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Once I had a pretty little girl
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I lose my baby,ain't that sad?
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Once I had a pretty little girl
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I lose my baby, ain't that sad?
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You know you can't spendWhat you ain't got
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You can't loseWhat you ain't never had
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Well you know you can't spendWhat you ain't got
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You can't loseWhat you ain't never had
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Won't somebody tell me
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Tell meWhat is the soul of a man?
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I'm going to ask the question
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Please, answer if you can
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I want somebody to tell me
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Tell meWhat is the soul of a man
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I want somebody to tell me
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Please, answer if you can
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I want somebody to tell me
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In the summer of 1977...
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NASA sent a very specialvessel into space.
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Voyager.
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It was to explore the outer planets
of our Solar System...
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and then continue its journeyinto deep space...
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never to return.
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Voyager has been on its way nowfor a quarter of a century.
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And in case it would ever be interceptedby other inhabitants of the universe...
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the spacecraft is carrying on board...
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a record with pictures and soundsfrom Earth.
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And messages in 50 languages.
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"This is a present froma small distant world...
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a token of our soundsand our science..."
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Among all these soundsfrom our planet...
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there's also music, traveling throughspace on the Voyager...
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representing human spirit fromdifferent cultures and time periods...
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and believe it or not...
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my voice is out there...
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in space.
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Yeah!One of my songs was chosen...
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to represent American musicin the 20th Century.
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It's a record I cutfor Columbia in 1927...
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called "Dark Was the Night".
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And I'm Blind Willie Johnson.
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By the year of 2003...
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Voyager has gotten to the edgeof our Solar System.
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For my voice to reach you, it needsto travel for more than a half a day...
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at the speed of light that is.
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Time is relative and...
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distance changes your perspective.I can tell you.
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I was born in Marlin,Texas around 1900.
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Not rightly sure when.
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I sang on street corners andat church gatherings...
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continued to do so aftermy successful recordings.
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I didn't care noneabout a career.
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I only cared about Godand spiritual matters.
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Taught myself to play the guitar...
55
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and tuned it to open D
to suit my next life style.
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Oh, trouble will soon be over
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Sorrow will have an end
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Oh, trouble will soon be over
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Sorrow will have an end
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Well, Christ is my burden bearer
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He's my only friend
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Tell me the end of my sorrow
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And tell me to lean on him
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Oh, trouble will soon be overSorrow will have an end
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Oh, trouble will soon be overSorrow will have an end
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God is my strong protection
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He's my bosom friend
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It trouble rose all around me
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I know who'll take me in
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Oh, trouble will soon be over
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Sorrow will have an end
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Oh, trouble will soon be over
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Sorrow will have an end
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Oh, trouble will soon be over
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Sorrow will have an end
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Oh, trouble will soon be over
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Sorrow will have an end
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Oh, trouble will soon be over
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Sorrow will have an end
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Oh, trouble will soon be over
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Sorrow will have an end
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I was blinded when I was a child.About 7 years old.
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My stepmother threwlye into my face...
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to avenge a beating my fatherhad given her.
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Yeah. Tough luck.
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But why talk so much about myself?It was hard times for everybody.
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And I looked to the Biblefor answers.
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What's John writing?
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Ask the Revelator
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The Book of the Seven Seals
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"As it turned out fromthe very beginning...
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prohibition led straightto violence.
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Rival gangs...
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contraband liquor dilutedby a nation's tears.
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That can behighly compatible combination.
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Here's a young man fromback in my day.
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He made his livingas a bootlegger.
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Name was Nehemiah James,from Bentonia, Mississippi.
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But folks called him Skippy...
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'cause he never stayedanywhere for long.
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Skip James.
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One evening, his friends tried to makeSkip take part in a talent contest...
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that was being held at a music storein Downtown Jackson.
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Mister H.C. Speirs had alreadydiscovered many a bluesman.
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He had seen them all,and heard them all.
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I'd rather be the devil
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Than to be that woman's man
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I'd rather be the devil
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Than to be that woman's man
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Skip James won the contest!
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That meant a recording contractwith Paramount Records...
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and a train ticket to Grafton,Wisconsin...
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where the recordingwas going to take place.
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John Henry's bodyWent to the White House
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And they buried it in the sand
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Every time a locomotive rolled
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"Yonder lays a steel-drivin' manLord, Lord
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Yonder lays a steel-drivin' manLord, Lord
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Yonder lays a steel-drivin' manLord, Lord
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Yonder lays a steel-drivin' man"
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Yonder lays a steel-drivin' man"
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Yonder lays
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Skip James was picked up bythe producer for Paramount Records...
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Mr. Art Laibley.
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In those days, furniture companiesmade gramophones...
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and records too.
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That's why the recording facilitywas located...
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in the atticof an old chair factory.
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Mr. Laibley was not impressedwith Skip's cheap guitar.
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So he gave him a companyinstrument, a "Stella".
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Now, Skip had never held anythingthat pretty in his hands before.
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Boy, was he ready to play.
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Hard times hereEverywhere you go
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Times are harderThan ever been before
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You know people are driftingFrom door to door
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00:19:54,593 --> 00:19:59,223
They can't find no heavenI don't care where they go
137
00:20:25,691 --> 00:20:30,526
People, if I ever get offThis killing floor
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00:20:30,829 --> 00:20:35,232
I'll never get downThis low no more
139
00:21:14,473 --> 00:21:16,907
You go to Banglin
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Tell all my boys
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In Illinois
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In Illinois
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00:21:30,088 --> 00:21:32,181
Illinois
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In Illinois
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00:22:22,441 --> 00:22:27,037
You go to BanglinTell all my boys
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You go to BanglinTell all my boys
147
00:22:31,750 --> 00:22:36,153
The time I had in Illinois
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Illinois
149
00:22:38,623 --> 00:22:40,557
Illinois
150
00:22:40,759 --> 00:22:44,286
The time I had in Illinois
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You get thereBefore I do
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You get thereBefore I do
153
00:22:53,538 --> 00:22:57,565
Tell all my boysI'm coming through
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Coming throughComing through
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Tell all my boysI'm coming through
156
00:23:06,685 --> 00:23:10,781
Tell me babyStill at night
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Tell me babyStill at night
158
00:23:14,993 --> 00:23:19,157
Hope morningSummer bright
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Summer brightSummer bright
160
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Hope morningSummer bright
161
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Hope morningSummer bright
162
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Alright, Skip, wherever you are
this one's for you.
