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.

Stormy Sea Blues
Ma Rainey Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Rainin′ on the ocean, it's stormin′ on the sea
Rainin' on the ocean, it's stormin′ on the sea
The blues in that shower, stormin′ down on me

I hear thunder, I'm caught out in the storm
I hear thunder, I′m caught out in the storm
Man I loved done packed his grip and gone

I hear the wind blowin', I′m left here all alone
I hear the wind blowin', I′m left here all alone
The storm won't be over 'til my daddy come back home

I see the lightnin′ flashin′,
I see the waves a-dashin', I′m tryin' to spread the news

I feel this boat a-crashin′, I'm tryin′ to spread the news
My man has done quit me, and left me with the stormy sea blues

Overall Meaning

In "Stormy Sea Blues," Ma Rainey describes a stormy ocean as a metaphor for her turbulent emotional state. Throughout the song, she uses various natural elements of the storm, including rain, thunder, wind, and lightning, to evoke the despair and pain she feels after being abandoned by her lover.

The first stanza sets the setting and mood of the song. Rainey portrays the storm as an endless shower of blues that has engulfed her completely, leaving her helpless and alone. The second stanza suggests that her lover has left her, and she is unable to escape from the pain of the storm. Rainey's feelings of loneliness and isolation are emphasized in the third stanza when she says that she's left alone, with no one to comfort her until her lover returns. In the final stanza, the crashing of the waves symbolizes the crushing feeling of heartbreak that Rainey is facing, as her man has left her, and she's left to face the storm alone.

Overall, Ma Rainey's "Stormy Sea Blues" is a powerful, bluesy ode to heartbreak and despair. It is a reminder of the immense amount of pain that comes with losing someone you love, and the feeling of helplessness and despair that can accompany that loss.

Line by Line Meaning

Rainin′ on the ocean, it's stormin′ on the sea
There's a heavy rain and storm at sea.

The blues in that shower, stormin′ down on me
I'm feeling sad and depressed.

I hear thunder, I'm caught out in the storm
I can hear the thunder while I'm stuck in this bad situation.

Man I loved done packed his grip and gone
My lover has left me.

I hear the wind blowin', I'm left here all alone
The wind is blowing and I feel abandoned.

The storm won't be over 'til my daddy come back home
I won't feel better until my loved one returns to me.

I see the lightnin′ flashin′, I see the waves a-dashin', I′m tryin' to spread the news
I'm witnessing a chaotic scene and I want to tell others about it.

My man has done quit me, and left me with the stormy sea blues
My man has left me in a difficult and unhappy situation.

Writer(s): Hudson Whittaker

Contributed by Hunter V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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