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.

Yonder Come the Blues
Ma Rainey Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I worry all day, I worry all night
Every time my man comes home, he wants to fuss and fight
When I pick up the paper to read about the news,
just as I'm satisfied, yonder comes the blues
I went down to the river each and every day
Trying to keep from crying' and do my self away
I walked and walked till I wore out my shoes
I can't walk no further, yonder comes the blues

Some folks never worry, things all go all right
Or lay down on that sofa, weep and cry all night
When I get a letter, it never brings good news
Every time I see the mail, babe, yonder comes the blues
Go back blues don't come this way
Oughta give me something else beside the blues all day
Every man I love, I've been refused
And when I want some loving yonder comes the blues
People have different blues and think their mighty bad
But blues that bother me are the worst I've ever had

I've been disgusted and all confused
every time I look around yonder come those blues

Overall Meaning

Ma Rainey's song Yonder Come The Blues is a poignant expression of the pervasive sense of worry that consumes the singer's life. She sings about how her man is always causing trouble, making her worry incessantly over his antics. Reading the news doesn't provide any relief, as it seems that bad news follows her around all the time. And when she tries to walk her worries away, her feet give out before her blues do. She is frustrated at how the blues always seems to find her, even when she tries to run from it. No matter what she does, she can't seem to escape the feeling of melancholy that dogs her every step.

Line by Line Meaning

I worry all day, I worry all night
I am constantly anxious, troubled and fearful both day and night

Every time my man comes home, he wants to fuss and fight
Every time my partner comes back, he wants to argue and fight

When I pick up the paper to read about the news, just as I'm satisfied, yonder comes the blues
As soon as I find some peace of mind and contentment from reading the newspaper, I am immediately caught up by the blues

I went down to the river each and every day, trying to keep from crying' and do my self away
I went to the river everyday, fighting to hold back my tears and to prevent my emotions from getting the best of me

I walked and walked till I wore out my shoes, I can't walk no further, yonder comes the blues
I walked and walked until I wore out my shoes and now I am exhausted and cannot go any further, the blues are now upon me

Some folks never worry, things all go all right, or lay down on that sofa, weep and cry all night
Some people never worry at all, things always seem to go well for them, while other people spend their nights on the sofa, sobbing and crying

When I get a letter, it never brings good news, every time I see the mail, babe, yonder comes the blues
Whenever I receive a letter, it is always bad news and every time I see the mail, I know that the blues are on their way

Go back blues don't come this way, oughta give me something else beside the blues all day
I ask the blues to go away and give me something else instead of constantly feeling distressed and sorrowful

Every man I love, I've been refused, and when I want some loving yonder comes the blues
Every man I've loved has rejected me and every time I crave affection, the blues come on strong

People have different blues and think their mighty bad, but blues that bother me are the worst I've ever had
Some people have their own troubles that they consider to be significant, but the blues that I have trouble me so much that they are the worst I've ever experienced

I've been disgusted and all confused, every time I look around yonder come those blues
I feel revulsion and am bewildered by my circumstances and every time I look around, the blues are always present

Contributed by Kennedy F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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