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You know I'd rather be the devil
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You know I'd rather be the devil
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Than the woman to that man
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You know I'd rather be the devil
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Than be a woman to that man
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You know I'm so sorry
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You know I'm so sorry
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That I ever fell in loveWith you
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Because you knowYou don't treat me
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BabyLike the way you used to do
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I'd rather be the devil
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Than to be that woman's man
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I'd rather be the devil
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Than to be that woman's man
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I'm a fucked up soul
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I'd rather be the devil
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00:26:30,822 --> 00:26:33,382
Than be that woman's man
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I'd rather be the devil
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Than be that woman's man
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No
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I say nothing but the devil
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Would change my babe's mind
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NoNo, nothing but the devil
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Would change my babe's mind
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Nothing, nothing, nothing
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Nothing but the devil
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Nothing but the devil
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I said nothing but the devil
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Would change my babe's mind
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Nothing but the devil
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00:28:00,178 --> 00:28:06,515
I love Cherry BallBetter than I love myself
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I'm so glad
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And I'm gladI'm glad
196
00:28:41,019 --> 00:28:43,544
I don't know what to do
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I don't know what to doI don't know what to do
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I'm so gladI'm glad
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I am gladI am glad
200
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I don't know what to doDon't know what to do
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Don't know what to do
202
00:29:59,697 --> 00:30:03,189
And I'm so gladI'm glad
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I am gladI am glad
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I'm tired of weepingTired of moaning
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Tired of groaning for you
206
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And I'm so gladI'm glad
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I am gladI'm glad
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I'm so tired of moaning
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00:30:29,394 --> 00:30:32,557
The session went on lateinto the night.
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Skip recorded 18 tracks...
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on that day in February 1931.
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Some traditional,but most, he wrote himself.
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00:30:43,675 --> 00:30:46,109
They were some powerful songs.
214
00:30:46,177 --> 00:30:49,271
And the sessionwas to become legendary.
215
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I wonder what went throughSkip's head that night.
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This had been a dream come true,the greatest day of his life.
217
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I wonder.
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00:31:19,744 --> 00:31:24,340
Did he know he'd marked his placein the history of the blues?
219
00:31:26,618 --> 00:31:28,882
If I send for my baby
220
00:31:30,521 --> 00:31:32,614
And she don't come
221
00:31:36,928 --> 00:31:39,396
If I send for my baby
222
00:31:40,565 --> 00:31:42,829
And she don't come
223
00:31:45,603 --> 00:31:48,197
All the doctors in Wisconsin
224
00:31:49,140 --> 00:31:51,734
They won't help her none
225
00:31:54,779 --> 00:31:57,247
You're talking' about your.44-40
226
00:31:57,482 --> 00:31:59,609
Buddy, it'll do very well
227
00:32:02,553 --> 00:32:04,953
You're talking' about your.44-40
228
00:32:05,857 --> 00:32:07,825
Buddy, it'll do very well
229
00:32:11,129 --> 00:32:13,461
But my.22-20
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Lord, it's a burning' hell
231
00:32:18,136 --> 00:32:20,570
If she gets unruly
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Thinks she don't wanna do
233
00:32:24,509 --> 00:32:26,477
If she gets unruly
234
00:32:26,711 --> 00:32:28,406
She don't wanna do
235
00:32:31,449 --> 00:32:33,713
I take my.22-20
236
00:32:34,719 --> 00:32:36,209
I cut her half in two
237
00:32:46,464 --> 00:32:49,900
On that second dayin February 1931...
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they recorded another8 tracks on piano.
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00:32:54,439 --> 00:32:58,500
Skip could play both instruments,better than most could play one.
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00:32:58,576 --> 00:33:00,806
I, I, I
241
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And I can't take my rest
242
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I, I, I
243
00:33:07,385 --> 00:33:09,319
I can't take my rest
244
00:33:11,356 --> 00:33:13,221
And my.44
245
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Laying' up and down my breast
246
00:33:19,497 --> 00:33:22,193
When the recordingsfinally came to an end...
247
00:33:22,300 --> 00:33:25,758
there was just one issue left...
248
00:33:41,119 --> 00:33:46,022
Skippy left Grafton with just 40 dollarsof expense money in his pockets...
249
00:33:46,657 --> 00:33:49,125
but he sure felt like a rich man.
250
00:35:13,744 --> 00:35:17,976
Skip James never saw a red centfrom his percentage.
251
00:35:18,249 --> 00:35:21,776
He never even heard anyof his own recordings.
252
00:35:23,588 --> 00:35:26,284
Record sales droppedin the early thirties.
253
00:35:26,390 --> 00:35:28,654
The Great Depression was on.
254
00:35:28,860 --> 00:35:31,954
And on radio you couldhear music for free.
255
00:35:32,130 --> 00:35:36,191
Paramount released some of Skip's songsin limited numbers...
256
00:35:36,367 --> 00:35:37,629
then they went bankrupt.
257
00:35:39,137 --> 00:35:42,334
Me too,I didn't cut records no more.
258
00:35:42,707 --> 00:35:44,766
Not that it mattered to me much.
259
00:35:44,909 --> 00:35:47,434
I was never after fortuneand fame no way...
260
00:35:48,479 --> 00:35:52,108
but I guess the wayhis records went nowhere...
261
00:35:52,350 --> 00:35:55,012
hit Skip James real hard.
262
00:35:55,586 --> 00:35:59,545
It dawned on him that he hadcome to a crossroads.
263
00:36:12,170 --> 00:36:15,367
I would rather be dead and
264
00:36:15,606 --> 00:36:18,268
Six feet in my grave
265
00:36:40,898 --> 00:36:46,359
When your knee bone's aching'And your body's cold
266
00:37:27,812 --> 00:37:32,806
Let Jesus lead you
267
00:37:33,484 --> 00:37:38,217
Let Jesus lead youAll the way
268
00:37:38,489 --> 00:37:43,153
All the wayFrom Earth to Heaven
269
00:37:43,327 --> 00:37:47,229
Let Jesus lead youAll the way
270
00:37:55,206 --> 00:37:57,265
All the way
271
00:38:06,250 --> 00:38:10,778
Let Jesus lead youLet Jesus lead you
272
00:38:11,022 --> 00:38:14,856
Let Jesus lead youAll the way
273
00:38:15,126 --> 00:38:19,153
All the wayFrom Earth to Heaven
274
00:38:19,397 --> 00:38:23,128
Let Jesus lead youAll the way
275
00:38:29,407 --> 00:38:33,366
Skippy walked away from the bluesand his music career.
