I know you don't like this song just because I speak my mind
But I'll sing this song a-just as much as I please because I don't drink shine
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
It's scandalous and a shame
A little late for a temperance song but smack dab in the middle of the Great Depression liquor probably felt like medicine and a scourge to scuffling Black musicians in Atlanta. Or anywhere in the US, for that matter. Black unemployment was 50-70%; 25-30% in the overall economy. We call the economic bust between 2008 and 2011 a Great Recession when overall unemployment barely reached 10%. Just in the last couple of years Black unemployment has fallen below 6% for the first time ever. Before that Black unemployment had rarely ever been under 10% since slavery. Anyway, Blind Willie adds the black humor and Black pathos. He's now a generally recognized early country blues master; Dylan anointed him with a song. He played in a Piedmont blues style, nimble finger picking with syncopated bass counterpoints. There is a sort of stumble-bum, maybe tipsy, grace to his tempos that I find irresistible. He played twelve-strings and slide guitar too; which was rare. And he's got something in his voice that sets him apart, a sly and at times tearful blue yodeling trill. You know it's Blind Willie McTell as soon as you hear that trilling sound in the voice. Also like the way Kate and Willie play off each other. Kate sings the "Now God don't like it and" Willie adds the parenthetical "I don't either." And I don't like it either, the moonshine, I mean. I like Kate & Blind Willie McTell just fine.
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