled because it was what I had been trying to do as I'd always preferred dancing to slower tracks and trying to interpret the music.

The big change from ceroc is that most cerocers dance to a track and go through a lot of moves in what might be described as a more bouncy style. Blues means listening to the music more and swaying rather than bouncing.

At least that's my take on it and as you might gather I am a blues fanatic :D :na:

[Sheepman]

Originally posted by ChrisA
Since it's attributed to Nigel, it probably came from jumpnjive.co.uk (http://www.jumpnjive.co.uk/FramePage.htm)
Go there, click on "blues".
Thanks Chris, I was asking 'cos it sounded to me a bit like the "marketing version" of a discussion I've had with Nigel on the subject.

In the USA they have blues competitions (well we do here too, at Beach Boogie), I wonder how long they've been going, and how they define it over there.

Greg

[Gadget]

:confused: I really don’t get the question, or any of the answers:
From what’s been described, it’s just dancing. Moves and style change slightly to match the music and your partner, but it’s ultimately about interpretation.
If the song and dancer suit UCP or ‘blues’ style, then I dance with a smooth ‘close’ connection.
If the song has a faster tempo and a more latin feel, and the dancer is flamboyant, then I dance with a more flamboyant, passionate and ‘electric’ connection.
If the dancer is bouncy, and the song is up-beat, then I dance to match it.

But normally my dancing is a combination of all of this, depending on the interpretation of the music. I think that it is a big mistake to think that ‘blues’ dancing is the only style that can be intimate, passionate and feed off of the music.

It’s all dancing :waycool:

[Chris]

Originally posted by Gadget
:confused: I really don’t get the question, or any of the answers: From what’s been described, it’s just dancing.

Well, sure, but I think the question was asking how we define a particular dance style - it could have been what is salsa or what is merengue or what is swing or what is rock and roll.

That doesn't mean you can't have 'bluesy-jive' any more than you can't have 'latin-jive', but if you're saying that blues isn't a dance style in its own right then I think I would tend to disagree.

One could object that a dance has to have specific steps, but this wasn't the case with French Jive before Ceroc and though it's not a direct comparison neither does Blues dancing.

Blues dancing has clearly defined principles. It's not that easy to describe in a sentence or two, and they're not that rigid. I think I've said I 'think' Blues when I'm dancing jive, but that's just me - sometimes I 'think' salsa, particularly for footwork.

Occasionally I've met great dancers who have never heard of Blues dancing and led them through a fantastic Blues dance (this happened with a Ceroc teacher I met at Cambers in May) - she is great at musical interpretation. But similarly I've led a Tango teacher through a modern jive dance in Buenos Aires and she had never heard of jive or ceroc - just a brilliant follower. To these people if no-one said anything it is just 'dancing' too, but Blues dancing, like modern french jive, is a particular dance IMO.

[Bill]

Originally posted by Gadget
:confused: I really don’t get the question, or any of the answers:
From what’s been described, it’s just dancing.
It’s all dancing :waycool:

Well yes.............and no.

Everyone who goes to a Ceroc class dances but not everyone can ( or wants to) do 'blues'. You can do slow moves but what happens with some folk is that it simply becomes slow ceroc rather than a different style and it really does depend on 'feeling' the music and not everyone does that. It can be a dance and that's great but for me ( and I htink many others) the joy of blues is going beyond just a dance and really 'feeling' the song and the lyrics.


Styles can change for different tracks and partners but I probably only really 'blues' with a handful of women but dance slowly with many others.

Last night the girl teaching Tango said that the dance was about feeling - perhaps it might also be about passion - you can do moves but that's all it is - moves and without the feeling /passion it is a dance rather than a conversation or a game between 2 people.

For most of the dancers for most of the time doing moves to a song i.e. dancing is enough but try asking women what it's like to blues with Nigel or some of the other very good UCP male dancers. It might still be a dance but it's a very very differnt kind of dance :wink: :D

[Gadget]

Originally posted by Chris
Well, sure, but I think the question was asking how we define a particular dance style ~snip~
Blues dancing has clearly defined principles. It's not that easy to describe in a sentence or two, and they're not that rigid. I think I've said I 'think' Blues when I'm dancing jive, but that's just me - sometimes I 'think' salsa, particularly for footwork.
Maybe it's the definitions I'm arguing about then:
In trying to define what 'blues' is, I could directly extract the definition(s) and apply it to 'dancing'.