276
00:38:33,744 --> 00:38:36,975
He "skipped"one life to start another.
277
00:38:37,548 --> 00:38:41,575
His father was a Baptist minister,and he followed in his footsteps.
278
00:38:42,153 --> 00:38:45,247
Skip James started a new life,with the Lord.
279
00:38:45,323 --> 00:38:49,851
You better runBetter run, better run
280
00:38:50,094 --> 00:38:53,928
- You better run
- Better run, better run
281
00:38:54,165 --> 00:38:58,431
You better runTo the City of Refuge
282
00:38:58,869 --> 00:39:00,962
You better run
283
00:39:16,220 --> 00:39:20,213
- You better
- Run, run, run
284
00:39:20,458 --> 00:39:22,790
You better run
285
00:39:39,076 --> 00:39:41,044
Skip just disappeared.
286
00:39:41,779 --> 00:39:46,682
The few recordings that were releasedbecame precious collectors' items.
287
00:39:47,218 --> 00:39:52,178
The name "Skip James",a legend among blues fans.
288
00:39:52,923 --> 00:39:57,292
Only the man himself had no idea.
289
00:40:03,734 --> 00:40:05,201
But let me tell youabout another fella.
290
00:40:12,977 --> 00:40:15,445
In the nineteen-sixties,English kids picked up the blues...
291
00:40:15,713 --> 00:40:18,682
electrified and amplified it,and reached a whole new audience.
292
00:41:35,993 --> 00:41:38,985
John Mayall's tune"THE DEATH OF JB LENOIR"...
293
00:41:39,330 --> 00:41:42,959
impressed a young film studentin Germany so much...
294
00:41:43,167 --> 00:41:46,534
that he started to wonderwho this JB Lenoir was...
295
00:41:46,770 --> 00:41:49,204
and dug out everythingabout the man...
296
00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:52,068
who became his all-timeblues idol.
297
00:41:52,176 --> 00:41:54,576
Our film studentbecame a director...
298
00:41:54,879 --> 00:41:58,975
who over the years metlots of other folks who loved JB.
299
00:42:00,618 --> 00:42:03,815
They could find no filmedrecord of their hero.
300
00:42:04,088 --> 00:42:08,991
Until one day, unseen footageof JB Lenoir turned up...
301
00:42:09,159 --> 00:42:12,390
shot in the early Sixtiesby two art students...
302
00:42:12,530 --> 00:42:14,896
one American and one Swedish.
303
00:42:15,666 --> 00:42:19,432
This is how we met JB Lenoir.
304
00:42:19,770 --> 00:42:25,174
We went to Bob Koester's
record store...
305
00:42:25,376 --> 00:42:27,844
on Grand Avenue in Chicago...
306
00:42:28,145 --> 00:42:31,478
and said
"Where are the blues going on?"
307
00:42:31,882 --> 00:42:36,046
Once he said Roosevelt Sykes,
the pianist...
308
00:42:36,253 --> 00:42:40,155
is having a rent paying party
on the South Side.
309
00:42:40,758 --> 00:42:46,526
And at this party was this man who
appeared in a zebra stripped tuxedo.
310
00:42:47,398 --> 00:42:48,865
And that was JB.
311
00:42:49,233 --> 00:42:54,000
And we thought he was terrific and we
became friends almost immediately.
312
00:42:54,538 --> 00:42:59,566
And the next day he called us up
and we talked on and off for very...
313
00:42:59,843 --> 00:43:05,145
and we said please tell us about every
place you're going to play in Chicago...
314
00:43:05,282 --> 00:43:06,442
which he did.
315
00:43:06,684 --> 00:43:09,744
And it started with television.
We saw this...
316
00:43:11,622 --> 00:43:17,492
show on TV that JB called us up
and said: "I'm going to be on TV".
317
00:43:17,628 --> 00:43:21,462
We didn't have a TV
but we managed to see it, and...
318
00:43:22,399 --> 00:43:26,130
we thought my God it has
to be done different.
319
00:43:26,337 --> 00:43:29,738
Well, the show is interesting.
It was a religious show called...
320
00:43:30,074 --> 00:43:32,634
"The Jubilee Hour"
or something, and...
321
00:43:33,043 --> 00:43:35,705
both JB and Willie Dixon
were in it...
322
00:43:35,946 --> 00:43:39,939
accompanying the gospel singers
but their names were never mentioned.
323
00:43:40,150 --> 00:43:41,344
And they just played...
324
00:43:41,418 --> 00:43:44,285
and you were never told
who they were, and we thought...
325
00:43:44,855 --> 00:43:47,119
we got to do better than that.
326
00:43:47,324 --> 00:43:49,451
So we were going to Sweden...
327
00:43:49,760 --> 00:43:52,593
and we thought that we would make
a short movie...
328
00:43:52,763 --> 00:43:57,700
and take it Swedish television
and show them...
329
00:43:58,402 --> 00:44:00,597
something that
we wouldn't have to explain.
330
00:44:30,734 --> 00:44:35,569
Well, I feel so goodI feel like playing my box
331
00:45:15,112 --> 00:45:18,479
I'm so glad I knowWhat's on your mind
332
00:45:18,782 --> 00:45:21,910
I'm so glad I knowWhat's on your mind
333
00:45:22,453 --> 00:45:26,219
I'm so glad, glad, gladGlad, glad
334
00:45:26,290 --> 00:45:29,521
I'm so glad I knowWhat's on your mind
335
00:45:34,231 --> 00:45:39,965
I feel so goodI don't know what to do
336
00:45:40,871 --> 00:45:46,070
I feel so goodI don't know what to do
337
00:45:46,510 --> 00:45:53,348
I feel so goodI feel I want to play with you
338
00:45:53,550 --> 00:45:59,011
I feel so goodI feel like playing my box
339
00:45:59,423 --> 00:46:04,622
I feel so goodI feel like playing my box
340
00:46:05,562 --> 00:46:12,798
Give me one more shotI believe my name through the top
341
00:46:25,249 --> 00:46:30,881
I feel so good
342
00:46:31,188 --> 00:46:34,351
I'm so glad I knowWhat's on your mind
343
00:46:34,525 --> 00:46:37,392
I'm so glad I knowWhat's on your mind
344
00:46:37,594 --> 00:46:40,222
I'm so glad I knowWhat's on your mind
345
00:46:40,497 --> 00:46:43,466
I'm so glad I knowWhat's on your mind
346
00:46:43,700 --> 00:46:46,726
I'm so glad I knowGlad, glad, glad, glad
347
00:46:47,070 --> 00:46:50,733
GladI know what's on your mind
348
00:47:01,919 --> 00:47:03,978
I feel
349
00:47:04,188 --> 00:47:08,284
I feel so glad
350
00:47:55,005 --> 00:47:59,704
and each one was in a tuxedo form
and a tail coat.
