Buddy Bolden's Blues
Laurie Hugh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The nasty and dirty, take it away
You're terrible and awful, take it away
I thought I heard him say
Thought I heard, Buddy Bolden shout
Open up that window, and let that bad air out
Open up that window, and let that stinky air out
Thought I heard judge Fogerty say
Give him 30 days in the market
Take him away
Give him a broom to sweep with
Take him away
Thought I heard him say
Thought I heard Franky Dirson say
Gimme that money, girl,
or I'm gonna, I'm gonna take it away
Gimme that money you owe me, or I'll take it away
Thought I heard Franky Dirson say
The lyrics of Buddy Bolden's Blues touches on a number of issues that were prevalent at the time. Buddy Bolden was a celebrated musician who was known for his unique style of jazz music in the early 1900s. In the first verse, the lyrics suggest that Buddy Bolden was speaking about something dirty and awful when he urged people to "take it away." This could be interpreted either literally or metaphorically - the song could be referring to something physical, like garbage or pollution, or it could be a metaphor for societal problems like racism or inequality.
The second and third verses continue in the same vein, with Buddy Bolden shouting for "bad air" to be let out through an open window, and with a judge sentencing someone to 30 days in the market and giving them a broom to sweep with. The fourth verse is about a man named Franky Dirson who is demanding money from a woman or threatening to take it away. These lyrics all point to different societal issues of the time, including corruption, pollution, and poverty.
Line by Line Meaning
Thought I heard, Buddy Bolden say
I believed I heard Buddy Bolden utter something
The nasty and dirty, take it away
Get rid of all the vile and filthy things around you
You're terrible and awful, take it away
Eliminate anything which appears to be terrible or repugnant
I thought I heard him say
I suspected he had said these things
Thought I heard, Buddy Bolden shout
I assumed that Buddy Bolden shouted out loud
Open up that window, and let that bad air out
Allow fresh air to come in and take away the malodorous air
Open up that window, and let that stinky air out
Unseal the window and let the pungent odor out
Thought I heard Buddy Bolden say
I perceived that Buddy Bolden spoke these words
Thought I heard judge Fogerty say
I suspected that Judge Fogerty had uttered something
Give him 30 days in the market
Punish him by imprisoning him for a month in the market
Take him away
Get him outta here
Give him a broom to sweep with
Provide him with a broom to sweep the market
Take him away
Take him out of sight
Thought I heard him say
I conjectured that he had said these things
Thought I heard Franky Dirson say
I presumed that Franky Dirson uttered something
Gimme that money, girl, or I'm gonna, I'm gonna take it away
Hand over the money you owe me, otherwise I'll take it by force
Gimme that money you owe me, or I'll take it away
Give me the sum of the cash you borrowed from me, or I'll seize it
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FERDINAND JOSEPH MORTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
audscross
i adore his voice, AND his acting .. its a rare thing
Paige Berkahn
Heard him for the first time today, this song just made me feel so damn happy! Good stuff
Maria del amor Gonzalez
Genial simply. I love this song. I love Hugh Laurie
Dorthea Maria
this is soo smooth and fine <3 how can he have the time to get so good at so many things, he¨s so talented <3
Langley Bryant
According to Jelly Roll Morton, Buddy Bolden would play this tune every day, and the folks at the honky tonks made up these words to go along with it. It's widely considered to be the first ever jazz tune, although there is some debate as to whether Bolden actually invented jazz or if he just played a vibrant and powerful version of ragtime. The Library of Congress has a free recording of Jelly Roll Morton playing this tune and talking about Bolden if you want to know some interesting history
Marcos Passeti
Inspirador
clearwatrs
This stuff is AwEsoMe!!
Ahnaf Adel
I had no idea hugh laurie sang!
Mikuláš Homolka
This song makes more sense if you search out who Buddy Bolden was.
Langley Bryant
Originally was titled Funky Butt and the lyrics were made up by honky tonk folks