My Blues Songs Bluejeans' Place

Sometimes in life, some words just come to you which express your deepest feelings about happiness, love, work, family, sorrow or just living. Those words find themselves into lyrics and form the seeds of blues songs. I've jotted down a few of my own lyrics, although I haven't yet carried out my 2001 New Years' Resolution to learn how to play an electric blues guitar.

In any event, here's my first attempt at a blues song, Downsizing Blues, which I wrote after going through my third layoff in twenty-five months.

DISCLAIMER: It's a composite blues song based on everything I have heard from everyone who ever told me about being laid off from a job. Any similarity to any employer is purely coincidental. It was written in 2000, before I signed a severance agreement with anyone, so it is protected speech under the First Amendment and not bound by any contract.

You don't need a good voice to sing the song or even an instrument--roll up that pink slip and play it like a kazoo, scream the words out in agony when you realize your paycheck's gone, and growl 'em out like Howlin' Wolf when you apply for unemployment!

"Downsizing Blues"

CHORUS

They called me in,
Gave me the news,
Damn it, ag'in,
The downsizing blues!

Verse 1

They had bad cash flow,
Their sales didn't grow,
But they didn't let their hand tip
'Til they gave me that damn pink slip!

CHORUS

Verse 2

I'd learn and learn,
So I could earn and earn,
But when their cash turned,
Guess whose job got burned!

CHORUS

Verse 3

The boss fancied talk
'bout being an en-tre-pa-noo-er,
too bad all that talk
didn't produce ma-noo-er!

CHORUS

Verse 4

It'll be a while
before I can smile,
But I'll be back on top
As if that job didn't stop!

(I know it needs some work--esp. with the musical cadence, maybe someday I'll get that worked out once I learn how to play electric blues guitar!)

I'm working on a couple of other songs right now like "Heart on a Trash Cart" .

A friend of mine gave me the first two lines for a blues song that I'm just dying to use it as a refrain in a song:

"Jumped out of bed, looked at da clock..."

I sort of strung it out to

"Jumped outta bed, looked at da clock,

damn, I shoulda been gone down da block!"

A friend at Northwest Airlines sent this to me on "singing the blues"--enjoy!