351
00:47:59,910 --> 00:48:02,708
And I asked him, you know,
where did you get them from...
352
00:48:02,913 --> 00:48:04,540
and he had them made.
353
00:48:04,715 --> 00:48:08,207
Nobody else had anything like that.
He was the first in town.
354
00:48:08,385 --> 00:48:12,378
There was black, white,
chartreuse, zebra stripped.
355
00:48:12,589 --> 00:48:13,647
And gold.
356
00:49:15,585 --> 00:49:19,214
So we took the movie with us
to Sweden and...
357
00:49:19,489 --> 00:49:21,582
It wasn't a big success.
358
00:49:21,792 --> 00:49:25,990
Well, they said it wasn't very good
technically, but we knew that.
359
00:49:26,396 --> 00:49:30,230
They said to us that we should do
something in black and white...
360
00:49:30,434 --> 00:49:34,097
because Sweden's TV
didn't have color at that time.
361
00:49:34,271 --> 00:49:38,605
So we said fine.
We went back to Chicago and...
362
00:49:38,875 --> 00:49:42,436
the next summer we were going
to go to Sweden again...
363
00:49:42,646 --> 00:49:47,948
and right before we left we made another
movie in black and white...
364
00:49:48,118 --> 00:49:52,851
not much longer.
We rented a camera for two days and...
365
00:49:53,156 --> 00:49:54,783
this is it.
366
00:49:57,060 --> 00:49:58,652
Where were you born JB?
367
00:49:58,862 --> 00:50:00,420
I was born in Mississippi.
368
00:50:00,497 --> 00:50:04,297
In a little town, by the name,
we called it Tilden, Mississippi.
369
00:50:04,601 --> 00:50:08,867
And I started to play down there
I was awful young. I used to plow...
370
00:50:09,339 --> 00:50:11,398
and I'd go out and play my box
at night...
371
00:50:11,475 --> 00:50:14,069
learn all the different types
of songs and create 'em...
372
00:50:14,277 --> 00:50:17,576
- Where were you born at, Steve?
- Well, I was born in Evanston, JB.
373
00:50:17,748 --> 00:50:20,308
Where did you learn
how to play a box like this?
374
00:50:20,517 --> 00:50:24,453
Well, I learned from a man who was in
vaudeville. He used to play the banjo.
375
00:50:24,588 --> 00:50:26,249
He taught me how to play
the banjo...
376
00:50:26,323 --> 00:50:29,019
and then I switched to the guitar
when I was in high school.
377
00:50:29,259 --> 00:50:31,625
I see, I see.
378
00:50:31,962 --> 00:50:34,522
Why don't you and I try get
together and do a little thing here?
379
00:50:34,731 --> 00:50:36,824
Wait. Maybe I should tell
in Swedish what we've been saying.
380
00:50:36,933 --> 00:50:39,424
Well, tell them in Sweden.
381
00:52:18,101 --> 00:52:22,401
I played the guitar a couple of times,
which was his idea, by the way.
382
00:52:22,572 --> 00:52:26,565
He said we all ought to do something
in this so we all did.
383
00:52:26,743 --> 00:52:28,643
It was really collaborative.
384
00:52:28,879 --> 00:52:33,816
The interaction was really
his idea, not ours.
385
00:52:34,184 --> 00:52:37,779
- What's your wife's name, JB?
- Ella-Louise.
386
00:52:38,121 --> 00:52:39,588
You've got kids too?
387
00:52:39,756 --> 00:52:44,750
Yeah, I've got 4 kids.
My son is named Jerry Lenoir...
388
00:52:45,028 --> 00:52:48,964
and I have a daughter named Roberta.
And my baby...
389
00:52:49,166 --> 00:52:51,327
she's a little girl.
Her name is Emily Tina.
390
00:52:51,501 --> 00:52:54,368
And my oldest daughter
is named Barbara Anne.
391
00:53:06,216 --> 00:53:09,674
By the way, Barbara Anne, she can
do whole lot of brand new dancing.
392
00:53:09,753 --> 00:53:10,685
That's why...
393
00:53:10,854 --> 00:53:14,346
I created this song here about her, Steve,
about the brand new dance.
394
00:54:21,725 --> 00:54:25,661
I got an elevator man
395
00:54:25,895 --> 00:54:28,796
Deep in the heart of town
396
00:54:29,799 --> 00:54:33,257
And when he's feeling right
397
00:54:34,838 --> 00:54:38,535
He'll carry me round and round
398
00:54:38,675 --> 00:54:42,611
Round and roundUp and down
399
00:54:42,846 --> 00:54:46,009
Round and roundUp and down
400
00:55:00,030 --> 00:55:03,966
Well, don't be jealous
401
00:55:04,167 --> 00:55:06,897
When I come to town
402
00:55:08,038 --> 00:55:12,031
Then I'm just a country girl
403
00:55:13,109 --> 00:55:17,045
Everybody tries to push me around
404
00:55:17,247 --> 00:55:20,011
Round and roundUp and down
405
00:55:20,850 --> 00:55:24,411
Round and roundUp and down
406
00:55:24,821 --> 00:55:28,780
Round and roundUp and down
407
00:55:29,059 --> 00:55:32,859
Round and roundUp and down
408
00:55:50,046 --> 00:55:52,537
And of course
they did not want that movie either...
409
00:55:52,615 --> 00:55:55,083
because of
technical shortcomings...
410
00:55:55,218 --> 00:55:59,780
and we were rather annoyed
with their lack of imagination.