There is nothing said or defined that seperates it from other 'styles' other than it uses more UCP moves and is danced to slower songs.
But slower songs tend to lend themselves to be danced with more UCP moves, so it's a self-defeating argument.

[Graham]

Originally posted by Chris
Well, sure, but I think the question was asking how we define a particular dance style - it could have been what is salsa or what is merengue or what is swing or what is rock and roll.We had a similar debate about whether modern jive is in fact a dance style in its own right, and I agree that the position is very similar for blues. And I also agree that both are in fact distinct dance styles, even though it's hard to get a simple definition for either style.
For me, one of the things which is different in Blues, is that there's a much stronger emphasis on communication and interpretation of the music in relation to your partner specifically, whereas in many other styles (especially modern jive) there's more of an emphasis on patterns (moves). For example it would be perfectly legitimate to dance an entire track in blues without either partner moving either foot away from the starting position, whilst still having loads of musical interpretation and connection.

[Gadget]

Originally posted by Bill
Last night the girl teaching Tango said that the dance was about feeling - perhaps it might also be about passion - you can do moves but that's all it is - moves and without the feeling /passion it is a dance rather than a conversation or a game between 2 people.
Then the question is really about how much passion/feeling you put into the dance to make it class as "blues"?

And what is different between those 'true' blues dances and those that are just slowed?
Knowledge of your partner; being comfortable with your/their bodys. Body language that conveys a sort of "Magnet" dancing - shapes of both lead and follow synchronise. They come appart with reluctance, but join with eagerness. Passion in body as well as eye contact. :yum:

So if you want to call dancing with passion (/feeling), "blues", then I see no problem with it. But people can dance this way without any knowledge of what 'blues' is or any training from 'blues' workshops.

[Chris]

Originally posted by Gadget
Maybe it's the definitions I'm arguing about then:
In trying to define what 'blues' is, I could directly extract the definition(s) and apply it to 'dancing'.

Fair enough. Lots of work though! With an academic hat on, I'd probably say that a definition is in the thing itself rather than a precise 'dictionary style' definition, so it means studying examples of the dance and the way it's taught and developed.

In answer to Paul's original "is it a style of dance that is taught, or is it something that was just conceived as a workshop idea?" I think the evidence is towards the former. But apart from the basic closed step, most of things that define blues are conceptual (and even the basic closed step has many variations, and the basic closed can be hard enough - it took me two years before I felt confident asking experienced strangers for a Blues Dance.)

Nigel Anderson in an early workshop explained how he had researched it very extensively before devising a workshop on it. He looked at its historical occurence and how, as a musician, he developed it into something teachable.

Nigel and Nina's early demos were very balletic, in contrast to the beginners blues classes they taught. This year they seemed to have updated the demoes, with more emphasis on the open variations (when partners are separated rather than up close). I've seen Rena do even more noticeable extremes of up close and sexy and open styles.

Nigel and Nina don't claim to have invented Blues, although it sometimes seems like it. Simon Selmon is an amazing Blues dancer, and he didn't learn it from N&N.

I'll get to my point in a minute - honest!



There is nothing said or defined that seperates it from other 'styles' other than it uses more UCP moves and is danced to slower songs.
But slower songs tend to lend themselves to be danced with more UCP moves, so it's a self-defeating argument. [/B]

It's defined in the way it's practiced by Blues Dancers essentially. UCP moves and sexy or sensual Blues styles are the more common, and the UCP moves are probably easier for most people than the open moves, hence the understandable crossover.

[Bill]

Originally posted by Gadget
Then the question is really about how much passion/feeling you put into the dance to make it class as "blues"?

So if you want to call dancing with passion (/feeling), "blues", then I see no problem with it. But people can dance this way without any knowledge of what 'blues' is or any training from 'blues' workshops.


