Catherine Russell (*1956) is a native New Yorker, born with an enviable mus… Read Full Bio ↴Catherine Russell (*1956) is a native New Yorker, born with an enviable musical pedigree. Her father, the late Luis Russell, was born in Panama and moved to New Orleans and then New York City, becoming a pioneering pianist/bandleader, and Louis Armstrong’s long-time musical director. Her mother, Carline Ray, is an outstanding bassist and vocalist and holder of advanced degrees from Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music, who has performed with Mary Lou Williams and Wynton Marsalis. Not surprisingly considering her roots, Catherine Russell is a one of a kind vocalist. She has toured the world, performing and recording with a wide array of trend setting artists, including Paul Simon, David Bowie, Steely Dan, Cyndi Lauper, Jackson Browne, and Rosanne Cash. Her vocal skills have been utilized consistently by Jay Denes for both his Blue Six and Naked Music NYC projects.

Since the 2006 release of her debut album, Cat, on Harmonia Mundi's World Village label, Catherine Russell has been making fans and friends and grabbing listeners by the ear. “She is a fresh and original voice. The most exciting debut album I’ve heard in a long time.” writes New York Sun critic and Sinatra biographer, Will Friedwald, who picked Cat among his top 10 cds of the year. “It’s a delight to hear the real thing in Catherine Russell.”, writes Nat Hentoff in The Wall Street Journal.

Ms. Russell has been a hit on major events like Chicago Blues Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Bern International Jazz Festival, JVC-New York Jazz Festival, Detroit International Jazz Festival, Tanglewood Jazz Festival, Lotus Festival, and at premier venues like The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Sculler's in Boston, The Dakota in Minneapolis, and The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. She has appeared on the nationally syndicated shows Mountain Stage, JazzSet on NPR, Studio 360, and The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS-TV. Reviews and profiles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Living Blues, Blues Review, Downbeat, Goldmine, No Depression, Boston Herald, Newark Star Ledger, JazzTimes, Chicago Sun Times, and many more.

Cat spent weeks on JazzWeek magazine's chart for national airplay, while Back O Town Blues was a top 10 download on I-Tunes Jazz Chart. National Public Radio's top 5 jazz cd's of 2006 included Cat, as chosen by WBGO dj's for NPR's year end "Best Of" List.

Catherine Russell's 2nd album on World Village, Sentimental Streak, hit the streets on February 12, 2008, to universal acclaim, becoming a world-wide favorite of critics and fans alike.

Crazy Blues
Catherine Russell Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

So, now I see my poor love was blind

Now I got the crazy blues, since my baby went away
I ain't got no time to lose, I must find him today
Now the doctor's gonna do all that he can
But what he's gonna need is the undertaker man
I ain't got nothing but bad news, now I got the crazy blues

I went down to the railroad, lay my head on the track
Thought about my baby and had to snatched it back
My baby's gone and give me the sack

So, now I got the crazy blues, since my baby went away
I ain't got no time to lose, I must find him today
I'm gonna do like a China-man, go and get some hop

Get myself a gun and shoot myself a cop
I ain't had nothing but bad news, now I got the crazy blues

Overall Meaning

In the song Crazy Blues, Catherine Russell sings about a woman who is deeply troubled and heartbroken because the man she loves has betrayed her. She can't sleep or eat, and she feels so blue that she doesn't know what to do. The lyrics convey deep sadness and inner turmoil as she struggles to understand why her lover left without saying goodbye. As she reads his letters, she realizes that she could never truly understand his feelings and intentions.

The chorus of the song conveys the depth of her pain, as she states that she has the "crazy blues" since her lover has gone away. She doesn't know what to do with herself and feels like she's losing her mind. The final verse takes a darker turn as she contemplates suicide as a way to end her pain.

Line by Line Meaning

I can't sleep at night, I can't eat a bite
I am so consumed with my lover's mistreatment that it is affecting my basic bodily functions like sleeping and eating.

'Cause the man I love, he don't treat me right
The person I am in love with is not treating me kindly or with respect.

He makes me feel so blue, I don't know what to do
My lover's actions are making me extremely sad and I am at a loss as to how to handle it.

Sometimes I sit and sigh and then begin to cry
I find myself repeatedly feeling hopeless and overwhelmed by my sadness that I eventually break into tears.

He went away, never said goodbye
My lover left me without any explanation or proper farewell, leaving me feeling abandoned and hurt.

I can read his letters, but I sure can't read his mind
While I can understand what he is writing in his letters, I cannot discern his true thoughts and feelings from just the words on the paper.

Thought he was loving with me, he's leaving all the time
I had believed that he had deep affection for me, but his frequent departures make me doubt the sincerity of his feelings.

So, now I see my poor love was blind
I have realized that my love for him had made me blind to his true nature, and that our relationship was not built on a solid foundation.

Now I got the crazy blues, since my baby went away
I am now suffering a deep depression and feeling emotionally unstable since my lover left.

I ain't got no time to lose, I must find him today
I feel an urgent need to find him, and will prioritize that above anything else since it is causing me such distress.

Now the doctor's gonna do all that he can
I am seeking medical attention to help treat my worsening mental state.

But what he's gonna need is the undertaker man
However, the doctor will not be able to help me unless I can locate my lover.

I ain't got nothing but bad news, now I got the crazy blues
My situation has become so dire that I do not have any good news or hope to cling onto, which is exacerbating my depression.

I went down to the railroad, lay my head on the track
I am contemplating suicide and went to lay my head on a railway track, which would result in my death if a train came by.

Thought about my baby and had to snatched it back
However, when I thought about my lover, I was startled back to reality by the extreme act I was considering.

My baby's gone and give me the sack
My lover has ended our relationship and left me with nothing to hold onto, and I feel like I have been fired from a job.

I'm gonna do like a China-man, go and get some hop
I plan to go the route of opium-addicted Chinese immigrants and try to dull my emotional pain with narcotics.

Get myself a gun and shoot myself a cop
I am even contemplating violence against law enforcement, a suicidal act that will effectively end any potential future for myself.

I ain't had nothing but bad news, now I got the crazy blues
Overall, I have received a constant stream of negative news and events, which has pushed me over the edge into a deep depression and feeling of disorientation.

Contributed by Levi R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Andy Zhang

I can't sleep at night, I can't eat a bite
'Cause the man I love, he don't treat me right
He makes me feel so blue, I don't know what to do
Sometimes I sit and sigh and then begin to cry
He went away, never said goodbye

I can read his letters, but I sure can't read his mind
Thought he was loving with me, he's leaving all the time
So, now I see my poor love was blind

Now I got the crazy blues, since my baby went away
I ain't got no time to lose, I must find him today
Now the doctor's gonna do all that he can
But what he's gonna need is the undertaker man
I ain't got nothing but bad news, now I got the crazy blues
I went down to the railroad, lay my head on the track
Thought about my baby and had to snatched it back
My baby's gone and give me the sack

So, now I got the crazy blues, since my baby went away
I ain't got no time to lose, I must find him today
I'm gonna do like a China-man, go and get some hop
Get myself a gun and shoot myself a cop
I ain't had nothing but bad news, now I got the crazy blues