411
00:56:00,590 --> 00:56:03,388
When they were doing
the Voodoo there was...
412
00:56:03,593 --> 00:56:06,061
a terrific thunder that
was natural outside.
413
00:56:39,162 --> 00:56:42,598
Voodoo music gotThe whole world on the go
414
00:56:46,202 --> 00:56:49,729
Voodoo music all over the world
415
00:56:49,973 --> 00:56:53,340
Look what it's doneTo the beautiful girls
416
00:56:53,543 --> 00:56:56,603
Got them shakeAnd act real crazy
417
00:56:56,913 --> 00:57:01,475
Voodoo music gonna knock you crazyVoodoo
418
00:57:03,586 --> 00:57:04,553
Voodoo
419
00:57:07,590 --> 00:57:12,084
Voodoo music gotThe whole world on the go
420
00:57:14,664 --> 00:57:17,963
Voodoo music got hold of the boys
421
00:57:18,334 --> 00:57:21,770
Make them singAnd laugh with joy
422
00:57:22,005 --> 00:57:24,735
Makes them feelLike they own the world
423
00:57:25,341 --> 00:57:29,243
Makes them thinkThey can choose the girls, voodoo
424
00:57:32,048 --> 00:57:33,174
Voodoo
425
00:57:36,085 --> 00:57:39,919
Voodoo music gotThe whole world on the go
426
00:57:40,256 --> 00:57:43,714
I think J. B. Later songs...
427
00:57:44,127 --> 00:57:47,824
by the more mature artist
and person...
428
00:57:48,097 --> 00:57:53,865
tended to be more spiritual.
They were more political.
429
00:57:54,070 --> 00:57:58,268
But also some kind of profound
introspection...
430
00:57:58,475 --> 00:58:03,572
and looking at life
as a spiritual event.
431
00:58:04,080 --> 00:58:09,484
See there is this tradition that
the people who sing gospel...
432
00:58:09,652 --> 00:58:14,419
don't sing the blues, and the blues
singers are not gospel artists.
433
00:58:14,624 --> 00:58:19,288
Well that's very artificial. I remember
JB had called us up one day...
434
00:58:19,462 --> 00:58:22,795
and he said that he had so much fun
all day, he had been playing...
435
00:58:22,999 --> 00:58:25,695
at church
with his friends all day long.
436
00:58:26,069 --> 00:58:28,629
And of course his friends were not...
437
00:58:28,705 --> 00:58:31,674
strictly gospel musicians and singers,
but they were...
438
00:58:31,774 --> 00:58:37,371
professional musicians who were
just doing the best they could...
439
00:58:37,547 --> 00:58:40,675
and having as much fun
as they could and it was Sunday.
440
00:58:40,884 --> 00:58:42,647
And this was not a question
of making money.
441
00:58:42,719 --> 00:58:45,187
It was a question
of creating spirit.
442
00:58:46,155 --> 00:58:48,316
Now here is another one
I'm going to try to do.
443
00:58:48,391 --> 00:58:50,825
The title of it is: "God's Word".
444
01:00:35,665 --> 01:00:40,295
Why don't you release meDevil
445
01:00:41,504 --> 01:00:46,407
Free me for I can go home
446
01:00:51,214 --> 01:00:55,548
Why don't you release meDevil
447
01:00:56,953 --> 01:01:02,585
Free me for I can go home
448
01:01:06,629 --> 01:01:10,725
If you don't let me go home
449
01:01:12,268 --> 01:01:17,137
My dad will come and make youLeave me alone
450
01:01:22,078 --> 01:01:26,708
If you don't let me come home
451
01:01:27,750 --> 01:01:31,618
My dad will come and make youLeave me alone
452
01:01:37,460 --> 01:01:42,363
If you don't let me come home
453
01:01:42,999 --> 01:01:50,098
My dad will come and make youLeave me alone
454
01:01:53,042 --> 01:01:56,534
Shortly after we had returned
to the United States...
455
01:01:56,612 --> 01:02:00,104
we got a call one day
from Ella-Louise Lenoir...
456
01:02:00,383 --> 01:02:02,180
that JB was dead.
457
01:02:02,351 --> 01:02:06,913
He was only a year older than Steve.
It was absolutely shocking...
458
01:02:07,190 --> 01:02:11,024
and ended his artistic development...
459
01:02:11,194 --> 01:02:13,822
just when he was getting known...
460
01:02:13,896 --> 01:02:17,195
and making deep impressions
on people like Mayall...
461
01:02:17,266 --> 01:02:20,099
and known and unknown youths.
462
01:02:20,236 --> 01:02:22,966
The words to his songs,
the lyrics of course were...
463
01:02:23,039 --> 01:02:25,633
often quite different
from other blues singers...
464
01:02:25,808 --> 01:02:30,438
particularly when he got in to doing
things about the Vietnam War and...
465
01:02:31,447 --> 01:02:33,278
things like that.
466
01:02:33,516 --> 01:02:38,544
And he had just begun doing songs
about the civil rights movement...
467
01:02:38,721 --> 01:02:42,054
which of course were
really important issues at that time...
468
01:02:42,258 --> 01:02:45,557
but often ignored
in the popular music.
469
01:02:45,828 --> 01:02:49,821
And he was sensitive
to women's position...
470
01:02:50,032 --> 01:02:52,626
which of course came
with the '60s too.
471
01:04:10,580 --> 01:04:13,981
People have remarked that he looked
like Martin Luther King which...
472
01:04:14,183 --> 01:04:18,882
he did a little bit.
Maybe it was just this tremendous...
473
01:04:19,222 --> 01:04:23,716
positive will power
and artistic gift. Something.
474
01:04:24,126 --> 01:04:26,390
But they had a lot in common.
475
01:04:26,462 --> 01:04:29,954
Both of them were, of course,
family men too...
476
01:04:30,199 --> 01:04:33,760
and both of them had early
tragic deaths.
477
01:04:34,003 --> 01:04:38,531
JB was in an auto accident and he wasn't
taken care of in the hospital...
478
01:04:38,741 --> 01:04:42,905
in Illinois where he
should have been taken better care of.