Yes you can put a lot of passion into any dance form so it's not exclusive to 'blues' but I've seen some folk put what they think is interpretation or feeling into a song but it looks nothing like blues.

As Chris says, N&N now do far more open moves when 'bluesing' but they connect and play with the music in a way most other dancers don't / can't.

Slowing down Ceroc is just slow Ceroc - even though that can still be fun and many of the moves are the same. You can stand still and sway but it may not be blues. maybe it's more a state of mind but it's very much about interpreting and playing to the music - far more than most dancers do at a Ceroc night.

There are very few people up here who have attended enough workshops to be able to 'blues' and a few people I've seen go to workshops but still can't do it. I think it's about being smooth, stylish, slow ( and quick when required) and about interpretaiton.

And no doubt Gadget, you'll say that dancers can do that in Ceroc but I'd suggest few do and those who try won't really be doing 'blues'.

[Graham]

Originally posted by Bill
Slowing down Ceroc is just slow Ceroc - even though that can still be fun and many of the moves are the same. You can stand still and sway but it may not be blues. maybe it's more a state of mind I completely agree with your whole post, Bill. I was thinking however that perhaps the only way to show Gadget would be to demonstrate the difference, perhaps half a track slow ceroc then half a track blues. Very challenging I know!!!! What do you think?

[bigdjiver]

Originally posted by Gadget
:confused: I really don’t get the question, or any of the answers

snip

It’s all dancing :waycool:

That is how I see it. Getting with partner, and with the music together.

However, some people are naturally better at it than others, and more practised, and there is somethings that can be taught and learned, as well as, of course, something that cannot.

[Gadget]

Originally posted by Graham
I completely agree with your whole post, Bill. I was thinking however that perhaps the only way to show Gadget would be to demonstrate the difference, perhaps half a track slow ceroc then half a track blues. Very challenging I know!!!! What do you think?
Sorry, but you and Bill 'Blues-ing it up' is going to be too weird to get beyond that and into the actual style :what: :what:

I can do Slow Ceroc. I can do Passinate. I can even do Slow Ceroc with Passion. {sometimes I even manage it without being laughed at by my partner :rolleyes:} But I have witnessed Bill dancing, and seen him blues-ing - I know there is a differnce. But I don't see the difference as 'blues' and 'dancing'; I see the difference as 'flirting' and 'passion'. Of course this is from a spectator's point of view... and a lot of the difference is in the way the lady dances rather than Bill; he will react and mirror the passion, but will normally only go as far as the lady does {or just a tiney bit further :devil:}
(Sorry about talking about you in the third person Bill - just you're the best at it that I've seen :wink: )

[Sarah B]

Just been on the Jump'n'Jive website to try to find out more about this subject.

Was a bit disappointed that there isn't anything else about blues on there. However it does talk about Swingin the Blues, which is a Blues Workshop and Dance in January with N&N and Simon Selmon, which sounds fantastic.

I'm going to email Nigel and see if he's got any comments on this Blues discussion.

[Bill]

Originally posted by Gadget
and a lot of the difference is in the way the lady dances rather than Bill; he will react and mirror the passion, but will normally only go as far as the lady does {or just a tiney bit further :devil:}
(Sorry about talking about you in the third person Bill - just you're the best at it that I've seen :wink: )

No problem Gadget.

The lady will go as far as the man does and it is the woman who should be noticed not the man ( which is why some folk think Nigel doesn't do much) but like Davidb it's about how the man places and moves the woman and she will often reflect how he is elading but in blues it looks far more intimate than it really is - or can be :wink:

If you're there tonight gadget then keep oyur eyes open as laura is up for a few days and I'm sure Steve will play some nice bluesy tracks for us. :na: :cheers:

[TheTramp]

Originally posted by Bill
If you're there tonight gadget then keep oyur eyes open as laura is up for a few days and I'm sure Steve will play some nice bluesy tracks for us. :na: :cheers: *cough* Possibly *cough*

Steve

[Graham]

