Summer is wonderful, of course — and much appreciated after that seeming endless winter — but it brings a bit of blues to the band room. That’s because when the temperature’s rising and the livin’ is easy, Floodsters tend to scurry away in many different directions.
New Orleans, Orlando, even France have been among the far-away places that lately temporarily scattered the old gang.
In fact, the last time the Bowen House had a full boat for the band’s weekly rehearsal was more than three weeks ago. One of the last tunes of that night was this cautionary tale. Think of this bon voyage as a quirky little trip advisory.
About the Song
“Deep Ellum Blues” isn’t really a blues, not structurally, anyway; rather, it is more of a rollicking roadhouse song from deep in the heart of Texas.
As reported here earlier, the tune celebrates — advertises? frets over? — a section of Dallas with a sketchy, colorful history. Back to the 1920s, it was down on Deep Ellum where you could rub shoulders with Blind Lemon Jefferson and Huddie Ledbetter, with Robert Johnson and Bessie Smith.
Pigeon droppers, reefer men, crap shooters, card sharks and various purveyors of cocaine and bootleg whisky also populated those parts, not to mention the odd gangster (think Bonnie and Clyde and Pretty Boy Floyd).
“It was the only place recorded on earth where business, religion, hoodooism, gambling and stealing go on at the same time without friction,” said Darwin Payne in his 1982 book Dallas, an Illustrated History.
For more about the song’s curious history, click here.
Finding More Flood Songs
If there are other Flood songs you’re in the mood for this morning, the best place to find them is in the free Flood Watch newsletter. The Song Stories department — click here to reach it — offers an alphabetized list of tunes featured in recent weekly podcasts.
Once there, just scroll the page and click on a song title to reach an article that includes a recent performance along with a little of composition’s history.
Or are you in the mood for tunes from a particular time period? Got a 1920s jag going on or are you hankering for a bit of the ‘50s or ‘60s? Check out the “Tunes on a Timeline” section, which re-jiggers all those song links, sorting them into specific decades from pre-1910s up to the present.
Click here to reach it. It’s ideal for tuning up your time machine.
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