479
01:04:54,290 --> 01:04:57,726
Slow down, slow down
480
01:04:59,762 --> 01:05:02,253
Let me step on board
481
01:05:02,932 --> 01:05:05,924
I just wanna ride your train
482
01:05:06,636 --> 01:05:09,127
Just before I go
483
01:05:11,974 --> 01:05:15,876
You're about the sweetest little girl
484
01:05:17,480 --> 01:05:19,948
I believe I've ever seen
485
01:05:20,783 --> 01:05:23,183
And if I had you by my side
486
01:05:23,252 --> 01:05:26,688
You would mean so much to me
487
01:05:29,759 --> 01:05:33,388
I'm a strangerI'm a stranger
488
01:05:47,510 --> 01:05:50,741
Slow down, slow down
489
01:05:52,515 --> 01:05:55,075
Please, let me step on board
490
01:05:55,785 --> 01:05:58,811
Just let me ride your train
491
01:05:59,355 --> 01:06:01,823
Just before I go
492
01:06:06,028 --> 01:06:10,965
Slow down, slow down
493
01:06:11,667 --> 01:06:14,636
Let me step on board
494
01:06:15,137 --> 01:06:18,937
I wanna ride your train
495
01:06:19,175 --> 01:06:21,609
One time before you go
496
01:06:24,413 --> 01:06:28,474
You're about the sweetestThe sweetest man
497
01:06:30,152 --> 01:06:33,417
I have ever seen
498
01:06:33,723 --> 01:06:36,715
And if I had you by my side
499
01:06:37,059 --> 01:06:40,859
It'd mean so much to me
500
01:06:43,132 --> 01:06:47,000
I want the whole world to know
that I love you too.
501
01:07:14,463 --> 01:07:17,762
I wished we had just bought
more reels of film.
502
01:07:17,967 --> 01:07:19,764
They weren't that expensive.
503
01:07:19,835 --> 01:07:23,703
I don't know what,
we thought they were very expensive.
504
01:07:24,874 --> 01:07:29,208
We thought there was enough, see.
We thought there was enough to show...
505
01:07:29,412 --> 01:07:32,813
because our purpose was just
to introduce people to him.
506
01:07:33,015 --> 01:07:37,679
We didn't think we were making
a documentary in any way.
507
01:07:38,487 --> 01:07:42,981
We just thought that when
people saw this they would book him...
508
01:07:43,225 --> 01:07:45,887
- for tours.
- Right. They would immediately...
509
01:07:46,062 --> 01:07:48,587
immediately say:
"My God, who is that?
510
01:07:48,697 --> 01:07:50,927
We got to have him on our stage".
511
01:07:51,367 --> 01:07:52,664
Lights going out.
512
01:07:52,735 --> 01:07:56,296
The Seabergs' two filmsabout JB Lenoir...
513
01:07:56,372 --> 01:07:57,771
were never shown anywhere...
514
01:07:58,174 --> 01:08:00,642
not even on Swedish TV.
515
01:08:02,144 --> 01:08:04,806
And JB could find no more gigsin Chicago.
516
01:08:08,017 --> 01:08:09,609
Strange as it seemsat the same time...
517
01:08:09,785 --> 01:08:13,277
the blues became popularin Europe...
518
01:08:13,489 --> 01:08:16,219
American bluesmencouldn't make a living at home.
519
01:08:20,096 --> 01:08:22,929
But then that same summer...
520
01:08:23,165 --> 01:08:26,566
when the Seabergs shottheir second film with JB...
521
01:08:26,802 --> 01:08:30,533
something extraordinary happenedin Mississippi.
522
01:08:33,075 --> 01:08:36,511
Okay. This is Roosevelt Sykes
and Big Mama Thornton.
523
01:08:41,584 --> 01:08:43,950
Willie Dixon.
524
01:08:47,022 --> 01:08:51,755
Okay, now these are the two pictures
you came to see.
525
01:08:53,129 --> 01:08:57,828
Mississippi John Hurt
was rediscovered in 1963...
526
01:08:58,267 --> 01:09:00,326
and brought to Newport.
527
01:09:00,603 --> 01:09:04,095
So now here's an old hand
at this rediscovery.
528
01:09:04,373 --> 01:09:08,139
Exactly a year later,
Newport '64...
529
01:09:08,377 --> 01:09:10,937
John is wearing his performer.
530
01:09:11,213 --> 01:09:15,206
Skip James has just been found
in a hospital.
531
01:09:15,417 --> 01:09:19,513
So they bring him to Newport where
they put a badge on him that says...
532
01:09:19,588 --> 01:09:23,422
"Kin". That's what they gave
to the wives and the children.
533
01:09:23,492 --> 01:09:25,323
So he is wearing a kin badge.
534
01:09:26,328 --> 01:09:30,264
Now he's rehearsing,
he is just tuning a bottleneck guitar...
535
01:09:30,466 --> 01:09:33,594
and he's getting ready to go
on stage and play.
536
01:09:33,836 --> 01:09:37,465
So he recorded in 1931...
537
01:09:38,040 --> 01:09:40,634
vanished for 33 years...
538
01:09:40,910 --> 01:09:44,073
and now here he is ready to go
on stage, just...
539
01:09:44,146 --> 01:09:47,912
this is seconds before
he goes on stage.
540
01:09:49,051 --> 01:09:55,752
Now he gets ready to come on stage
and I have some sense of history...
541
01:09:55,958 --> 01:09:58,552
the arc of history
being made here.
542
01:09:58,794 --> 01:10:04,289
So I want to get the first note.
The first note. The first word.
543
01:10:04,433 --> 01:10:08,767
First verse. First song.
Skip James...
544
01:10:08,938 --> 01:10:12,567
plucks the guitar,
puts his head back and says "l"...
545
01:10:12,808 --> 01:10:17,074
"I'd rather be the Devil
than to be that woman's man".
546
01:10:17,246 --> 01:10:21,478
This is the precise first note
of rediscovery.
547
01:10:24,954 --> 01:10:27,616
Still wearing his kin badge.
548
01:11:27,349 --> 01:11:30,807
He just...
he stepped out of 1931.
549
01:11:31,754 --> 01:11:36,384
He was riveting, electrifying,
charismatic...
550
01:11:36,525 --> 01:11:39,517
just stole the festival!
551
01:11:39,595 --> 01:11:41,085
Stole the festival.
552
01:11:41,363 --> 01:11:46,733
Skip James at Newport '64 was
what people left talking about.
553
01:11:46,969 --> 01:11:50,370
That he... you didn't even have
to be a blues fan...