Originally posted by Gadget
Sorry, but you and Bill 'Blues-ing it up' is going to be too weird to get beyond that and into the actual style :what: :what: I wasn't suggesting that Bill should demo with me, just that I know he could do it a lot better than I could, and he happens to dance at the same venue as you. Doubt he'd be able to demo it with Laura though, as I don't think she has a non-blues mode :wink:

[Bill]

Originally posted by Graham
Doubt he'd be able to demo it with Laura though, as I don't think she has a non-blues mode :wink:




:rofl: :D

[Bill]

Originally posted by TheTramp
*cough* Possibly *cough*

Steve

Thank you.................... :wink: :cheers:

[TheTramp]

Originally posted by Bill
Thank you.................... :wink: :cheers: Yeah....

And the decent thing for you to do, would have been to let me have Laura to dance one of them with..... :devil:

Steve

[DavidB]

There is another description of blues dancing here (http://dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?topic=1381) (look at the last message.)

I don't know if there is a difference between the American style of blues dancing and the UK style. I've never seen it danced when I've been over there - they usually do West Coast Swing or Night Club 2 Step to slow music at the places we have been. But from reading these web sites, the Americans seem to associate Blues dancing with Blues music (whether slow or fast). Conversations I've had in the past in the UK seem to imply that UK dancers associate Blues Dancing with slow music, and not necessarily Blues.


Blues music has a lot of advantages for dancers - whatever style you dance. It has a regular structure, so you can anticipate what is coming up. It has a longer structure that most pop music, so you have chance to do some moves and still use the breaks. The rhythm is not too complicated. There are other elements to the music that allow your interpretation to develop beyong hitting the breaks - eg minor highlights, bridges, instrument solos etc. Then you have all the emotion that the musicians and especially the singer can bring into the song.

Slow music has advantages for experienced dancers, as it gives them time to listen, think, lead, follow and react. (For less experienced dancers it can cause problems, as they generally want to rush onto the next move before finishing what they are doing.)

Slow Blues music has become very popular as a result, and is certainly what I associate with Blues dancing (even if I would do something else instead).


Whether Blues dancing in the UK has a long history, or was 'invented' by Nigel & Nina is pretty irrelevant. It is definitely a style of dancing, and one that is becoming increasingly popular. I think some elements of it are based on Modern Jive, although it is not just MJ done to slow music. (However, it was interesting to see the Blues competition at Beach Boogie this year - they played one fast blues track, and one slow one. With the fast music, I couldn't tell the difference between what they danced and Modern Jive.)

It hasn't brought anything revolutionary to partner dancing. There isn't anything unique in the musical interpretation, or the closeness of the moves, or the improvisation or expression. But it has certainly introduced many of these concepts to a large number of dancers in the UK.

[Bill]

David............... couldn't have put it better myself........:rolleyes: :D

[Bill]

Originally posted by TheTramp
Yeah....

And the decent thing for you to do, would have been to let me have Laura to dance one of them with..... :devil:

Steve

well I only see her a few times a year to dance with............and you are the DJ so you could always arrange to play something appropriate and you know when it's coming on :na:

Anyway.........shouldn't you be too busy selecting music to think about bluesing with Laura ??????????:wink:

[TheTramp]

Originally posted by Bill
well I only see her a few times a year to dance with............and you are the DJ so you could always arrange to play something appropriate and you know when it's coming on :na: I know. And I did. And you still wouldn't let go of her!! :devil:


Anyway.........shouldn't you be too busy selecting music to think about bluesing with Laura ??????????:wink: Never. This is Laura we're talking about :wink:

Steve

[Gadget]

Originally posted by TheTramp
I know. And I did. And you still wouldn't let go of her!! :devil:
You're not alone; I never got a shot either :tears:... and I was looking to be shown how it was done by a master:innocent: {:yum::yum::yum:}

[Bill]

Originally posted by Gadget
You're not alone; I never got a shot either :tears:... and I was looking to be shown how it was done by a master:innocent: {:yum::yum::yum:}

Sure she'd have had fun showing you the moves Gadget :D

and Steve..............you need no encouragement :na: :wink:

[Sarah B]

Just got this email reply back from Nigel Anderson .....quiet interesting.

