Gertrude Pridgett Rainey, better known as Ma Rainey (Columbus, Georgia, Apr… Read Full Bio ↴Gertrude Pridgett Rainey, better known as Ma Rainey (Columbus, Georgia, April 26, 1886 – Columbus, Georgia, December 22, 1939), was one of the earliest known professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. She was billed as The Mother of the Blues. She did much to develop and popularize the form and was an important influence on younger blues women, such as Bessie Smith, and their careers.

She first appeared on stage in Columbus in "A Bunch of Blackberries" at the age of 14. She then joined a traveling vaudeville troupe, the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. After hearing a blues song at a theater in St. Louis sung by a local girl in 1902, she started performing in a blues style. She claimed at that time that she was the one who coined the name "blues" for the style that she specialized in. Musicians and singers who had sang and played in the style said there were no such origins and that the blues had always been. A pioneer in the style, Bunk Johnson said that in the 1880s the blues had already been developed.

She married fellow vaudeville singer William 'Pa' Rainey in 1904, changing her name to Ma Rainey. The pair toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels as Rainey & Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues, singing a mix of blues and popular songs. In 1912, she took the young Bessie Smith into the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, trained her, and worked with her until Smith left in 1915.

Also known, though less discussed, is the fact that she was bisexual. Rainey never shied away from her feelings in her music, as is apparent in the lyrics of "Prove It On Me":

"Went out last night with a crowd of my friends,
They must have been women, 'cause I don't like no men.
Wear my clothes just like a fan, Talk to gals just like any old man
'Cause they say I do it, ain't nobody caught me, Sure got to prove it on me."

Rainey was outspoken on women's issues and a role model for future women entertainers who took control of their own careers.

Ma Rainey was already a veteran performer with decades of touring with African-American shows in the U.S. Southern States when she made her first recordings in 1923. Rainey signed with Paramount Records and, between 1923 and 1928, she recorded 100 songs, sometimes accompanied such jazz notables as Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, Fletcher Henderson and others. Rainey was extremely popular among southern blacks in the 1920s, but the Great Depression and changing tastes ended her career by 1933, when she retired.

Rainey died of a heart attack in 1939.

The 1982 August Wilson play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom was based on her.

Oh My Babe Blues
Ma Rainey Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Some of these days I'm going to leave my home, oh my babe
Now I know I'm going and it won't be long
If I go, let me go
If I stay, let me stay
Maybe I'll ask, "Let me come back home?"

Tell my dad I won't be home tonight, oh my babe
My heart aches and I'm not treated right

My heart's down, it's a shame
And I just can't call his name
Then I'd ask to let me come back home

Lawdy lawd, have mercy on poor me, oh my babe
Send somebody to let my heart go free
When I go, leave me alone
And I'll stay from my home
Tell my dad I wants to come back home

I'm leavin' now, I'm sorry we have to part, oh my babe
'Cause you tried to break my aching heart
But someday, you will say

Come back home babe someday
Then I'll know my dad wants me back home

Overall Meaning

Ma Rainey's Oh My Babe Blues is a song about a young woman who is unhappy in her current situation and wants to leave home. She speaks of the pain in her heart and how she is not being treated properly. She feels like she has no other choice but to leave and asks for permission to do so. In the song, she tells her father that she won't be coming home tonight, and she hopes that one day she will be able to return home. Her heart is aching, and she wants someone to free her from her pain and allow her to move on with her life.

The lyrics of this song express a deep sense of sadness and uncertainty. The young woman is torn between wanting to stay and wanting to leave. She feels trapped in her current circumstances and longs for the freedom to make her own choices. Her heart is heavy, and she wants to be able to return home someday, but she is not sure if that will ever be possible. Overall, Oh My Babe Blues is a poignant and emotional song about the struggles of growing up and finding one's place in the world.

Line by Line Meaning

Some of these days I'm going to leave my home, oh my babe
I plan on leaving my home soon, my love

Now I know I'm going and it won't be long
It won't be much longer until I go

If I go, let me go
If I leave, don't try to stop me

If I stay, let me stay
If I decide to stay, don't make me feel unwelcome

Maybe I'll ask, "Let me come back home?"
I might want to come back someday

Tell my dad I won't be home tonight, oh my babe
Please let my dad know I won't be home tonight

My heart aches and I'm not treated right
I'm feeling emotional pain and not being treated well

My heart's down, it's a shame
I'm feeling extremely low and it's unfortunate

And I just can't call his name
I can't bring myself to say his name

Then I'd ask to let me come back home
I may need to ask to come back home again

Lawdy lawd, have mercy on poor me, oh my babe
God have mercy on me, my love