554
01:11:50,439 --> 01:11:55,638
to comprehend the story
that a man had stepped out of 1931...
555
01:11:55,844 --> 01:12:01,578
and just was amazing. He only did
3 or 4 songs and he brought magic.
556
01:12:01,917 --> 01:12:07,287
You have to realize that at
Newport '64, that may have been...
557
01:12:07,489 --> 01:12:12,449
the largest number of people that
he was ever going to play to...
558
01:12:12,695 --> 01:12:14,629
at any one point.
559
01:12:14,763 --> 01:12:19,632
Those concerts were full,
18,000... 17-18,000.
560
01:12:19,935 --> 01:12:25,669
But now the people who rediscovered
Skip were really incompetent.
561
01:12:25,841 --> 01:12:28,537
They had no idea
what they were doing.
562
01:12:28,744 --> 01:12:34,876
So the next year for Skip
from Newport '64 to Newport '65...
563
01:12:35,184 --> 01:12:37,243
was a lost opportunity.
564
01:12:37,686 --> 01:12:40,450
He didn't get
a recording contract...
565
01:12:40,689 --> 01:12:44,420
and the blues world buzz
that was out on him...
566
01:12:44,593 --> 01:12:45,719
was wasted.
567
01:13:46,321 --> 01:13:49,654
Skip's tunings were so odd...
568
01:13:49,892 --> 01:13:53,419
and his vocal style
was so strange...
569
01:13:53,629 --> 01:13:56,189
"Cherry Ball" and
"I'd Rather Be the Devil"...
570
01:13:56,398 --> 01:14:00,630
no one had really heard him
or even heard of him.
571
01:14:01,069 --> 01:14:03,299
Skip didn't sound like anybody.
572
01:14:03,505 --> 01:14:07,202
I was listening to some
of his '60s stuff...
573
01:14:07,376 --> 01:14:13,372
and his fingers are really flying.
In other words, he has great dexterity.
574
01:14:13,649 --> 01:14:18,279
Just barely brushing the strings.
575
01:14:18,487 --> 01:14:21,320
Picking really fast but very clean.
576
01:14:21,523 --> 01:14:24,583
Picking fast and clean.
Considering...
577
01:14:24,960 --> 01:14:31,388
I don't even know if he played from
the 30's to the 60's. I don't know.
578
01:14:31,767 --> 01:14:36,466
It's very possible that he didn't own
a guitar and didn't play very much...
579
01:14:36,638 --> 01:14:40,768
and when he was found in Tunica,
that he was very, very rusty...
580
01:14:40,976 --> 01:14:44,503
and hadn't played very much.
That's speculation on my part.
581
01:14:44,713 --> 01:14:49,582
But by the mid 1960's he was
playing extraordinarily well.
582
01:14:50,252 --> 01:14:53,688
A lot of bluesmen work to faces.
583
01:14:53,889 --> 01:14:57,586
They work to the front row
or they told stories.
584
01:14:57,793 --> 01:15:00,159
Skip dealt in the abstract.
585
01:15:00,462 --> 01:15:05,490
He played his music out over
your head into the great beyond.
586
01:16:13,602 --> 01:16:18,232
At this time in his life,Skip James was very ill.
587
01:16:18,640 --> 01:16:21,268
When he was discovered,in Tunica, Mississippi...
588
01:16:21,476 --> 01:16:25,378
he was practically dragged fromthe hospital to the Newport Festival.
589
01:16:25,581 --> 01:16:29,244
He was battling cancerand needed surgery urgently.
590
01:17:33,048 --> 01:17:35,983
I'm so gladI'm so glad
591
01:17:36,184 --> 01:17:38,243
I'm glad, I'm gladI'm glad
592
01:17:39,821 --> 01:17:45,589
I'm so gladI'm glad, I'm glad
593
01:17:46,595 --> 01:17:52,556
Don't knowDon't know what to do
594
01:17:53,335 --> 01:17:56,862
I'm so tired of weepingTired of moaning
595
01:17:56,938 --> 01:17:59,566
Tired of groaning for you
596
01:17:59,741 --> 01:18:05,202
The success of Cream's cover ofI'm So Glad paid for the hospital bills.
597
01:18:05,914 --> 01:18:09,213
The operation gave Skip3 more years to live.
598
01:18:09,384 --> 01:18:12,410
And a chance to berecorded properly.
599
01:18:12,654 --> 01:18:16,522
He cut two entire albumsin those last years of his life...
600
01:18:16,692 --> 01:18:20,492
and re-recorded all the tuneshe had once sung in vain.
601
01:18:21,763 --> 01:18:26,166
He didn't have much to add to thoseinspirational days in 1931...
602
01:18:26,334 --> 01:18:28,199
except for a couple of new songs...
603
01:18:28,270 --> 01:18:30,602
one of them abouthis time in that hospital.
604
01:19:23,658 --> 01:19:25,956
I says I was a good man
605
01:19:27,129 --> 01:19:29,290
And I was a poor man
606
01:19:30,332 --> 01:19:32,732
You can understand
607
01:19:50,819 --> 01:19:52,946
'Cause I'm a good man
608
01:19:54,222 --> 01:19:56,383
I was a poor man
609
01:19:57,425 --> 01:19:59,188
You can understand
610
01:19:59,394 --> 01:20:02,295
Skip sangabout his own experiences...
611
01:20:02,497 --> 01:20:06,297
and his own life. He knewthere was greatness in his music...
612
01:20:06,535 --> 01:20:08,935
and his songs would survive him.
613
01:20:09,237 --> 01:20:13,367
He was a poor man, for sure,but he was full of pride.
614
01:20:14,042 --> 01:20:17,808
JB was from an altogethernew generation of songwriters...
615
01:20:18,013 --> 01:20:19,878
of which he was the forerunner.
616
01:20:20,081 --> 01:20:24,984
He realized his gift wasn't justgiven to him to talk about himself.
617
01:20:25,287 --> 01:20:27,721
JB sang about the bigger picture.
618
01:20:27,923 --> 01:20:30,323
About how a changewas gonna come.