Hi Sarah,
A short history of Blues for you:

As a Musician
Blues music originated in America around about 1890 and was thought to be sung by the farm workers during harvest time. The simple structure and the call & response themes therefore made it very simple to learn and join in with. The themes of the songs tended to be very sad
ie.
Woke up this morning, found my dog was dead
Woke up this morning, found my dog was dead
Pity on me, makes me sad in the head

During the 1920’s and 30’s this became the pop music of the day with artists such as Bessey Smith leading the way and since then the blues structure has been used throughout the 20th century as a basis for many forms of popular music from Swing, Rock & Roll, R&B, Soul through to the latest chart music of today.

The music itself can be structured in either 12 or 16 bar patterns and because of its simple structure lends itself ideally to jazz and improvisation. In fact musicians call the flatten 3rds and 5ths in the music “Blues” notes as they give the music its unique flavour.


As a Dancer
Dances throughout the ages have been associated with the music that is popular at the time.
Most of the 20th Century dances are all related to Lindy Hop which became popular in the 1930’s during the Swing Era.
ie. Lindy Hop = Swing (30’s)
Jitterbug = Jump Jive (40’s)
Rock & Roll = Rock & Roll (50’s)
West Coast Swing = Country / R&B (70’s)
Modern Jive = Chart (90’s)

So where does Blues fit in with this. I think the best answer is to give you a short history of where the modern dance style has come from.

In the early 80’s the Herrang Dance camp (Sweden) started, teaching Lindy Hop and Boogie Woogie. As part of the camp they introduced a mid week “Blues” evening where the music was slow and the lights were low, to give the dancers at the camp an excuse to get to know each other better.

In 1990 Simon Selmon started teaching at this camp and brought this ‘Blues’ idea back to the UK. He gave a few classes at the 100 club as one off specials which basically gave the dancers the opportunity to improvise and have a go at dancing to very slow music. At this time all the music being played for blues tended to be the old style ‘Blues’ music from the 20’s/30’s.

In 1997 Nina & myself were invited to teach at the 2nd Beach Boogie dance camp on the Isle of Wight. Rena asked if we could teach an UCP lesson and after discussing how we should approach this we came up with the idea of structuring the class in a format that could be taught to people with little dance experience. Previously any UCP classes were more to do with sleaze than dancing and the less intimate way that we approached the lessons proved to be very popular. Since then Nina & I have been lucky enough to be asked to teach our form of slow dancing all over the country and we have gradually developed the repertoire of moves, by stealing ideas from lots of other sources from ballet to ice skating.

Some other interesting dates:
Nov 98 First blues class taught to over 1000 people at Camber
Jan 99 First UK Blues Day in Chiswick (Swingin the Blues)
Mar 99 Simon Selmon becomes 1st American Blues Champion
Aug 01 First UK Blues Competition (IofW)

Like all dance forms ‘Blues’ has developed over the last 5 years and the music we dance to now is not necessarily related to the speed but rather the style of the piece. For instance ‘Blues in the Night’ by Louis Armstrong is 71bpm, while ‘Fever’ by Peggy Lee could also be considered as Blues but is twice as fast at 140bpm.

Hope this has been informative. See you at Hipsters soon,

Hugs etc.
Nigel

[Paul F]

Originally posted by Sarah B
......The themes of the songs tended to be very sad
ie.
Woke up this morning, found my dog was dead
Woke up this morning, found my dog was dead
Pity on me, makes me sad in the headBugger :mad: there goes my original composition for entry to Pop Idol 2004 :wink:

[bigdjiver]

......The themes of the songs tended to be very sad
ie.
Woke up this morning, found my dog was dead
Woke up this morning, found my dog was dead
Pity on me, makes me sad in the head
Originally posted by Paul F
Bugger :mad: there goes my original composition for entry to Pop Idol 2004 :wink:The follow up has gone too (Sonny Terry, Brownie McGee):

"I ate so many hot dogs down in Washington, I couldn't look a cold dawg in the face."