619
01:20:47,609 --> 01:20:50,043
Vietnam, Vietnam
620
01:20:52,848 --> 01:20:56,875
Everybody's crying' about Vietnam
621
01:21:02,490 --> 01:21:04,856
Vietnam, Vietnam
622
01:21:10,165 --> 01:21:15,068
Everybody's crying' about Vietnam
623
01:21:18,673 --> 01:21:23,701
These Ionely days are killing meDown in Mississippi
624
01:21:51,339 --> 01:21:57,175
Oh God, if you can hear my prayer
625
01:21:58,480 --> 01:22:03,941
Please help my brothersDown in Vietnam
626
01:23:31,106 --> 01:23:36,408
You always cry and cryAbout Peace
627
01:23:37,846 --> 01:23:42,476
But you must clean upYour house before
628
01:25:19,080 --> 01:25:21,878
Down in Mississippi
629
01:26:05,260 --> 01:26:08,923
Down in Mississippi
630
01:26:10,665 --> 01:26:14,226
Down in Mississippi
631
01:26:15,670 --> 01:26:21,267
Down in MississippiWhere I was born
632
01:26:22,010 --> 01:26:27,414
Down in MississippiWhere I come from
633
01:27:38,219 --> 01:27:42,121
I never will love Alabama
634
01:27:43,691 --> 01:27:47,149
Alabama seemsTo never have loved poor me
635
01:28:02,644 --> 01:28:05,511
From the mighty mountainsof New York.
636
01:28:05,747 --> 01:28:09,808
Let freedom ring from the heighteningAlleghenies of Pennsylvania!
637
01:28:10,084 --> 01:28:14,180
Let freedom ring from the snowcappedRockies of Colorado.
638
01:28:14,255 --> 01:28:15,688
Let freedom ring...
639
01:28:33,975 --> 01:28:36,341
From every mountainside...
640
01:28:36,577 --> 01:28:39,239
Let freedom ring.And when that happens...
641
01:28:59,334 --> 01:29:03,031
Protestants and Catholics
will be able to join hands...
642
01:29:03,104 --> 01:29:05,732
and sing in the words
of the old Negro spiritual...
643
01:29:05,907 --> 01:29:08,273
"Free at last! Free at last!
644
01:29:08,476 --> 01:29:11,001
Thank God Almighty,
we are free at last".
645
01:30:28,723 --> 01:30:33,251
JB Lenoir died the tragic deathof a poor man...
646
01:30:33,428 --> 01:30:38,422
on April 29th, 1967,in Champagne, Illinois.
647
01:30:38,833 --> 01:30:42,564
At the hospital, they didn't takehis injuries seriously.
648
01:30:42,737 --> 01:30:46,673
And he died soon afterwards at home,of internal bleeding.
649
01:30:47,241 --> 01:30:51,507
But, man,he was way ahead of his time!
650
01:30:51,746 --> 01:30:55,238
He didn't live to witnessthe fruits of his labor, though.
651
01:30:55,550 --> 01:30:58,348
His last job was dishwasher...
652
01:32:51,699 --> 01:32:54,031
Nehemiah "Skip"James...
653
01:32:54,268 --> 01:32:57,499
died of cancer in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania...
654
01:32:57,705 --> 01:33:03,575
on October 3rd, 1969,just two years after JB.
655
01:33:04,145 --> 01:33:06,978
They both leftan incredible legacy.
656
01:33:07,381 --> 01:33:10,509
Their songs wentway beyond their lives...
657
01:33:10,751 --> 01:33:12,810
celebrating the spirit of life...
658
01:33:13,054 --> 01:33:15,818
exploring its lowest depthsand lifting us...
659
01:33:15,990 --> 01:33:17,958
up to the highest heavens.
660
01:33:18,259 --> 01:33:23,856
That's what the blues does.As you can see with me.
661
01:33:55,563 --> 01:33:57,622
I want somebody
662
01:33:57,865 --> 01:33:59,355
To tell me
663
01:33:59,600 --> 01:34:02,694
Answer if you can
664
01:34:02,937 --> 01:34:06,202
I want somebody to tell me
665
01:34:06,540 --> 01:34:09,907
Just what is the soul of a man?
666
01:34:24,392 --> 01:34:26,292
I want somebody
667
01:34:26,594 --> 01:34:27,993
To tell me
668
01:34:28,262 --> 01:34:31,493
Answer if you can
669
01:34:31,565 --> 01:34:35,092
I want somebody to tell me
670
01:34:35,369 --> 01:34:38,827
Just what is the soul of a man?
671
01:34:54,088 --> 01:34:57,580
Well I want somebody to tell me
672
01:34:58,025 --> 01:35:01,290
Answer if you can
673
01:35:01,529 --> 01:35:05,056
I want somebody to tell me
674
01:35:05,366 --> 01:35:08,665
Just what is the soul of a man?
675
01:36:46,167 --> 01:36:50,035
There's one kind of favorI'll ask you
676
01:36:51,639 --> 01:36:55,234
There's one kind of favorI'll ask you
677
01:37:02,516 --> 01:37:08,512
There's just one kind of favorThat I'll ask of you
678
01:37:09,890 --> 01:37:12,882
You can see that my graveIs kept clean
679
01:37:27,842 --> 01:37:31,073
Long line ain't got no end
680
01:37:31,946 --> 01:37:36,349
There's a long lineThat's got no end
681
01:37:42,923 --> 01:37:46,723
It's a long, long line that
682
01:37:46,961 --> 01:37:49,225
Ain't got no end
683
01:37:50,297 --> 01:37:53,061
Bad wind that never came
684
01:37:54,134 --> 01:37:58,503
It's a bad wind that never came
685
01:38:00,941 --> 01:38:04,001
Two white horses standing in line
686
01:38:04,979 --> 01:38:09,075
There's two white horsesStanding in line
687
01:38:23,731 --> 01:38:28,964
There's two white horsesStanding in line
688
01:38:29,036 --> 01:38:32,528
And take me to the burying ground
689
01:38:36,176 --> 01:38:38,576
Take me to the burying ground
690
01:38:40,180 --> 01:38:43,672
My heart stopped beatingAnd my hands are cold
691
01:38:45,819 --> 01:38:49,448
My heart stopped beatingAnd my hands are cold
692
01:38:51,191 --> 01:38:57,096
My heart stopped beatingAnd my hands were cold, it was a
693
01:38:57,631 --> 01:39:01,658
Long note, what the good book saidWhat the Bible told
694
01:39:03,904 --> 01:39:05,895
What the Bible told
59065
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